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Relevant
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STUDIES (Click on images below.)
 
Athanasius of Alexandria
David M. Gwynn --------------
 
Athanasius
Peter J. Leithart --------------
 
Athanasius: A Theological Introduction
Thomas G. Weinandy --------------
TRANSLATIONS
 
Athanasius
Khaled Anatolios --------------
 
On the Incarnation
John Behr --------------
 
Works on the Spirit
Mark DelCogliano et al. --------------
 
The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellinus
R. C. Gregg --------------
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5. But the devil, who hates and envies what is good, could not
endure to see such a resolution in a youth, but endeavoured to carry out against
him what he had been wont to effect against others. First of all he tried to
lead him away from the discipline, whispering to him the remembrance of his
wealth, care for his sister, claims of kindred, love of money, love of glory,
the various pleasures of the table and the other relaxations of life, and at
last the difficulty of virtue and the labour of it; he suggested also the
infirmity of the body and the length of the time. In a word he raised in his
mind a great dust of debate, wishing to debar him from his settled purpose. But
when the enemy saw himself to be too weak for Antony’s determination, and that
he rather was conquered by the other’s firmness, overthrown by his great faith
and falling through his constant prayers, then at length putting his trust in
the weapons which are ‘in the navel of his belly’ and boasting in them—for they
are his first snare for the young—he attacked the young man, disturbing him by
night and harassing him by day, so that even the onlookers saw the struggle
which was going on between them. The one would suggest foul thoughts and the
other counter them with prayers: the one fire him with lust, the other, as one
who seemed to blush, fortify his body with faith, prayers, and fasting. And the
devil, unhappy wight, one night even took upon him the shape of a woman and
imitated all her acts simply to beguile Antony. But he, his mind filled with
Christ and the nobility inspired by Him, and considering the spirituality of the
soul, quenched the coal of the other’s deceit. Again the enemy suggested the
ease of pleasure. But he like a man filled with rage and grief turned his
thoughts to the threatened fire and the gnawing worm, and setting these in array
against his adversary, passed through the temptation unscathed. All this was a
source of shame to his foe. For he, deeming himself like God, was now mocked by
a young man; and he who boasted himself against flesh and blood was being put to
flight by a man in the flesh. For the Lord was working with Antony—the Lord who
for our sake took flesh and gave the body victory over the devil, so that all
who truly fight can say, ‘not I but the grace of God which was with me.’
6. At last when the dragon could not even thus overthrow Antony, but saw himself
thrust out of his heart, gnashing his teeth as it is written, and as it were
beside himself, he appeared to Antony like a black boy, taking a visible shape
in accordance with the colour of his mind. And cringing to him, as it were, he
plied him with thoughts no longer, for guileful as he was, he had been worsted,
but at last spoke in human voice and said, ‘Many I deceived, many I cast down;
but now attacking thee and thy labours as I had many others, I proved weak.’
When Antony asked, Who art thou who speakest thus with me? he answered with a
lamentable voice, ‘I am the friend of whoredom, and have taken upon me
incitements which lead to it against the young. I am called the spirit of lust.
How many have I deceived who wished to live soberly, how many are the chaste
whom by my incitements I have over-persuaded! I am he on account of whom also
the prophet reproves those who have fallen, saying, “Ye have been caused to err
by the spirit of whoredom.” For by me they have been tripped up. I am he who
have so often troubled thee and have so often been overthrown by thee.’ But
Antony having given thanks to the Lord, with good courage said to him, ‘Thou art
very despicable then, for thou art black-hearted and weak as a child. Henceforth
I shall have no trouble from thee, “for the Lord is my helper, and I shall look
down on mine enemies.”’ Having heard this, the black one straightway fled,
shuddering at the words and dreading any longer even to come near the man.
7. This was Antony’s first struggle against the devil, or rather this victory
was the Saviour’s work in Antony, ‘Who condemned sin in the flesh that the
ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but
after the spirit.’ But neither did Antony, although the evil one had fallen,
henceforth relax his care and despise him; nor did the enemy as though conquered
cease to lay snares for him. For again he went round as a lion seeking some
occasion against him. But Antony having learned from the Scriptures that the
devices of the devil are many, zealously continued the discipline, reckoning
that though the devil had not been able to deceive his heart by bodily pleasure,
he would endeavour to ensnare him by other means. For the demon loves sin.
Wherefore more and more he repressed the body and kept it in subjection, lest
haply having conquered on one side, he should be dragged down on the other. He
therefore planned to accustom himself to a severer mode of life. And many
marvelled, but he himself used to bear the labour easily; for the eagerness of
soul, through the length of time it had abode in him, had wrought a good habit
in him, so that taking but little initiation from others he shewed great zeal in
this matter. He kept vigil to such an extent that he often continued the whole
night without sleep; and this not once but often, to the marvel of others. He
ate once a day, after sunset, sometimes once in two days, and often even in
four. His food was bread and salt, his drink, water only. Of flesh and wine it
is superfluous even to speak, since no such thing was found with the other
earnest men. A rush mat served him to sleep upon, but for the most part he lay
upon the bare ground. He would not anoint himself with oil, saying it behoved
young men to be earnest in training and not to seek what would enervate the
body; but they must accustom it to labour, mindful of the Apostle’s words, ‘when
I am weak, then am I strong.’ ‘For,’ said he, ‘the fibre of the soul is then
sound when the pleasures of the body are diminished.’ And he had come to this
truly wonderful conclusion, ‘that progress in virtue, and retirement from the
world for the sake of it, ought not to be measured by time, but by desire and
fixity of purpose.’ He at least gave no thought to the past, but day by day, as
if he were at the beginning of his discipline, applied greater pains for
advancement, often repeating to himself the saying of Paul: ‘Forgetting the
things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before.’
He was also mindful of the words spoken by the prophet Elias, ‘the Lord liveth
before whose presence I stand to-day.’ For he observed that in saying ‘to-day’
the prophet did not compute the time that had gone by: but daily as though ever
commencing he eagerly endeavoured to make himself fit to appear before God,
being pure in heart and ever ready to submit to His counsel, and to Him alone.
And he used to say to himself that from the life of the great Elias the hermit
ought to see his own as in a mirror.
8. Thus tightening his hold upon himself, Antony departed to the tombs, which
happened to be at a distance from the village; and having bid one of his
acquaintances to bring him bread at intervals of many days, he entered one of
the tombs, and the other having shut the door on him, he remained within alone.
And when the enemy could not endure it, but was even fearful that in a short
time Antony would fill the desert with the discipline, coming one night with a
multitude of demons, he so cut him with stripes that he lay on the ground
speechless from the excessive pain. For he affirmed that the torture had been so
excessive that no blows inflicted by man could ever have caused him such
torment. But by the Providence of God—for the Lord never overlooks them that
hope in Him—the next day his acquaintance came bringing him the loaves. And
having opened the door and seeing him lying on the ground as though dead, he
lifted him up and carried him to the church in the village, and laid him upon
the ground. And many of his kinsfolk and the villagers sat around Antony as
round a corpse. But about midnight he came to himself and arose, and when he saw
them all asleep and his comrade alone watching, he motioned with his head for
him to approach, and asked him to carry him again to the tombs without waking
anybody.
9. He was carried therefore by the man, and as he was wont, when the door was
shut he was within alone. And he could not stand up on account of the blows, but
he prayed as he lay. And after he had prayed, he said with a shout, Here am I,
Antony; I flee not from your stripes, for even if you inflict more nothing shall
separate me from the love of Christ. And then he sang, ‘though a camp be set
against me, my heart shall not be afraid.’ These were the thoughts and words of
this ascetic. But the enemy, who hates good, marvelling that after the blows he
dared to return, called together his hounds and burst forth, ‘Ye see,’ said he,
‘that neither by the spirit of lust nor by blows did we stay the man, but that
he braves us, let us attack him in another fashion.’ But changes of form for
evil are easy for the devil, so in the night they made such a din that the whole
of that place seemed to be shaken by an earthquake, and the demons as if
breaking the four walls of the dwelling seemed to enter through them, coming in
the likeness of beasts and creeping things. And the place was on a sudden filled
with the forms of lions, bears, leopards, bulls, serpents, asps, scorpions, and
wolves, and each of them was moving according to his nature. The lion was
roaring, wishing to attack, the bull seeming to toss with its horns, the serpent
writhing but unable to approach, and the wolf as it rushed on was restrained;
altogether the noises of the apparitions, with their angry ragings, were
dreadful. But Antony, stricken and goaded by them, felt bodily pains severer
still. He lay watching, however, with unshaken soul, groaning from bodily
anguish; but his mind was clear, and as in mockery he said, ‘If there had been
any power in you, it would have sufficed had one of you come, but since the Lord
hath made you weak, you attempt to terrify me by numbers: and a proof of your
weakness is that you take the shapes of brute beasts.’ And again with boldness
he said, ‘If you are able, and have received power against me, delay not to
attack; but if you are unable, why trouble me in vain? For faith in our Lord is
a seal and a wall of safety to us.’ So after many attempts they gnashed their
teeth upon him, because they were mocking themselves rather than him.
10. Nor was the Lord then forgetful of Antony’s wrestling, but was at hand to
help him. So looking up he saw the roof as it were opened, and a ray of light
descending to him. The demons suddenly vanished, the pain of his body
straightway ceased, and the building was again whole. But Antony feeling the
help, and getting his breath again, and being freed from pain, besought the
vision which had appeared to him, saying, ‘Where wert thou? Why didst thou not
appear at the beginning to make my pains to cease?’ And a voice came to him,
‘Antony, I was here, but I waited to see thy fight; wherefore since thou hast
endured, and hast not been worsted, I will ever be a succour to thee, and will
make thy name known everywhere.’ Having heard this, Antony arose and prayed, and
received such strength that he perceived that he had more power in his body than
formerly. And he was then about thirty-five years old.
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.
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, 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 ye 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.’
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.
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 divers 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 maketh 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.
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 on 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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