Life of Antony

 He was content with what he found, and sought nothing more. After the death of his parents, he was left alone with one very young sister and he was a

 he signified love for one another and thus filled, he would return to his own place of the hermitage then he himself, gathering to himself the thing

 I undertook to tickle the young, and I have been called the spirit of fornication. How many who wished to be chaste have I deceived! How many who were

 to learn of the ascetic from the life of the great Elijah, as in a mirror his own life always. Thus, then, having strengthened himself, Antony departe

 he forgot the contest of Antony, but came to his aid. So, looking up, he saw the roof as if opening, and a certain ray of light coming down to him. An

 that these were at work, and they themselves, being afraid, called for Antony. But he listened more to these than he cared for those. And coming near

 the Scriptures are sufficient for teaching but it is good for us to exhort one another in the faith, and to anoint one another with words. And you, t

 In this the Lord is also a helper, as it is written: To everyone who chooses the good, God works with him for the good. And so that we may not be negl

 in the air about us, and they are not far from us and there is a great difference among them. And concerning their nature and their difference would

 enemy: Having pursued I will overtake and again by another: I will take the whole world in my hand, as a nest, and I will take it up as abandoned egg

 God said to the sinner: Why do you declare my 26.884 statutes, and take up my covenant in your mouth? For they do all things, and they speak, and make

 worlds from which they ought rather to be despised as weak. For the true angel, sent by the Lord against the Assyrians, had no need of crowds, nor of

 they themselves lied. So also concerning the river's water they sometimes babble for having seen many rains occurring in the parts of Ethiopia, and k

 God so granting. For the vision of the saints is not troubled. For he will not strive, nor cry out, neither shall any man hear their voice. But it hap

 is of our virtue and life but to cast out demons, this grace is of the Savior who gave it. Whence to those who boast not in virtue, but in signs, and

 long-nosed. Then as I was saying Why then are you here? he said Why do the monks, and all other Christians, blame me in vain? Why do they curse me e

 was cast out, and the conceit of others was stopped and all were persuaded to despise the demonic plotting, marveling at the grace given to Antony by

 zeal for he himself also prayed to be martyred, as I said before. He therefore seemed to be grieving, because he had not been martyred but the Lord

 and a few neglected palm trees. Antony, therefore, as if moved by God, loved the place for this was what he who had spoken to him by the banks of the

 you are hesitating, but depart 26.920 for I am a servant of Christ. As Antony said these things, they fled, as if pursued by the whip of his word. Th

 examine, and test yourselves. Therefore, let each one take account to himself day by day of his actions by day and by night and, if he has sinned, le

 and for them to enter, this indeed he did not permit, but said: Go, and you will find her, if she has not died, healed. For this is not my achievement

 Amoun had fallen asleep at the hour in which his old man saw his soul being carried up. And indeed both these and those marveled at the purity of Anto

 to hinder so that he might not pass through. But when his guides fought against them, they demanded an account, whether he was not subject to them. So

 he conversed for their benefit but he yielded to him in the matter of prayer, not being ashamed to learn himself. For he often inquired, and 26.940 a

 believing they were being helped. Indeed, so many became 26.944 Christians in those few days, as many as one might see become in a year. Then, when so

 that Christ was made manifest as a man whereas you, separating the soul from heaven, claim that it has wandered and fallen from the vault of the heav

 we understand by faith, this you attempt to construct through words and often you are not even able to express what we understand so that the operat

 but faith working through love for Christ which if you also should have, you will no longer seek proofs through words but you will consider faith in

 Arians act irrationally like beasts. And when he saw this vision, he exhorted those with him, saying: Do not be disheartened, children for just as th

 coming upon you Therefore cease persecuting Christians, lest at any time the wrath should seize you for it is already about to come upon you. But Ba

 we shall see one another again in this life. It is time for me at last to depart for I am nearly one hundred and five years old. So when they heard t

 Remember me as a father. Do not let anyone take my body to Egypt, lest they place it in their houses for it was for this reason that I went into the

 those who are hiding themselves, and are striving to withdraw, He makes manifest and renowned everywhere on account of both their own virtue and the b

long-nosed. Then as I was saying; Why then are you here? he said; Why do the monks, and all other Christians, blame me in vain? Why do they curse me every hour? And when I said; For why do you trouble them? he said; I am not the one who troubles them, but they disturb themselves; for I have become weak. Have they not read that, ‘The swords of the enemy have failed forever, and you have destroyed cities’? I no longer have a place, no weapon, no city. Christians are everywhere; finally, even the desert is filled with monks. Let them watch themselves, and not curse me in vain. Then I, marveling at the grace of the Lord, said to him; Though you are always a liar and never speak the truth, yet now you have spoken this truth, even unwillingly; for Christ, by His coming, has made you weak, and casting you down has stripped you bare. He, hearing the name of the Savior, and not enduring the burning from it, vanished. If, therefore, even the devil himself confesses that he can do nothing, we ought utterly to despise both him and his demons. The enemy, therefore, with his hounds, has so many wiles; but we, having learned their weakness, are able to despise them. In this way, therefore, let us not be fainthearted in our mind, nor admit cowardice into our soul, nor fashion fears for ourselves, saying; Lest a demon come and overthrow me; lest he lift me up and cast me down, or suddenly appearing 26.905 utterly confound me. Let us not think such things at all, nor be grieved as though we were perishing; but rather let us be courageous and rejoice always, as those who are being saved; and let us consider in our soul, that the Lord is with us, He who has routed and destroyed them. And let us reflect and always bear in mind, that, with the Lord being with us, our enemies will do nothing to us. For when they come, whatever sort of people they find us to be, such they also become toward us, and according to the thoughts they find in us, so also do they shape their apparitions. If then they find us cowardly and troubled, they immediately, like robbers, finding the place unguarded, enter; and whatever we think from ourselves, this they do with addition. For if they see us fearful and cowardly, they greatly increase our cowardice with their apparitions and threats, and then in these things the wretched soul is tormented; but if they find us rejoicing in the Lord, and considering the good things to come, and thinking on the things of the Lord, and reasoning that all things are in the Lord's hand, and that a demon has no strength against a Christian, nor has any authority at all over anyone; seeing the soul secured by such thoughts, they turn away in shame. Thus the enemy, seeing Job hedged about, withdrew from him; but finding Judas bare of these things, he took him captive. So that, if we wish to despise the enemy, let us always consider the things of the Lord, and let our soul always rejoice in hope; and we will see the demons' games as smoke, and see them fleeing rather than pursuing. For they are, as I said before, very cowardly, always expecting the fire prepared for them. And have this proof for yourselves for fearlessness against them: Whenever an apparition appears, do not fall down in cowardice, but whatever it may be, boldly ask first: Who are you, and from where? 26.908 And if it is a vision of saints, they will assure you, and turn your fear into joy; but if it is a diabolical one, it immediately becomes weak, seeing your mind resolute; for to ask at all is a sign of calmness: Who are you, and from where? Thus the son of Nun, by asking, learned; and the enemy did not escape the notice of Daniel when he asked. As Antony said these things, all rejoiced; and in some the love of virtue increased, while in others the negligence

17

τανᾶς. Εἶτα λέγοντός μου· Τί οὖν ἐνταῦθα πάρει; ἔλεγεν ἐκεῖνος· Τί μέμφονταί με μάτην οἱ μοναχοὶ, καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι πάντες Χριστιανοί; Τί μοι καταρῶνται καθ' ὥραν; Ἐμοῦ δὲ εἰπόντος· Τί γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἐν οχλεῖς; ἔφη· Οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ὁ ἐνοχλῶν αὐτοῖς, ἀλλ' αὐτοὶ ταράττουσιν ἑαυτούς· ἐγὼ γὰρ ἀσθενὴς γέγονα. Οὐκ ἀνέγνωσαν, ὅτι Τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ἐξέλιπον αἱ ῥομ φαῖαι εἰς τέλος, καὶ πόλεις καθεῖλες; οὐκ ἔτι τόπον ἔχω, οὐ βέλος, οὐ πόλιν. Πανταχοῦ Χριστιανοὶ γεγόνασι· λοιπὸν καὶ ἡ ἔρημος πεπλήρωται μοναχῶν. Ἑαυτοὺς τηρείτωσαν, καὶ μὴ μάτην με καταράσθω σαν. Τότε θαυμάσας ἐγὼ τοῦ Κυρίου τὴν χάριν, εἶπον πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἀεὶ ψεύστης ὢν, καὶ μηδέποτε λέγων ἀλήθειαν, ὅμως τοῦτο νῦν, καὶ μὴ θέλων, εἴρηκας ἀληθές· ὁ γὰρ Χριστὸς, ἐλθὼν, ἀσθενῆ σε πεποίηκε, καὶ καταβαλὼν ἐγύμνωσεν. Ἐκεῖνος, ἀκούσας τὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ὄνομα, καὶ μὴ φέρων τὴν ἐκ τούτου καῦσιν, ἀφανὴς γέγονεν. Εἰ τοίνυν καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ διάβολος ὁμολογεῖ μηδὲν δύνασθαι, ὀφείλομεν παντελῶς καταφρονεῖν αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τῶν δαιμόνων αὐτοῦ. Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἐχθρὸς μετὰ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ κυνῶν τοσαύτας ἔχει τὰς πανουργίας· ἡμεῖς δὲ, μαθόντες αὐτῶν τὴν ἀσθένειαν, καταφρο νεῖν αὐτῶν δυνάμεθα. Τοῦτον οὖν τὸν τρόπον μὴ προ καταπίπτωμεν τῇ διανοίᾳ, μηδὲ λογιζώμεθα ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ δειλίας, μηδὲ ἀναπλάττωμεν ἑαυτοῖς φό βους, λέγοντες· Μὴ ἄρα δαίμων ἐλθὼν ἀνατρέψῃ με· μὴ ἄρα βαστάξας καταβάλῃ, ἢ ἐξαίφνης ἐπιστὰς 26.905 ἐκταράξῃ. Μηδ' ὅλως ἐνθυμώμεθα τοιαῦτα, μηδὲ λυπώμεθα ὡς ἀπολλύμενοι· θαῤῥῶμεν δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ χαίρωμεν ἀεὶ, ὡς σωζόμενοι· καὶ λογιζώμεθα τῇ ψυχῇ, ὅτι Κύριος μεθ' ἡμῶν ἐστιν, ὁ τροπώσας καὶ καταργήσας αὐτούς. Καὶ διανοώμεθα δὲ καὶ ἐνθυμώμεθα ἀεὶ, ὅτι, ὄντος τοῦ Κυρίου μεθ' ἡμῶν, οὐδὲν ἡμῖν οἱ ἐχθροὶ ποιήσουσιν. Ἐλθόντες γὰρ, ὁποίους ἂν εὕρωσιν ἡμᾶς, τοιοῦτοι καὶ αὐτοὶ γίνον ται πρὸς ἡμᾶς, καὶ πρὸς ἃς εὑρίσκουσιν ἐν ἡμῖν ἐννοίας, οὕτω καὶ αὐτοὶ τὰς φαντασίας ἀφομοιοῦσιν. Ἐὰν μὲν οὖν δειλιῶντας εὕρωσι καὶ ταραττομένους, εὐθὺς αὐτοὶ, ὡς λῃσταὶ, τὸν τόπον ἀφύλακτον εὑρόν τες, ἐπιβαίνουσι· καὶ ὅπερ ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν λογιζόμεθα, τοῦτο μετὰ προσθήκης ποιοῦσιν. Ἐὰν γὰρ βλέ πωσιν ἡμᾶς φοβουμένους καὶ δειλιῶντας, μειζόνως αὐξάνουσι τὴν δειλίαν ἐν ταῖς φαντασίαις καὶ ταῖς ἀπειλαῖς, καὶ λοιπὸν ἐν τούτοις ἡ ταλαίπωρος κολά ζεται ψυχή· ἐὰν δὲ χαίροντας ἡμᾶς εὕρωσιν ἐν Κυ ρίῳ, καὶ λογιζομένους περὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, καὶ ἐνθυμουμένους τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ διαλογιζο μένους, ὅτι πάντα ἐν χειρὶ Κυρίου ἐστὶ, καὶ οὐδὲν ἰσχύει δαίμων κατὰ Χριστιανοῦ, οὐδὲ ὅλως ἐξουσίαν ἔχει κατά τινος· βλέποντες ἠσφαλισμέ νην τὴν ψυχὴν τοῖς τοιούτοις λογισμοῖς, ἀποστρέφον ται κατῃσχυμμένοι. Οὕτως τὸν μὲν Ἰὼβ ἰδὼν ὁ ἐχθρὸς περιπεφραγμένον, ἀνεχώρησεν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ· τὸν δὲ Ἰούδαν γυμνὸν ἀπὸ τούτων εὑρὼν, ᾐχμαλώτισεν. Ὥστε, εἰ θέλομεν καταφρονεῖν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, λογιζώ μεθα ἀεὶ τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ χαιρέτω ἀεὶ ἡ ψυχὴ τῇ ἐλπίδι· καὶ ὀψόμεθα ὡς καπνὸν τὰ τῶν δαιμόνων παίγνια, καὶ μᾶλλον φεύγοντας αὐτοὺς ἢ διώκοντας. Εἰσὶ γὰρ λίαν αὐτοὶ, καθὰ προεῖπον, δειλοὶ, προσδοκῶντες ἀεὶ τὸ ἡτοιμασμένον αὐτοῖς πῦρ. Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ πρὸς ἀφοβίαν κατ' ἐκείνων ἔχετε παρ' ἑαυτοῖς τὸ τεκμήριον· Ὅταν τις φαντασία γένηται, μὴ προκατάπιπτε ἐν δειλίᾳ, ἀλλ' ὁποία ἂν ᾖ, θαῤῥῶν ἐρώτα πρῶτον· Τίς εἶ σὺ, καὶ πόθεν; 26.908 Καὶ ἐὰν μὲν ᾖ ἁγίων ὀπτασία, πληροφοροῦσί σε, καὶ τὸν φόβον σου εἰς χαρὰν μεταβάλλουσιν· ἐὰν δὲ δια βολική τις ᾖ, εὐθὺς ἐξασθενεῖ, βλέπουσα ἐῤῥωμένην τὴν διάνοιαν· ἀταραξίας γὰρ τεκμήριον τὸ ὅλως πυνθάνεσθαι· Τίς εἶ, καὶ πόθεν; Οὕτως ὁ μὲν τοῦ Ναυῆ, ἐρωτήσας, ἔμαθεν· ὁ δὲ ἐχθρὸς οὐκ ἔλαθεν ἐρωτήσαντα τὸν ∆ανιήλ. Ταῦτα διαλεγομένου τοῦ Ἀντωνίου, πάντες ἔχαιρον· καὶ τῶν μὲν ὁ ἔρως τῆς ἀρετῆς ηὔξανε, τῶν δὲ ἡ ὀλιγωρία

17