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

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, that she should even come to me, a wretched man; but the healing is of the Savior, who works His mercy in every place for those who call upon Him. Therefore the Lord granted her prayer, and His loving-kindness has revealed to me that He will heal the suffering of the girl while she is there. So the miracle occurred, and going out they found the parents rejoicing, and the girl henceforth healthy. But when two certain brothers were coming, and their water ran out on the way, the one died, and the other was about to; indeed, no longer having the strength to travel, he also lay upon the ground expecting to die. But Antony, sitting on the mountain, called two monks (for it happened that these were there), and urged them, saying: Take a jar of water and run on the road to Egypt; for of two who are coming, the one has just now died, and the other is about to, unless you hurry. For this has now been revealed to me as I was praying. So the monks, having gone, found the one lying dead, and they buried him, and the other they revived with the water, and led him to the old man; for the distance was a day's journey. But if anyone should ask why he did not speak before the other one died, he does not ask rightly in saying this. For the judgment of death was not Antony's, 26.929 but God's, who both judged concerning that one, and revealed concerning this one. But this alone was Antony's wonder, that sitting on the mountain, he had a watchful heart, and the Lord showing him things afar off. For indeed once again, sitting on the mountain and looking up, he saw someone being carried up in the air, and great was the joy of those meeting him. Then wondering and blessing such a company, he prayed to learn what this might be. And immediately a voice came to him, that this was the soul of Amoun, the monk in Nitria. And he had remained an ascetic until old age. And the distance from Nitria to the mountain where Antony was is thirteen days. So those who were with Antony, seeing the old man marveling, asked to learn; and they heard that Amoun had just died. For he was well-known, because he came there often, and many signs had also been wrought through him; of which this is one: Once when there was need for him to cross the river called Lycus (and at that time the waters were in flood), he asked Theodore who was with him to go far away from him, so that they might not see one another naked while swimming across the water. Then when Theodore had gone away, he was ashamed again even to see himself naked. So while he was ashamed and pondering, he was suddenly carried to the other side. Therefore Theodore, himself also a devout man, approaching and seeing that he had arrived before him, and was not at all wet with water, asked to learn the manner of the crossing. But when he saw that he did not want to say, he insisted, holding his feet, that he would not let go before he learned from him. Seeing therefore the persistence of Theodore, and especially because of the word he spoke, Amoun for his part demanded that he tell no one until his death; and so he reported that he had been carried and placed on the other side; and that he had neither walked on the water, nor that this is at all possible for men, except only for the Lord, and for those whom He 26.932 permits, as He did for the great apostle Peter. So Theodore narrated this after the death of Amoun; and the monks, to whom Antony spoke about the death of Amoun, noted the day; and when the brothers came up from Nitria after thirty days, they inquired, and learned on that day and

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κἀκείνους εἰσελθεῖν, τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ ἐπέτρεψεν, εἶπε δέ· Ὑπάγετε, καὶ εὑρήσετε αὐτὴν, εἰ μὴ ἀπέθανε, τεθεραπευμένην. Οὐ γὰρ ἐμόν ἐστι τοῦτο κατόρθωμα, ἵνα καὶ πρὸς ἐμὲ τὸν οἰκτρὸν ἄν θρωπον ἔλθῃ· ἀλλὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρός ἐστιν ἡ θεραπεία, τοῦ ποιοῦντος ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἐπι καλουμένοις αὐτόν. Κἀκείνῃ τοίνυν ἐπένευσεν ὁ Κύ ριος εὐξαμένῃ, κἀμοὶ δεδήλωκεν ἡ αὐτοῦ φιλανθρω πία, ὅτι τὸ πάθος ἐκεῖ οὔσης τῆς παιδὸς θεραπεύσει. Γέγονε γοῦν τὸ θαῦμα, καὶ ἐξελθόντες εὗρον τοὺς γο νεῖς χαίροντας, καὶ τὴν παῖδα λοιπὸν ὑγιαίνουσαν. Εἰσερχομένων δὲ δύο ἀδελφῶν τινων, καὶ λείψαν τος ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ ὕδατος, ὁ μὲν εἷς ἀπέθανεν, ὁ δὲ ἕτε ρος ἔμελλε· μηκέτι γοῦν ἰσχύων ὁδεύειν, ἔκειτο καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τεθνήξεσθαι προσδοκῶν. Ὁ δὲ Ἀντώνιος, καθήμενος ἐν τῷ ὄρει, φωνήσας δύο μο ναχοὺς (συνέβη γὰρ ἐκεῖ τούτους εἶναι), ἤπειγε λέ γων· Λάβετε κεράμιον ὕδατος, καὶ δράμετε τὴν ἐπ' Αἴγυπτον ὁδόν· δύο γὰρ ἐρχομένων, ὁ μὲν εἷς ἄρτι τετελεύτηκεν, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος μέλλει, ἐὰν μὴ σπεύσητε. Τοῦτο γὰρ εὐχομένῳ μοι νῦν πεφανέρωται. Ἐλθόντες τοίνυν οἱ μοναχοὶ, εὗρον τὸν μὲν κείμενον νεκρὸν, καὶ ἔθαψαν, τὸν δὲ ἕτερον ἀνεκτήσαντο τῷ ὕδατι, καὶ ἀπήγαγον πρὸς τὸν γέροντα· ἦν γὰρ τὸ διάστημα ἡμέρας ὁδός. Ἐὰν δὲ ζητήσῃ τις, διὰ τί μὴ πρὸ τοῦ τελευτῆσαι τὸν ἄλλον οὐκ εἴρηκεν· οὐκ ὀρθῶς ζητεῖ τοῦτο λέγων. Οὐ γὰρ ἦν Ἀντωνίου τὸ 26.929 τοῦ θανάτου κρῖμα, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦ καὶ περὶ ἐκεί νου κρίναντος, καὶ περὶ τούτου ἀποκαλύψαντος. Μό νον δὲ Ἀντωνίου τοῦτο θαῦμα ἦν, ὅτι ἐν τῷ ὄρει καθ ήμενος, εἶχε τὴν μὲν καρδίαν νήφουσαν, τὸν δὲ Κύ ριον δεικνύοντα αὐτῷ τὰ μακράν. Καὶ γάρ ποτε πάλιν, καθήμενος ἐν τῷ ὄρει καὶ ἀναβλέψας, εἶδεν ἐν τῷ ἀέρι ἀναγόμενόν τινα, πολλήν τε τῶν ἀπαντώντων γινομένην τὴν χαράν. Εἶτα θαυμάζων καὶ μακαρίζων τὸν τοιοῦτον χορὸν, ηὔχετο μαθεῖν, τί ἂν εἴη τοῦτο. Καὶ εὐθὺς ἦλθεν αὐ τῷ φωνὴ, ταύτην εἶναι τοῦ Ἀμοῦν τὴν ψυχὴν, τοῦ ἐν τῇ Νιτρίᾳ μοναχοῦ. Ἦν δὲ οὗτος ἕως γήρως ἀσκητὴς διαμείνας. Καὶ τὸ διάστημα δὲ τὸ ἀπὸ Νι τρίας ἕως τοῦ ὄρους, ἔνθα ἦν ὁ Ἀντώνιος, ἡμερῶν ἐστι δεκατριῶν. Οἱ τοίνυν ὄντες μετὰ Ἀντωνίου, βλέποντες τὸν γέροντα θαυμάζοντα, ἠξίωσαν μαθεῖν· καὶ ἤκουσαν, ὅτι ἄρτι τετελεύτηκεν ὁ Ἀμοῦν. Ἦν γὰρ γνώριμος, διὰ τὸ πυκνότερον αὐτὸν ἐκεῖ παρα γίνεσθαι, καὶ πολλὰ καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ σημεῖα γεγενῆσθαι· ἐξ ὧν ἔν ἐστι τοῦτο· Ποτὲ χρείας γενομένης παρελ θεῖν αὐτὸν τὸν ποταμὸν τὸν λεγόμενον Λύκον (ἦν δὲ τότε πλημμύρα τῶν ὑδάτων), ἠξίωσε τὸν σὺν αὐτῷ Θεόδωρον μακρὰν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ γενέσθαι, ἵνα μὴ ἀλλήλους ἴδωσι γυμνοὺς, ἐν τῷ διανήχεσθαι τὸ ὕδωρ. Εἶτα ἀπελθόντος τοῦ Θεοδώρου, ᾐσχύνετο πάλιν καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἰδεῖν γυμνόν. Ἕως τοίνυν ᾐσχύνετο, καὶ ἐφρόν τιζεν, ἐξαίφνης ἀπηνέχθη εἰς τὸ πέραν. Ὁ οὖν Θεό δωρος, καὶ αὐτὸς ἀνὴρ εὐλαβὴς, ἐγγίσας καὶ ἑωρα κὼς αὐτὸν προλαβόντα, καὶ μήθ' ὅλως ὕδατι βραχέν τα, ἠξίου μαθεῖν τὸν τρόπον τοῦ περάματος. Ὡς δὲ ἑώρα μὴ θέλοντα εἰπεῖν αὐτὸν, διισχυρίζετο, κατ έχων αὐτοῦ τοὺς πόδας, μὴ πρότερον ἐξαφεῖναι, πρὶν ἂν μάθῃ παρ' αὐτοῦ. Βλέπων τοιγαροῦν ὁ Ἀμοῦν τὸ φιλόνεικον τοῦ Θεοδώρου, μάλιστα καὶ διὰ τὸν λόγον, ὃν εἶπεν, ἀπῄτησε καὶ αὐτὸς μηδενὶ λέγειν αὐτὸν ἕως θανάτου αὐτοῦ· καὶ οὕτως ἀπήγγειλε, βεβαστά χθαι καὶ τεθεῖσθαι αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ πέραν· μήτε δὲ περι πεπατηκέναι εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ, μήθ' ὅλως εἶναι τοῦτο δυ νατὸν ἀνθρώποις, εἰ μὴ μόνῳ τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ οἷς ἂν 26.932 αὐτὸς ἐπιτρέψῃ, ὡς τῷ μεγάλῳ ἀποστόλῳ Πέτρῳ πε ποίηκεν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Θεόδωρος μετὰ θάνατον τοῦ Ἀμοῦν διηγήσατο τοῦτο· οἱ δὲ μοναχοὶ, οἷς εἶπεν ὁ Ἀντώνιος περὶ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ Ἀμοῦν, ἐσημειώσαντο τὴν ἡμέραν· καὶ ἀνελθόντων τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Νιτρίας μετὰ τριάκοντα ἡμέρας, ἐπύθοντο, καὶ ἔγνωσαν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ καὶ

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