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again each one returns, zealously depositing the honey of virtue in the beehives of their hearts, and cultivating a most sweet fruit worthy of the heavenly table. But others pursue the cenobitic life; who, having gathered together in large crowds in the same place, have placed themselves under one leader and superior, the most distinguished of all, having slaughtered their every will with the sword of obedience; and having willingly considered themselves purchased slaves, they no longer live for themselves, but for him to whom they subjected themselves through the love of Christ; or rather, to speak more properly, they no longer live for themselves, but Christ lives in them, whom they followed, having denied all things. For this is withdrawal, a voluntary hatred of the world, and a denial of nature out of a longing for those things which are above nature. These, therefore, live as angels upon the earth, singing psalms and hymns to the Lord with one accord, and being named confessors by the struggles of obedience; in whom also the Lord's saying is fulfilled. For he says: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them," not limiting the gathering in His name to this number, but 180 through the two or three indicating an indefinite number. For whether few or many are gathered for His holy name, serving him with a fiery longing, we believe Him to be present there in the midst of His servants. In these ways and by such disciplines the earthly and men of dust have emulated the life of the heavenly beings, in fastings and prayers and vigils, in fervent tears and undistracted mourning, in exile and remembrance of death, in meekness and freedom from anger, in silence of the lips, in having no possessions and in poverty, in purity and chastity, in a humble mind and tranquility, in perfect love towards God and neighbor, having completed the present life and having become angels in their ways. wherefore God adorned them with wonders and signs and various powers, and he has caused the report of their wonderful way of life to resound to the ends of the inhabited world. And if I were to bring to my lips and relate to you in part the life of one of them, who is also said to have become the founder of the monastic way of life (and Antony is his name), you will surely know from the one tree the sweetness of the kindred and similar fruits, and what sort of foundation of asceticism he laid, and what sort of roof he constructed, and what gifts he was deemed worthy to receive from the Savior. And many others after him, having competed in the same contest, obtained similar crowns and prizes. Blessed and thrice-blessed are these who have loved God, and for the love of Him have despised all things. For they wept, mourning day and night, that they might obtain the 182 unceasing consolation; they humbled themselves willingly, that they might be exalted there; they wasted away their own flesh with hunger and thirst and vigils that the delight and exultation of paradise might receive them there; they became a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit by the purity of their heart, as it is written: "I will dwell in them and walk among them;" they crucified themselves to the world, that they might stand at the right hand of the Crucified One; they girded their loins in truth, and always had their lamps ready, awaiting the coming of the immortal bridegroom. For having acquired spiritual eyes, they continually foresaw that dreadful hour, and the contemplation of the good things to come and of eternal punishment they kept inseparable from their hearts; and they hastened to toil, that they might not fail to attain eternal glory. they have become passionless like angels; and now they dance with those whose life they also imitated. blessed and thrice-blessed are these, because with the unerring eyes of the mind they perceived the vanity of present things, and the unstable and uneven nature of human prosperity, and, this

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πάλιν ἕκαστος ἐπανέρχονται, τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς μέλι τοῖς σίμβλοις τῶν καρδιῶν φιλοτίμως ἐναποτιθέντες, καὶ γεωργοῦντες καρπὸν γλυκύτατον καὶ τῆς ἐπουρανίου τραπέζης ἐπάξιον. Ἄλλοι δὲ κοινοβιακὸν μετέρχονται βίον· οἵτινες, πλήθη πολυάνθρωπα ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ἀθροισθέντες, ὑφ' ἑνὶ ταξιάρχῃ καὶ προεστῶτι, τῷ πάντων διαφορωτάτῳ, ἑαυτοὺς ἔταξαν, πᾶν θέλημα ἑαυτῶν μαχαίρᾳ τῆς ὑπακοῆς ἀποσφάξαντες· καὶ δούλους ὠνητοὺς ἑαυτοὺς ἑκουσίως λογισάμενοι, οὐκ ἔτι ἑαυτοῖς ζῶσιν, ἀλλ' ᾧ διὰ τὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ πόθον ἑαυτοὺς καθυπέταξαν· οἰκειότερον δὲ μᾶλλον εἰπεῖν, ζῶσιν οὐκ ἔτι ἑαυτοῖς, ζῇ δὲ ἐν αὐτοῖς ὁ Χριστός, ᾧ ἠκολούθησαν πάντα ἀπαρνησάμενοι. τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ἀναχώρησις, κόσμου ἑκούσιον μῖσος, καὶ ἄρνησις φύσεως πόθῳ τῶν ὑπὲρ φύσιν. οὗτοι τοίνυν ὡς ἄγγελοι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς πολιτεύονται, ψαλμοὺς καὶ ὕμνους ὁμοθυμαδὸν τῷ Κυρίῳ ᾄδοντες, καὶ ὁμολογηταὶ τοῖς ἄθλοις τῆς ὑπακοῆς χρηματίζοντες· ἐφ' οἷς καὶ τὸ δεσποτικὸν πληροῦται λόγιον. φησὶ γάρ· Ὅπου εἰσὶ δύο ἢ τρεῖς συνηγμένοι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα, ἐκεῖ εἰμὶ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν, οὐκ εἰς τοῦτο τὸ μέτρον τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ συναγωγὴν περικλείσας, ἀλλὰ 180 διὰ τῶν δύο ἢ τριῶν ἀδιόριστον τὸν ἀριθμὸν δηλώσας. εἴτε γὰρ ὀλίγοι, εἴτε πολλοὶ διὰ τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ συναχθῶσιν ὄνομα, αὐτῷ διαπύρῳ λατρεύοντες πόθῳ, ἐκεῖ παρεῖναι τοῦτον πιστεύομεν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν αὐτοῦ δούλων. Τούτοις τοῖς τύποις καὶ ταῖς τοιαύταις ἀγωγαῖς οἱ γήϊνοι καὶ χοϊκοὶ τὸν βίον ἐζήλωσαν τῶν οὐρανίων, ἐν νηστείαις καὶ εὐχαῖς καὶ ἀγρυπνίαις, ἐν δάκρυσι θερμοῖς καὶ ἀμετεωρίστῳ πένθει, ἐν ξενιτείᾳ καὶ μνήμῃ θανάτου, ἐν πραότητι καὶ ἀοργησίᾳ, ἐν σιωπῇ χειλέων, ἐν ἀκτημοσύνῃ καὶ πτωχείᾳ, ἐν ἁγνείᾳ καὶ σωφροσύνῃ, ἐν ταπεινόφρονι γνώμῃ καὶ ἡσυχίᾳ, ἐν ἀγάπῃ τελείᾳ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τὸν πλησίον, τὸν παρόντα ἐκτελέσαντες βίον καὶ ἄγγελοι τοῖς τρόποις γενόμενοι. ὅθεν Θεὸς θαύμασι καὶ σημείοις καὶ ποικίλαις δυνάμεσιν αὐτοὺς κατεκόσμησε, καὶ τὸν φθόγγον τῆς θαυμαστῆς αὐτῶν πολιτείας εἰς τὰ πέρατα διηχεῖσθαι τῆς οἰκουμένης πεποίηκε. καὶ εἴπερ σοι τὸν βίον ἑνὸς αὐτῶν ἐπὶ στόματος φέρων κατὰ μέρος διηγήσομαι, ὃς καὶ ἀρχηγὸς γεγενῆσθαι τῆς κατὰ μοναχοὺς πολιτείας λέγεται (Ἀντώνιος δὲ ὄνομα αὐτῷ), γνώσῃ πάντως ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς δένδρου τῶν ὁμογενῶν καὶ ὁμοειδῶν καρπῶν τὴν γλυκύτητα, καὶ οἵαν ἐκεῖνος ἔθετο τῆς ἀσκήσεως ὑποβάθραν, οἵαν δὲ τὴν ὀροφὴν ἐπήξατο, καὶ ὁποίων ἠξιώθη παρὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος τυχεῖν χαρισμάτων. πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι μετ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν ἴσον ἀγωνισάμενοι ἀγῶνα τῶν ὁμοίων ἔτυχον στεφάνων τε καὶ γερῶν. Μακάριοι οὗτοι καὶ τρισμακάριοι οἱ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγαπήσαντες, καὶ διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην αὐτοῦ καταφρονήσαντες πάντων. ἐδάκρυσαν γὰρ πενθοῦντες ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός, ἵνα τῆς ἀλήκτου τύχωσι 182 παρακλήσεως· ἐταπείνωσαν ἑαυτοὺς ἑκουσίως, ἵν' ἐκεῖ ὑψωθῶσι· κατέτηξαν τὰς ἑαυτῶν σάρκας πείνῃ τε καὶ δίψῃ καὶ ἀγρυπνίᾳ ἵν' ἐκεῖ διαδέξηται αὐτοὺς ἡ τρυφὴ καὶ ἀγαλλίασις τοῦ παραδείσου· σκήνωμα γεγόνασι τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος τῇ καθαρότητι τῆς καρδίας, καθὼς γέγραπται· Ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω· ἐσταύρωσαν ἑαυτοὺς τῷ κόσμῳ, ἵν' ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ σταυρωθέντος σταθῶσι· περιεζώσαντο τὰς ὀσφύας αὐτῶν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ ἑτοίμους ἔσχον ἀεὶ τὰς λαμπάδας, προσδοκῶντες τὴν ἔλευσιν τοῦ ἀθανάτου νυμφίου. νοεροὺς γὰρ κτησάμενοι ὀφθαλμούς, προεώρων διηνεκῶς τὴν φρικτὴν ὥραν ἐκείνην, τήν τε θεωρίαν τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν καὶ τῆς αἰωνίου κολάσεως ἀχώριστον τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἔσχον καρδίας· καὶ ἐσπούδασαν καμεῖν, ἵνα τῆς ἀϊδίου δόξης μὴ ἀποτύχωσι. γεγόνασιν ἀπαθεῖς ὥσπερ ἄγγελοι· καὶ νῦν μετ' ἐκείνων χορεύουσιν, ὧν καὶ τὸν βίον ἐμιμήσαντο. μακάριοι οὗτοι καὶ τρισμακάριοι, ὅτι ἀπλανέσι τοῖς τοῦ νοὸς ὀφθαλμοῖς κατενόησαν τὴν τῶν παρόντων ματαιότητα, καὶ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης εὐπραγίας τὸ ἄστατον καὶ ἀνώμαλον, καί, ταύτην