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many are readily disposed, but very few are found for cutting out the passions with a chisel and acquiring the all-embracing virtues as an inalienable possession. And by all-embracing virtues we mean humility, the destroyer of the passions and procurer of heavenly and angelic dispassion, and love, which never stands still nor falls, but is always adding to what is ahead, receiving longing upon longing and love upon love, from which perfect discernment is supplied, which guides well both itself and those who follow it and leads them without stumbling across the intelligible sea; which I pray may be granted to you by God and especially now, so that you may discern your affairs in a manner pleasing to God and so act and be zealous (281) as to find Christ both cooperating with you in the present and in the future richly bestowing on you the enjoyment of the illumination from Him, and that you might neither follow the wolf as if he were a shepherd, nor enter a diseased flock, nor be found alone by yourself, so that you might not either be seen to become captured by the soul-destroying wolf, or being sick with disease upon disease you might die spiritually, or falling down alone you might gain the "woe". For the one who has given himself over to a good teacher will care for none of these things, but having lived without anxiety he will be saved in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory forever. Amen.

Discourse 21. (283)

Concerning remembrance of death. And what a good end his thrice-blessed brother Antony was given. And at the end, a funeral oration for him.

Brothers and fathers, I pray to the God who has mercy on me that the things for the salvation

of all may be ordered and our souls be well-directed toward the life there, where brothers and parents who have gone before us await, where our thrice-blessed and happy brother, lord Antony, has departed, having lived his life here well and piously, having repented genuinely, having confessed with toil those things which few of the monks consider sins. For being pure and possessing a heart pure from passionate thoughts, what I consider small and utterly trivial sins that holy man both held and confessed as great sins, since, protected by the grace of God, he went through life a virgin, pure in body and heart. For from when he entered the gate of the monastery and enlisted with Christ, he did not stain the tunic of his flesh or of his soul, not by a coupling of thoughts, not by assent to thoughts, (284) not by any deed, just as to me, sitting near his bed and weeping, he spoke thus: "Why do you weep," he said, "brother? You have not become a denier of faith in God, but as for him, I hope I have kept this faith. And from when I came to this holy monastery—I do not say this boasting, but trusting in God and in the prayer of our holy father—I did not commit a carnal sin. But eating and drinking, I have spent my days in negligence. Nevertheless, to the love for mankind of the God who knows all things I commit myself, and as He will do with my lowliness."

In what, then, are the last words and sayings of the great fathers greater than our brother's? For he made known to us with boldness his purity and virginity, and again he acquired for his own soul the unfailing quality of his humility, keeping even in this the Lord's voice, or rather, command, which says: "When you have done all things, then say that: We are unprofitable servants, we have done what we were obliged to do."

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πλείονες εὐχερῶς ἔχουσιν, εἰς δέ τό καλυθμῷ ἐκκόψαι τά πάθη καί τάς περιεκτικάς ἀρετάς ἀναφαιρέτους κτήσασθαι πάνυ ὀλίγοι εὑρίσκονται. Περιεκτικάς δέ ἀρετάς λέγομεν ταπείνωσιν, τήν τῶν παθῶν ἀναιρέτην καί πρόξενον τῆς οὐρανίου καί ἀγγελικῆς ἀπαθείας, καί ἀγάπην, τήν μηδέποτε ἱσταμένην μήτε πίπτουσαν, ἀλλά διαπαντός προστιθεμένην τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν, πόθῳ πόθον προσλαμβανομένην καί ἔρωτι ἔρωτα, ἐξ ἧς ἡ τελεία χορηγεῖται διάκρισις, ἡ καί ἑαυτήν καί τούς αὐτῇ ἑπομένους καλῶς ὁδηγοῦσα καί ἀπροσκόπτως τήν νοητήν διαβιβάζουσα θάλασσαν· ἥν καί σοί εὔχομαι παρά Θεοῦ δωρηθῆναι καί νῦν μάλιστα, ὅπως θεαρέστως τά κατά σέ διακρίνῃς καί οὕτω ποιήσῃς καί σπουδάσῃς (281) ὥστε Χριστόν εὑρεῖν καί ἐν τῷ νῦν συνεργοῦντά σοι καί ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι πλουσίως τῆς παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐλλάμψεως τήν ἀπόλαυσίν σοι δωρούμενον, καί μήτε ὡς ποιμένι ἀκολουθήσῃς τῷ λύκῳ, μήτε νοσούσῃ ὑπεισέλθῃς ποίμνῃ, μήτε μόνος εὑρεθῇς κατ᾿ ἰδίαν, ἵνα μή ἤ θηριάλωτος ὑπό τοῦ ψυχοφθόρου λύκου ὀφθῇς γενόμενος, ἤ νόσον ἐπί νόσῳ νοσήσας ψυχικῶς τελευτήσῃς, ἤ μόνος τό οὐαί καταπεσών κερδανῇς. Ὁ γάρ ἀγαθῷ ἑαυτόν ἐκδούς διδασκάλῳ οὐδενός τούτων φροντιεῖ, ἀλλ᾿ ἀμερίμνως βιώσας σωθήσεται ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τούς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν.

Λόγος ΚΑ΄. (283)

Περί μνήμης θανάτου. Καί οἷον ἀγαθόν τέλος δέδωκεν ὁ τρισόλβιος αὐτοῦ ἀδελφός Ἀντώνιος. Καί πρός τῷ τέλει, ἐπιτάφιος πρός αὐτόν.

Ἀδελφοί καί πατέρες, εὔχομαι τῷ ἐλεήσαντί με Θεῷ τά ὑπέρ τῆς σωτηρίας

πάντων οἰκονομηθῆναι καί τάς ψυχάς ἡμῶν διευθετηθῆναι πρός τόν ἐκεῖθε βίον καλῶς, ὅπου προλαβόντες ἡμᾶς ἀδελφοί καί γονεῖς ἀναμένουσιν, ὅπου ὁ τρισόλβιος καί μακάριος ἡμῶν ἀδελφός ὁ κῦρις μετῆλθεν Ἀντώνιος, καλῶς καί ὁσίως ἐνταῦθα πολετευσάμενος, μετανοήσας γνησίως, ἐξαγορεύσας ἐμπόνως ἅπερ ὀλίγοι τῶν μοναχῶν λογίζονται ἁμαρτήματα. Καθαρός γάρ τυγχάνων καί τήν καρδίαν καθαράν κεκτημένος ἀπό τῶν ἐμπαθῶν λογισμῶν, τά μικρά ὡς δοκῶ καί παντελῶς ἁμαρτήματα ὁ ἅγιος ἐκεῖνος ὡς ἁμαρτίας μεγάλας καί εἶχε καί ἐξηγόρευεν, ἐπεί Θεοῦ χάριτι σκεπόμενος παρθένος διῆλθε τόν βίον, τῷ σωματι καί τήν καρδίαν ἁγνός. Ἀφ᾿ γάρ τόν τῆς μονῆς εἰσῆλθε πυλῶνα καί τῷ Χριστῷ συνετάξατο, τόν χιτῶνα τῆς σαρκός αὐτοῦ ἤ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐμόλυνεν οὐ συνδυασμῷ ἐννοιῶν, οὐ συγκαταθέσει λογισμῶν, (284) οὐ πράξει τινί, ὥσπερ μοι, πλησίον τῆς κλίνης αὐτοῦ καθεζομένῳ καί κλαίοντι, οὕτως ἐξεῖπε· "Τί κλαίεις, φησίν, ἀδελφέ; Τῆς πρός Θεόν πίστεως οὐ γέγονας ἔξαρνος, ἀλλά ταύτην ὡς ἐκεῖνον, ἐλπίζω, ἐφύλαξα. Καί ἀφ᾿ οὗ ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ παραγενόμην ταύτῃ μονῇ οὐ καυχώμενος λέγω, ἀλλ᾿ εἰς τόν Θεόν θαρρῶν καί εἰς τήν τοῦ ἁγίου πατρός ἡμῶν εὐχήν - σαρκικήν ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἔπραξα. Ἐσθίων δέ καί πίνων, ἐν ἀμελείᾳ διετέλεσα τάς ἠμέρας μου. Πλήν εἰς τήν φιλανθρωπίαν τοῦ τά πάντα εἰδότος Θεοῦ ἐμαυτόν ἀνατίθημι, καί ὡς ποιήσει μετά τῆς ἐμῆς ταπεινώσεως".

Τί τοίνυν τῶν μεγάλων πατέρων τά τελευταῖα ῥήματα καί ἀποφθέγματα τοῦ ἡμετέρου πλείω τυγχάνουσι ἀδελφοῦ; Τήν γάρ ἁγνείαν αὐτοῦ καί παρθενίαν μετά παρρησίας ἡμῖν ἐγνώρισε καί τό τῆς ταπεινώσεως αὐτοῦ πάλιν ἄπτωτον τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῇ περιποιήσατο, φυλάττων κἀντούτῳ τήν ∆εσποτικήν φωνήν ἤ μᾶλλον εἰπεῖν ἐντολήν, τήν λέγουσαν· "Ὅταν πάντα ποιήσητε, τότε λέγετε ὅτι· Ἀχρεῖοι δοῦλοί ἐσμεν, ὅ ὀφείλομεν ποιῆσαι πεποιήκαμεν".