How he confuted the
philosophers by healing certain vexed with demons.
80. 'And these signs are sufficient to prove that the faith of Christ
alone is the true religion. But see! You still do not believe and are seeking
for arguments. We however make our proof "not in the persuasive words of
Greek wisdom 1 Corinthians 2:4 " as our teacher has it, but we persuade by
the faith which manifestly precedes argumentative proof. Behold there are here
some vexed with demons;'— now there were certain who had come to him very
disquieted by demons, and bringing them into the midst he said —'Do you cleanse
them either by arguments and by whatever art or magic you choose, calling upon
your idols, or if you are unable, put away your strife with us and you shall
see the power of the Cross of Christ.' And having said this he called upon
Christ, and signed the sufferers two or three times with the sign of the Cross.
And immediately the men stood up whole, and in their right mind, and
immediately gave thanks unto the Lord. And the philosophers, as they are
called, wondered, and were astonished exceedingly at the understanding of the
man and at the sign which had been wrought. But Antony said, 'Why marvel ye at
this? We are not the doers of these things, but it is Christ who works them by
means of those who believe in Him. Believe, therefore, also yourselves, and you
shall see that with us there is no trick of words, but faith through love which
is wrought in us towards Christ; which if you yourselves should obtain you will
no longer seek demonstrative arguments, but will consider faith in Christ
sufficient.' These are the words of Antony. And they marvelling at this also,
saluted him and departed, confessing the benefit they had received from him.
How the Emperors wrote to
Antony, and of his answer.
81. And the fame of Antony came even unto kings. For Constantine Augustus,
and his sons Constantius and Constans the Augusti wrote letters to him, as to a
father, and begged an answer from him. But he made nothing very much of the
letters, nor did he rejoice at the messages, but was the same as he had been
before the Emperors wrote to him. But when they brought him the letters he
called the monks and said, 'Do not be astonished if an emperor writes to us,
for he is a man; but rather wonder that God wrote the Law for men and has
spoken to us Hebrews 1:2 through His own Son.' And so he was unwilling to
receive the letters, saying that he did not know how to write an answer to such
things. But being urged by the monks because the emperors were Christians, and
lest they should take offense on the ground that they had been spurned, he
consented that they should be read, and wrote an answer approving them because
they worshipped Christ, and giving them counsel on things pertaining to
salvation: 'not to think much of the present, but rather to remember the
judgment that is coming, and to know that Christ alone was the true and Eternal
King.' He begged them to be merciful and to give heed to justice and the poor.
And they having received the answer rejoiced. Thus he was dear to all, and all
desired to consider him as a father.
How he saw in a vision the
present doings of the Arians.
82. 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 wonted 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 trembling, 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, 'Wrath 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 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.'
That his healings were done by
Christ alone, through prayer.
83. 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 hence and it shall remove; and nothing shall be
impossible unto you Matthew 17:20.' And again, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you,
if you shall ask the father in My name He will give it 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.'
84. 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. For all 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 to all things; to fear God, and to know,
'that with what judgment they judged, they should be judged Matthew 7:2.' But
he loved more than all things his sojourn in the mountain.
How wisely he answered a
certain duke.
85. 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 haply 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?'
Of the Duke Balacius, and how,
warned by Antony, he met with a miserable end.
86. And a certain general, Balacius by name, persecuted us Christians
bitterly on account of his regard for the Arians— that name of ill-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
haply wrath catch hold of you, for even now it is on the point of coming upon
you.' But Balacius 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 Balacius and Nestorius, the Prefect of
Egypt , went forth to the first halting-place from Alexandria, which is called
Chæreu, and both were on horseback, and the horses belonged to Balacius, 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
Balacius, 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.
How he bore the infirmities of
the weak, and of his great benefits to all Egypt.
87. 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 being 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?
Of his discernment, and how he
was a counsellor to all.
88. For this was the wonderful thing in Antony's discipline, that, as
I said before, having the gift of discerning spirits, he recognised their
movements, and was not ignorant whither 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.
How, when now 105 years old, he
counselled the monks, and gave advice concerning burial.
89. It is worth while 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 had said before, zealously to
guard the soul from foul thoughts, eagerly to imitate the Saints, and to have
nought to do with the Meletian schismatics, for you know their wicked 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.'
90. But when the brethren were urging him to abide with them and there
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 linen cloths at death the bodies of good men, and
especially of 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 matter. 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 who did
not bury the bodies of the dead after death transgressed the law, even though
they were sacred. For what 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.
Of his sickness and his last
will.
91. 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 Joshua 23:14, 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 be 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 haply they place me in the 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. And divide my
garments. To Athanasius the bishop give one sheepskin 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 sheepskin, and keep the hair garment
yourselves. For the rest fare ye well, my children, for Antony is departing,
and is with you no more.'
Of Antony's death.
92. 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 received the sheepskin
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.
How Antony remained hale until
his death, and how the fame of him filled all the world.
93. 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; 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 towards 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.
The end.
94. 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 corrupters of mankind, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
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