The Life of Anthony

The Life of Antony by Athanasius. Translated by H. Elishaw. Being known to be so great a man, therefore, and having thus given answers to those who visited him, he returned again to the inner mountain and maintained his wanted discipline. And often when people came to him as he was sitting or walking, as it is written in Daniel, he became dumb, and after a season he resumed the thread of what he had been saying before to the brethren who were with him. And his companions perceived that he was seeing a vision, for often when he was on the mountains he saw what was happening in Egypt, and told it to Serapion the bishop, who was indoors with him, and who saw that Antony was wrapped in a vision. Once, as he was sitting and working, he fell, as it were, into a trance, and groaned much at what he saw. Then after a time, having turned to the bystanders with groans and tremblings, he prayed, and falling on his knees, remained so a long time. And having arisen, the old man wept. His companions, therefore trembling and terrified, desired to learn from him what it was. And they troubled him much until he was forced to speak, and with many groans he spoke as follows, O my children, it were better to die before what has appeared in the vision come to pass. And when again they asked him, having burst into tears, he said, Wroth is about to seize the church, and it is on the point of being given up to men who are like senseless beasts. For I saw the table of the Lord's house, and mules standing around it on all sides in a ring, and kicking the things therein, just like a herd kicks when it leaps in confusion. And you saw, said he, how I groaned, for I heard a voice saying, My altar shall be defiled. These things the old man saw. And after two years the present inroad of the Arians and the plunder of the churches took place, when they violently carried off the vessels and made the heathen carry them, and when they forced the heathen from the prisons to join in their services, and in their presence did upon the table as they would. Then we all understood that these kicks of the mules signified to Antony what the Arians, senselessly like beasts, are now doing. But when he saw this vision, he comforted those with him, saying, Be not downcast, my children, for as the Lord has been angry, so again will he heal us, and the church shall soon again receive her own order, and shall shine forth as she is wont. And you shall behold the persecuted restored, and the wickedness again withdrawn to its own hiding-place, and pious faith speaking boldly in every place with all freedom. Only defile not yourselves with the Arians, for their teaching is not that of the apostles, but that of demons and their father the devil. Yea, rather it is barren and senseless, and without light understanding, like the senselessness of these mules. Such are the words of Antony. And we ought not to doubt whether such marvels were wrought by the hand of a man. For it is the promise of the Saviour, when he says, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove thence, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you. And again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, If you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Ask, and you shall receive. John 16.23. And he himself it is who says to his disciples, and to all who believe in him, Heal the sick, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10.8. Antony, at any rate, healed not by commanding, but by prayer and speaking the name of Christ. So that it was clear to all, that it was not he himself who worked, but the Lord, who showed mercy by his means, and healed the sufferers. But Antony's part was only prayer and discipline, for the sake of which he stayed in the mountain, rejoicing in the contemplation of divine things, but grieving when troubled by much people, and dragged to the outer mountain. Fraud judges used to ask him to come down, because it was impossible for them to enter on account of their following of litigants. But nevertheless they asked him to come, that they might but see him. When therefore he avoided it, and refused to go to them, they remained firm, and sent to him all the more the prisoners under charge of soldiers, that on account of these he might come down. Being forced by necessity, and seeing them lamenting, he came into the outer mountain, and again his labour was not unprofitable. For his coming was advantageous and serviceable to many, and he was of profit to the judges, counselling them to prefer justice in all things, to fear God, and to know that with what judgement they judged, they should be judged. But he loved more than all things his sojourn in the mountain. At another time, suffering the same compulsion at the hands of them who had need, and after many entreaties from the commander of the soldiers, he came down, and when he had come, he spoke to them shortly of the things which make for salvation, and concerning those who wanted him, and was hastening away. But when the Duke, as he is called, entreated him to stay, he replied that he could not linger among them, and persuaded him by a pretty simile, saying, Fishes, if they remain long on dry land, die, and so monks lose their strength if they loiter among you, and spend their time with you. Wherefore, as fish must hurry to the sea, so must we hasten to the mountain, lest happily, if we delay, we forget the things within us. And the General, having heard this, and many other things from him, was amazed, and said, Of a truth this man is the servant of God, for unless he were beloved of God, whence could an ignorant man have such great understanding? And a certain General, Belasius by name, persecuted us Christians bitterly on account of his regard for the Arians, that name of Hill Omen. And, as his ruthlessness was so great that he beat virgins and stripped and scourged monks, Antony at this time wrote a letter as follows, and sent it to him, I see wrath coming upon you, wherefore cease to persecute the Christians, lest happily wrath catch hold of you, for even now it is on the point of coming upon you. But Belasius laughed, and threw the letter on the ground, and spit on it, and insulted the bearers, bidding them tell this to Antony, Since you take thought for the monks, soon I will come after you also. And five days had not passed before wrath came upon him. For Belasius and Nestorius, the Prefect of Egypt, went forth to the first halting place from Alexandria, which is called Cariu, and both were on the horseback, and the horses belonged to Belasius, and were the quietest of all his stable. But they had not gone far towards the place, when the horses began to frisk with one another, as they are wont to do, and suddenly the quieter, on which Nestorius sat, with a bite, dismounted Belasius, and attacked him, and tore his thigh so badly with its teeth, that he was borne straight back to the city, and in three days died, and all wondered, because what Antony had foretold had been so speedily fulfilled. Thus, therefore, he warned the cruel. But the rest who came to him, he so instructed, that they straightway forgot their lawsuits, and felicitated those who were in retirement from the world. And he championed those who were wronged in such a way, that you would imagine that he, and not the others, was the sufferer. Further, he was able to be of such use to all, that many soldiers and men, who had great possessions, laid aside the burdens of life, and became monks for the rest of their days. And it was as if a physician had been given by God to Egypt. For who in grief met Antony, and did not return rejoicing? Who came mourning for his dead, and did not immediately put off his sorrow? Who came in anger, and was not converted to friendship? What poor and low-spirited man met him, who, hearing him, and looking upon him, did not despise wealth, and console himself in his poverty? What monk, having been neglectful, came to him, and became not all the stronger? What young man, having come to the mountain, and seen Antony, did not immediately deny himself pleasure and love-temperance? Who, when tempted by a demon, came to him, and did not find rest? And who came troubled with doubts, and did not get quietness of mind? For this was the wonderful thing in Antony's discipline, that, as I said before, having the gift of discerning spirits, he recognized their movements, and was not ignorant, whether any one of them turned his energy and made his attack. And not only was he not deceived by them himself, but cheering those who were troubled with doubts, he taught them how to defeat their plans, telling them of the weakness and craft of those who possessed them. Thus each one, as though prepared by him for battle, came down from the mountain, braving the designs of the devil and his demons. How many maidens, who had suitors, having but seen Antony from afar, remained maidens for Christ's sake! And people came also from foreign parts to him, and like all others, having got some benefit returned, as though set forward by a father. And certainly, when he died, all, as having been bereft of a father, consoled themselves solely by their remembrances of him, preserving at the same time his counsel and advice. It is worthwhile that I should relate, and that you, as you wish it, should hear what his death was like. For this end of his is worthy of imitation. According to his custom, he visited the monks in the outer mountain, and having learned from Providence that his own end was at hand, he said to the brethren, This is my last visit to you which I shall make, and I shall be surprised if we see each other again in this life. At length the time of my departure is at hand, for I am near a hundred and five years old. And when they heard it, they wept, and embraced, and kissed the old man. But he, as though sailing from a foreign city to his own, spoke joyously, and exhorted them not to grow idle in their labours, nor to become faint in their training, but to live as though dying daily. And as he said before, zealously, to guard the soul from foul thoughts, eagerly to imitate the saints, and to have nothing to do with the Miletian schismatics, for you know their wickedness and profane character. Nor have any fellowship with the Arians, for their impiety is clear to all. Nor be disturbed if you see the judges protect them, for it shall cease, and their pomp is mortal and of short duration. Wherefore keep yourselves all the more untainted by them, and observe the traditions of the fathers, and chiefly the holy faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, which you have learned from the scripture, and of which you have often been put in mind by me. But when the brethren were urging him to abide with them and ne'er to die, he suffered it not, for many other reasons, as he showed by keeping silence, and especially for this. The Egyptians are wont to honour with funeral rites, and to wrap in linencloths at death the bodies of good men, and especially the holy martyrs, and not to bury them underground, but to place them on couches, and to keep them in their houses, thinking in this to honour the departed. And Antony often urged the bishops to give commandment to the people on this manner. In like manner he taught the laity, and reproved the women, saying that this thing was neither lawful nor holy at all, for the bodies of the patriarchs and prophets are until now preserved in tombs, and the very body of the Lord was laid in a tomb, and a stone was laid upon it, and hid it until he rose on the third day. And thus saying, he showed that he did not bury the bodies of the dead after death transgressed the law, even though they were sacred, for it is greater or more sacred than the body of the Lord. Many therefore, having heard, henceforth buried the dead underground, and gave thanks to the Lord that they had been taught rightly. But he, knowing the custom, and fearing that his body would be treated this way, hastened, and having bidden farewell to the monks, in the outer mountain, entered the inner mountain, where he was accustomed to abide. And after a few months he fell sick. Having summoned those who were there, they were two in number, who had remained in the mountain fifteen years, practising the discipline and attending on Antony on account of his age, he said to them, I, as it is written in Joshua 23, verse 14, go the way of the fathers. For I perceive that I am called by the Lord. And do you be watchful, and destroy not your long discipline, but as though now making a beginning, zealously preserve your determination. For you know the treachery of the demons, how fierce they are, but how little power they have. Wherefore fear them not, but rather ever breathe Christ, and trust him. Live as though dying daily. Give heed to yourselves, and remember the admonition you have heard from me. Have no fellowship with the schismatics, nor any dealings at all with the heretical Arians. For you know how I shunned them on account of their hostility to Christ, and the strange doctrines of their heresy. Therefore be the more earnest always to the followers first of God and then of the saints, that after death they also may receive you as well-known friends into the eternal habitations. Ponder over these things, and think of them. And if you have any care for me, and are mindful of me as of a father, suffer no one to take my body into Egypt, lest happily they place me in their houses. For to avoid this I entered into the mountain and came here. Moreover you know how I always put to rebuke those who had this custom, and exhorted them to cease from it. Bury my body therefore, and hide it underground yourselves, and let my words be observed by you, that no one may know the place but you alone. For at the resurrection of the dead I shall receive it incorruptible from the Saviour. Divide my garments. To Athanasius the bishop give one sheep-skin and the garment whereon I am laid, which he himself gave me new, but which with me has grown old. To Serapion the bishop give the other sheep-skin, and keep the hair-garment yourselves. For the rest fare ye well, my children, for Antony is departing, and is with you no more." Having said this, when they had kissed him, he lifted up his feet, and as though he saw friends coming to him, and was glad because of them, for as he lay his countenance appeared joyful, he died, and was gathered to the fathers. And they afterward, according to his commandment, wrapped him up and buried him, hiding his body underground, and no one knows to this day where it was buried, save those two only. But each of those who receive the sheep-skin of the blessed Antony, and the garment worn by him, guards it as a precious treasure. For even to look on them is, as it were, to behold Antony, and he who is clothed in them seems with joy to bear his admonitions. This is the end of Antony's life in the body, and the above was the beginning of the discipline. Even if this account is small compared with his merit, still from this reflect how great Antony the man of God was, who from his youth to so great an age preserved a uniform zeal for the discipline, and neither through old age was subdued by the desire of costly food, nor through the infirmity of his body changed the fashion of his clothing, nor washed even his feet with water, and yet remained entirely free from harm. For his eyes were undimmed, and quite sound, and he saw clearly, that of his teeth he had not lost one, but they had become worn to the gums through the great age of the old man. He remained strong both in hands and feet, and while all men were using various foods, and washings, and various garments, he appeared more cheerful and of greater strength. And the fact that his fame has been blazoned everywhere, that all regard him with wonder, and that those who have never seen him long for him, is clear proof of his virtue and God's love of his soul. For not from writings, nor from worldly wisdom, nor through any art, was Antony renowned, but solely from his piety toward God. That this was the gift of God no one will deny, for from whence into Spain, and into Gaul, how into Rome and Africa was the man heard of who abode hidden in a mountain, unless it was God who makes his own known everywhere, who also promised this to Antony at the beginning. For even if they work secretly, even if they wish to remain in obscurity, yet the Lord shows them as lamps to lighten all, that those who hear, may thus know that the precepts of God are able to make men prosper, and thus be zealous in the path of virtue. Read these words, therefore, to the rest of the brethren, that they may learn what the life of monks ought to be, and may believe that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ glorifies those who glorify him, and leads those who serve him unto the end, not only to the kingdom of heaven, but here also, even though they hide themselves and are desirous of withdrawing from the world, makes them illustrious, and well known everywhere on account of their virtue and the help they render others. And if need be, read this among the heathen, that even in this way they may learn that our Lord Jesus Christ is not only God and the Son of God, but also that the Christians who truly serve him and religiously believe in him, prove not only that the demons whom the Greeks themselves think to be gods are no gods, but also tread them under foot and put them to flight, as deceivers and corruptors of mankind, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Translated by H. Ellishaw