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Advice and
Assistance for Visitors
54. And once being asked by the monks to come down and visit them and
their abodes after a time, he journeyed with those who came to him. And
a camel carried the loaves and the water for them. For all that desert
is dry, and there is no water at all that is fit to drink, save in that
mountain from whence they drew the water, and in which Antony's cell
was. So when the water failed them on their way, and the heat was very
great, they all were in danger. For having gone round the neighbourhood
and finding no water, they could walk no further, but lay on the ground
and despairing of themselves, let the camel go. But the old man seeing
that they were all in jeopardy, groaning in deep grief, departed a
little way from them, and kneeling down he stretched forth his hands
and prayed. And immediately the Lord made water to well forth where he
had stood praying, and so all drank and were revived. And having filled
their bottles they sought the camel and found her, for the rope
happened to have caught in a stone and so was held fast. Having led it
and watered it they placed the bottles on its back and finished their
journey in safety. And when he came to the outer cells all saluted him,
looking on him as a father. And he too, as though bringing supplies
from the mountain, entertained them with his words and gave them a
share of help. And again there was joy in the mountains, zeal for
improvement and consolation through their mutual faith. Antony also
rejoiced when he beheld the earnestness of the monks, and his sister
grown old in virginity, and that she herself also was the leader of
other virgins.
55. So after certain days he went in again to the mountain. And
henceforth many resorted to him, and others who were suffering ventured
to go in. To all the monks therefore who came to him, he continually
gave this precept: “Believe on the Lord and love Him; keep yourselves
from filthy thoughts and fleshly pleasures, and as it is written in the
Proverbs, be not deceived ‘by the fulness of the belly.’ Pray
continually; avoid vainglory; sing psalms before sleep and on awaking;
hold in your heart the commandments of Scripture; be mindful of the
works of the saints that your souls being put in remembrance of the
commandments may be brought into harmony with the zeal of the saints.”
And especially he counselled them to meditate continually on the
apostle's word, “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” And he
considered this was spoken of all commandments in common, and that not
on wrath alone, but not on any other sin of ours, ought the sun to go
down. For it was good and needful that neither the sun should condemn
us for an evil by day nor the moon for a sin by night, or even for an
evil thought. That this state may be preserved in us it is good to hear
the apostle and keep his words, for he says, “Try your own selves and
prove your own selves .” Daily, therefore, let each one take from
himself the tale of his actions both by day and night; and if he have
sinned, let him cease from it; while if he have not, let him not be
boastful. But let him abide in that which is good, without being
negligent, nor condemning his neighbours, nor justifying himself,
“until the Lord come who searches out hidden things ,” as saith the
blessed apostle Paul. For often unawares we do things that we know not
of but the Lord sees all things. Wherefore committing the judgment to
Him, let us have sympathy one with another. Let us bear each other's
burdens, but let us examine our own selves and hasten to fill up that
in which we are lacking. And as a safeguard against sin let the
following be observed. Let us each one note and write down our actions
and the impulses of our soul as though we were going to relate them to
each other. And be assured that if we should be utterly ashamed to have
them known, we shall abstain from sin and harbor no base thoughts in
our mind. For who wishes to be seen while sinning? or who will not
rather lie after the commission of a sin, through the wish to escape
notice? As then while we are looking at one another, we would not
commit carnal sin, so if we record our thoughts as though about to tell
them to one another, we shall the more easily keep ourselves free from
vile thoughts through shame lest they should be known. Wherefore let
that which is written be to us in place of the eyes of our fellow
hermits, that blushing as much to write as if we had been caught, we
may never think of what is unseemly. Thus fashioning ourselves we shall
be able to keep the body in subjection, to please the Lord, and to
trample on the devices of the enemy.
56. This was the advice he gave to those who came to him. And with
those who suffered he sympathised and prayed. And oft-times the Lord
heard him on behalf of many: yet he boasted not because he was heard,
nor did he murmur if he were not. But always he gave the Lord thanks
and besought the sufferer to be patient, and to know that healing
belonged neither to him nor to man at all, but only to the Lord, who
does good when and to whom He will. The sufferers therefore used to
receive the words of the old man as though they were a cure, learning
not to be downhearted but rather to be long-suffering. And those who
were healed were taught not to give thanks to Antony but to God alone.
57. Wherefore a man, Fronto by name, who was an officer of the Court
and had a terrible disease, for he used to bite his own tongue and was
in danger of injury to his eyes, having come to the mountain, asked
Antony to pray for him. But Antony said to him, “Depart and thou shalt
be healed.” But when he was violent and remained within some days,
Antony waited and said, “If thou stayest here, thou canst not be
healed. Go, and having come into Egypt thou shall see the sign wrought
in thee.” And he believed and went. And as soon as he set eyes on Egypt
his sufferings ceased, and the man became whole according to the word
of Antony, which the Savior had revealed to him in prayer.
58. There was also a maiden from Busiris Tripolitana, who had a
terrible and very hideous disorder. For the runnings of her eyes, nose,
and ears fell to the ground and immediately became worms. She was
paralysed also and squinted. Her parents having heard of monks going to
Antony, and believing on the Lord who healed the woman with the issue
of blood, asked to be allowed, together with their daughter, to journey
with them. And when they suffered them, the parents together with the
girl, remained outside the mountain with Paphnutius, the confessor and
monk; but the monks went in to Antony. And when they only wished to
tell about the damsel, he anticipated them, and detailed both the
sufferings of the child and how she journeyed with them. Then when they
asked that she should be admitted, Antony did not allow it, but said,
“Go, and if she be not dead, you will find her healed: for the
accomplishment of this is not mine, that she should come to me,
wretched man that I am, but her healing is the work of the Saviour, who
in every place shows His pity to them that call upon Him. Wherefore the
Lord hath inclined to her as she prayed, and His loving-kindness hath
declared to me that He will heal the child where she now is.” So the
wonder took place; and going out they found the parents rejoicing and
the girl whole.
59. But when two brethren were coming to him, the water failed on the
way, and one died and the other was at the point of death, for he had
no strength to go on, but lay upon the ground expecting to die. But
Antony sitting in the mountain called two monks, who chanced to be
there, and urged them saying, “Take a pitcher of water and run on the
road towards Egypt. For of two men who were coming, one is already dead
and the other will die unless you hasten. For this has been revealed to
me as I was praying.” The monks therefore went, and found one lying
dead, whom they buried, and the other they restored with water and led
him to the old man. For it was a day's journey. But if any one asks,
why he did not speak before the other died, the question ought not to
be asked. For the punishment of death was not Antony's but God's, who
also judged the one and revealed the condition of the other. But the
marvel here was only in the case of Antony: that he sitting in the
mountain had his heart watchful, and had the Lord to show him things
afar off.
60. And this is so, for once again he was sitting on the mountain, and
looking up saw in the air some one being borne upwards, and there was
much joy among those who met him. Then wondering and deeming a company
of that kind to be blessed, he prayed to learn what this might be. And
immediately a voice came to him: “This is the soul of Amun, the monk at
Nitria.” Now Amun had persevered in the discipline up to old age; and
the distance from Nitria to the mountain where Antony was, was thirteen
days” journey. The companions of Antony therefore, seeing the old man
amazed, asked to learn, and heard that Amun was just dead. And he was
well known, for he had stayed there very often, and many signs had been
wrought by his means. And this is one of them. Once when he had need to
cross the river called Lycus (now it was the season of the flood), he
asked his comrade Theodorus to remain at a distance, that they should
not see one another naked as they swam the water. Then when Theodorus
was departed he again felt ashamed even to see himself naked. While,
therefore, he was pondering filled with shame, on a sudden he was borne
over to the other side. Theodorus, therefore, himself being a good man,
approached, and seeing Amun across first without a drop of water
falling from him, enquired how he had got over. And when he saw that
Amun was unwilling to tell him, he held him by the feet and declared
that he would not let him go before he had learned it from him. So Amun
seeing the determination of Theodorus especially from what he had said,
and having asked him to tell no man before his death, told him that he
had been carried and placed on the further side. And that he had not
even set foot on the water, nor was that possible for man, but for the
Lord alone and those whom He permits, as He did for the great apostle
Peter. Theodorus therefore told this after the death of Amun. And the
monks to whom Antony spoke concerning Amun's death marked the day; and
when the brethren came up from Nitria thirty days after, they enquired
of them and learned that Amun had fallen asleep at that day and hour in
which the old man had seen his soul borne upwards. And both these and
the others marvelled at the purity of Antony's soul, how he had
immediately learned that which was taking place at a distance of
thirteen days” journey, and had seen the soul as it was taken up.
61. And Archelaus too, the Count, on a time having found him in the
outer mountain, asked him merely to pray for Polycratia of Laodicea, an
excellent and Christian maiden, for she suffered terribly in the
stomach and side through over much discipline, and was altogether
weakly of body. Antony prayed therefore, and the Count noted the day in
which the prayer was made, and having departed to Laodicea he found the
maiden whole. And having enquired when and on what day she was relieved
of her infirmity, he produced the paper on which he had written the
time of the prayer, and having read it he immediately shewed the
writing on the paper. And all wondered when they knew that the Lord had
relieved her of pain at the time when Antony was praying and invoking
the goodness of the Savior on her behalf.
62. And concerning those who came to him, he often foretold some days
or sometimes a month beforehand what was the cause of their coming. For
some came only for the sake of seeing him, others through sickness, and
others suffering from evil spirits. And all thought the labor of the
journey neither trouble nor loss. For each one returned aware that he
had received benefit. But though saying such things and beholding such
sights, he used to ask that no one should wonder at him for this; but
should rather marvel at the Lord for having granted to us men to know
Him as far as our powers extended.
63. Afterwards, on another occasion, having descended to the outer
cells, he was asked to enter a vessel and pray with the monks, and he
alone perceived an exceedingly unpleasant smell. But those on board
said that the stench arose from the fish and salt meat in the ship. He
replied however, the smell was different from that; and while he was
speaking, a youth with an evil spirit, who had come and hidden himself
in the ship, cried out. But the demon being rebuked in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ departed from him, and the man became whole. And all
knew that the evil smell arose from the demon.
64. And another, a person of rank, came to him, possessed by a demon;
and the demon was so terrible that the man possessed did not know that
he was coming to Antony. But he even ate the excreta from his body. So
those who brought him besought Antony to pray for him. And Antony
pitying the young man prayed and kept watch with him all the night. And
about dawn the young man suddenly attacked Antony and gave him a push.
But when those who came with him were angry, Antony said, “Be not angry
with the young man, for it is not he, but the demon which is in him.
And being rebuked and commanded to go into dry places, the demon became
raging mad, and he has done this. Wherefore give thanks to the Lord,
for his attack on me thus is a sign of the departure of the evil
spirit.” When Antony had said this, straightway the young man had
become whole, and having come at last to his right mind, knew where he
was, and saluted the old man and gave thanks to God.
65. And many monks have related with the greatest agreement and
unanimity that many other such like things were done by him. But still
these do not seem as marvellous as certain other things appear to be.
For once, when about to eat, having risen up to pray about the ninth
hour, he perceived that he was caught up in the spirit, and, wonderful
to tell, he stood and saw himself, as it were, from outside himself,
and that he was led in the air by certain ones. Next certain bitter and
terrible beings stood in the air and wished to hinder him from passing
through. But when his conductors opposed them, they demanded whether he
was not accountable to them. And when they wished to sum up the account
from his birth, Antony's conductors stopped them, saying, “The Lord
hath wiped out the sins from his birth, but from the time he became a
monk, and devoted himself to God, it is permitted you to make a
reckoning.” Then when they accused him and could not convict him, his
way was free and unhindered. And immediately he saw himself, as it
were, coming and standing by himself, and again he was Antony as
before. Then forgetful of eating, he remained the rest of the day and
through the whole of the night groaning and praying. For he was
astonished when he saw against what mighty opponents our wrestling is,
and by what labours we have to pass through the air. And he remembered
that this is what the Apostle said, “according to the prince of the
power of the air .” For in it the enemy hath power to fight and to
attempt to hinder those who pass through. Wherefore most earnestly he
exhorted, “Take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day ,” that the enemy, “having no evil thing to
say against us, may be ashamed .” And we who have learned this, let us
be mindful of the Apostle when he says, “whether in the body I know
not, or whether out of the body I know not; God knows .” But Paul was
caught up unto the third heaven, and having heard things unspeakable he
came down; while Antony saw that he had come to the air, and contended
until he was free.
66. And he had also this favor granted him. For as he was sitting alone
on the mountain, if ever he was in perplexity in his meditations, this
was revealed to him by Providence in prayer. And the happy man, as it
is written, was taught of God. After this, when he once had a
discussion with certain men who had come to him concerning the state of
the soul and of what nature its place will be after this life, the
following night one from above called him, saying, “Antony, rise, go
out and look.” Having gone out therefore (for he knew whom he ought to
obey) looking up, he beheld one standing and reaching to the clouds,
tall, hideous, and fearful, and others ascending as though they were
winged. And the figure stretched forth his hands, and some of those who
were ascending were stayed by him, while others flew above, and having
escaped heavenward, were borne aloft free from care. At such,
therefore, the giant gnashed his teeth, but rejoiced over those who
fell back. And forthwith a voice came to Antony, “Understandest thou
what thou seest?” And his understanding was opened, and he understood
that it was the passing of souls, and that the tall being who stood was
the enemy who envies the faithful. And those whom he caught and stopped
from passing through are accountable to him, while those whom he was
unable to hold as they passed upwards had not been subservient to him.
So having seen this, and as it were being reminded, he struggled the
more daily to advance towards those things which were before. And these
visions he was unwilling to tell, but as he spent much time in prayer,
and was amazed, when those who were with him pressed him with questions
and forced him, he was compelled to speak, as a father who cannot
withhold ought from his children. And he thought that as his conscience
was clear, the account would be beneficial for them, that they might
learn that discipline bore good fruit, and that visions were oftentimes
the solace of their labours.
67. Added to this he was tolerant in disposition and humble in spirit.
For though he was such a man, he observed the rule of the Church most
rigidly, and was willing that all the clergy should be honoured above
himself. For he was not ashamed to bow his head to bishops and
presbyters, and if ever a deacon came to him for help he discoursed
with him on what was profitable, but gave place to him in prayer, not
being ashamed to learn himself. For often he would ask questions, and
desired to listen to those who were present, and if any one said
anything that was useful he confessed that he was profited. And
besides, his countenance had a great and wonderful grace. This gift
also he had from the Saviour. For if he were present in a great company
of monks, and any one who did not know him previously, wished to see
him, immediately coming forward he passed by the rest, and hurried to
Antony, as though attracted by his appearance. Yet neither in height
nor breadth was he conspicuous above others, but in the serenity of his
manner and the purity of his soul. For as his soul was free from
disturbances, his outward appearance was calm; so from the joy of his
soul he possessed a cheerful countenance, and from his bodily movements
could be perceived the condition of his soul, as it is written, “When
the heart is merry the countenance is cheerful, but when it is
sorrowful it is cast down .” Thus Jacob recognised the counsel Laban
had in his heart, and said to his wives, “The countenance of your
father is not as it was yesterday and the day before .” Thus Samuel
recognised David, for he had mirthful eyes, and teeth white as milk.
Thus Antony was recognised, for he was never disturbed, for his soul
was at peace; he was never downcast, for his mind was joyous.
Preface
Part I: Antony's Youth
and First Struggles with Demons
Part II: He Dwells
Among the Tombs
Part III: He Goes to
the Desert
Part IV: His Sermon to
the Young Men
Part V: His Life in
the Desert
Part VI: He Goes to
the Inner Desert
Part VII: Advice and Assistance for Visitors
Part VIII: His
Discourses Against Schismatics, Arians, and Pagans
Part IX: His Growing
Fame
Part X: His Death
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