(A.D. 356.)
[S. Antony is famous in the East as in the West, and is named in
all Kalendars. His life was written by S. Athanasius, and is quite
genuine. S. Antony is also spoken of at length by Sozomen,
Socrates, S. Jerome, Ruffinus, Theodoret, Evagrius, &c. The
following account is a condensed translation of the life of the
great patriarch of monks, by S. Athanasius. It is necessarily very
much abbreviated.]
Antony was an Egyptian by race, born of noble parents,[62] who had a
sufficient property of their own: and as they were Christians, he too
was Christianly brought up, and when a boy was nourished in the house of
his parents, besides whom and his home he knew nought. But when he grew
older, he would not be taught letters,[63] not wishing to mix with other
boys; but all his longing was (according to what is written of Jacob) to
dwell simply in his own house. But when his parents took him into the
Lord's house he was not saucy, as a boy, nor inattentive as he grew
older; but was subject to his parents, and attentive to what was read,
turning it to his own account. Nor, again, did he trouble his parents
for various and expensive dainties; but was content with what he found,
and asked for nothing more. When his parents died, he was left alone
with a little sister, when he was about eighteen or twenty years of age,
and he took care both of his house and of her. But not six months after
their death, as he was going as usual to the Lord's house, and
collecting his thoughts, he meditated, as he walked, how the Apostles
had left all and followed the Saviour; and how those in the Acts brought
the price of what they had sold, and laid it at the Apostles' feet, to
be given away to the poor; and what, and how great, a hope was laid up
for them in heaven. With this in his mind he entered the church. And it
befell then that the Gospel was being read; and he heard how the Lord
had said to the rich man, "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell all that
thou hast, and give to the poor; and come, follow me, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven." Antony, therefore, as if the remembrance of
the saints had come to him from God, and as if the lesson had been read
on his account, went forth at once from the Lord's house, and gave away
to those of his own village the possessions he had inherited from his
ancestors (three hundred plough-lands, fertile and very fair), that they
might give no trouble either to him or his sister. All his moveables he
sold, and a considerable sum which he received for them he gave to the
poor. But having kept back a little for his sister, when he went again
into the Lord's house, he heard the Lord saying in the Gospel, "Take no
thought for the morrow;" and, unable to endure any more delay, he went
out and distributed that too to the needy. And having committed his
sister to known and faithful virgins, and given to her wherewith to be
educated in a nunnery, he himself thenceforth devoted himself, outside
his house, to training; taking heed to himself, and using himself
severely. For monasteries were not then common in Egypt, nor did any
monks know the wide desert; but each, who wished to take heed to
himself, exercised himself alone, not far from his own village. There
was then, in the next village, an old man who had trained himself in a
solitary life from his youth. When Antony saw him, he emulated him in
that which is noble. And first he began to stay outside the village; and
then, if he heard of any earnest man, he went to seek him, and did not
return till he had seen him. So dwelling there at first, he settled his
mind neither to look back towards his parents' wealth nor to recollect
his relations; but he put all his longing and all his earnestness on
training himself more intensely. For the rest he worked with his hands,
because he had heard, "If any man will not work, neither let him eat;"
and of his earnings he spent some on himself and some on the needy. He
prayed continually, because he knew that one ought to pray secretly,
without ceasing. He attended also so much to what was read, that with
him none of the Scriptures fell to the ground, but he retained them all,
and for the future his memory served him instead of books. Behaving
thus, Antony was beloved by all; and submitted truly to the earnest men
to whom he used to go. And from each of them he learnt some improvement
in his earnestness and his training: he contemplated the courtesy of
one, and another's assiduity in prayer; another's freedom from anger;
another's love of mankind: he took heed to one as he watched; to another
as he studied: one he admired for his endurance, another for his fasting
and sleeping on the ground; he laid to heart the meekness of one, and
the long-suffering of another; and stamped upon his memory the devotion
to Christ and the mutual love which all in common possessed. And thus
filled full, he returned to his own place of training, gathering to
himself what he had got from each, and striving to show all their
qualities in himself. He never emulated those of his own age, save in
what is best; and did that so as to pain no one, but make all rejoice
over him. And all in the village who loved good, seeing him thus, called
him the friend of God; and some embraced him as a son, some as a
brother.
But the devil, who hates and envies what is noble, would not endure such
a purpose in a youth: but attempted against him all that he is wont to
do; suggesting to him the remembrance of his wealth, care for his
sister, relation to his kindred, love of money, love of glory, the
various pleasures of luxury, and the other solaces of life; and then the
harshness of virtue, and its great toil; and the weakness of his body,
and the length of time; and altogether raised a great dust-cloud of
arguments in his mind, trying to turn him back from his righteous
choice. But when the enemy saw himself to be too weak for Antony's
determination, then he attacked him with the temptations which he is
wont to use against young men; but Antony protected his body with faith,
prayers, and fastings. At last, when the evil one could not overthrow
Antony even thus, as if beside himself he appeared to the sight as a
black child, and falling down before him, no longer tempted him to
argue, but using a human voice, said, "I have deceived many; I have cast
down many. But now I have been worsted in the battle." Then, when Antony
asked him, "Who art thou who speakest thus to me?" he forthwith replied
in a pitiable voice, "I am the spirit of impurity."
[Illustration: S. ANTHONY TORTURED BY DEMONS.
From the Design by Martin Schonguer.
Jan. 17.]
This was Antony's first struggle against the devil: or rather this
mighty deed in him was the Saviour's, who condemned sin in the flesh
that the righteousness of the Lord should be fulfilled in us, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. But neither did Antony,
because the evil one had fallen, grow careless and despise him; neither
did the enemy, when worsted by him, cease from lying in ambush against
him. Antony ate once a day, after the setting of the sun, and sometimes
only once in two days, often even in four; his food was bread with salt,
his drink nothing but water. When he slept he was content with a
rush-mat; but mostly he lay on the bare ground. He would not anoint
himself with oil, saying that it was more fit for young men to be
earnest in training than to seek things which softened the body; and
that they must accustom themselves to labour. So forgetting the past, he
daily, as if beginning afresh, took more pains to improve, saying over
to himself continually the Apostle's words, "Forgetting what is behind,
stretching forward to what is before." Antony then went to the tombs,
which happened to be some way from the village; and having bidden one of
his acquaintances bring him bread at intervals of many days, he entered
one of the tombs, and, shutting the door upon himself, remained there
alone. But Satan, terrified lest in a little while he should fill the
desert with his training, coming one night with a multitude of daemons,
beat him so much with stripes that he lay speechless from the torture.
But by the providence of God, the next day his acquaintance came,
bringing him the loaves. And having opened the door, and seeing him
lying on the ground for dead, he carried him to the Lord's house in the
village, and laid him on the ground; and many of his kinsfolk and the
villagers sat round him, as round a corpse. But about midnight, Antony
coming to himself, and waking up, saw them all sleeping, and only his
acquaintance awake, and, nodding to him to approach, begged him to carry
him back to the tomb, without waking any one. When that was done, the
door was shut, and he remained as before, alone inside. And because he
could not stand on account of the daemon's blows, he prayed prostrate.
And after his prayer, he said with a shout, "Here am I, Antony: I do not
fly from your stripes; yea, do your worst, nothing shall separate me
from the love of Christ." And then he sang, "Though an host were laid
against me, yet shall not my heart be afraid." So then, in the night,
the devils made such a crash, that the whole place seemed shaken, and
the daemons, as if breaking in the four walls of the room, seemed to
enter through them, changing themselves into the shapes of beasts and
creeping things; and the place was forthwith filled with shapes of
lions, bears, leopards, bulls and snakes, asps, scorpions and wolves,
and each of them moved according to his own fashion. The lion roared,
longing to attack; the bull seemed to toss; the serpent writhed, and the
wolf rushed upon him; and altogether the noises of all the apparitions
were dreadful. But Antony lay unshaken and awake in spirit. He groaned
at the pain of his body: but clear in intellect, and as it were mocking,
he said, "If there were any power in you, it were enough that one of you
should come on; but since the Lord has made you weak, therefore you try
to frighten me by mere numbers. And a proof of your weakness is, that
you imitate the shapes of brute animals." And taking courage, he said
again, "If ye can, and have received power against me, delay not, but
attack; but if ye cannot, why do ye disturb me in vain? For a seal to us
and a wall of safety is our faith in the Lord." The devils, having made
many efforts, gnashed their teeth at him, because he rather mocked at
them than they at him. But neither then did the Lord forget Antony's
wrestling, but appeared to help him. For, looking up, he saw the roof as
it were opened, and a ray of light coming down towards him. The devils
suddenly became invisible, and the pain of his body forthwith ceased,
and the building became quite whole. But Antony, feeling the succour,
and getting his breath again, and freed from pain, questioned the vision
which appeared, saying, "Where wert thou? Why didst thou not appear to
me from the first, to stop my pangs?" And a voice came to him, "Antony,
I was here, but I waited to see thy fight. Therefore, since thou hast
withstood, and hast not been worsted, I will be to thee always a
succour, and will make thee become famous everywhere." Hearing this, he
rose and prayed, and was so strong, that he felt that he had more power
in his body than he had before. He was then about thirty-and-five years
old. And on the morrow he went out, and was yet more eager for devotion
to God; and, going to that old man aforesaid, he asked him to dwell with
him in the desert. But when he declined, because of his age, and because
no such custom had yet arisen, he himself straightway set off to the
mountain. But the fiend cast in his way a great silver plate. But
Antony, perceiving the trick of him who hates what is noble, stopped.
And he judged the plate worthless; and said, "Whence comes a plate in
the desert? This is no beaten way. Had it fallen, it could not have been
unperceived, from its great size; and besides, he who lost it would have
turned back and found it, because the place is desert. This is a trick
of the devil. Thou shalt not hinder, devil, my determination by this:
let it go with thee into perdition." Then again he saw gold lying in the
way as he came up. Antony, wondering at the abundance of it, stepped
over it and never turned, but ran on in haste, until he had lost sight
of the place. And growing even more and more intense in his
determination, he rushed up the mountain, and finding an empty enclosure
full of creeping things, on account of its age, he dwelt in it. The
creeping things straightway left the place: but he blocked up the entry,
having taken with him loaves for six months (for the Thebans do this,
and they often remain a whole year fresh), and having water with him,
entering, as into a sanctuary, he remained alone, never going forth, and
never looking at any one who came. Thus he passed a long time there
training himself, and only twice a year received loaves, let down from
above through the roof. But those of his acquaintance who came to him,
as they often remained days and nights outside (for he did not allow any
one to enter), used to hear as it were crowds inside clamouring,
thundering, lamenting, crying, "Depart from our ground. What dost thou
even in the desert? Thou canst not abide our onset." At first those
without thought that there were some men fighting with him, and that
they had got in by ladders: but when, peeping in through a crack, they
saw no one, then they took for granted that they were devils. His
acquaintances came up continually, expecting to find him dead, and heard
him singing, "Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; let them
also that hate Him flee before Him. Like as the wax melteth at the fire,
so let the ungodly perish at the presence of God." And again, "All
nations compassed me round about, but in the name of the Lord will I
destroy them."
He endured this for twenty years, training himself alone; neither going
forth, nor being seen by any one for long periods of time. But after
this, when many longed for him, and wished to imitate his training, and
others who knew him came, and would have burst in the door by force,
Antony came forth, as from some inner shrine, initiated into the
mysteries of God. And when they saw him they wondered; for his body had
neither grown fat, nor waxed lean from fasting, but he was just such as
they had known him before his retirement. They wondered again at the
purity of his soul, because it was neither contracted, as if by grief,
nor relaxed by pleasure, nor possessed by laughter or by depression; for
he was neither troubled at beholding the crowd, nor over-joyful at
being saluted by too many; but was altogether equal, as being governed
by reason, and standing on that which is according to nature. Many
sufferers in body, who were present, did the Lord heal by him. And He
gave to Antony grace in speaking, so that he comforted many who grieved,
and reconciled others who were at variance, exhorting all to prefer
nothing in the world to the love of Christ, and persuading and exhorting
them to be mindful of the good things to come, and of the love of God
towards us, who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all.
He persuaded many to choose the solitary life; and so, thenceforth,
cells sprang up in the mountains, and the desert was colonized by monks.
But when he returned to the cell, he persisted in the noble labours of
his youth; and by continued exhortations he increased the willingness of
those who were already monks, and stirred to love of training the
greater number of the rest; and quickly, as his speech drew men on, the
cells became more numerous; and he governed them all as a father.
The cells in the mountains were like tents filled with divine choirs,
singing, discoursing, fasting, praying, rejoicing over the hope of the
future, working that they might give alms thereof, and having love and
concord with each other. And there was really to be seen, as it were, a
land by itself, of piety and justice; for there was none there who did
wrong, or suffered wrong; but a multitude of men training themselves,
and in all of them a mind set on virtue. After these things, the
persecution which happened under the Maximinus of that time,[64] laid
hold of the Church; and when the holy martyrs were brought to
Alexandria, Antony too followed, leaving his cell, and saying, "Let us
depart too, that we may wrestle if we be called, or see them wrestling."
And he longed to be a martyr himself, but, not choosing to give himself
up, he ministered to the confessors in the mines, and in the prisons.
And he was very earnest in the judgment-hall to excite the readiness of
those who were called upon to wrestle; and to receive and bring on their
way, till they were perfected, those of them who went to martyrdom. At
last the judge, seeing the fearlessness and earnestness of him and those
who were with him, commanded that none of the monks should appear in the
judgment-hall, or haunt at all in the city. So all the rest thought good
to hide themselves that day; but Antony cared so little for the order,
that he washed his cloak, and stood next day upon a high place, and
appeared to the Governor in shining white. Therefore, when all the rest
wondered, and the Governor saw him, and passed by with his array, he
stood fearless. He himself prayed to be a martyr, and was like one
grieved, because he had not borne his witness. But the Lord was
preserving him for our benefit, and that of the rest, that he might
become a teacher to many in the training which he had learnt from
Scripture. For many, when they only saw his manner of life, were eager
to emulate it. So he again ministered continually to the confessors;
and, as if bound with them, wearied himself in his services. And when at
last the persecution ceased, and the blessed Bishop Peter had been
martyred, he left the city, and went back to his cell. And he was there,
day by day, a martyr in his conscience, and wrestling in the conflict of
faith; for he imposed on himself a much more severe training than
before; and his garment was within of hair, without of skin, which he
kept till his end.
When, then, he retired, and had resolved neither to go forth himself,
nor to receive any one, one Martinian, a captain of soldiers, came
and gave trouble to Antony. For he had with him his daughter, who was
possessed by a devil. And while he remained a long time knocking at the
door, and expecting him to come to pray to God for the child, Antony
could not bear to open, but leaning from above, said, "Man, why criest
thou to me? I, too, am a man, as thou art. But if thou believest, pray
to God, and it shall come to pass." Forthwith, therefore, he believed,
and called on Christ; and went away, his daughter made whole. Most of
the sufferers, when he did not open the door, sat down outside the
cell, and praying, were cleansed. But when he saw himself troubled by
many, and not being permitted to retire, as he wished, being afraid
lest he himself should be puffed up by what the Lord was doing by him,
or lest others should count of him above what he was, he resolved to
go to the Upper Thebaid, to those who knew him not. And, in fact,
having taken loaves from the brethren, he sat down on the bank of the
river, watching for a boat to pass, that he might embark and go up in
it. And as he watched, a voice came to him: "Antony, whither art thou
going, and why?" And he, not terrified, but as one accustomed to be
often called thus, answered when he heard it, "Because the crowds will
not let me be at rest; therefore am I minded to go up to the Upper
Thebaid, on account of the many annoyances which befall me; and above
all, because they ask of me things beyond my strength." And the voice
said to him, "Even if thou goest up to the Thebaid, even if, as thou
art minded to do, thou goest down to the cattle pastures,[65] thou
wilt have to endure more; but if thou wilt really be at rest, go now
into the inner desert." And when Antony said, "Who will show me the
way, for I have not tried it?" forthwith he was shown Saracens who
were going to journey that road. So, going to them, and drawing near
them, Antony asked leave to depart with them into the desert. They
willingly received him; and, journeying three days and three nights
with them, he came to a very high mountain;[66] and there was water
under the mountain, clear, sweet, and very cold, and a plain outside;
and a few neglected date-palms. Then Antony, as if stirred by God,
loved the spot. Having received bread from those who journeyed with
him, he remained alone in the mount, no one else being with him. For
he recognized that place as his own home, and kept it thenceforth. And
the Saracens themselves seeing Antony's readiness, came that way on
purpose, and joyfully brought him loaves; and he had, too, the solace
of the dates, which were then small and paltry. But after this, the
brethren, having found out the spot, like children remembering their
father, were anxious to send things to him; but Antony saw that, in
bringing him bread, some were put to trouble and fatigue; so he asked
some who came to him to bring him a hoe and a hatchet, and a little
corn; and when these were brought, having gone over the land round the
mountain, he found a very narrow place which was suitable, and tilled
it; and, having plenty of water to irrigate it, he sowed; and, doing
this year by year, he got his bread from thence, rejoicing that he
should be burdensome to no one on that account. But after this, seeing
again some people coming, he planted also a very few pot-herbs, that
he who came might have some small solace, after the labour of that
hard journey. At first, however, the wild beasts in the desert, coming
on account of the water, often hurt his crops and his tillage; but
he, gently laying hold of one of them, said to them all, "Why do you
hurt me, who have not hurt you? Depart, and, in the name of the Lord,
never come near this place." And from that time forward, as if they
were afraid of his command, they never came near the place. So he was
there alone in the inner mountain, having leisure for prayer and for
training. But the brethren who ministered to him asked him that they
might bring him olives, and pulse, and oil every month; for, after all,
he was old.
Being once asked by the monks to come down to them, and to visit them
and their places, he journeyed with the monks who came for him. A camel
carried their loaves and their water, for that desert is all dry, and
there is no drinkable water except in that mountain where his cell is.
But when the water failed on the journey, and the heat was most intense,
they all began to be in danger; for finding no water, they could walk no
more, but lay down on the ground, and they let the camel go, and gave
themselves up. Then the old man, seeing them in danger, was grieved, and
departing a little way from them, he bent his knees, and stretching out
his hands, he prayed, and forthwith the Lord caused water to come out
where he had stopped and prayed. Thus all of them drinking, took breath
again; and having filled their skins, they sought the camel, and found
her; for it befell that the halter had been twisted round a stone, and
thus she had been stopped. So, having brought her back, and given her to
drink, they put the skins on her, and went through their journey
unharmed. And when they came to the outer cells, all embraced him,
looking on him as a father. And there was joy again in the mountains,
and comfort through their faith in each other. And he too rejoiced,
seeing the willingness of the monks, and his sister grown old in
maidenhood, and herself the leader of other virgins. And so, after
certain days, he went back again to his own mountain.
And after that many came to him; and others, who suffered, dared also to
come. Now to all the monks who came to him he gave continually this
command: To trust in the Lord and love Him, and to keep themselves from
foul thoughts and fleshly pleasures; and not to be deceived by fulness
of bread; and to avoid vainglory; and to pray continually; and to sing
before sleep and after sleep; and to lay by in their hearts the
commandments of Scripture; and to remember the works of the Saints, in
order to have their souls attuned to emulate them. But especially he
counselled them to meditate continually on the Apostle's saying, "Let
not the sun go down upon your wrath;" and this he said was spoken of all
commandments in common, in order that, not on wrath alone, but on every
other sin, the sun should never go down; for it was noble and necessary
that the sun should never condemn us for a baseness by day, nor the moon
for a sin or even a thought by night; therefore, in order that that
which is noble may be preserved in us, it was good to hear and to keep
what the Apostle commanded: for he said, "Judge yourselves, and prove
yourselves." Let each then take account with himself, day by day, of his
daily and nightly deeds; and if he has not sinned, let him not boast,
but let him endure in what is good and not be negligent, neither condemn
his neighbour, neither justify himself until the Lord comes who searches
secret things. For we often deceive ourselves in what we do. Giving
therefore the judgment to Him, let us sympathize with each other; and
let us bear each other's burdens, and examine ourselves; and what we are
behind in, let us be eager to fill up. And let this, too, be our counsel
for safety against sinning. Let us each note and write down the deeds
and motions of the soul as if we were about to relate them to another;
and be confident that as we shall be utterly ashamed that they should
be known, we shall cease from sinning, and even from desiring anything
mean. As therefore, when in each other's sight we dare not commit a
crime, so if we write down our thoughts, and confess them, we shall keep
ourselves the more from foul thoughts, for shame lest they should be
known. And thus forming ourselves we shall be able to bring the body
into slavery, and please the Lord on the one hand, and on the other
trample on the snares of the enemy. This was his exhortation to those
who met him: but with those who suffered he suffered, and prayed with
them. And those who suffered he exhorted to keep up heart, and to know
that the power of cure was none of his, nor of any man's; but only
belonged to God, who works when and whatsoever He chooses. So the
sufferers received this as a remedy, learning not to despise the old
man's words, but rather to keep up heart; and those who were cured,
learned not to bless Antony, but God alone.
But when two brethren were coming to him, and water failed them on the
journey, one of them died, and the other was about to die. In fact,
being no longer able to walk, he too lay upon the ground expecting
death. But Antony, as he sat on the mountain, called two monks who
happened to be there, and hastened them, saying, "Take a pitcher of
water, and run on the road towards Egypt; for of two who are coming
hither one has just expired, and the other will do so if you do not
hasten. For this has been showed to me as I prayed." So the monks,
going, found the one lying dead, and buried him; and the other they
recovered with the water, and brought him to the old man. Now the
distance was a day's journey. But this alone in Antony was wonderful,
that sitting on the mountain he kept his heart watchful, and the Lord
showed him things afar off.
And concerning those who came to him, he often predicted some days, or
even a month, beforehand, and the cause why they were coming. For some
came only to see him, and others on account of sickness, and all thought
the labour of the journey no trouble, for each went back aware that he
had been benefited.
But how tolerant was his temper, and how humble his spirit! for though
he was so great, he wished to put every ecclesiastic before himself in
honour. For to the bishops and priests he bowed his head; and if a
deacon came to him, he discoursed with him on what was profitable, but
in prayer he gave place to him. He often asked questions, and deigned to
listen to all present, confessing that he was profited if any one said
aught that was useful. Moreover, his countenance had great and wonderful
grace; and this gift too he had from the Saviour. For if he was present
among the multitude of monks, and any one who did not previously know
him wished to see him, as soon as he came, he passed by all the rest,
and ran to Antony himself, as if attracted by his eyes. He did not
differ from the rest in stature or in stoutness, but in the steadiness
of his temper, and the purity of his soul; for as his soul was
undisturbed, his outward senses were undisturbed likewise, so that the
cheerfulness of his soul made his face cheerful. And he was altogether
wonderful in faith, and pious, for he never communicated with the
Meletian[67] schismatics, knowing their malice and apostasy from the
beginning; nor did he converse amicably with Manichaeans or any other
heretics, save only to exhort them to be converted to piety. For he held
that their friendship and converse was injury and ruin to the soul. So
also he detested the heresy of the Arians, and exhorted all not to
approach them, nor hold their misbelief.[68]
Being sent for by the bishops and all the brethren, he went down from
the mountain, and entering Alexandria, he denounced the Arians, teaching
the people that the Son of God was not a created thing, but that He is
the Eternal Word and Wisdom of the Essence of the Father. Wherefore he
said, "Do not have any communication with these most impious Arians; for
there is no communion between light and darkness. For you are pious
Christians: but they, when they say that the Son of God, who is from the
Father, is a created being, differ nought from the heathen, because they
worship the creature instead of the Creator." All the people therefore
rejoiced at hearing that heresy anathematized by such a man; and all
those in the city ran together to see Antony; and the Greeks,[69] and
those who are called their priests, came into the church, wishing to see
the man of God. And many heathens wished to touch the old man, believing
that it would be of use to them; and in fact as many became Christians
in those few days as would have been usually converted in a year. And
when some thought that the crowd troubled him, he quietly said that they
were not more numerous than the fiends with whom he wrestled on the
mountain. But when he left the city, and we were setting him on his
journey, when we came to the gate, a certain woman called to him: "Wait,
man of God, my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil; wait, I
beseech thee, lest I too harm myself with running after thee." The old
man hearing it, and being asked by us, waited willingly. But when the
woman drew near, the child dashed itself on the ground; and when Antony
prayed and called on the name of Christ, it rose up sound, the unclean
spirit having gone out; and the mother blessed God, and we all gave
thanks: and he himself rejoiced at leaving the city for the mountain, as
for his own home.
Now he was very prudent; and what was wonderful, though he had never
learnt letters, he was a shrewd and understanding man.
When some philosophers met him in the outer mountain, and thought to
mock him, because he had not learnt letters, Antony answered, "Which is
first, the sense or the letters? And, which is the cause of the other,
the sense of the letters, or the letters of the sense?" And when they
said that the sense came first, Antony replied, "If then the sense be
sound, the letters are not needed." So they went away wondering, when
they saw so much understanding in an unlearned man. For though he had
lived, and grown old, in the mountain, his manners were not rustic, but
graceful and courteous; and his speech was seasoned with the divine
salt.
The fame of Antony reached even the kings, for Constantine, and his
sons, Constantius and Constans, hearing of these things, wrote to him as
to a father, and begged to receive an answer from him. But he did not
make much of the letters, nor was puffed up by their messages; and he
was just the same as he was before the kings wrote to him. And he called
his monks and said, "Wonder not if a king writes to us, for he is but a
man: but wonder rather that God has written His law to man, and spoken
to us by His own Son." So he declined to receive their letters, saying
he did not know how to write an answer to such things; but being
admonished by the monks that the kings were Christians, and that they
must not be scandalized by being despised, he permitted the letters to
be read, and wrote an answer; accepting them because they worshipped
Christ, and counselling them, for their salvation, not to think the
present life great, but rather to remember judgment to come; and to know
that Christ was the only true and eternal king; and he begged them to
be merciful to men, and to think of justice and the poor. And they, when
they received the answer, rejoiced. Thus was he kindly towards all, and
all looked on him as their father. He then betook himself again into the
inner mountain, and continued his accustomed training. But often, when
he was sitting and walking with those who came unto him, he was
astounded, as is written in Daniel. And after the space of an hour, he
told what had befallen to the brethren who were with him, and they
perceived that he had seen some vision. Often he saw in the mountain
what was happening in Egypt, and once he told what he had seen, to
Serapion the Bishop, who saw him occupied with a vision. For as he sat,
he fell as it were into an ecstasy, and groaned much at what he saw.
Then, after an hour, turning to those who were with him, he fell into a
trembling, and rose up and prayed, and bending his knees, remained so a
long while; and then the old man rose up and wept. The bystanders,
therefore, trembling and altogether terrified, asked him to tell them
what had happened, and they tormented him so much, that he was forced to
speak. And he groaning greatly--"Ah! my children," he said, "it were
better to be dead than to live and behold the things that I have seen
shall come to pass." And when they asked him again, he said with tears,
that "Wrath will seize on the Church, and she will be given over to men
like unto brutes, which have no understanding; for I saw the table of
the Lord's house, and mules standing all around it in a ring and kicking
inwards, as a herd does when it leaps in confusion; and ye all perceived
how I groaned, for I heard a voice saying, 'My sanctuary shall be
defiled.'"
This the old man saw, and after two years there befell the present
inroad of the Arians,[70] and the plunder of the churches, when they
carried off the holy vessels by violence, and made the heathen carry
them: and when too they forced the heathens from the prisons to join
them, and in their presence did on the Holy Table what they would.[71]
Then we all perceived that the kicks of those mules foreshadowed to
Antony what the Arians are now doing, without understanding, as brute
beasts. But when Antony saw this sight, he exhorted those about him,
saying, "Lose not heart, children; for as the Lord has been angry, so
will He again be appeased, and the Church shall soon receive again her
own order and shine forth as she is wont; and ye shall see the
persecuted restored to their place, and impiety retreating again into
its own dens, and the pious faith speaking boldly everywhere with all
freedom. Only defile not yourselves with the Arians, for this teaching
is not of the Apostle, but of their father the devil; barren and
irrational like the deeds of those mules."
All the magistrates asked him to come down from the mountain, that they
might see him, because it was impossible for them to go in thither to
him. And when he declined, they insisted, and even sent to him prisoners
under the charge of soldiers, that at least on their account he might
come down. So being forced by necessity, and seeing them lamenting, he
came to the outer mountain. And his labour this time too was profitable
to many, and his coming for their good. To the magistrates, he was of
use, counselling them to prefer justice to all things, and to fear God,
and to know that with what judgment they judged they should be judged in
turn. But he loved best of all his life in the mountain. Once again,
when he was compelled in the same way to leave it, by those who were in
want, and by the general of the soldiers, who entreated him earnestly,
he came down, and having spoken to them somewhat of the things which
conduced to salvation, he was pressed also by those who were in need.
But being asked by the general to lengthen his stay, he refused, and
persuaded him by a graceful parable, saying, "Fishes, if they lie long
on the dry land, die; so monks who stay with you lose their strength. As
the fishes then hasten to the sea, so must we to the mountain, lest if
we delay we should forget what is within."
Another general, named Balacius, bitterly persecuted us Christians on
account of his affection for those abominable Arians. His cruelty was so
great that he even beat nuns, and stripped and scourged monks. Antony
sent him a letter to this effect:--"I see wrath coming upon thee. Cease,
therefore, to persecute the Christians, lest the wrath lay hold upon
thee, for it is near at hand." But Balacius, laughing, threw the letter
on the ground, and spat on it; and insulted those who brought it,
bidding them tell Antony, "Since thou carest for monks, I will soon come
after thee likewise." And not five days had passed, when the wrath laid
hold on him. For Balacius himself, and Nestorius, the Eparch of Egypt,
went out to the first station from Alexandria, which is called
Chaereas's. Both of them were riding on horses belonging to Balacius, and
the most gentle in all his stud: but before they had got to the place,
the horses began playing with each other, as is their wont, and suddenly
the more gentle of the two, on which Nestorius was riding, attacked
Balacius and pulled him off with his teeth, and so tore his thigh that
he was carried back to the city, and died in three days.
But the rest who came to Antony he so instructed that they gave up at
once their lawsuits, and blessed those who had retired from this life.
And those who had been unjustly used he so protected, that you would
think he, and not they, was the sufferer. And he was able to be of use
to all; so that many who were serving in the army, and many wealthy
men, laid aside the burdens of life and became thenceforth monks; and
altogether he was like a physician given by God to Egypt. For who met
him grieving, and did not go away rejoicing? Who came mourning over his
dead, and did not forthwith lay aside his grief? Who came wrathful, and
was not converted to friendship? What poor man came wearied out, and,
when he saw and heard him, did not despise wealth and comfort himself in
his poverty? What monk, who had grown remiss, was not strengthened by
coming to him? What young man coming to the mountain and looking upon
Antony, did not forthwith renounce pleasure and love temperance? Who
came to him tempted by devils, and did not get rest? Who came troubled
by doubts, and did not get peace of mind? For this was the great thing
in Antony's asceticism, that (as I have said before), having the gift of
discerning spirits, he understood their movements, and knew in what
direction each of them turned his endeavours and his attacks. And not
only he was not deceived by them himself, but he taught those who were
troubled in mind how they might turn aside the plots of devils, teaching
them the weakness and the craft of their enemies. How many maidens, too,
who had been already betrothed, and only saw Antony from afar, remained
unmarried for Christ's sake! Some, too, came from foreign parts to him,
and all, having gained some benefit, went back from him as from a
father. He was visiting, according to his wont, the monks in the outer
mountain, and having learned from Providence concerning his own end, he
said to the brethren, "This visit to you is my last, and I wonder if we
shall see each other again in this life. It is time for me to set sail,
for I am near a hundred and five years old." And when they heard that,
they wept, and kissed the old man. And he, as if he were setting out
from a foreign city to his own, spoke joyfully, and exhorted them not to
grow idle in their labours, or cowardly in their training, but to live
as those who died daily. And when the brethren tried to force him to
stay with them and make his end there, he would not endure it, on many
accounts, as he showed by his silence; and especially on this:--The
Egyptians are wont to wrap in linen the corpses of good persons, and
especially of the holy martyrs, but not to bury them underground, but to
lay them upon benches and keep them in their houses;[72] thinking that
by this they honour the departed. Now Antony had often asked the bishops
to exhort the people about this, and, in like manner, he himself rebuked
the laity and terrified the women; saying that it was a thing neither
lawful, nor in any way holy; for that the bodies of the patriarchs and
prophets are to this day preserved in sepulchres, and that the very body
of our Lord was laid in a sepulchre, and a stone placed over it to hide
it, till He rose the third day. And thus saying, he showed that those
broke the law who did not bury the corpses of the dead, even if they
were saints; for what is greater or more holy than the Lord's body?
Many, then, when they heard him, buried their dead thenceforth
underground; and blessed the Lord that they had been taught rightly.
Being then aware of this, and afraid lest they should do the same by his
body, he hurried himself, and bade farewell to the monks in the outer
mountain; and coming to the inner mountain, where he was wont to abide,
after a few months he grew sick, and calling those who were by--and
there were two of them who had remained there within fifteen years, he
said to them, "I indeed go the way of the fathers, as it is written, for
I perceive that I am called by the Lord. Promise to bury me secretly, so
that no one shall know the place, save you alone, for I shall receive my
body incorruptible from my Saviour at the resurrection of the dead. And
distribute my garments thus. To Athanasius, the bishop, give one of my
sheepskins, and the cloak under me, which was new when he gave it me,
and has grown old by me; and to Serapion, the bishop, give the other
sheepskin; and do you have the hair-cloth garment. And for the rest,
children, farewell, for Antony is going, and is with you no more."
Saying this, when they had embraced him, he stretched out his feet, and,
as if he saw friends coming to him, and grew joyful on their account
(for, as he lay, his countenance was bright), he departed and was
gathered to his fathers. And they forthwith, as he had commanded them,
preparing the body and wrapping it up, hid it under ground: and no one
knows to this day where it is hidden, save those two servants only.
In art, S. Antony appears (1), with a hog which has a bell attached to
its neck. Sometimes, however, S. Antony holds the bell. He was regarded
as the Patron of the Hospitallers; and when ordinances were passed
forbidding the poor from allowing their swine to run loose about the
streets, as they were often in the way of horses, an exception was made
in favour of the pigs of the hospitallers, on consideration of their
wearing a bell round their necks. But it is possible that this did not
originate the symbol, but that rather, on account of the hog being the
symbol of S. Antony, the Antonine Hospitallers were allowed to preserve
theirs, and that the hog represents the flesh which S. Antony
controlled, and the bell is a common symbol of hermits; (2), he is
represented with his peculiar cross. The cross of S. Antony is a
crutch, or the Egyptian cross, like the letter T.