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

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 heavens into a body; and would that it were only into a human one, and that it did not pass and fall into quadrupeds and reptiles. For our faith speaks of the presence of Christ for the salvation of men; but you err, because you discourse concerning an unbegotten soul. And we indeed hold the power and philanthropy of Providence, that this too was not impossible for God; but you, calling the soul an image of the mind, ascribe falls to it, and fable it to be changeable; and consequently you introduce the mind itself as changeable on account of the soul. For of whatever sort the image was, of such sort must that one also be, of which it is the image. But when you think such things about the mind, reflect that you are also blaspheming the Father of the mind Himself. And concerning the cross, what better could you say: to endure a cross when a plot is brought on by wicked men, and not to fear the death brought on in whatever way; or to tell myths of the wanderings of Osiris and Isis, and the plots of Typhon, and the flight of Cronus, and his devouring of children, and patricides? For these are your wise things. And how, while mocking the cross, do you not marvel at the resurrection? For those who said this also wrote that. Or why, when you mention the cross, are you silent about the dead who were raised, and the blind who received their sight, and the paralytics who were healed, and the lepers who were cleansed 26.949 and the walking on the sea, and the other signs and wonders, which show Christ to be no longer a man, but God? You seem to me to be altogether wronging yourselves, and not to have genuinely encountered our Scriptures. But you, encounter them, and see that the things which Christ has done prove Him to be God, who came for the salvation of men. But tell us also your own things. What could you say about the irrational, except irrationality and savagery? But if, as I hear, you wish to say that these things are spoken of mythically among you; and you allegorize the rape of Kore into the earth, and the lameness of Hephaestus into fire, and Hera into the air, and Apollo into the sun, and Artemis into the moon, and Poseidon into the sea; you are nonetheless not worshipping God Himself, but you serve creation rather than God who created all things. For if, because creation is beautiful, you have composed such things; still you ought only to have gone as far as to marvel, and not to deify the created things; so that you do not give the honor of the Creator to the created. Otherwise it is time for you to transfer the honor of the architect to the house built by him, or that of the general to the soldier. What then do you say to these things, so that we may know if the cross has anything worthy of mockery? But while they were at a loss, and turning this way and that, Antony, smiling, said again through an interpreter: These things are refuted by their very appearance; but since you rather rely on demonstrative arguments, and possessing this art, you wish us also not to worship God without proof through arguments; tell me first, how are matters, and especially the knowledge of God, 26.952 accurately discerned, through demonstration by arguments, or through the working of faith? and which is older, faith that works, or demonstration by arguments? And when they answered that faith that works is older, and that this is accurate knowledge; Antony said: You have spoken well; for faith comes from a disposition of the soul; but dialectic is from the art of those who compose them. Therefore, for those who possess the working of faith, demonstration by arguments is not necessary, or perhaps even superfluous. For that which we from

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Χριστὸν ἄνθρωπον πεφανερῶσθαι· ὅπου γε ὑμεῖς, ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν χωρίζοντες, φάσκετε πεπλανῆσθαι αὐτὴν καὶ πεπτωκέναι ἀπὸ τῆς ἁψίδος τῶν οὐρανῶν εἰς σῶμα· καὶ εἴθε εἰς ἀνθρώπινον μό νον, καὶ μὴ εἰς τετράποδα καὶ ἑρπετὰ μεταβαίνειν καὶ μεταπίπτειν. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἡμετέρα πίστις ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίαν λέγει· ὑμεῖς δὲ πλανᾶσθε, ὅτι περὶ ἀγεννήτου ψυχῆς ἐξηγεῖσθε. Καὶ ἡμεῖς μὲν τὸ δυνατὸν καὶ φιλάνθρω πον τῆς Προνοίας φρονοῦμεν, ὅτι καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀδύ νατον ἦν τῷ Θεῷ· ὑμεῖς δὲ, εἰκόνα τοῦ νοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν λέγοντες, πτώματα προσάπτετε αὐτῇ, καὶ τρεπτὴν αὐτὴν μυθολογεῖτε· καὶ λοιπὸν καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν νοῦν διὰ τὴν ψυχὴν τρεπτὸν εἰσάγετε. Ὁποία γὰρ ἦν ἡ εἰκὼν, τοιοῦτον ἀνάγκη κἀκεῖνον εἶναι, οὗ ἐστιν ἡ εἰ κών. Ὅτ' ἂν δὲ περὶ τοῦ νοῦ τοιαῦτα νομίζετε, ἐν θυμεῖσθε, ὅτι καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὸν Πατέρα τοῦ νοῦ βλασφημεῖτε. Περὶ δὲ τοῦ σταυροῦ τί βέλτιον ἂν εἴποιτε, ἐπιβουλῆς ἐπαγομένης παρὰ πονηρῶν ὑπομένειν σταυρὸν, καὶ μὴ πτήσσειν τὸν ὅπως δήποτε θάνατον ἐπαγόμενον· ἢ πλάνας Ὀσίριδος καὶ Ἴσιδος, καὶ ἐπιβουλὰς Τυφῶνος, καὶ Κρόνου φυγὴν, καὶ τέκνων καταπόσεις, καὶ πατροκτονίας μυθολογεῖν; Ταῦτα γὰρ ὑμῶν ἐστι τὰ σοφά. Πῶς δὲ, χλευάζοντες τὸν σταυρὸν, οὐ θαυμάζετε τὴν ἀνάστασιν; Οἱ γὰρ τοῦτο εἰπόντες κἀκεῖνο ἔγραψαν. Ἢ διὰ τί, μνημονεύοντες τοῦ σταυροῦ, σιωπᾶτε περὶ τῶν ἐγερθέντων νεκρῶν, καὶ τῶν ἀναβλεψάντων τυφλῶν, καὶ τῶν θεραπευ θέντων παραλυτικῶν, τῶν τε καθαρισθέντων λεπρῶν 26.949 καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν πεζοπορίας, τῶν τε ἄλλων σημείων καὶ τεραστίων, ἅπερ οὐκέτι ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ Θεὸν δείκνυσι τὸν Χριστόν; Πάνυ μοι δοκεῖτε ἀδικεῖν ἑαυτοὺς, καὶ μὴ γνησίως ἐντετυχηκέναι ταῖς Γραφαῖς ἡμῶν. Ἀλλ' ἐντυγχάνετε μὲν ὑμεῖς, καὶ βλέπετε, ὅτι ἃ πεποίηκεν ὁ Χριστὸς, Θεὸν αὐτὸν ἀποδεικνύουσιν, ἐπιδημήσαντα ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τῶν ἀν θρώπων. Εἴπατε δὲ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἡμῖν τὰ ὑμέτερα. Τί δ' ἂν εἴποιτε περὶ τῶν ἀλόγων, ἢ ἀλογίαν καὶ ἀγριότητα; Ἐὰν δὲ, ὡς ἀκούω, θελήσητε λέγειν μυθικῶς λέγε σθαι ταῦτα παρ' ὑμῖν· καὶ ἀλληγορεῖτε ἁρπαγὴν Κόρης εἰς τὴν γῆν, καὶ Ἡφαίστου χωλότητα εἰς τὸ πῦρ, καὶ Ἥραν εἰς τὸν ἀέρα, καὶ Ἀπόλλωνα εἰς τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ Ἄρτεμιν μὲν εἰς τὴν σελήνην, τὸν δὲ Πο σειδῶνα εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν· οὐδὲν ἧττον αὐτὸν οὐ Θεὸν σέβεσθε, ἀλλὰ τῇ κτίσει λατρεύετε παρὰ τὸν τὰ πάντα κτίσαντα Θεόν. Εἰ γὰρ, ὅτι καλὴ ἡ κτίσις, τοιαῦτα συνεθήκατε· ἀλλ' ἔδει μέχρι τοῦ θαυμάσαι μόνον ὑμᾶς γενέσθαι, καὶ μὴ θεοποιῆσαι τὰ ποιήματα· ἵνα μὴ τὴν τοῦ ∆ημιουργοῦ τιμὴν τοῖς γενητοῖς παρέχητε. Ἐπεὶ ὥρα ὑμᾶς καὶ τοῦ ἀρχιτέκτονος τὴν τιμὴν εἰς τὴν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γενομένην οἰκίαν μεταφέρειν, ἢ τὴν τοῦ στρατηγοῦ εἰς τὸν στρατιώτην. Τί τοίνυν πρὸς ταῦτα λέγετε, ἵνα γνῶμεν, εἰ ἄξιόν τι χλεύης ὁ σταυρὸς ἔχει; Ἐκείνων δὲ διαπορούντων, καὶ στρεφομένων ὧδε κἀκεῖσε, μειδιάσας ὁ Ἀντώνιος ἔφη πάλιν δι' ἑρμηνέως· Ταῦτα μὲν καὶ ἀπ' αὐτῆς τῆς ὄψεως ἔχει τὸν ἔλεγχον· ἐπειδὴ δὲ μᾶλλον ὑμεῖς τοῖς ἀπο δεικτικοῖς λόγοις ἐπερείδεσθε, καὶ ταύτην ἔχοντες τὴν τέχνην, βούλεσθε καὶ ἡμᾶς μὴ ἄνευ τῆς διὰ τῶν λόγων ἀποδείξεως θεοσεβεῖν· εἴπατε πρῶτον ὑμεῖς, τὰ πράγματα, καὶ μάλιστα ἡ περὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσις, 26.952 πῶς ἀκριβῶς διαγινώσκεται, δι' ἀποδείξεως λόγων, ἢ δι' ἐνεργείας πίστεως; καὶ τί πρεσβύτερόν ἐστιν, ἡ δι' ἐνεργείας πίστις, ἢ ἡ διὰ λόγων ἀπόδειξις; Τῶν δὲ ἀποκριναμένων, πρεσβυτέραν εἶναι τὴν δι' ἐνερ γείας πίστιν, καὶ ταύτην εἶναι τὴν ἀκριβῆ γνῶσιν· ἔφη ὁ Ἀντώνιος· Καλῶς εἴπατε· ἡ μὲν γὰρ πίστις ἀπὸ διαθέσεως ψυχῆς γίνεται· ἡ δὲ διαλεκτικὴ ἀπὸ τέχνης τῶν συντιθέντων ἐστίν. Οὐκοῦν οἷς πάρεστιν ἡ διὰ πίστεως ἐνέργεια, τούτοις οὐκ ἀναγκαία, ἢ τάχα καὶ περιττὴ ἡ διὰ λόγων ἀπόδειξις. Καὶ γὰρ ὅπερ ἡμεῖς ἐκ

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