:CO THE PARADISE OF THE HOLY FATHERS VOLUME I CONTAINING THE INTRO DUCTION: THE LIFE OF ST ANTHONY, BY ATHANASIUS ARCHBP OF ALEXANDRIA: HISTORIESOFTHEFATHERS BY PALLADIUS B p OF HELE- NOPOLIS: THERULEOF PACHOMIUS: ST JEROME S HISTORY OF THE FATHERS ra Oo <tal .cm <ral \CT3 FROM THE STORY OF THE MONK WHO VISITED SYLVANUS IN SINAI. (Brit. Mus. MS. 14,648, fol. iol>.) HE PARADISE ORGARDENOFTHE HOLY FATHERS BE ING HISTORIES OF THE ANCHORITES RECLUSES MONKS COENOBITES AND ASCETIC FATHERS OF THE DESERTS OF EGYPT BETWEEN A.D. CCL AND A.D. CCCC CIRCITER COMPILED BY tATHAWASIUS ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA: TALLADIUS BISHOP OF HELENOPOLIS: s SAINT Cv JEROME AND OTHERS (LNOW J ^ J H HndU4.-J TRANSLATED OUT OF THE SYRI- AC WITH NOTES @> INTRODUC TION BY ERNEST A. WALLIS %UDGEM.A:L nT .D:D.L lT : KEEPER OF THE ASSYRIAN ftP EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM PUBLISHED AT LONDON BY CHATTO ftp WINDUS V MCMVII v preface DURINGthe winter of 1888 the Vicar of the Chaldean Patri arch at Mosul (Nineveh) was so kind as to shew me some of the Syriac manuscripts in his possession, and among them was a thick oblong quarto volume containing the Lives of the Holy Men by Palladius and St. Jerome. I was familiar with the Syriac MSS. of the Paradise of Palladius in the British Museum, but I had never before seen so lengthy a copy of the work. The manuscript was old, that is to say, it was written probably in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, and as it was impossible to buy the volume, it being Church property, I asked permission to have a copy of it made. To this the Vicar assented, and a copy was made in due course and sent to England. On examination it was found to contain the Life of St. Anthony, by Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria, the Book of Paradise, by Palladius, the Asketikon, or History of the Monks of Tabenna, the Histories of the Solitaries of the Desert of Egvpt, attributed to St. Jerome, the Sayings of the Fathers, and the Questions and Answers of the Holy Men. In fact the manuscript contained a collection of works which were of the highest importance for the history of the rise and growth of Christian monasticism in Egypt. In 1893 I published a full description of the contents of the manuscript (see Thomas of Marga, The Book of Governors, Vol. II, pp. 192-206), and several extracts from it, and it was generally recognized that it contained a copy of the famous Redaction of the Book of Paradise which was made by Anan-Isho when he was a monk in the monastery of Beth Abhe, probably early in the seventh century. In 1898 my friend Dom Cuthbert Butler published the Prolegomena of his edition of the Greek text of the Paradise of Palladius, and in this work he discussed at length the critical value of my manu script copy of the Syriac version. Soon after this I made trans lations of the five works contained in the manuscript, and these appeared, together with the Syriac texts, in two volumes in 1904. The work was not available for the public, being printed for private circulation only. The number of those who are interested in the history of the Christian monastic movement in Egypt has increased consider - v ZTbe paraMse of tbe 1bol2 jfatbera ably in recent years, and in answer to many requests it was decided to publish a popular edition of the translation of Anan- Isho s great work in a handy form, and at a price which would place it within the reach of every reader. I therefore revised my translation, which had appeared in 1904, by the light of recently acquired manuscripts, and was able to fill up several gaps in the text : the present work is the result. An entirely new introduction has been prepared for this edition, and in it an attempt has been made to indicate the great value and im portance of Andn-Isho s Syriac Recension for the study of Christian monasticism in Egypt. It is hoped that this edition may add to the deserved popularity of the Book of Paradise and increase the reputation of Palladius. E. A. WALLIS BUDGE British Museum, June 5, 1907. Contents of tbe first IDoIume Frontispiece Preface v Jntrofcuction: xv 1 Palladius, his Life and Travels xv 2 The Book Paradise xxv 3 Christian Monasticism in Egypt xxxix 4 The Supernatural Element in the Book Paradise xlix 5 The Lives of the Egyptian Monks and their Teaching liv 6 Palladius as a Historian Ixij j Ube OLtfe of St. Hntbons bs Htbanasius, Hvcb* bisbop ot Hlesanfcria 3 ij Ube paradise ot Book j 1 The Epistle of Palladius to Lausus 77 2 The Plan of the Book of Paradise 7 8 3 Counsels to Lausus 80 The Histories of the Holy Men : 1 The History of Abba Isidore 89 2 The History of Dorotheos of Thebes 9 1 3 The History of the Virgin Potamiaena 93 4 The History of Didymus 94 5 The History of the Maiden Alexandra 95 6 The History of Abba Macarius and a certain Virgin 96 7 Concerning the Monks who lived in Nitria 99 8 The History of Abba Ammon 100 9 The History of the Blessed Man Hor 102 10 The History of the Blessed Man Pambo [or Panbo] 103 11 The History of the Blessed Man Ammonius 105 12 The History of the Blessed Man Benjamin 106 13 The History of Apollonius the- Merchant 107 14 The Histories of Paesius and Isaiah 108 15 The History of Macarius, the Child of his Cross 109 16 The History of the Blessed Nathaniel 1 1 1 17 The Histories of Macarius the Egyptian, and of Maca rius the Alexandrian I J 3 18 The History of the Blessed Man Macarius, the Alex andrian I1 7 19 The History of the Blessed Man Paul the Simple 125 20 The History of the Blessed Man Pachomius 129 21 The History of the Blessed Man Stephen I3 1 22 The History of the Blessed Man Valens, the Palesti nian i3 2 vij parafctse of tbe 1bol$ 3f atbers 23 The History of the Blessed Man Hero, the Alexandrian 134 24 The History of the Blessed Man Ptolemy, the Egyp tian 135 25 The History of the Blessed Man Abraham, the Egyp tian 136 26 The History of the Virgin in Jerusalem 136 27 The History of the Virgin in Caesarea 137 28 The History of the Virgin who fell and repented 137 29 The History of another Virgin who fell and repented 138 30 The History of the Blessed Thais [or Thaisis] 140 31 The History of the Blessed Man Abba Elijah 142 32 The History of the Blessed Man Dorotheos 144 33 The History of the Blessed Man Pachomius 144 34 An Apology, and Preface, and Admonition 149 35 The History of the Virgin who hid Athanasius 150 36 The History of Piamon the Virgin 152 37 The History of Mother Talida 153 38 The History of the Virgin Taor 153 39 The History of the Virgin Colluthus 154 40 The History of the Virgin and the Magistrianus 154 41 The History of Melania the Great 156 42 The History of Melania the Younger 161 43 The History of Olympias 163 44 The History of Candida 165 45 The History of Gelasia 166 46 The History of Juliana 166 47 The History of Heronion and Bosphoria 166 48 The History of Magna 167 49 The History of the Monk Misericors 168 50 The History of John of Lycus 169 51 The History of Possidonius 173 52 The History of Chronius of Phcenix 175 53 The History of James the Lame and Paphnutius Ke- phala 175 54 The History of Solomon 180 55 The History of Dorotheos 180 56 The History of Diocles 181 57 The History of Kapiton 181 58 The History of the Monk who fell 181 59 The History of Ephraim, Deacon of Edessa 182 60 The History of Innocent the Priest 183 61 The History of Elpidius 185 62 The History of Eustathius 186 63 The History of Sisinnius 186 64 The History of Gaddai, the Palestinian 187 65 The History of Elijah 187 viij Contents of tbe jf irst IDolume 66 The History of Sabas of Jericho 187 67 The History of Serapion of the Girdle 188 68 The History of Eulogius 192 ffioofe ij 1 The Triumph of Mark the Mourner 197 2 The History of Mar Paulus (Paule) 197 3 The History of the Alexandrian 203 4 The History of an Old Man in Scete 209 5 The History of a Disciple 212 6 The History of a Disciple 212 7 The History of Peter 214 8 The History of a Disciple 214 9 The History of Aurelius (Adolius) 214 10 The History of Abba Moses, the Indian 215 1 1 The History of Abba Pior 218 12 The History of Abba Moses, the Libyan 219 13 The History of a Wandering Monk 219 14 The History of Evagrius 222 15 The History of Malchus 226 1 6 The History of the Two Naked Fathers 234 17 The History of an Old Man who went Naked 235 18 The History of another Holy Man 238 19 The History of a Grass-eating Monk 239 20 The History of a certain Virgin 240 21 The History of the Two Young Men with Macarius 240 22 The History of Bessarion 242 23 The History of the Ac~ls of Bessarion 243 24 The History of the Man with Nine Virtues 245 25 The History of Maria 248 26 The History of a Sage 251 27 The History of the Two Brothers 253 28 The History of a Virgin 255 29 The History of Stephana 260 30 The History of Eucarpus 262 31 The History of the Deacon 264 32 The History of the Bishop 265 33 The History of Abbd Poemen s Neighbour 265 34 The History of a Brother who denied Christ 266 35 The History of an Old Man in Scete 267 36 The History of Serapion and the Harlot 268 37 The History of a Harlot 269 38 The History of Apollo in Scete 270 39 The History of Cosmas of Sinai 270 40 The History of Abbd Macarius 271 41 The History of the Melchisedekian 273 ix ZTbe ifrarafcise of tbe 1bol$ ffatbers 42 The History of Macarius, the Egyptian 273 43 The History of Mark the Less 278 44 The History of Abba Paule, disciple of Anthony 278 Ube IRule ot ipacbomius at Uabenna, or tbe "Hsfeetifeon" 1 The Monks of Tabenna 283 2 The History of Sylvanus the Actor 284 3 The History of a Sinner who died 287 4 The History of the Funeral of a Holy Man 289 5 The History of the Things heard by Pachomius 290 6 The History of the Things which Pachomius did 292 7 The History of the Revelation of Pachomius 292 8 The History of the Revelation of Pachomius 293 9 The History of the Revelation of Pachomius 295 10 The History of the Words of Doctrine of Pachomius 296 1 1 The History of Pachomius and the Wheat 298 12 The History of Pachomius and the Wages of the Bre thren 301 13 The History of the Apostate Monk 301 14 The History of Pachomius and the Phantom 304 15 The History of the Gift of Tongues 307 16 The History of Jonah the Gardener 308 17 The History of Pachomius and the Buildings 310 18 The History of Pachomius and the Heretics 311 19 The History of a Question and Answer 312 20 The History of a Vainglorious Monk 313 21 The History of the Monk in the Monastery 313 Further Remarks by Palladius 315 Ube Distort of tbe /Ifeonfes, b^ Ibferonsmus 1 The Apology 317 2 The History of John of Lycus 320 3 The History of Abba Hor 334 4 The History of Abbd Ammon 336 5 The History of Abba Abban 337 6 The History of the Monks of Oxyrrhynchus 337 7 The History of Abba Theon 338 8 The History of Abba Elijah 339 9 The History of Abba Apollo 340 10 The History of Apellen 353 11 The History of Apollo, and of John the DesertDweller 356 12 The History of Abba Paphnutius 358 13 The History of Eulogius 362 14 The History of Isidore 363 15 The History of Dioscurus 363 Contents of tbc ffirst IDolume 16 The History of Copres and Petarpemotis 364 17 The History of Hor, Isaiah, Paul, and Nopi 372 1 8 The History of Evagrius 373 19 The History of Abba" Pithyrion 374 20 The Triumphs of the Blessed Fathers 374 21 The Triumphs of the Monks who were in Nitria 376 22 The Triumph of Ammon the First 377 23 The Triumph of another Ammon 37^ 24 The Triumph of Didymus 37& 25 The Triumph of Chronius 379 26 The Triumph of the Three Brethren 379 27 The Triumph of Philemon) 379 28 The Triumph of John 379 29 The Triumph of Serapion 380 30 The Triumph of Apollo the Less Contents of tbe Second IDoIume Frontispiece ZTbe Salinas of tbe jf atbers Boofe j Cap. I Palladius on Flight from Men and Silent Contem plation. Sayings 1-62 3 II On Fasting and Abstinence. Sayings 63-104 16 III On Reading of the Scriptures, Night Vigils, the Service of the Psalms and Constant Prayer. Sayings 105-135 24 IV On Weeping and Mourning for Sins. Sayings 136-157 31 V On Voluntary Poverty. Sayings 158-182 35 VI On Patient Endurance. Sayings 183-237 40 VII On Obedience to God and Man. Sayings 238-247 52 VIII On Watchfulness of Thought, Word and Deed. Sayings 248-392 56 IX On Love, Charity, and Hospitality. Sayings 393-443 88 X On Humility. Sayings 444-558 103 XI On Fornication. Sayings 559-597 126 XII On the Acceptance of Repentance. Sayings 598-613 136 XIII On the Fathers who wrought Wonders. Sayings 614-630 141 XIV On the Greatness of the Ascetic Life. Sayings 631-635 146 JSooF? if I-XV Questions and Answers on the Rule of Life. Nos. XVI, XVII Questions and Answers by the Fathers and Monks. Nos. 540-577 262 XVIII Questions and Answers on the Visionsof the Mind. Nos. 578-603 271 Appendix. Nos. 604-706 283 xn Jntrobuctfon 3ntrotwctton j. ipallafcius, bte Xtfe anfc travels THE principal facts of the life of Palladius we owe to the famous biographer of the monks himself, and nearly all of them are to be found in the History of the Acts of the Holy Fathers, which he dedicated to his patron Lausus, and en titled Paradise. He was born, probably in Galatia (see Vol. I, p. 170), about A.D. 364, but of his family, and of his boyhood and early manhood nothing is known. He appears to have em braced the ascetic life, to a greater or lesser degree, when he was about twenty years of age. Soon after Palladius became a monk, he went and lived with the "blessed priest Innocent" on the Mount of Olives for a period of three years (386-388). Innocent had formerly been a court official "in the kingdom of the Emperor Constantine," and he had a son, but he "withdrew himself from marriage" (Vol. I, p. 184) and became a monk. Palladius describes Inno cent as a man of most merciful disposition, and he tells us that he used to steal things from the brethren in order to give them to the poor and needy; all the same he considered him to be a man "lacking in sense." Innocent possessed a small mar- tyrium in which he kept a blessed [relic] of St. John the Bap tist, and by means of this he cast out from a young woman a devil which vexed her exceedingly, and caused such writhing and contortions of her body that "when she spat the spittle " fell on her side," instead of away from her. When Palladius was about twenty-three or twenty-four years of age he visited Alexandria for the first time; this event took place, as he himself tells us (Vol. I, p. 89), in the second Con sulate of the Emperor Theodosius the Great, i.e., in 388. Here he met Isidore, the secretary of the hospital which was sup ported by the Church of Alexandria, who had lived as a monk in Nitria, and was at that time about seventy years of age. Isidore was a wealthy man, and gave large alms to the poor and needy (Vol. I, p. 90), but he fared hardly. He never wore a linen shirt, or put a covering on his head ; he never ate meat, never partook of a full meal, seated comfortably at a table, and never washed, yet his body was strong, sound and healthy. With him Palladius lived for a short time, but finding that he re quired "not the Word only but also the labour of the body, "and severe physical exercises, even like the young unbroken "animal," and that he had no great need of doctrine, but did need the power to subdue the passions of his early manhood, he besought Isidore to let him go and live by himself. Isidore granted his request, and then took him to a place about six xv in miles from Alexandria, and placed him in the hands of Doro- theos the Anchorite, who had lived in a cave for sixty years, and had been a friend and associate of St. Anthony in the de sert in the days of the Emperor Maximinus [II] (305-314) (Vol. I, p. 93). Of the manner of the life which this Dorotheos led we obtain a good idea from Palladius (Vol. I, p. 91). He lived on a daily allowance of six ounces of bread, a little bundle of green herbs, and a limited quantity of water. He spent his days in collect ing stones in the desert near the sea, and in building cells for the monks who could not build cells for themselves. He did not sleep by day, and he occupied himself during the nights in weaving palm-leaf baskets, from the sale of which he bought his daily bread and herbs. He never laid himself down to sleep on a bed of palm leaves, but slept in snatches as he sat at work, or whilst he was eating his scanty food (Vol. I, p. 92). When Isidore left Palladius with Dorotheos, he told him to stay with that stern old man for three years so that he might slay his passions, and then to come back to him to receive the completion of his spiritual education. Palladius, however, was unable to complete his period of three years, for the want of sleep and food, and exposure to cold brought on a severe illness, and he was obliged to return to his friend Isidore, who cared for every one but himself. About this time Palladius be came acquainted with Didymus of Alexandria, who was at that time eighty years old, and had been blind since the fourth year of his age. In spite of his blindness he was well versed in the Scriptures, and was thoroughly acquainted with the "belief of "the truth," and he "comprehended so deeply all heresies that his knowledge was more excellent than that of many who "were before him in the Church" (Vol. I, p. 94). He was a friend of St. Anthony, who visited him three times in his cell. Thus, before he was twenty- five years old Palladius had made the acquaintance of two great monks who had known St. Anthony. During the three years which followed his return to Isidore, Palladius passed his time in going about from monastery to monastery in the neighbourhood of Alexandria, and he says (Vol. I, p. 99) that he met about "two thousand of the great "and strenuous men" who lived in them. After this he departed to Mount Nitria, that is to say, to the district commonly called "Wadi an-Natrun," the "Nitre Valley," or "Birkat an- Natrun," the "Nitre Lake," which lies between 30 and 31 North Lat., about two days journey from the Rosetta arm of the Nile. A tradition which seems to rest on fact asserts that the oldest home of Christian asceticism in Egypt was in this place. Between Nitria and Alexandria lies Lake Mareotis, xvj in Iftftria and having- sailed across this in one-and-a-half days, Palladius came to the "Mountain of the Mazaki and Mauritanians." Here he found a society which consisted of some six hundred monks, who lived either in communities or as solitary dwellers in the mountain, and he stayed in this place for a year. We may note in passing that several of the monks whom he met possessed purely Egyptian names, e.g., Arsisius = Heru-sa Ast, Busiris = Pa-Asar, Peta-Bast, Serapion = Asar Hapi, etc., and it is probable that they were pure Egyptians. Having learned from these many facts about Ammon and "the first " spiritual fathers " who had lived there, he departed to " the "inner desert, wherein is Mount Nitria" (Vol. I, p. 99), proba bly in the year 391, when he w s about twenty-five years of age, and he remained there fo nine years. Inthe inner desert of Nitria, 1 alladius heard of Hor, whenever uttered a lie, or cursed, or swore an oath, and who never spoke except when it was absolutely necessary to do so, but did not see him. Pambo died on the dayof the arrival of Patladius in Nit ria (Vol. I, p. 103), but many of the sayings of this famous monk have come down to us. Whilst in Nitria Palladius became a a great friend of Macarius the Alexandrian, who was originally a merchant in dried fruits, and of Evagrius of Pontus. The former lived in that portion of the Nitrian Valley which was called "The Cells," and for three years Palladius enjoyed close inter course with him, and learned much concerning the true spirit of Egyptian asceticism from him. Macarius lived "a sad, stern "life of self-denial," (Vol. I, p. 117), and could not endure the thought that any monk surpassed him in the exercise of ascetic rigours. On one occasion he heard that the monks in the Monastery of Tabenna did not eat any food which had been cooked by fire during the Forty Days Fast of Lent, whereupon he determined that for seven years he would e~ othing which had been cooked by fire, and he carried out his intention to the letter. On hearing that a monk in a certain monastery only ate one pound of bread per day, he reduced his own allowance to four or five ounces of bread, and to waterjustsufficienttoenable him to eat the bread. On another occasion he determined to vanquish sleep, and for twenty days and nights he never took shelter under a roof, but sat in the sun all day. Once he crushed a gnat in his hand and killed it because it had bitten him, there fore, because this a6l made him despise himself, he went to Scete and sat in the inner desert naked for six months, where the gnats were large and resembled wasps (Vol. I, p. 118). At the end of this time his skin was so bitten and swollen that it was like the hide of an elephant, and when he returned to his cell, the monks only recognized him by his voice. xvij b palla&ius in tbe Scete Desert Yet once again he heard of the great self-denial of the monks of Tabenna, who were under the direction of Pacho- mius, and having disguised himself as a farm-labourer, he walked in fifteen days to the monastery where, having proved that he could fast for a week at a time, he was admitted. Soon after the season of Lent drew nigh, and he fasted the whole of the forty days, weaving ropes of palm fibre as he did so; on Sundays he ate a few moist cabbage leaves, so that he might pretend that he was takingfood. His success, however, betrayed him, for Pachomius knew that none but Macarius could have fasted with such strenuousness for so long a time (Vol. I, p. 121). Though such exercises must have interested Palladius very much, it is quite clear from some of his remarks that both physically and mentally he was unable to emulate them. In connexion with Macarius he tells us that the "chills of fever" came on him at times, and that at others, when weariness of the ascetic life laid hold upon him (Vol. I, p. 124), his thoughts would say to him, "Thou art doing nothing here, get thee "gone." From the "inner desert" Palladius paid visits to several ot the great ascetics, and the details which he gives of their lives are full of interest. On one occasion he went to Scete, a dis tance of forty miles, and saw and conversed with Pachomius who had lived there for forty years. On another he and Albinus travelled to Scete in company with Nero the Alexandrian, who only ate a meal once every three months (Vol. I, p. 134). Palla dius also found his way to that portion of the Nitrian Valley, which was beyond Scete and was called "Klimax"; it was a wild and rugged place, and the nearest drinking water was twelve miles distant. Here dwelt Ptolemy, the Egyptian, who for fifteen years drank nothing but dew which he squeezed out of sponges (Vol. I, p. 136). Having explored the Nitrian Valley Palladius turned his steps towards the south, and made himself acquainted with the lives of the ascetics who lived there. At Atrepe, near Akhmim, he visited the nunnery which had been built by Elijah, a wealthy landowner (Vol. I, p. 142). Elijah s successor was Dorotheos, who lived in an upper chamber which had no staircase; from this place he kept watch over the nuns, but no woman ever went up to his chamber, and he could not go down to any. At Tabenna Palladius visited the monastery of Pachomius, whose rule he describes at some length (Vol. I, p. 144). At Antinoe he found twelve nunneries, in one of which he found the aged nun Talidd and her sixty virgins (Vol. I, p. 153). At Lycus he visited John, who had received the gift of prophecy, which he demonstrated on several important xviij anfc 3obn of occasions. This famous recluse was an object of great interest to the followers of Origin, and especially to Evagrius, who was the most intimate friend of Palladius at this time. One day he heard Evagrius say that he desired greatly to find out what manner of man John was, but that it was impossible for him to go to visit him because he lived so far away. Palladius said nothing at the time, but after pondering the matter for two days, he committed himself to God, and set out for the Thebaid. His journey occupied eighteen days, on some of which he walked, and on others he sailed in a boat. The season of the year was the beginning of the Egyptian summer, when the Nile was rising, and many folk were falling sick (Vol. I, p. 170), and Palladius himself suffered from illness. At length he arrived at Lycus, and at the proper time obtained speech with John, who convinced him that he could read his thoughts, and understand the things which were passing in his mind. John knew that Palladius was anxious to leave the desert, and also that he was afraid for various reasons to do so, and he told him to remain in the desert, and to quench his desire to return to his kinsfolk, for his father would live for another seven years (Vol. I, p. 171). In reply to John s question, " Wishest thou to become a "bishop?" Palladius replied that he had already been made the * bishop of the public eating houses, and of the taverns, and " of tables, and of wine pots. Myvisiting," hecontinued, "is my " episcopate, and it is the love of the belly and gluttony which " hath made me the visitor of these." To these jesting words John made answer, "Quit jesting, for a bishop thou needs "must be, and thou wilt have to labour, and to be troubled "greatly; now if thou wishest to flee from tribulations and " trials go not forth from the desert, for in the desert no man " will make thee a bishop." This prophecy was uttered about 397. Of the period between this year and that wherein he left Nitria to go southwards he spent four years in Antinoe (Vol. I, p. 180), where he found a society of about twelve hundred monks. Here also he met the famous cave-dwellers, Solomon, Dorotheos the priest, Diocles the grammarian and philosopher, and Kapiton. How far to the south Palladius travelled is not quite certain, but it is clear that he visited all the chief settlements of the monks in Upper Egypt. Three years after his visit to John of Lycus, which probably took place in 394 (Butler, Lausiac His tory, p. 182), he was overtaken by a severe illness caused by his kidneys and stomach, and the brethren, fearing that he was becoming dropsical, sent him to Alexandria. Shortly before his return to this city he seems to have been present at the xix in Jerusalem death of Evagrius of Pontus, who died in the year 400, aged fifty-four years (Vol. I, p. 222; Butler, Lausiac History, p. 181). The account of this monk s career is one of the most interest ing in the Book of Paradise, and it is easy to see that Palla- dius regarded him with great admiration and affection. The two men had passed several years together in the " inner desert," at the place called "The Cells," and Palladius tells us that his friend lived upon a daily allowance of one pound of bread, that a "box of oil" lasted him three months, that he lived by the labour of his hands, that he prayed one hundred prayers each day, and that he spent the rest of his time in writing books (Vol. I, p. 225). When Palladius arrived in Alexandria the physicians advised him to leave the city and to go to Palestine, where the air was lighter and purer; and, in obedience to their counsel, he de parted thither. It seems that Palladius next made his way to Bethlehem, and lived there for a year with Possidonius the Theban, at a place beyond the Monastery of the Shepherds, which was near the town. Possidonius was a man of amiable disposition, and Palladius declares (Vol. I, p. 173) that he did not recollect ever meeting any other man in whom the qualities of patience, endu rance and goodness were so highly developed. Possidonius, apparently, loved living alone, and on one occasion he said that hehad not seen a man norheard human speech for a whole year; his food was of the simplest, for he lived on the insides of palm leaves soaked in water, and wild honey whenever he could get it. For forty years he never ate bread, and he never allowed the sun to set upon his wrath. Whilst Palladius lived near Bethlehem he became acquainted with St. Jerome, whom he describes as a learned and eloquent man and one skilled in the Latin tongue; but he declares that his great abilities were obscured by the vices of " envy and evil-eyedness," which he possessed to an extraordinary degree (Vol. I, p. 174). Because of his envy, none of the holy men would live in those districts. From Bethlehem Palladius went to Jerusalem, where, no doubt, he found one of the numerous companies of ascetics from the monasteries, who were entertained by that famous woman Melaniathe Great, and by the Italian nobleman, Rufinus of Aquileia, her friend. The praise which Palladius bestows upon Melania and Rufinus is very great, and it is evident that he knew both of them well, and there is little doubt that the kindness and graciousness of these distinguished Christians and their kinsfolk had a considerable effect upon his character and disposition. We know from his own testimony that he travelled from ^Elia to Egypt by way of Pelusium in company xx pallabfus in Constantinople with Melania and " the gentle virgin Sylvania, the sister of Rufinus " (Vol. I, p. 159); and this being so, it follows, almost of necessity, that he was no ferocious, fanatical monk, to whom the companionship of women was an abominable thing. As Palladius had lived for a wholeyear with the gentle Possidonius, and he speaks of him with the warmth of a true friend, it seems justifiable to assume that he was himself a man of amiable and sympathetic nature, and one to whom the pathos of the ascetic life appealed more than its grim majesty. A little later [400?] he passed over into Bithynia, where, as he says (Vol. I, p. 172), "for what reason I know not, whether " by the care and solicitude of men, or whether by the Will of "God, Who is exalted above all things, I was held to be " worthy of the laying on of hands for the episcopacy, which tf was far above my deserts." Thus we see that the prophecy of John of Lycus was fulfilled. Palladius tells us that when he returned to the desert from Lycus he related to the fathers what John had said, and that then he forgot all about it. Curiously enough, Palladius does not say who ordained him, neither does he give us the name of his see, but there is little doubt that it was St. John Chrysostom who ordained him, and that his see was Helenopolis, which was formerly called Drepanum. In May of the year 400 Palladius was present at the Synod held at Constantinople, and very soon afterwards "he be- " came an associate in the trial which rose up against the "blessed John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople" (Vol. I, p. 172). In July, 403, Chrysostom appeared in the church of a suburb of Chalcedon to answer before a council of thirty-six bishops a series of charges which had been formulated against him by John the Archdeacon and Isaac the monk. The chief offence with which he was charged was that he had spoken words against the Empress Eudoxia, whom he was declared to have likened to Jezebel. After much unseemly wrangling Chrysostom was condemned by his enemies unanimously, and he was deposed, the Emperor confirming the decree of the council, and ordering him to be banished. Three days later Chrysostom surrendered to the Emperor s soldiers, and he was carried to a vessel and sent to Hieron at the mouth of the Euxine. Within a few days, however, he was brought back in triumph to Constantinople, in response to letters from the Emperor Arcadius and the Empress Eudoxia, who had been frightened out of their wits by a severe shock of earthquake which was felt in the city on the night following his departure to Hieron. In September, 403, Chrysostom fell again under the displeasure of Eudoxia, and in June of the year following Arcadius decreed his banishment to Cucusus, a mountain on xxj pallafcfus in 1Rome the border of .Cilicia. It was most likely about this time that Palladius was "secluded for a period of about eleven months "in a dark cell" (Vol. I, p. 172), wherein he probably hid himself to escape the fury of the triumphant enemies of his friend John Chrysostom. Some authorities think that at this time he betook himself to a river valley near Jericho, where a large number of ascetics lived in the rock-hewn caves, the making of which tradition assigned to those who fled from before Joshua, the son of Nun. In one of these dwelt Elpidius the Cappadocian, who practised the habits of a strict asceticism, and was eventually ordained priest. This man only ate food on Saturdays and Sundays, and he was wont to rise up many times during the night to pray. With him, for a time, lived Palladius (see Vol. I, p. 185), and from the description which he gives of this wonderful man it is clear that he regarded him with affection and admiration. Palladius tells us that Elpidius possessed power over noxious reptiles, and that on one occasion, whilst he was reading the service for the night, a scorpion stung him; without shewing the least sign of pain, and without leaving his place, or making any break in his reading, Elpidius put forth his hand and crushed the scorpion. Such an incident could not fail to impress the imagination of Palladius, and he must have felt that the holy man possessed the power which would enable him to "put his hand on the cockatrice s den," and to draw it away unharmed. In 405 we find that Palladius had succeeded in escaping with other fugitives to Rome at the time when Innocent, Bishop of Rome, was enquiring into the appeal which had been made to him by many friends on behalf of Chrysostom. As the result of this enquiry Innocent annulled the deposition of Chrysostom, and declared that the council of hostile bishops who had condemned him was irregular. Whilst in Rome Pal ladius and his companions were entertained by Pinianus, who received them "with the greatest good will, and supplied them "with provisions for the way in great abundance, and they " sent them on their way in joy and gladness" (Vol. I, p. 163). From Rome Palladius journeyed to Constantinople in company with the members of the mission sent by Honorius to Arcadius, asking that a general council should be convened to investi gate the charges brought against Chrysostom. When Palladius arrived in Constantinople he and his companions were treated with great harshness ; each of them was condemned to solitary confinement, and every effort was made to induce them to break their adherence to the views of Chrysostom. The friends of Chry sostom, however, stood firm, and finally, as the result of an xxij pallabfus JSantsbeb imperial decree, all were banished. The place of banishment chosen for Palladius was Syene, and on his way thither his journey was made as unpleasant as possible by the petty spite and malice of the imperial servants ; he was not allowed to have a servant, and his notes and writing tablets were taken away from him by force. How long- he remained at Syene, or in its neighbourhood, cannot be said, but it is tolerably certain that between 406 and 412 he spent four years at Antinoe, and also some time in the monastery at Akhmim and neighbouring towns. Some authorities think that he may have been allowed to end his exile in Egypt on the death of Theophilus, the bit ter foe of Chrysostom, which took place in 412, and it is pro bable that he travelled about Galatia and visited Ancyra be tween 412 and 420, the year in which he wrote the Book Paradise. According to Socrates he was translated to the see of Aspuna, in Galatia Prima; this event happened probably in 417. How long he remained there cannot be stated, but he certainly died before 431, for the bishop of Aspuna in that year was called Eusebius. As to the period of his life in which Palladius wrote the book Paradise there is, fortunately, no difficulty, for in his Counsels to Lausus (Vol. I, p. 82) he says that at the time of wr t- ing he had lived a life of rule and had been in a monastery of solitary brethren until the thirty-third year of his age, and that after that he served the office of Bishop for twenty years. He was therefore fifty-three years of age when he wrote the book Paradise, and as he was ordained Bishop in 400, he pro duced his work in 420. Nowhere in Paradise does he tell us anything about his parents or family, though in his "further remarks" (Vol. I, p. 315), he speaks of "my beloved brother, who hath lived " with me from myyouth up until thisday." Itis, however, alittle uncertain whether he refers to an a<5tual or to a monastic brother. In praising his manner of life he remarks that, "he "never arrayed himself in fine and costly apparel," and this seems to suggest that the brother was a man of some fortune. Moreover, as this brother, "in his coming in and going out, "walked through one hundred and six cities (or provinces) " several times, and in the greater number of them tarried for " some time," we must assume that he possessed means suffi cient to allow him to travel wheresoever he pleased. On the whole, we may conclude that the parents of Palladius were people of some standing, and that they could afford to give him money enough to travel from place to place in comfort. That he was never a very robust man is proved by the fact that he was unable to serve his term of three years with Dorotheos of xxiij Entwrance of Thebes, and by the allusions to the sickness and fever which attacked him when travelling-, and to the troubles caused by his kidneys and stomach, which eventually compelled him to forsake the desert and to go to Palestine. On the other hand, it must be confessed that few young men of gentle bringing up could emulate successfully Dorotheos, who lived on dry bread and wandered about in the sun all day on the seashore col lecting- stones for building, or could endure the hardship of walking for days at a time, to say nothing- of the heat by day, the chills by night, rough lodgings, and rough food which could only be obtained at irregular intervals. xxiv tj. ZTbeBoofe "parafcfse" THE book Paradise was composed by Palladius in the year 420 at the request of Lausus, a man who held high rank at Constantinople, and who is generally thought to have been a chamberlain of the Emperor Theodosius II, who ascended the throne in 408; for this reason the work was called the Lausiac History of Palladius. According to some authorities, Lausus, the friend of Palladius, is to be identified with " Lausus pras- "positus," who received the lady Melania when she visited Constantinople about 435. Be this as it may, the friend of Palladius was, as we know from his testimony (Vol. I, p. 79), a man whose mind was " full of doctrine, whose habits were " those of a lover of peace, who feared God in his heart and Moved Christ in his mind," and elsewhere (Vol. I, p. 80) he describes him as the "ornament of this believing and God -fearing kingdom," and the "true friend and servant of "God." Nowhere does Palladius tell us what the bond was which united him in friendship with Lausus, or why the great court official entreated him to write down the histories of the lives of the Fathers of the Egyptian desert, and of other holy men. To guess at the origin of their friendship is useless, and whatever his motive may have been in urging Palladius to compile his histories, the thanks of every student of religion is due to Lausus as being the immediate cause of the produc tion of a work which gives a true account of the origin and development of one of the most remarkable phases of Christi anity which the world has ever seen. In the brief account of the book Paradise which will be given in the following paragraphs, no attempt will be made to con sider the difficulties which exist in connexion with the investi gation of the original Greek text of the work, or to outline the chronological sequence of the versions which are based upon it. A general discussion of these matters will be found in Dom Cuthbert Butler s Lausiac History (Cambridge, 1898), and in the learned notes which he has appended to his critical edition of the Greek text published at Cambridge in 1904. These works contain an honest description of the difficulties which have be set the paths of earlier editors and translators of Paradise, to gether with solutions of many of them. As the result of the scholarship, clear thought and well-balanced judgement which Dom Cuthbert Butler has bestowed upon Paradise, Palladius stands forth with an enhanced reputation, and the reader may once and for all rest assured that he is perusing the work of a man who described truthfully the things which he had seen and the men whom he had known. XXV IRecensfon of Hnan-Jsbo The translations of Paradise and of the Sayings of the Fathers collected by Palladius, which are printed in the following pages, are made from the fullest Syriac versions of these \yorks A known to us, namely, those which we owe to Rabban Anan-Isho, a monk who flourished in Northern Mesopotamia in the latter half of the sixth and the first half of the seventh century. Of this man we possess a tolerably full account, written by Thomas, Bishop of Margci., about A.D. 840 (see The Book of Governors, ed. Budge. 2 vols. London, 1893). Writing in this work (Book II, chap, xi), Thomas says: " It is A not right that the glorious memory of the holy Abbct " Andn-Isho should drop from our mind, or that we should sup- " press the mention of his indefatigable zeal; on the contrary, " let us place his noble a6ls among [those of] his companions, " for happiness at the right hand of our Lord Christ is laid up "for him with them. Now this blessed man, and his brother " Isho-Yahbh, came from the country of Adiabene. They were " both trained in doctrine in the city of Nisibis, bejng children " of the school and household of the blessed Ma"r Isho-Yahbh. "They became disciples in the Great Monastery [of Mount " Izla, about ten miles from Nisibis], as the books which be- " longed to them A [and are now] in the library of this monas tery (i.e., Beth Abhe) testify, for they show that they were " written by their hands there. Now Anin-Isho, having lived " the life of an ascetic with all excellence, and having had his " mind constantly fixed upon the works of the ascetic fathers, " determined to go and worship in Jerusalem. And from there " he went to the desert of Scete, where he learned concerning " all the manner of the lives of the ascetic fathers, whose his- " tories and questions are written in books, and concerning "their dwellings and the places in which they lived. And " when he turned to come back he made his journey by way of " [the place of] holy Mar John, the Bishop of the Scattered, "of whom I have made mention a little way back, that he " might be blessed by his holiness and enjoy his conversation. "And after he had come to his own monastery (i.e., Mount " Izla") he took his brother, and they came to this monastery " (i.e., Beth Abhe) by reason of the annoyance and contention " which had taken place there, for certain slanderous men who "had set themselves against holy men, had risen up there, " and they drove out the holy Rabban Narsai, the disciple of " Mar Babhai, who finally became head of the monastery and " was renowned for a life of excellence. "Now when they came to this monastery, and weje living in " silence, according to the rule of ascetics, Rabban Ann-Isho, " the wise of understanding, laboured so hard in the study of xxvj Compilation of tbe :JBoofe parafcise 44 books that he surpassed all who were before and after him 44 in his knowledge. And when Mdr Isho-yahbh was Metropoli- 44 tan of Arbel and wished to draw up in order a book of the 44 Canons that he might send copies of it to all the countries of 4 his patriarchate, he made the wise Anan-Isho, the love of 44 whom is very dear and sweet to me, to sit with him during 44 the drawing up of the Canons, because he had composed 44 Institutes and Rules, and because he found that he alone 44 possessed, in a sufficient measure, a clear mind and a natu- 11 ral talent for the art of music and a knowledge of how to 44 arrange words. 44 And the noble Anin-Isho composed Definitions and Divi sions of various things, which were written upon the walls of his cell. And when his brother Mar Isho-yahbh came to pray in this monastery (i.e., Beth Abhe), and saw the Divi sions of the science of philosophy of his brother, Ansin-Isho, he begged him to write a commentary on them for him, and 44 to send it to him, which Anan-Isho actually did. And he 44 wrote to him a clear exposition in many lines, from which 44 will be apparent, to every one who readeth therein, the great- 44 ness of his wisdom; now the title of the work is, A Letter 44 which a Brother wrote to his Brother. . . . He also wrote a t work on the correct pronunciation of the words, and of the 44 difficult words which are used with different significations in 44 the writings of the Fathers; a copy of this work exists 44 among the books in the library of this monastery, and it sur- 44 passes all other collations in its accuracy." A The A above extract is of great interest, for it proves that Andn-Isho, who edited the Syriac version of Paradise which is translated in these volumes, prepared himself for his great work by visiting the Scete desert, in order that he might see for himself the conditions under w^hich the monks lived, and the dwellings and places wherein they abode. Knowledge, at first hand, and experience went side by side with great learn ing and literary skill, and the more his translation is studied, the greater its accuracy is found to be. A little further on in his Book of Governors (Bk. II, chap, xv) Thomas, Bishop of Marga, gives us some details of the 44 Compilation of the Book which was called Paradise." From these we learn that Anan-Isho undertook this work as a result of an order which he received from the Patriarch Mar George. Having asked for the 4 Prayers of M&r Catholicus and 4 of the holy old men of his congregation, he began and finished 44 the command wherewith he had been commanded. And with 44 an enlightened mind and a wise understanding especially 44 as the Spirit had manifested in him the efficacy of His gifts xxvij Compilation of tbe Boofe " he arranged and grouped together in smooth order (i.e. , con- " secutively), 615 Heads (or Chapters), in Canons and " Sections, [with] each * Head a * Question giving informa tion concerning the subject matter of the Head which "preceded it. So that if a brother was labouring in any " [spiritual] warfare whatsoever, and he wished to pluck con- " solation or to take counsel on the matter which was " troubling him, he might find it close at hand. And the "Counsels were arranged and classified according to the " subject matter, so that he might very quickly be consoled in " his tribulation, and find relief, and might also lay a soothing " plaster on the wound which was causing him pain." "And besides these [615 Heads ] there were 430 others, "which would give a man information in general upon all "kinds of spiritual excellence, and there were many others " which he did not arrange in numerical order, and which he " did not group or classify. And he took from the * Commen- tary on the blessed Matthew, the Evangelist, the Discourse " which was composed by Mr John [Chrysostom] on the " praises of the monks who were in Egypt, and the Questions "of the blessed Mr Abraham of Nephthar, and demonstrations " and other histories which he himself had collected from the " writings of the Fathers." "And he arranged the whole book [Paradise] in two Parts. " In the First Part were the Histories of the Holy Fathers, " which were composed byPalladius andHieronymus (Jerome), " and in the Second Part were the Questions and Narratives " (or Matters) of the Fathers, which he had arranged and classi- " fied. And he called this Book Paradise and under this name "hath it been handed down and accepted in all the monas teries of the East, and the Fathers in every place have "praised his ability and applauded his work." It may be mentioned in passing that the word "Paradise" means "garden," and there is no doubt that Palladius in tended to suggest to his readers that his compilation resem bled a spiritual garden, the flowers of which were the Histories of the famous monks which he had collected therein, just as the monks themselves were the flowers of the Garden of God. Prefixed to the translations of Paradise and the Sayings of the Fathers printed in these volumes will be found a render ing of the Syriac version of a Life of St. Anthony, which is attributed to Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria. This work is of very great interest, and it is of considerable impor tance for the study of Christian monasticism in Egypt. The original was written in Greek, but the Greek text now extant is different from that used by the translator into Syriac (Butler, xxviij %tfe of Safnt flntbons Lausiac History, p. 227; Schulthess, Probe einer syrischen Ver sion der Vita S. Antonii, Leipzig, 1894). Many authorities have denied the authenticity of this Life of St. Anthony -, but there is really no good reason why Athanasius should not have taken part in the preparation of some portions of the work, or in its revision, and until proof is brought forward that such a thing is impossible, we shall be justified in believing that the framework of the narrative is historical. The character of St. Anthony, as drawn by the author of the Life in the form wherein we now have it, is wholly lovable, and it is easy to understand how the words and deeds of the great monk drew all men to him. His manner of life was as simple and as strenu ously ascetic as it could well be, and yet his manners towards all men were kind and gentle. He ate bread and salt, and drank water only, and on certain occasions passed three or four days, and sometimes whole weeks, without eating (Vol. I, p. 12). He passed most nights in vigil, and when he slept his bed was a palm-leaf mat. He never used oil and he never washed. He wore an untanned leather garment with the hair next his skin (Vol. I, pp 40, 73), and he slept, when an old man, with a skin covering over him. Before his death he gave his leather tunic to Athanasius, and his leather coat to Bishop Serapion. He remained healthy to the last, and his eyesight failed not, and not a tooth dropped from his head; he died aged 105 years. Before his death he ordered the brethren to bury him in a grave, and not to embalm him, for, said he, ["there shall I be] "until the Resurrection of the Dead, when I shall receive this "body without corruption" (Vol. I, p. 73). He spoke Egyptian, and knew neither Greek nor Latin, but his speech was digni fied, austere, pungent and "seasoned with salt"; his mind was alert, and his shrewdness and sagacity won the admiration of the crowds of ascetics of all kinds who visited him. Though kind to all, and gracious even to those with whose opinions he disagreed, his quick intelligence enabled him to defeat the worldly-wise in argument, and to shew the superiority of his religion over that of the pagan philosophers who propounded problems to him. His disposition was happy, and his faith in God as firm as a rock; no devil, fiend, or phantom could under mine his trust in the goodness of God, and no wickedness of man made him to doubt it. We hear nothing of his tortur ing his body, as was the custom of later monks; nevertheless he was willing to suffer hardship, imprisonment, and even martyrdom, if by so doing he might help his fellow man. Dur ing the persecution of Maximinus he left the desert and went into Alexandria, and visited the prisons and ministered to the wants of the blessed confessors who were shut up there. He xxix Contents of tbe Boofe parabise comforted those who were condemned to hard labour in the mines in the Sudan, and those who were to be banished to the islands, and those on whom the sentence of death had been passed, and he went in and out among the prisoners fearlessly. At length the governor heard of him and his ministrations, and ordered that he should in future be kept out of the city. In spite of this prohibition he made his way into the judge ment hall of the governor, intending, no doubt, to make a vigorousjprotest against his treatment of the confessors. His friends, however, saw him there, "and prevented him that day " from appearing before the judge," and thus he escaped cer tain condemnation. We may now proceed to the consideration of the contents of the First Part of Anan-Isho s Syriac recension of the book Paradise. After the Epistle to Lausus, the high official at whose request the original work was compiled, we have a description of the plan of Paradise and a series of " Coun sels " to Lausus, and then comes the first history, namely, that of: 1. ISIDORE, who had been a monk in Nitria, and died fifteen years after Palladius met him, aged 85 years. With his sisters lived a company of about seventy nuns. His history is followed by those of: 2. DOROTHEOS, who lived in a cave for sixty years. 3. POTAMIAENA, the virgin, who was boiled to death at Alexandria in a cauldron of bitumen by the order of the pre fect Basilides. 4. DIDYMUS. He was a friend of St. Anthony, who had visited him in his cell thrice, and he received through the Spirit the news of the death of Julian the Apostate on the very day on which he died. He was 80 years of age when Palladius met him. 5. ALEXANDRA of Alexandria, who shut herself up in a tomb and saw neither man nor woman for twelve years. Her history was told to Palladius by Melania. 6. The AVARICIOUS VIRGIN, who gave Macarius 500 dinars to buy emeralds and jewels; he spent the money on the sick poor. 7. The MONKS OF NITRIA. Palladius mentions the monks Petd-Bast, Arsisius, Chronius, and Serapion, and describes the life led by the monks there. 8. AMMON, one of the early monks of Nitria, who died aged 62 years. 9. HOR, a monk of Nitria, who died before Palladius came there. 10. PAMBO, who died on the day of the arrival of Palladius XXX Contents of tbe 3BooU in Nitria, aged 70 years. Palladius received his history from Melania, Ammonius, and Origen, the priest and steward. 11. AMMONIUS, the Tall Brother, the disciple of Pambo. He cut off his left ear to prevent the brethren from making- him a bishop; and he never ate anyfood which had been cooked by fire. 12. BENJAMIN, of Nitria, the physician, who died of dropsy; he was 80 years old when Palladius visited him. 13. APOLLONIUS the merchant, who lived in Nitria for twenty years, and purchased with the money he earned necessaries for the 5,000 brethren who dwelt in the mountain. 14. PAESIUS and ISAIAH, the sons of a merchant, who spent all their money in charity. 15. MACARIUS [the Younger], the " Child of his Cross," who lived for three years in the open desert, and for twenty-five in a cell. 1 6. NATHANIEL, who died fifteen years before Palladius visited Nitria. He lived for thirty-seven years in his cell, and never passed outside its door. 17. MACARIUS the Egyptian, who lived in the desert for sixty years, and died aged 90; he is said to have raised a man from the dead. 1 8. MACARIUS the Alexandrian, who was famous for his fast ing and vigils, and self-abnegation ; some of his cells had no windows, and at one time he walked about in the desert carrying a basket with two or three bushels of sand in it on his shoulders. He performed many cures, and worked miracles. 19. PAUL THE SIMPLE, who became a disciple of St. Anthony when he was 80 years of age (Butler s Greek text, chap. 22). 20. PACHOMIUS of Scete ; he was 70 years of age when visited by Palladius (Greek text, chap. 23). 21. STEPHEN the Libyan, who dwelt in the desert for sixty years (Greek text, chap. 24). 22. VALENS the Palestinian, who went mad, and was put in fetters for a year by the fathers (Greek text, chap. 25). 23. HERO the Alexandrian, who became a drunkard and whoremonger, but returned to the desert, repented, and died (Greek text, chap. 26). 24. PTOLEMY the Egyptian, who dwelt in the portion of the Scete desert called " Klimax" for fifteen years, and went mad (Greek text, chap. 27). 25. ABRAHAM the Egyptian (Greek text, chap. 53). 26. A VIRGIN in Jerusalem, who fell (Greek text, chap. 28). 27. A VIRGIN in Caesarea, who fell. A fuller form of this his tory is given in chapter 29. 28. A certain VIRGIN, who fell (Greek text, chap. 69). 29. A VIRGIN in Caesarea, who fell (Greek text, chap. 70). xxxj Contents of tbe Boofc 30. THAIS, or THAISIS, the harlot. According- to the Syriac version of this chapter Thais, the harlot, was converted by Abba Bessarion. She burnt all her possessions, and was intro duced by Bessarion into "a religious house of sisters" (Vol. I, p. 141), where she lived on one pound of dry bread daily and water for a period of three years. At the end of this time Bes sarion went and asked St. Anthony whether God had forgiven her her sins or not, and Anthony told his monks to shut them selves up in their cells all night in order that the matter might be revealed concerning which Bessarion had applied to him. After a long time Paul, the disciple of Anthony, saw a vision in the heavens of a splendid couch with a crown of glory laid thereon, and three angels with three lamps standing- by its side. Paul thought that the couch was prepared for Anthony, but a voice came to him from heaven, saying, "This couch is "not for Anthony, thy father, but for Thais, the harlot." When Bessarion heard the news of the vision from Paul, he returned to Thais and told her that God had forgiven her her sins. Fif teen days afterwards she died. In Book II, chap. 36 of the Syriac version (see Vol. I, p. 268) will be found the story of the conversion of a harlot by Abba Serapion, but it differs in many respects from the story of Bessarion and the harlot. Now according to the Greek versions of this history the monk who converted Thais was called Paphnutius, or Serapion (see F. Nau, Histoire de Thats, in Annales du Musee Guimet, Tome trentieme, pt. iii, Paris, 1903), and some authorities identify this Serapion with "Serapion of the Girdle." In 1899-1900 M. Gayet carried out a series of excavations on the site of An- tinoe, and in the course of his work discovered the tomb of a woman which contained baskets made of plaited reeds, a chap- let made of wood and ivory, an object in the form of the ancient Egyptian symbol for "life" (ankh, the crux ansata], palm branches, and a rose of Jericho. In the tomb, roughly traced in red ink, was the inscription : EKOIMH6EMA KAPIA9AIAS .... 9ESSAA .... which proved that it was the resting place of the "Blessed "Thais." In a neighbouring tomb was found a fragment of pottery, on which were inscribed the words : KOPNOS9AAOT which prove that the occupant was called "Serapion." We knew that Thais, the harlot, was buried in Egypt, and there xxx ij Contents of tbe Boofe are fairly good reasons for believing 1 that Serapion of the Gir dle was buried there also. This being so, some have not hesi tated to think that the Thais and Serapion whose tombs were excavated by M. Gayet, are to be identified with Thais, the harlot, and Serapion, who converted her. On the other hand, M. Gayet s words {L Exploration des Necropoles Greco-Byzan tines d Antinoc, in Annales du Musee Guimet, tome xxx, Part. II, Paris, 1902), are to be well considered: "La question a e"te* "controversee; je me bornerai a redire ce que je n ai cesse" "de re pe ter a ceux qui m ont questionne" a ce sujet: Je n ai " aucun document me permettant d identifier Thais d Antinoe 14 a la Thai s historique; je n en ai aucun, non plus, m autori- " sant a nier la possibility de cette identification. " It seems, then, that the identification is not at present certain, but it is difficult not to wish that the bodies of the man and woman who now lie side by side in the Muse"e Guimet, may eventually prove to be those of the famous monk and the woman whom he converted. 31. ELIJAH of Atrepe (Athribis) near Akhmim, the builder of a nunnery (Greek text, chap. 29). 32. DOROTHEOS, who lived in an upper chamber. 33. PACHOMIUS the Great, of Tabenna, the Abbot of 1,300 monks, and the nuns (Greek text, chaps. 32-34). 34. The VIRGIN who hid Athanasius (Greek text, chap. 63). 35. PIAMON the Virgin (Greek text, chap. 31). 36. EMMA TALIDA, the old woman of Antinoe (Greek text, chap. 59). 37. TAOR the Virgin (Greek text, chap. 59). 38. COLLUTHUS the Virgin (Greek text, chap. 60). 39. The VIRGIN and the MAGISTRIANUS, who was thrown to the beasts in her stead (Greek text, chap. 65). 40. MELANIA THE ELDER. She lived in exile for thirty-seven years (Greek text, chaps. 46 and 54). 41. MELANIA THE YOUNGER (Greek text, chap. 61). PAMMACHIUS (Greek text, chap. 62). 42. OLYMPIAS, daughter of Seleucus (Greek text, chap. 56). 43. CANDIDA, who lived on dry bread dipped in vinegar (Greek text, chap. 57). 44. GELASIA (Greek text, chap. 57). 45. JULIANA, who received Origen (Greek text, chap. 64). 46. HERONION and his wife BOSPHORIA (Greek text, chap. 66). 47. MAGNA (Greek text, chap. 67). 48. MISERICORS the monk (Greek text, chap. 68). 49. JOHN OF LYCUS, who foretold that Palladius would be made a bishop (Greek text, chap. 35). xxxiij c Contents of tbe Boofe para&ise 50. POSSIDONIUS the Theban, who possessed the gift of prophecy (Greek text, chap. 36). 51. CHRONIUS of Tomarta, the priest, who lived in the desert for sixty years (Greek text, chap. 47). 52. JAMES THE LAME and PAPHNUTIUS KEPHALA (Greek text, chap. 47). 53. SOLOMON of Antinoe (Greek text, chap. 58). 54. DOROTHEOS of Antinoe (Greek text, chap. 58). 55. DIOCLES of Antinoe (Greek text, chap. 58). 56. KAPITON of Antinoe (Greek text, chap. 58). 57. The MONK who fell. 58. EpHRAiMof Edessa,who madeanopen-airhospital(Greek text, chap. 40). 59. INNOCENT of the Mount of Olives (Greek text, chap. 44). 60. ELPIDIUS of Jericho (Greek text, chap. 48). ^ENESIUS (Greek text, chap. 48). 61. EUSTATHIUS (Greek text, chap. 48). 62. SISINNIUS (Greek text, chap. 49). 63. GADDAI (Gaddanus) (Greek text, chap. 50). 64. ELIJAH (Greek text, chap. 51). 65. SABAS of Jericho (Greek text, chap. 52). 66. SERAPION of the Girdle (Greek text, chap. 37). 67. EULOGIUS and the Crippled Arian (Greek text, chap. 21). 1. MARK the mourner. 2. PAUL, the prince of monks, who died at the age of 113 years, when St. Anthony was 90 years old. 3. History of A YOUNG ALEXANDRIAN. 4. History of AN OLD MAN IN SCETE. 5. History of A SOLITARY DWELLER. 6. History of THE DISCIPLE of a certain old man. 7. History of PETER, a disciple. 8. History of A DISCIPLE. 9. ADOLIUS of Tarsus (Greek text, chap. 43). 10. MOSES the Indian (Greek text, chap. 19). 11. P!6R (Greek text, chap. 39). 12. MOSES the Libyan. 13. A WANDERING MONK. 14. EVAGRIUS (Greek text, chap. 31). 15. MALCHUS of Maronia. 1 6. Two FATHERS who went naked. i6A. An OLD MAN who went naked. 17. An OLD MAN who fed with the beasts. 18. An OLD MAN who lived forty-nine years in the desert. 19. A MONK who fed on grass by the Jordan. xxxiv Contents of tfoe Boofe paradise 20. A HOLY VIRGIN. 21. The YOUNG MEN who were with Macarius. 22. BESSARION, who went naked during- the frost. 23. BESSARION S acts. 24. The HOLY MAN with nine virtues. 25. MARIA, who assumed a monk s attire. 26. A CERTAIN SAGE. 27. Two BRETHREN in a Persian Monastery. 28. A VIRGIN. 29. STEPHANA of Scete. 30. EUCARPUS, who went mad and reviled Evagrius. 31. A FAMOUS DEACON. 32. A BISHOP who fell into fornication and repented. 33. The neighbour of POEMEN. 34. The APOSTATE BROTHER. 35. An OLD MAN in Scete. 36. SERAPION and the Harlot (see Vol. I, p. 140). 37. The HARLOT whom a subdeacon drove out of the Church. 38. APOLLO of Scete. 39. COSMAS of Mount Sinai. 40. MACARIUS, who was accused of committing fornication. 41. The OLD MAN who thought that Melchisedek was the Son of God. 42. MACARIUS, the disciple of Mar Anthony. 43. MARK the Less. 44. PAULE the Simple, the disciple of St. Anthony. ZTbe Hsfeetifeon of pacbomius 1. ON PRIDE AND WICKEDNESS. 2. SYLVANUS the Aclor. 3. The SINNER who died. 4. The RIGHTEOUS MAN who died. 5. What the DEVILS SAID TO PACHOMIUS. 6. The ACTS OF PACHOMIUS in his Monastery. 7. A REVELATION concerning heretics. 8. A REVELATION concerningthe Settlement of the Brethren. 9. ANOTHER REVELATION. 10. WORDS OF DOCTRINE. 11. THE FAMINE. 12. PACHOMIUS and the Steward. 13. The MONK WHO DENIED CHRIST. 14. PACHOMIUS and the PHANTOM. 15. PACHOMIUS and his GIFT OF TONGUES. 16. JONAH the Gardener. 17. PACHOMIUS and HIS ORATORY. 18. PACHOMIUS and THE HERETICS. XXXV Contents of tbe Boofe parafcise 19. PACHOMIUS and THE MONK. 20. PACHOMIUS and the MONK WHO MADE MATS. 21. PACHOMIUS and the MONK WITH CUT HANDS. FURTHER REMARKS BY PALLADIUS. Following the above we have in the Syriac version of Anan- Isho a HISTORY OF THE MONKS WHO LIVED IN THE DESERT OF EGYPT, which is said to have been compiled by Saint Jerome. This work is generally known as the Historia Monachorum, and was written in Greek; the Latin version is now acknow ledged to have been made by Rufinus. It has been shown (Butler, Lausiac History, p. 276, Cambridge, 1898) that it was compiled by a Monk of Jerusalem, who belonged to the monastery on Mount Olivet founded by Rufinus, and who went to Egypt in 394, with six companions, to visit the monks. On his return to his monastery he wrote the book at the request of the brotherhood. According to Sozomen the writer was Timotheus, Bishop of Alexandria, but Dom Butler has proved this to be impossible, and he suggests (op. cit., p. 277) that the writer was not the Bishop of Alexandria, but the Archdeacon of Alexandria, who was also called Timotheus, and was put forward by his party, on the death of Bishop Theophilus in 412, as a candidate for the see against St. Cyril. The contents of his work are: 1. The Author s APOLOGY. 2. JOHN OF LYCUS. 3. ABBA HOR. 4. ABBA AMMON. 5. ABBA ABBAN (BENUS). 6. THE BRETHREN OF OXYRRHYNCHUS. 7. ABBA THEON. 8. ABBA ELIJAH. 9. ABBA APOLLO and ABBA AMMON. 10. ABBA APELLEN. 11. ABBA APOLLO and ABBA JOHN. 12. ABBA PAPHNUTIUS. 13. EULOGIUS. 14. ISIDORE of Thebes. 15. DIOSCURUS of Thebes. 1 6. ABBA COPRES and PETARPEMOTIS. 17. HOR, ISAIAH, PAUL, and NOPI, the Confessors. 1 8. EVAGRIUS. 19. PlTHYRION. 20. TRIUMPHS OF THE FATHERS. 21 THE MONKS OF NITRIA. 22. AMMON THE FIRST. xxxvj Contents of tbe JSooft parafcise 23. Another AMMON. 24. DIDYMUS. 25. CHRONIUS. 26. The THREE BRETHREN who cut off their ears. 27. PHILEMON. 28. JOHN, Abb& of Dikapolis. 29. SERAPION, the head of ten thousand men. 30. APOLLO the Less. The Second Part of Anan-Isho s version of the book Para dise contains several series of miscellaneous collections of " Saying s " and " Stories " of the Fathers, some 635 in num ber, and also a series of "Questions and Answers," about 706 in number, which deal with the rule of life of the holy men. Though Anan-Isho attributes all of them to Palladius, it is very doubtful if more than a few of them were collected by him. Large numbers of them are found in Greek manuscripts of the sixth century, and it is almost certain that the "Sayings" were first collected and done into writing in the fifth century, probably about the time when the book Paradise and History of the Monks were compiled. It is only natural that the men who wrote these works should think that the terse, pithy * Sayings " of the ascetics whom they had visited were just as well worth preserving as the histories of their lives, and that they should take pains to put on record the words and opinions on difficult points of the ascetic life for the benefit and guidance of future generations of monks. It is, in my opinion, quite impossible for all the " Sayings " and " Stories " collected by Andn-fsho to belong to this early period or to be of Egyptian origin, but it is certain that a very large proportion of them is of Egyp tian origin, and that the teaching and spirit in all of them are the products of the Christian monasticism of Egypt. On the other hand, the authorship of many of them is doubtful, and this we must probably attribute to the mistakes of copyists. When the " Sayings " were first collected, they were grouped either according to the names of their authors or their subject matters; but these arrangements were soon broken up, and after a generation or two anything like systematic order dis appeared from the collections. The "Sayings" and the "Stories" of the monks translated in the second volume of this work are of great value for the study of Egyptian monas tic Christianity, for they reveal the very thoughts of the ascetics and illustrate the views of the monks on almost every con ceivable point in connexion with the theory and practice of the Christian Life as they understood it. In them we have de picted the strength and weakness of the holy men, and though xxxvij Contents of tbe Boofe our modern ideas may suggest that selfishness was at the bottom of their stern asceticism, that their labours did nothing to help the world along, and that their hardships and the tortur- ings of their bodies were both useless and unnecessary, no one can deny that the fixedness and intensity of their faith, and their high aims and practical morality made them bright lights and guides to all, and proved them to be most earnest seekers after God. xxxvnj iij. Cbristian /Iftonastidsm in IN approaching- the consideration of Christian monasticism in Egypt, it will be well to remember that the more the ancient religions of the world are studied, the plainer it is that in all ages, both in Asia and Africa, certain kinds of men have, for various reasons, devoted themselves to a life of asceticism which was more or less severe. It is foreign to our purpose to adduce detailed proofs of this statement here, and it is unne cessary, for anyone who will take the trouble to read the his tory of the leaders of the great religious movements which have taken place in China, and India, and Western Asia, and also the literature of ancient Egypt, cannot fail to be convinced of this fac~t. Men who were tired of the world, or who had ex perienced great disappointments, or who wished to impress their views and ideas concerning spiritual matters on their fellow men, forsook the habitations of men and retired into mountains and deserts, where they fasted, prayed, kept vigils, and meditated, and sometimes devoted their lives to minis tering to the wants, both material and spiritual, of the poor and needy. They preserved their bodies chaste, and despised the possessions of this world. At the same time it must be borne in mind that the asceticism practised by the monks of Egypt differed in many particulars from that of men of other countries, and also that its essential characteristics were founded on views which were quite distinct from those which made the devout priests of the pre-Christian religions of Egypt pass their time in solitude, silence, reflection and study, and caused them to adopt lives of poverty and austere self-abne gation. The Christian monks of Egypt, like investigators of our own time, often discussed the question, "Who were the first " monks?" Some held the view that the first who led lives of virginity and holiness in the desert were the Prophet Elijah and John the Baptist, and seemed to have assumed that the lives of the monks of Egypt were the counterparts of these great desert teachers. Some were firmly convinced that Chris tian monasticism began with St. Anthony, who was born about 250, and died about 355, whilst others again asserted boldly that the first Christian monk who dwelt in the desert was Paul the Anchorite, "who ended [his career] in the days of " DeciusandValerianus"(A.D. 249-253, 253-270)^01. 1, p. 197). Now we find from the life of Paul, attributed to Palladius in the Syriac version, that this man w r as the son of wealthy parents who died when he was sixteen years of age; he was educated in the learning of both the Greeks and the Egyptians, and he xxxix Be0ftmftH) of Cbristian /foonasttcism loved God with his whole heart. His sister s husband was always lying in wait to deliver him over to those who were persecuting the Christians, and at length he found it necessary to flee to the mountains, where he found a rock-cave wherein he lived for many years. When he was 113 years old, he was visited by St. Anthony, who travelled across the desert, and held converse first with a hippo-centaur, and next with a satyr. Now, according to the story, Anthony was at this time 90 years old, but this is impossible, for it is said in the same story that Paul "ended" in the days of Decius and Valerianus, in other words, that Anthony was a youth when Paul was a very old man. Assuming, however, that Anthony was 90 years old when he visited Paul, and that Paul was 113 years old at the time, it is tolerably certain that Paul had lived the life of an anchorite some twenty-three years longer than Anthony. If, on the other hand, we accept the statement that Paul died between 249 and 270 aged 1 13 years, it would follow that he was born about 150, and that he lived the life of a Christian monk before the close of the second century. It is impossible to think from any point of view that Paul was the only Christian who retired to the desert, whether he was born in the second or in the third century, but the history of his life is valuable as showing that a tradition, which was extant when the writer compiled his life, asserted that he was the first of the Christian monks who lived in the desert. What we are probably intended to understand by the writer of the life of Paul is that Paul was an anchorite in the desert to the east of the Nile, between the river and the Red Sea, before St. Anthony, and that when he first settled there Christian monks in general had not chosen that desert as a place of abode. When we consider the trials and tribulations in the midst of which the Christians of Egypt lived during the second century, it is difficult not to think that large numbers of them forsook the towns and villages and fled to the mountains and deserts, the men to avoid military service, and the women to escape dishonour and persecution. A tradition states that during the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161) an abbot called Frontonius, hating the world and longing for solitude, collected seventy brethren and led them into the Nitrian Desert, where they cultivated the ground, and lived exceedingly austere lives (Afla Sanftorum, April 14). For one systematically arranged "flight from the world" such as this, there must have been hundreds of which no record now exists. Taking all the pro babilities of the case into consideration, we are justified in stat ing that by the year 300 there were in all the mountains and deserts of Egypt a large number of Christian monks and soli- xl IRepentance tary ascetics. It is doubtful if brotherhoods existed at this time; indeed, the histories of the ascetics which come first in the book Paradise indicate that they did not, for from these we learn that each recluse did what seemed right in his own eyes. Each man was entirely devoted to the saving of his own soul, and apparently cared for nothing and no one else. Each tried to lead a more austere life than that of his neighbour, believing that through the multitude of his fastings, vigils, and prayers he could make himself acceptable to God. Some, no doubt, repented of their evil deeds and thoughts with absolute sincerity, and their repentance lasted for years at a time, but repentance had never been a characteristic of the Egyptian, as we may see from the older literature of Egypt. Up to about B.C. 2400 the Egyptian based all his hopes of reaching heaven upon the performance of ceremonies and the recital of formulae, which would enable him to learn the great and secret name of the God of the other world. His moral code was of the highest character, and he often boasts in his inscrip tions that he was good and dutiful to his father and mother, and affectionate to his brothers and sisters, and that he never did harm to any man because he feared an unfavourable judge ment in the Hall of Osiris. In no inscription, however, known to me is there any mention of sorrow or regret for the com mission of any sin or offence. In the religious texts written about B.C. 1500, when, pro bably under Asiatic influence, a more spiritual conception of religion existed among the priests, we find clear indications that the doctrine of retribution was accepted by them. Good deeds and pious acts performed on earth secured for the doer when in the other world a regular and unfailing supply of offerings, and a favourable hearing when his soul was weighed in the Balance in the Hall of Osiris, and, in the Fields of the Blessed, a grant of land, the extent of which was in proportion to his good deeds upon earth. The funerary inscriptions which describe the lives of those whom they commemorate are full of protestations put into the mouths of deceased persons as to the righteousness and integrity of their lives, and in the Books of the Dead they deny the commission of forty-two sins and offences. Nowhere, however, do we find that the deceased persons express regret or contrition for such offences against the law as they must certainly have committed. Indeed, it seems as if the Egyptian regarded sin merely as a breach of an obli gation to the moral law from which he could free himself by his own subsequent good works, or by the payment of offer ings. There is no word in the hieroglyphic texts for "repen tance," and in making the Coptic version of the New Testa- xlj 3f (nutting of fl&onasteries ment the translators were obliged to borrow the Greek word HETavoia when they needed to express the idea of repentance. The fundamental ideas which underlie the words repentance," " conscience," and "faith," as understood by modern Christian peoples, seem to have been unknown to the ancient Egyptian, and it seems to me that they were only partially understood by the earliest of the Christian monks. The Christian and Egyptian monks trusted very largely to the efficacy of their own works for salvation. Hence their prolonged fasts, their multitudinous prayers, their constant vigils, their excessive manual labour, and their ceaseless battle against the cravings and desires of the body. The greatest monk was he who could fast the longest, rest and sleep the least, pray the greatest number of prayers, keep vigil the longest, work the hardest, endure best the blazing heat of the day and the bitter cold of the night, and who could reduce his body to the most complete state of impassibility. When hunger, thirst, cold, silence, watching and praying had reduced the body, the spiritual nature and faculties sprang into active operation, and the monks saw visions and received revelations of a super natural character. Whether we regard Abbd Paul or St. Anthony as the first monk who dwelt in the desert, it is quite certain that the syste matic establishment of monasticism in Egypt is due to the latter. During the first half of his life St. Anthony was sur rounded by a large number of monks who emulated his mode of life, and who were more or less under his spiritual direction and guidance. Very early in the fourth century, perhaps, before 310, he gathered together a considerable number of monks, and they came and lived with him in a monastery not far from the Red Sea. Up to that time he had lived in Pispir, the u outer mountain," which appears to have been situated about sixty-five miles to the south of Cairo, eight miles to the north of the modern town of Beni Suwef, and several miles inland from the west bank of the Nile. The monastery to which he betook himself with his community of monks was about twenty-five miles from the Red Sea, and the most direct route to it from the Nile is by the old desert road which runs almost due east from the village of Bayad, about eighty miles to the south of Cairo. It stood on the " inner mountain," as the place is called in the history of St. Anthony. The Monastery of Paul (not Paul the Simple) lay some twenty miles to the south-east of that of St. Anthony. The next great event in the history of Christian monasticism in Egypt was the founding, about 320, of the famous Monas tery of Tabenna, near the modern town of Denderah, in Upper xlij 1Rule of flbacbomius Egypt, by Pachomius, who was born a few years before the close of the third century. When he had finished his disciple- ship, an Angel appeared to him and told him to go and collect the wandering monks, to live with them, and to lay down such laws as he should tell him for their guidance. The Angel then gave him a book (or tablet), wherein were written six laws. According to these a monk might eat and drink, or fast, as he pleased; no pressure was to be put upon him to do either. The strong were to labour hard, and the weak according to their strength, and each was to be encouraged to do his utmost. Monks were to live three by three in cells, and were to eat to gether in one house. They were not to sleep lying down, but seats were to be provided, so that when sitting down they might " support their heads." They were to sleep in sleeveless gar ments, wear skull caps with crosses worked in purple upon the fronts of them, and partake of the Eucharist on Saturdays and Sundays. The monks were to be divided into twenty-four grades, each of which was to bear the name of a letter of the alphabet. In addition to these rules the Angel ordered that no man should be received into that monastery until he had toiled three years; the same period, we may note in passing, which Isidore ordered Palladius to serve. Though the monks ate together, they were to cover their faces with their cowls, and were not to converse with each other or look about. The rule of Pacho mius seems to have been attractive to many, for the company of monks in the house in which he lived numbered 1,300, and there were several other houses near, each containing from one to three hundred monks. Each monk worked at a trade, and we learn (Vol. I, p. 146) that there were in the community gardeners, blacksmiths, bakers, carpenters, fullers, makers of baskets, mats, nets, and sandals, and one scribe. As each man worked he repeated the Psalms and selected passages from the Scriptures. Of the articles made by the monks a certain num ber were sold to the people of the neighbouring villages, but from the story told in Vol. I, p. 300, we see clearly that Pacho mius did not allow an excessive profit to be made by the dealer who disposed of the surplus goods. From the Asketikon (Vol. I, pp. 283ff) we may conclude that Pachomius was an able and just administrator, and one who detested excess of any kind among his followers. He urged every man to do his best, but he was most severe in his dealings with the vainglorious, and with those who undertook tasks beyond their power to fulfil. In illustration may be quoted the story (Vol. I, p. 291) of the cook who neglected his duly appointed work of cooking vegetables for the brethren for two months, and devoted his xliij Cbrtstian IRunnerfes time to the plaiting of mats. He excused himself by saying that the brethren used not to eat all that he cooked, and that much food was therefore wasted, to say nothing- of the forty flasks of oil which were mixed daily with the peas and vegetables, but Pachomius refused to accept his excuse, and having ordered the five hundred mats which the cook had made to be brought to him, he threw them into the fire. Another monk sighed for martyrdom, and begged Pacho mius to pray that he might become a martyr, but there was little chance of this happening, for there was peace in the world, and Constantine was reigning. Pachomius told him to lead the life of a monk blamelessly, and to make his life pleasing to Christ, and then he should enjoy the companion ship of the martyrs in heaven. This, however, did not satisfy the monk, and in spite of the warnings of his abbot, he con tinued to crave for martyrdom. Two years later Pachomius despatched a number of monks to an island in the river to the south to cut reeds for the mat-makers, and he sent the monk who wished to become a martyr to them with some money for their expenses, which he took an ass to carry. When he came to the place on the river bank opposite to the island, a company of the Blemmyes came down to draw water, and finding the monk there, they made him dismount, and having seized the ass and his money, they carried him off to the mountains. Then they made a feast and poured out libations to their gods, and urged the monk to join them in their worship. He refused at first to do so, but when they came against him w r ith drawn swords in their hands and threatened to kill him, he took wine and poured out a libation to their gods, and denied God. When he returned to his monastery and confessed what he had done, Pachomius condemned him to solitary confinement, to one meal a day of bread and salt, to perpetual vigil and tears, and to plait two palm-leaf mats each day. After ten years of this penance he died (Vol. I, p. 304). On the other side of the river near the monastery of Pacho mius there were several nunneries, some of which were main tained by the work of the monks. Of the nuns who dwelt in these Palladius tells two stories (Vol. I, p. 147). A sister was seen by another talking to a man who asked her for work, and some time later, during a dispute between these two nuns, she who had seen the other talking with the man accused her of committing an act of infamy. This accusation distressed the innocent sister greatly, and at length she went and drowned herself secretly; her accuser, terrified at the result of her calumny, also drowned herself secretly. The second story s that of a sister who had been possessed of a devil, and who xliv /l&onfes of IFlitrfa permitted her companions to treat her with contempt; she waited upon them in the refectory, and performed so many menial duties that Palladius says she became the " broom of the whole nunnery." It was, however, revealed to Abba Pite- rius, who lived in the Porphyrites, that a nun of Tabenna was more excellent than he, and he asked his superior to give him permission to go and see her. When he arrived there, all the nuns came in to be blessed by him except the sister who made herself the servant of them all, and when he asked for her, she had to be dragged into his presence. As soon as she ap peared, Piterius bowed down before her, and in answer to the remonstrances of the other sisters, declared that she was their " mother and his," and that he entreated God to grant him a portion with her in the Day of Judgement. On this the sisters who had been in the habit of buffeting her, and throwing the "rinsings of vessels" over her, and insulting her, expressed contrition and asked her pardon. These stories are told in such detail that Palladius must have heard them himself at Tabenna, where he cannot have failed to stay during his travels in Egypt. Now whilst Anthony was directing a community of monks on the " Inner Mountain," and Pachomius was Abbot of Ta benna, numbers of other monks were leading lives of austerity in the Desert of Nitria, or the Natron Valley (Wadi-an- Natrun), as it is generally called, and in the Desert of Scete. To reach Nitria Palladius was obliged to cross Lake Mareotis, which occupied him a day and a half. The main portion of the valley lies a little to the north-west of Cairo, and can be reached in two days by camel. When he arrived there he found a company of about 5,000 monks, who lived in twos and threes, or in groups; besides these there were 600 anchorites/who lived, each by himself, in the neighbouring desert. The making of bread for these occupied seven bakers. Each monk lived as he pleased, either by himself or with others. Here in a court yard stood a large church, which was served by eight priests, and the monks attended divine service on Saturday and Sun day. In the courtyard were three palm trees, with a whip hanging on each; one whip was used for beating the monks who committed acts of folly, another was used for chastising thieves, and the third for beating strangers who misbehaved. Close to the church was a guest-house, in which the visitor might stay as long as he pleased, provided he was willing to work in the bakery or refectory. At Nitria there were physi cians and confectioners and wine merchants, but no man was needy, for every one had to work at the weaving of flax. At night-fall the monks began to sing psalms and to pray, and xlv Cells an& the visitor who heard the singing of the monks rising up round about him, might, "his mind being exalted," imagine that he was in the " Paradise of Eden," i.e., heaven. In Nitria Palladius heard of Ammon, Nathaniel, Paul the Simple, Hor, and Pambo, and he saw Ammonius, Benjamin the Physician, Macarius, and many others, and from the fa6ls which he relates it is clear that Nitria had been inhabited by monks for more than one hundred years before he arrived there. One portion of the Nitrian Valley, because of the steep, precipitous rocks in it, was called "Klimax," i.e., "the Lad der," and as no water was to be had nearer than twelve miles, it was usually considered to be uninhabitable. Here, notwith standing, for fifteen years lived Ptolemy the Egyptian (Vol. I, p. 136), who collected in sponges the dew which fell in the months of December and January, and having squeezed these out into jars he obtained a supply of water for the whole year. It is sad to learn that he went mad, and scoffed at the Eucha rist, and that he finally departed to Egypt, where he gave him self over to prodigal and riotous living. Another interesting portion of the Nitrian Valley was called "The Cells," because here were situated the abodes of the monks who were hermits in the strictest sense of the word. Each man lived by himself in a cell at some distance from any neighbour, and only mixed with his fellows when he went to the Church of Nitria, which was some miles distant, on Satur day and Sunday. Now we know from other sources that during the second half of the fourth century a large and important societyof monks lived near the modern town of Suhdk, about 320 miles south of Cairo. Their rallying point was the famous "White Monastery," which stood on the skirt of the desert on the west bank of the Nile, and was dedicated to the great ascetic Abba" Shenuti by the Empress Helena. Shenuti was born about 333, and died at midday on July 2, 451, aged 118 years! He became a monk when a boy, and for years was under the direction of his uncle Bgul, and for nearly 100 years he possessed very great influence. It is difficult to understand why Palladius makes no mention of him, and why he does not describe the rule of his monks, which was a very severe one. Shenuti was a man of violent temper and a strenuous opponent of Nestorius and his followers, and we can only surmise that Palladius omitted all reference to him because he disapproved of his personal characteristics. It would be wrong to think that he had no knowledge of the great communities of monks which flourished in the neighbourhood of Suhak and Akhmim (Panopolis). xlvj Women Another great host of monks lived at Oxyrrhynchus, about 125 miles south of Cairo, where, we learn from The History of the Monks, there were thirteen churches (Vol. I, p. 337). "The " city was so full of the habitations of the brethren that the " walls thereof are wellnigh thrust out with them, so many 4 * were the brethren." Five thousand monks lived inside the city, and five thousand outside, and the praises of God rose up to heaven every hour of the day and night. Besides these the Bishop had under his charge twenty thousand nuns. Strangers were cordially welcomed at Oxyrrhynchus; and the writer of The History of the Monks says that his cloak and other garments were wellnigh torn off his back by the eager hands of those who contended with each other for the pleasure of receiving him into their houses. At Lycus, near the modern city of Asyut, was another famous community of monks, the most famous of these being John the Carpenter. He was born about 304, became a monk about 330, and five years later he took up his abode on the top of the mountain of Lycus, where he lived until his death, which took place about 394. He possessed the gift of prophecy and worked miracles, and his counsel was sought by all, from Theodosius the Emperor to the humblest monk. During the earlier years of his life as a monk he ate nothing cooked by fire, not even bread, and towards the close of his life his food consisted of dried herbs only. He founded no community of monks, but large numbers of ascetics must have regarded him as their spiritual father (See Vol. I, pp. i6gff. and 32off.) During the period of his banishment to Egypt, Palladius wandered about the country and paid visits to many monas teries and solitaries. He found Antinoe so interesting that he spent four years there. The town lay on the east bank of the river, and its site is marked to-day by the village of Shekh Abddah. At Antinoe there were twelve nunneries, and Palla dius met there Emmd Talidd, the head of sixty virgins, and the virgin Taor. Close to the town lived some twelve hun dred men "who worked with their hands and lived the life of 44 spiritual excellence " (Vol. I, p. 180). In the desert of Antinoe lived Elijah the hermit, who was no years old when the writer of The History of the Monks became acquainted with him, and who had lived there for seventy years. His daily food consisted of three ounces of bread and three olives, which he ate in the evening; in his earlier years he partook of food only once a week (Vol. I, p. 340). From what has been said above it is clear that during the fourth century Egypt was filled with monks of all kinds, and that the monastic life was general there. During the two pre- xlvij Ube Hrm$ of tbe ceding centuries the followers of the ascetic life were content to lead solitary lives in isolated places on the borders of the towns and villages, and in the mountains and deserts, but after the persecutions of Decius and Diocletian, they found that their personal safety depended upon their living together in organized communities. The formation of societies, or bro therhoods, was quickly followed by the building of substantial monasteries, which were provided with courts enclosed by strong outer walls and gates, and the resistance which could be offered to intruders by some hundred of monks armed with the stout stick or cudgel of the Egyptian peasant was not small. Palladius, unfortunately, gives no description of the monasteries which he saw, but it is tolerably certain that their main features resembled those of the great buildings, half monastery half fortress, of which a fine example remains in the ruined monastery of St. Simeon near Aswan. If the numbers of the monks in Nitria, Antinoe, Oxyrrhynchus, Panopolis, and other places, given by Palladius and the author of the History of the Monks, be correct, it is clear that the whole body of the ascetics of Egypt must have formed a veritable army which was sufficiently strong to resist any un popular measure of the Government. This fact, no doubt, explains why the heads of great religious houses were often consulted by the authorities on matters of State, and why their advice was so often followed by the leaders of military expeditions against the barbarians to the south of Egypt. xlviij tv\ ftbe Supernatural Element in tbe :!Boofc * * ff\ ct t*<^^tfi/> ** IN perusing the lives of the holy men given in the Book Paradise and in The History of the Monks the reader will find described a series of incidents and events in which the supernatural element plays a prominent part, and some critics have asserted that they constitute a proof that these works are not genuine. Palladius was, no doubt, credulous in respect of miracles and supernatural occurrences in general, but, in my opinion, the evidence that he was so is a proof that he lived at a time when the Christian world believed in the things which he describes, and the details given by him con vince me that his knowledge of the particular events which he records was acquired at first hand. Those who are familiar with the magic of the Dynastic Egyptians find few miraculous occurrences in the histories of the monks of which parallels do not exist in the pagan literature of Egypt. The monks cer tainly rejected the old gods of the country, but the folk-lore survived, and with it the beliefs and superstitions which be longed to the mythology of a remote past and which were never wholly eradicated. To the Cross were transferred the powers and attributes of the old Egyptian amulet dnkh, and the histories of the monks supply many instances of its use as an amulet. Thus when Anthony made over himself the Sign of the Cross the devil "was straightway terrified" (Vol. I, p. 10); and on another occasion the devil, seeing the Sign, "passed " away quickly in the form of a flame of fire" (p. 16). Anthony protected himself against a being half-man half-ass by the Sign of the Cross (p. 44). One day the devil appeared to Macarius the Egyptian and explained his system of wiles and fraud ; the "chosen athlete" made the Sign over himself and the devil disappeared (p. 278). John of Lycus made the Sign over some oil which he sent to a woman who had cataract in her eyes ; she smeared her eyes therewith three times, and after three days she saw (p. 322). Poemen made the Sign over a youth whose face "had been turned backwards by the Evil One," and the youth was healed (Vol. II, p. 144). A certain father was about to drink from a vessel, and when a holy woman made the Sign over it, the devil fell from the vessel in the form of a flash of fire (Vol. II, p. 269). The brethren said, "The " demons fear and tremble, not only by reason of the Cruci fixion of Christ, but even at the Sign of the Cross, whether it " be depicted upon a garment or made in the air" (Vol. II, p. 299). The "name of the Cross" even was a "word of power," xlix d Sign of tbe dross wherewith Anthony put to flight the fiery phantoms which attacked him by night (Vol. I, p. 43). The monks, like the Apostles (St. Matthew vii, 22) used the Name of Christ as a word of power. A haughty and insolent devil "once appeared to Anthony, and said, I am the power " of God, " whereupon the old man blew a puff" of wind at him, and rebuked him in the Name of Christ, and the devil and all his host disappeared (Vol. I, p. 33). On another occasion Anthony held converse with Satan, but when Satan heard him mention the "Name of Christ his form vanished "and his words came to an end" (Vol. I, p. 35). One night when Satan had brought a troop of devils in the form of beasts against Anthony, at the mention of the Name of Christ Satan was driven away "like a sparrow before a hawk" (Vol. I, p. 44). By the Name of Christ Anthony drove out a devil from a maiden (Vol. I, p. 59), and it w r as well known that he per formed all his healings by means of prayer and the mention ot the Name of Christ (Vol. I, p. 68). Now Anthony was an Egyptian, and he did in such matters as a pagan Egyptian priest would have done, only his prayer took the place of the old magical formula, and the Name of Christ was used instead of the name of an old Egyptian god. Abba Benus adjured a hippopotamus which devoured the crops in a certain village in the Name of Jesus Christ, and the beast departed forthwith, and did no further harm (Vol. I, p. 337); and the fathers went so far as to say that laymen might drive away devils by the Name of Christ and the Sign of the Cross (Vol. II, p. 300). When we remember that Anthony was, notwithstanding his natural shrewdness and virtues, an uneducated Egyptian, we need feel no surprise at the stories of his conflicts with devils and phantoms. His wandering among the tombs must have made him familiar with the painted reliefs in them and with the figures of gods and mythological beings in whom his ancestors believed, and the vivid imagination which he inherited from his ancestors endued them with life and movement. He was unacquainted with the literature of ancient Egypt, for he could neither read nor write, and therefore he could not know that the paintings only represented the attempts made by funerary artists to give form to the weird conceptions of the supposed denizens of the other world, both good and evil, which his forefathers had evolved out of their own minds. It is noteworthy that many of the stories which relate the appearances of the Devil are told in connexion with men of Egyptian origin. Thus Palladius tells us (Vol. I, p. 115) that a certain Egyptian who wished to gain the love of another man s wife hired a magician to employ his sorceries in order to make 1 2>e\>ils anfc Demoniacal possession the woman love him or to make her husband hate her and cast her out; the magician failed to make the woman unfaithful, but he succeeded in transforming- her into a mare. After three days the husband of the woman took the mare to Macarius the Egyptian, to whom God had revealed the matter, and when the brethren announced her arrival to the holy man, Ma carius told them that the appearance of the woman to them in the form of a mare was due to an " error of sight " (hypnotic suggestion?) on the part of those who saw her. He then threw water which he had blessed over her, and she straightway ap peared in the form of a woman to every man there ; after eating some sacramental bread she was healed. To Macarius also they brought a man possessed of afiery devil (Vol. I, p. 117), who, when he had eaten three baskets of bread and drunk three bottles of water, vomited them in the form of " smoky " vapour." Under the treatment of Macarius the man became content with three pounds of food per day, and was healed. Nathaniel, another Egyptian recluse, was sorely tempted to leave his cell to help a young man whose laden ass was said to have fallen in the bed of the river. He refrained, however, and the young man, who was the Devil, and his ass disappeared in a whirlwind (Vol. I, p. 113). When Macarius the Alexandrian went to the garden of Jannes and Jambres "seventy devils " came forth against him in the form of ravens ; these devils were, no doubt, mere birds, but the imagination of the saint turned them into devils (Vol. I, p. 119). On one occasion, when Ma carius was one hundred years old, Palladius heard him " striv- 4 ing with his soul and with Satan," and saying to the Evil One, "Thou canst do nothing unto me, get thee gone" (Vol. I, p. 1 24) . One day a man possessed of a devil was brought to Paul the Simple and Anthony, and when the ordinary means failed to drive him out, Paul appealed to Christ, and swore that he would neither eat nor drink until the devil had come out of the man. Thereupon the devil cried out that he was being ill- treated, and when he asked Paul where he should go, the holy man said, "To the uttermost depths of the abyss." On this the devil came out, and transformed himself into "a mighty "dragon seventy cubits long," which wriggled its way down to the Red Sea (Vol. I, p. 128). The serpent is a well-known representative of the Evil One in Egyptian mythology, and the length of the monster here given suggests that the holy man regarded the creature before him as akin to Apep, the arch-enemy of Horus and Ra. Pachomius, the Abbot of Ta- benna, was also vexed by devils, and we are told (Vol. I, p. 290) that one day, whilst he was journeying in the desert of Ammon, "certain legions of devils rose up against him and Casting of Spells " thronged him, both on his right hand and on his left," and they clung to him until he reached the monastery. On another occasion, when he and Theodore were walking through the monastery by night, a woman appeared to them whose beauty was so great as to be indescribable, and even Theodore, who looked at the phantom, was exceedingly perturbed, and his face changed colour (Vol. I, p. 304). In answer to his questions she told Pachomius that she was the daughter of the Calumniator, and that she had received power to fight against him. Another survival of the old Egyptian belief in the power of men, under certain circumstances, to cast spells is recorded in the history of Apollo (Vol. I, p. 351). The ten villages which were round abcut his place of abode, near Hermopolis, i.e., the city of the g 3d Thoth, were filled with men who worship ped a wooden idol, and they carried him in procession from village to village, whilst the priests and people danced be fore him. One day Apollo saw them carrying on their " devilish sports," and he knelt down and prayed, and im mediately all the people became spell-bound where they stood, and being unable to move they were obliged to remain there the whole day long in the fierce heat of the sun, and each was parched with thirst. Then certain of the inhabitants sent oxen to drag away the idol, but they also became spell-bound, and could move neither the idol nor themselves. At length it was re cognized that the sports had been stopped by Apollo, and the people sent andbegged for his help. Hewent quickly and prayed over the men who were spell-bound, and removed the spell, and they at once believed in Christ, and burned their idol, and were baptized. The supernatural powers of Apollo were exercised in many other ways. During a dispute in a village about certain boun daries, the leader of the barbarians declared that there could never " be peace until death." To this Apollo replied, " It shall " be as thou sayest, but none except thyself shall die ; and the 11 earth shall not be thy grave, but the bellies of wild beasts." That night the man died, and on the following morning his remains were found horribly mangled by vultures and hyenas. The faith that was in the holy man enabled him to kill snakes, asps, vipers, and all kinds of reptiles, and in a time of famine he fed the hungry folk from baskets of bread which always re mained full through his miraculous powers. In connexion with Apollo mention is made of another Egyptian called Ammon, who slew a mighty serpent (Vol. I, p. 352). The monster was wont to slay sheep and cattle, and when the people begged the saint to free them from him, he went and knelt down at the place where the serpent usually Supernatural powers of tbe flfeoufes passed, and prayed. Whilst he was praying, the serpent came and tried to strike him, but as soon as Ammon had called upon Christ to destroy him, the reptile burst asunder. The instances quoted above are sufficient to illustrate the miraculous powers attributed to the ascetics of Egypt, and it is clear that the monks believed that they were able to cast out devils from the human body, and to destroy their evil works. The author of The History of the Monks boldly states that, at the time when he was writing-, they raised the dead, and like Peter, walked on the water, and performed everything which the Redeemer and His Apostles performed. \>. TTbe 3Lf\?es of tbe Bsppttan fl&onfes anfc tbeft* FROM the Histories related by Palladius and by the author of The History of the Monks we can gain a very clear idea of the manner of the lives of the solitary dwellers in the desert and of those who dwelt in monasteries. The first thing to be done by the man who determined to become an ascetic was to flee from the world, that is to say, to forsake the habitation of men, and to avoid all intercourse with men, and especially with women. At first the strong-willed man left his town or village, and seeking out a lonely spot in the desert or moun tains took up his abode there. Later, when men like Anthony, and Paul, and Ammon lived in the desert, the man who would be a monk joined their followers, and learned from them the fun damental principles of the ascetic life. Those who, for various reasons, felt themselves unequal to the labours of the solitary life, remained in the company of their fellow-monks, and usually lived blameless lives until they died. The solitary dweller, having chosen his place of abode, at once began to eat sparingly with the view of reducing the strength of the passions of his body, and he drank nothing but water. Those who lived in the mountains and near the river had little diffi culty in obtaining water, but many of them lived at consider able distances from a stream or well, and deliberately made the task of obtaining a supply of water as difficult as possible. The chief article of food of the solitaries was bread made in the form of thin cakes; many of them ate these dry, but some soaked them, or dipped them in water first. When one father asked another if he would not dip his bread-cake in water, his companion replied, "When a possession increaseth set not "thy heart upon it" (Vol. II, p. 18). Abb& Isaac, the priest of the Cells, ate the ashes of the censer which was before the altar with his bread (Vol. II, p. 18), and another father used to make the Sign of the Cross over his food instead of mixing oil with it (Vol. II, p. 23). A monk usually ate bread and salt once a day, in the evening, but some only ate every second day, others every third or fourth day, and men of might often fasted for a week at a time. Moderate men thought it best for a man to eat a very little bread each day. A limited number of monks never ate bread at all, for they agreed with Theodotus, who said, "Abstinence from bread quieteth the body of a monk" (Vol. II, p. 21). And Poemen said, "The soul can be humbled "by nothing except thou make it feeble by eating bread" (Vol. II, p. 22). Some monks never ate bread at all, others ate nothing else, and the former lived upon vegetables and fruit, liv Bating, HJrtnfctnfl, anfc Sleeping arid, when they could find it, wild honey. The greater number of the monks "cooked with fire," that is, boiled their vege tables, and the rest ate them dried. One stern monk advised a brother who consulted him about monastic comforts, to "Eat grass, wear grass, and sleep on grass," adding, "then "thy heart will become like iron" (Vol. II, p. 17). A counsel of this kind could be followed but by few, but there are recorded some cases in which monks actually lived on grass. Thus a certain monk went a journey of three days into the desert, and looking down from a rock he saw an old man "grazing like the " beasts"; he went down and gave chase to him, and when he came up with him he asked him to "speak a word." The old man replied, "Flee from the children of men, keep silence, and "thou shalt live" (Vol. I, p. 236). Elsewhere we read of an other monk who fed on grass by the Jordan (Vol. I, p. 239). The rule of Pachomius permitted monks to eat when they pleased, and to a limited degree what they pleased, but the solitaries were very strict in the matter of food. Isidore never took a full meal seated comfortably at a table, and flesh he never ate; Dorotheos lived on dry bread; Macarius the Alexan drian for seven years ate no boiled food, and lived on herbs and vegetables which had been soaked in water, and for a long period his daily allowance of bread was four or five ounces, and of water he only drank enough to enable him to eat his bread. During the Lenten fast his only food was a few cabbage leaves which he ate each Sunday. For fifteen years Ptolemy of the "Klimax" in Nitria drank nothing but the dew which he collected in sponges during the months of December and January each year. The solitaries who passed their nights in prayer and contemplation, and their days in plaiting palm- leaf mats, needed less food than the monks who lived in mona steries and performed hard manual labour. Sometimes they were so much occupied in repeating the Psalms that they for got their food altogether; at other times they fought against their inclination to eat, and their hunger left them (Vol. II, p. 17). As to the use of wine various views were held. Macarius the Egyptian liked wine, but if he drank one cup he would not drink water for a whole day afterwards. Paphnutius drank a cup of wine to escape death at the hand of a robber chief. Sisoes would drink two cups, but always refused the third, saying, "The third cupful is of Satan." One old man handed back his cup of wine to the brethren, saying, "Take away this "death from me"; and Poemen said, "The nature of wine is " not such as to make it useful to the dwellers in monasteries." Abb& Abraham only thought three cups of wine too much to drink because Satan existed. Solitaries and coenobites alike Iv Glotbtncj agreed that, "As the body groweth the soul becometh weak; " the more the body becometh emaciated, the more the soul "groweth" (Vol. II, p. 22). Of the clothing worn by the solitaries little is said in the Book Paradise, but we are justified in assuming that it was small in quantity. Some, like Anthony, wore leather tunics, and others rough, untanned skins of goats, with the hair next their skin. Large numbers of them possessed no clothing ex cept loin-clothes, and many went naked. Macarius says (Vol. I, p. 234) that he saw two naked monks, one an Egyptian and the other a Libyan, who had lived with the beasts for forty years ; they told him that they were not burnt up in the summer and that in the winter they did not freeze. Another naked old man was seen grazing like the beasts, and he had lived so long in the desert that he could not endure the smell of man (Vol. I, p. 235). Another old man had lived naked near the Red Sea for thirty years, and his hair had grown so long dur ing this period that it covered him (Vol. I, p. 237). The dwe-1- lers in monasteries were better clad, and from the Rule of Pacho- mius we know that they wore skull-caps, and slept in a kind of shirt which was without sleeves. The solitaries and some other kinds of monks wore cloths over their heads, which served the double purpose of preventing them from seeing the faces of their fellows, and of keepingoff the keen winds from their faces. In places where the monks worked at the weaving of flax, they, no doubt, wore garments made of linen. The coverings of their beds were pieces of coarse linen, or, as in the case of An thony, the skin of a sheeporgoat. Some monks possessed cloaks. The beds of the monks who lay down to sleep were mats made of plaited palm leaves. It is laid down over and over again in The Sayings of the Fathers that a man is kept from sin by three things : flight from men, silence, and contemplation. Arsenius said that the sound of the twittering of a sparrow would prevent a monk from acquiring repose of heart, and the rustling of the wind in the reeds made it absolutely impossible (Vol. II, p. 4). Poemen told a brother that he did not learn to shut a door of wood, but the door of the tongue (Vol. I, p. 7), and when a brother asked Macarius how it was possible for them to flee further than the desert they were in, he laid his hand upon his mouth, and said, "Flee in this manner" (Vol. II, p. n). "Lay hold "on silence," "Keep silence," were sayings that were always in the mouths of the old men; and Poemen said, "A monk s "victory is only assured when he holdeth his peace" (Vol. II, p. 13). Agathon only learned to keep silent by holding a stone in his mouth for three years (Vol. II, p. 16). Ivj Silence anb Almost as important for the monk as keeping- silent was dwelling in the cell. "Eat, drink, sleep, and toil not, but on "no account go out of thy cell," was the advice of Arsenius to a brother (Vol. II, p. 5); and Sarmata said to a brother, * Sit thou in thy cell, and whatsoever thou canst do, that do, and trouble not thyself." Anthony said, "As a fish dieth 1 when it is taken out from the water, so doth the monk who tarrieth outside his cell" (Vol. II, p. 8). He also said, "The cell of a monk is the furnace of Babylon wherein the Three * Children found the Son of God, and it is also the pillar of cloud wherefrom God spake with Moses" (Vol. II, p. 14). The monk who sat in his cell and kept silent was enabled to pass his waking hours in the contemplation of spiritual mat ters, and this occupation was held to be of the highest impor tance. By meditating upon the dealings of God with man as exhibited in the histories of the saints given in the Old and New Testaments, the monk was enabled to apply their spiri tual lessons to his own needs and circumstances, and to cor rect his thoughts and to make his deeds harmonize with those of the prophets. The time not spent in contemplation was de voted to the reading and learning of the Scriptures, and to prayer. If the monk ceased his contemplation the devils at once entered his cell, and one old man actually saw a devil standing outside the door of a brother s cell, and waiting until he ceased his contemplation ; when he did so the devil was able to enter (Vol: II, p. 24). When a monk read the Divine Books the de vils were afraid (Vol. II, p. 24). The principal work of the prudent monk was "constant prayer"; he was taught to pray "in his heart, or in a carefully prepared service, or in that " service which he performed \vith his will and understanding" (Vol. II, p. 27). He was to speak to God in a quiet voice and say, "Lord, Thou knowest full well that I am a beast, and "that I know nothing. O Lord, by Thy Will vivify Thou me" (Vol. II, p. 27). A certain monk prayed always, and each evening he found bread in his cell for his evening meal ; when he joined in manual labour with another monk no bread ap peared in his cell. To him a voice said, Whilst thou occupiedst " thyself in converse with Me, I fed thee; but now thou hast " begun to work thou must demand thy food from the labour " of thy hands" (Vol. II, p. 30). The prayers of the brethren formed a " glorious pillar of brilliant light which reached from "the place where the brethren were congregated to the hea- "vens" (Vol. II, p. 30). The strenuous monk slept little, and Arsenius used to say that one hour s sleep was sufficient for him. Arsenius prayed from sunset on Saturday to sunrise on Sunday, and Pachomius Ivij Weeping anb tried to do without sleep altogether. For fifteen years he and Abbd John snatched a little sleep after their all-night vigils, as they sat in the middle of their cell, without leaning against a wall (Vol. II, p. 25). Abba Sisoes, to drive away sleep, used to stand all night on the precipitous peak of a mountain, to fall from which in a moment of unconsciousness meant certain death. The angel of the Lord, however, removed him from the peak, and forbade him to stand there again (Vol. II, p. 26). The accompaniments of true prayer were mourning and weeping, mourning for the crucifixion of our Lord, and weep ing for sins committed andgeneralunworthiness. Muthues said, " Weep and mourn, for the time hath come," and Ammon said, " Laugh not, O brother, for if thou dost, thou wilt drive " the fear of God from thy soul." Paul sank in the mire up to his neck, and he wept before God, and said, " Have mercy on "me." Isidore sat in his cell and wept always, and Poemen said, " He who weepeth not for himself in this world must " weep for ever in the next," and " There is no other path ex- " cept that of tears." And Macarius thought that the words " Flee from men" meant, " Sit in thy cell and weep for thy "sins "(Vol. II, pp. 31-34). The poverty of the monk was absolute. Serapion saw a hol low in a wall in a monk s cell filled with books, and he said, " That which belongeth to the orphans and widows thou hast u laid up in a hole in the wall." Theodore of Parme had three books, and he sold them and gave the proceeds to the poor. An old man took off his garment, and standing up, said, "A " monk must be as destitute of this world s goods as I am of " clothing." When Arsenius lived in Scete his apparel was in ferior to that of every one else, and a monk s apparel ought to be so worthless that if it were cast outside his cell for three days no man would consider it worth taking away. A monk once came to the church of the Cells wearing a head-cloth, and Abba Isaac said, " Monks dwell here, but thou art a man in " the world, and canst not live here." Nastir was ready to give away all his apparel, for he was certain that God would give him something wherewith to cover his body (Vol. II, pp. 35-40). The virtue most cultivated, and, perhaps, the most admired by the monks themselves, was patient endurance. Agathon bore quietly every accusation except that of being a heretic. When thieves came to plunder the cell of Macarius he helped them in their work, so little did he love possessions ; and when thieves were robbingthecell of another brother, hesaid, "Haste, " be quick, before the brethren come " (Vol. II, p. 43). Another brother, when attacked in his cell by evil-doers, brought a basin and entreated them to wash theirfeet ; the thieves were ashamed Iviij befcience and repented. Abba" John nursed Ammon for twelve years, and abated nothing of his own great labours (Vol. II, p. 44). Twelve brethren were led out of their road for a whole night by a brother who had lost the way, but none of them thought it right to tell him. Arsenius changed the water in which he soaked the palm leaves only twice each year, and endured its foul smell in return for the scents and oils which he had enjoyed when he was in the world (Vol. II, p. 46). Through the agency of Satan a monk went blind ; he did not pray that his sight might be restored, but only that he might be able to bear his trial patiently (Vol. II, p. 48). " What shall I do?" cried a brother to an old man, and the answer he received was, " Go 4< and learn to love putting restraint upon thyself in every - " thing "(Vol. 1 1, p. 51). "Bear everything, endure everything " from every man, except any attempt to separate thee from " God," said Poemen. Obedience was another virtue which the monks cultivated. Abba* Paule told his disciple Abba John to go into a tomb wherein was a savage panther, and bring out some things, and when John asked what he was to do with the panther, Paule said, "Tie him up, and bring him here." Though horribly afraid John did as he was told, and brought out the panther (Vol. II, p. 52). Mark the Scribe, on hearing his master s call, left his copying with the letter " O " unfinished. A life of obe dience is better than a life of voluntary poverty, and once when a monk famed for obedience stood up in the river among many crocodiles the creatures " worshipped him " (Vol. II, p. 54). Sisoes told a man who wanted to become a monk to throw his only son into the river, and the man went and was about to do so, when a messenger from the holy man told him not to do so; the man obeyed and, through his obedience, "became "achosen monk."" Obedience begetteth obedience," said the Abba of Ilm, and " If a man obeyeth God, God will obey him " (Vol. II, p. 55). Above all things a monk was ordered to watch his thoughts, words, and deeds, and especially his thoughts. The desert shut a man from the sights and sounds of the world, and from speech with men, but it could not save him from his thoughts. " I have died to the world," said one brother, and his friend replied, "Though thou sayest, I have died to the world, Satan " is not dead" (Vol. II, p. 59). Any thought which filled the heart with pride or vainglory was to be regarded as fornication (Vol. II, p. 77). Paphnutius said, " A monk is bound to keep " not only his body pure, but his soul free from unclean "thoughts" (Vol. II, p. 86). To each other and to all men the monks were bound to Hx Xox>e, <Tbarit& Dumf Hts show love and charity, and to entertain strangers was one of their first duties. On one occasion two brethren visited an old man, and he gave them his daily portion of food and fasted himself (Vol. II, p. go). A certain brother had a woman in his cell, and the monks wished to bring the matter home to him. Bishop Ammon knew of this, and going into the cell he made the woman get under a large earthenware jar, and then took his seat upon it. At his order the monks searched the cell and did not find the woman, and when they had all gone out Ammon said to the erring brother, "Take heed to thy soul " (Vol. II, p. 92). Macarius once visited a sick monk, and when he asked him if he wanted anything to eat, the brother re plied, " Yes, I want some honey-cakes." Thereupon Macarius set out for Alexandria, which was sixty miles distant, and brought back the sweetmeats and gave them to the monk (Vol. II, p. 92). Theodore was wont to make his own bread, and one day finding at the bakery a brother who did not know how to make bread, made bread for that brother and for two others, and last of all for himself (Vol. II, p. 93). Another holy man entreated God to let the devil which vexed his companion come to him; his prayer was answered, and the evil spirit de parted after a few days (Vol. II, p. 95). When Agathon went into the city to sell his work one day, he found a stranger lying sick in the market with none to care for him. He hired a room and lived in the city for four months, and spent what he earned in nursing the sick man, and when he was healed he returned to his cell (Vol. II, p. 98). A brother once admired a small knife which Agathon had, and the holy man did not let him depart until he had taken it. "If I see a brother asleep " in church I place his head on my knees, and I give him a place "to rest upon," said Poemen. A brother said, "And what "dost thou say unto God?" Poemen replied, "I say: Thou "Thyself hast said, First of all pluck the beam out of thine " own eye, and thou wilt be able to see to take out the mote " which is in the eye of thy brother" (Vol. II, p. 103). With the cultivation of patient endurance grew humility, and this virtue was esteemed very highly by the monks, for the devils told Anthony that humility made a man to escape from the snares of the Evil One, because they could not attain to it, pride being their chief characteristic. A monk when praised should always think upon his sins and say, " I am un- " worthy of the things which are said about me" (Vol. II, p. 108). "The greatness of a man consisteth of humility," said a holy man; and Abba John used to say, " We relinquish " a light burden when we condemn ourselves." A monk once fasted for seventy weeks, and his labour did not reach God, lx fmmilttt but because he humbled himself afterwards the Lord came and gave him rest (Vol. II, p. no). " Be humble in word and in "deed," said another old man." Abbd Longinus described himself to an old woman whom he healed of cancer, but who did not know him by sight, as a " lying hypocrite," and, praying that our Lord would heal her, told her that Longinus, who was a liar, could do her no good whatsoever (Vol. II, p. in). Abba John said that humility was the most excellent of the virtues (Vol. II, p. 113), and another old man said, 11 Humility is salted with salt" (Vol. II, p. 113). Abba John, through his humility, "held all Scete suspended on his ringer" (Vol. II, p. 1 16). "The perfection of a monk is humility," said one old man, and another said, " I would rather have defeat with humility than conquest with boasting" (Vol. II, p. 117). And Poemen said, "He who abaseth himself shall never fall " (Vol. II, p. 119). Zechariah took his cloak and laid it beneath his feet, saying, " Except a man let himself be trodden upon " thus he cannot be a monk " (Vol. II, p. 123). The above selection from The Sayings of the Fathers is suffi cient to show the high aims and lofty ideals of the Christian monks of Egypt, and we know from the book Paradise that many devout women led a life of asceticism as strenuous as that of the Fathers. We see from the lives of the holy men and women printed in these volumes that the labours which they performed and their fastings and prayers made most of them kind and considerate to their fellow men, slow to anger, un willing to judge others, and patient to bear silence, solitude, hunger, heat and cold, nakedness and poverty and the scorn and contempt of the world. One of their characteristics, which shows itself every here and there in their histories, is the kindliness with which the great solitaries regarded animals. One day a female hyena came and knocked with her head at the door of the court in which Macarius was sitting, and came and dropped a whelp at his feet. He took up the whelp, saw that it was blind, and when he had prayed and spit in its eyes, the little creature was able to see. Its mother suckled it, and then took it up and carried it off. On the following day the hyena reappeared carrying the skin of a sheep which it had no doubt killed and eaten, and left it for the old man (Vol. I, p. 124), who accepted the gift and subsequently handed it on to the lady Melania. In the account of the burial of Ma"r Paule we also have a pretty story of the two lions which came and dug his grave. As they stood before Anthony near the body of Paule, they wagged their tails, and rubbed their teeth to gether, and purred, and then they dug a hole in the ground with their paws; this done they drooped their heads and tails, Ixj 3Lov>e of Hniinals and licked Anthony s hands and feet. Having prayed over them he told them to depart, laying his hands on them as he did so (Vol. I, p. 203). When they had gone Anthony buried his friend. Whatever the facts of the case may be in this instance, it is clear that Anthony was accustomed to be with lions, and that kindly hermits in all countries have lived on friendly terms with beasts of all kinds is so well known as scarcely to deserve mention. Theon the monk was fond of animals, and loved the sight of buffaloes, goats and gazelle, and gave them water to drink (Vol. I, p. 339). Ixij \rf. ipallafcius as a Ibistorian ABOUT a generation ago several scholars of eminence devoted much time and labour to the study of the Para- disc of Palladius, and some of them arrived at the conclusion that it was neither more nor less than a work of fiction, in fact, a "pious fraud," perpetrated by a writer who was not called Palladius, who had never been to Egypt or seen the people whom he described, and whose knowledge of the "true his- "tory" of the period was incomplete and inaccurate. Others took the view that Palladius had never existed, and even sup posing that he had, that he had never been made a bishop. There is no need to discuss here in detail the statements of these writers, for Dom Cuthbert Butler, in his work on the Lausiac History, has shown that there are very good rea sons for believing that Palladius did exist, that his book Paradise rests on a historical framework, and that a great portion of his work has come down to us substantially in the form in which he wrote it. Moreover, the evidence on the sub ject which is to be derived from a study of the great mass of literature written in Coptic, Syriac, Arabic and Ethiopic, which has been published during the last twenty years, supports or confirms his statements on many points, and justifies us in accepting what he says about matters for which proofs can not be given from extraneous sources. On behalf of those who denied the existence of Palladius, and the genuine ness of his work, it must be pointed out that they had never read the documents which excavators have unearthed since 1885, and knew nothing of the investigations which travellers have made in Egypt and Mesopotamia in recent years. They had, moreover, no practical knowledge of the regions of Egypt wherein Christian monasticism took root and flourished, and even the conditions under which the monks and ascetics live in that country in our own times were unknown to them. From the Paradise we learn that Palladius visited Egypt for the first time in 387, and that he lived there for twelve years; from other sources we know that he passed another six years in the country, i.e., from 406 to 412. During these two periods he travelled all over Egypt, from Alexandria to Syene, and his work contains abundant evidence that he saw every phase of the ascetic life of Christian recluses and coeno bites. Many were the cities and villages through which he passed, and every cave and hole in the earth, and every taber nacle in the desert which sheltered a monk, for a distance as far as a monk could walk, did he visit. With several hundreds, and perhaps even thousands, of monks he talked face to face, Ixiij 3mparttalit of pallabiua and the truth of this assertion appears, in my opinion in every page of his work. When he writes about the "athletes" who were dead, he takes care to give the source of his information, and in nearly every case we find that his informant was some one who had known personally the man whose life he describes. The amount of the material which he collected must have been enormous, and we may well believe that his work only con tains " very few of the very many exceedingly great triumphs" of the holy men whom he knew and heard of. The toil and labour involved in the desert journeys which he undertook were very great, and they must, at times, have been accom panied by much physical pain. Most of his journeys he per formed on foot, for there was no fodder to be obtained for asses or camels in the arid wastes where the monks lived. Whenever possible he, no doubt, obtained a passage on some cargo boat sailing up or down the Nile, but all who have travelled on such know how uncomfortable they are for those who are not in the most robust health. The cold of the night, the chills of the dawn, and the blazing heat of the early after noon, must often have given Palladius sleepless nights and fever, especially after his health broke down. In spite, how ever, of sickness and fatigue, he clung to his work, and he succeeded in producing a book which has been the guide in all fundamental matters for those who have followed the asce tic life for hundreds of years. A perusal of the book Paradise shews that Palladius does not describe one side only of the life of the monks, and that he sets before his readers a story which illustrates both their strength and their weakness. The histories of those who have tripped and fallen are given by him as warnings to monks that spiritual excellence may itself become the occasion of stumbling. Thus he tells plainly how Valens the Palestinian, who had been educated in Corinth, became so proud and arrogant that he thought scorn of the Body and Blood of Christ, and at length fell down and worshipped a phantom in the form of anti-Christ. The pious and learned Hero, who only partook of a meal once every three months, was tormented by lust, and then he went to Alexandria and fell into a life of debauchery and drunkenness. His sin, however, brought its own punishment, for he was smitten with a loathsome disease, and he returned to Scete a broken man. Ptolemy, the Egyptian, after living a life of the sternest self-denial for fifteen years, gave himself up to prodigal and riotous living, and " never " more spake a word of excellence unto any man." The failings of the nuns are described as impartially as are those of the monks, and Palladius makes it quite clear that spiritual pride Ixiv of 1fool Tfflomen was the chief cause of them all. The great merit of Para dise is that the Histories make the reader feel when reading them that he has not before him narratives of the lives of a set of beings of a supernatural character, but stories of men who were trying to lead superhuman lives, and Palladius shews clearly how far they succeeded, and in what they failed. He was no mere panegyrist of the monks, but a patient, sober, and impartial critic of their lives, words, and deeds. One by one he makes to pass before us the various types of men with which all are familiar, and his character-sketches enable us to see in our imagination every kind of monk and recluse, from the kindly Anthony to the stern, self-tormenting Macarius. As Palladius composed Paradise about thirty-three years after his first visit to the monks in Egypt, it is possible that his remembrance of some of them may be a little blurred, and that some of his statements contain mistakes from a chrono logical point of view. On the other hand, we must remember that his judgement was more matured, and that he was, so far as knowledge and experience are concerned, betterable to write impartial histories of the holy men in 420 than he would have been when he left Egypt for Palestine in 399 or 400. His wide grasp of the subject enabled him to consider the Christian mo- nasticism of Egypt as a whole, and to present to his patron Lausus an account of it, in which the truth was set forth with out exaggeration of detail or extravagant praise. Throughout the work Palladius says but little about himself, and although there is never room for doubt as to the side to which his sym pathies leaned, his narrative is singularly free from denuncia tion of his religious opponents. Those who will take the trouble to read the biographies of holy men, written by their disciples and admirers in later centuries, will appreciate the calm and almost judicial manner in which Palladius arranges and states his facts, and keeps himself and his opinions in the back ground. Another important facl; made clear by Palladius is the toler ation shown by the early monks in respect of nuns, and holy women, whether married or single, and he shews clearly the important part which devout women played in the Christian world of the fourth century. Of the sixty-eight histories which are given in the first book of Paradise, according to the Syriac version, nineteen are devoted to the lives of women. From these we see that women lived stern, strenuous lives, like the monks, and that some died for their religion. Thus Potamiaena suffered martyrdom by being plunged up to the neck into a cauldron of boiling pitch. A nameless virgin of Alexandria lived secluded in a tomb, and saw neither man nor Ixv e Candida, Juliana woman for twelve years. Piamon, the virgin, worked at the weaving of linen by day, kept vigil by night, and ate once a day in the evening; she possessed the gift of prophecy, and had the power of casting spells on men at a distance, which rendered them helpless. Emmd (i.e., " Mother ") Talida was the head of a house of sixty virgins, and very old when Palla- dius saw her; he relates that when he sat down by her, "in the " boldness and freedom which she had acquired in Christ," she stretched out her hands and laid them on his shoulders. Taor, another virgin of Antinoe, wore neither veil nor sandals, dressed in rags, and worked always. Colluthus had lived for sixty years in her nunnery and had never gone down to the market. Next we have a group of devout women headed by Me- lania the Elder, who had visited many recluses in their abodes. She was of Spanish origin, and was the daughter of a man who had held consular rank, and was left a widow at the age of twenty-two. She left her native land, having realized much of her property, and came to Alexandria, whence she went into the desert and lived in Nitria for six months. Here she met Pambo, Arsenius, Serapion, Paphnutius, Isidore, Dioscurus, and many others. She next went to Jerusalem, where she dwelt for twenty-seven years, and there she spent large sums in supporting the faithful and in receiving stran gers. She studied and read the works of the Fathers with great diligence, and was a wise and understanding woman ; her generosity was boundless, and she gave everything she could to help her religion. Melania the Younger withdrew from the world at the age of twenty, and she gave 35,000 darics to the churches in Egypt, Palestine, and Antioch ; Palladius estimates that in other ways she must have given away four times this amount of money. And she set free eight thousand of her slaves. Olympias also, another patrician lady, set free her slaves, gave all her silk apparel to cover the altars in the churches, and spent her wealth lavishly on the brethren. Her garments were the worst to be seen, and she ate the food which her own servants rejected. Palladius knew this woman well, and was, 4< as it were, a member of her household," and on his advice "she made gifts unto many." Candida, another patrician lady, gave all her possessions to the poor, and night after night she left her bed, ground the corn, made the bread for the Offering, and heated the oven and baked it. She ate no meat, and her food on ordinary days consisted of dry bread dipped in vinegar; on festival days she ate fish, vegetables, and oil. Juliana of Caesarea hid Origen in her house for two years, and kept him at her own expense. Ixvj Serapion anfc tbe IDfrafn Another woman of exceeding merit was EmmaS^ra, who lived in a cell above the Nile, and led a most strenuous life. She is one of the few women whose "sayings" were included in the books of The Sayings of the Fathers. Though she lived by the Nile all her life she never looked at the river (Vol. II, p. 46), and whensoever she was about to put her foot on the ladder to go to her roof, she set her death before her eyes (ibid., p. 61). She rebuked Paphnutius (ibid., p. 63), approved of the giving of alms (ibid., p. 99), and is said to have contended against the devil of fornication for seven years on her roof (ibid., p. 127). Her character and disposition are well illustrated by one of her Sayings to her brethren which runs: "It is I " who am a man, and ye who are women" (ibid., p. 257). In his Histories of Virgins Palladius follows the same plan as when dealing with those of monks, and he records instances of women who, like men, tripped and fell into fornication. He shews also that some nuns were puffed up with spiritual pride, and what steps were taken by the Fathers to abatejt. Thus we have the story of the Roman virgin who had lived in the strictest seclusion for twenty-five years, who had never seen a man, and who thought herself perfect. Serapion went to her house, and after waiting two days he was permitted to see her, and in the course of her talk with him she told him that she believed, by God, she was dead. "Then," said Sera pion, "come down, and get thee out of thine house"; and she did so, and followed him to a church. There Serapion told her that he would believe that she was dead if she would do one thing, and she said, "Tell me what it is meet for me to do, "and I will do it." Serapion said, "Take off thy garments, " put them on thy head, and walk through the city, and I will " do likewise, and will go in front of thee in the same guise." The woman replied, "If I do this I shall offend many, and " people would say, This woman hath gone mad, and hath a " devil. " To this Serapion answered, " Since thou art a dead " woman, why shouldst thou consider what people say?" The virgin would not, however, do as Serapion had said, and having shewn her that she had not died to the world, and was not as perfect in the spiritual life as he himself was, he left her (Vol. I, p. 192). One other instance must be quoted to shew that women existed who were as well able to live the stern life of the soli tary as any man. As some of the great sages of Scete were travelling through the desert one day they heard a sound like a groan of a sick person, and having searched they found a cave and a holy virgin lying in it. The cave was absolutely bare, and when the sages asked the woman why she was Ixvij 1>f stortcal Character of parafcise there, she told them that the place had been her home for thirty-eight years, and that during that period she had lived upon grass. She added, "I have never seen a man before to- <( day, and God hath sent you to me this day that you may "bury my body"; having said these words she died (Vol. I, p. 240). The histories related by Palladius excite curiosity on many points concerning which he gives us no information. Thus we know nothing of the reasons which caused him to dedicate his work to Lausus, and very little about the strong friendship which seems to have existed between the exalted court official and the friend and lover of the monks. It is possible that Lau sus, in common with other highly-placed officials and nobles, wished sincerely to know what there was in the teaching of the desert Fathers which induced wealthy virgins and matrons, and nobles like Arsenius, to cast aside the world and to retire to the desert, in order to lead a life of fasting, prayer, and self- denial. That he should have chosen a man of such knowledge and sober judgement as Palladius says much for his sagacity, and we are justified in believing that, when he had received his friend s report and read it, he felt he had before him the evi dence of an experienced and truthful witness. Although Chris tianity had become the official religion of the Empire, many members of the governing class must have been alarmed at the number of wealthy and noble men and women who left their coun try and joined the armies of monks and nuns in Egypt. It has already been said that the book Paradise has a historical framework, and it must now be stated that in the histories which may be safely attributed to Palladius there is evidence throughout that he was well acquainted with Egypt, and that the manners and customs of the people were known to him. His descriptions of the desert and mountains, and his reproductions of the beliefs, superstitions and traditions of the Egyptians, are full of local colour, and every one who has wandered about Egypt must feel that Palladius himself had travelled much in the country, and at all seasons of the year. Indeed, it is wonderful how well he succeeded in depicting so accurately a phase of life which to most men would have been difficult to appreciate and hard to understand. To those who have visited the hills and mountains of Upper Egypt it is easy to find caves and holes in the rocks similar to those described as the dwelling-places of the solitaries by Palladius, and in the neighbourhood of the Oases there are small isolated hills near the tops of which are still remains of small chambers which must have been inhabited at one time or another by monks. A visit to the " White Monastery " near Suhak at once makes Ixviij Duration of Xtfe known the character and plan of the buildings in which the coenobites of the fourth century lived, and the so-called Monas tery of St. Simeon, on the left bank of the Nile, near Aswan, shews that the chief characteristics of such habitations of monks were preserved in the monasteries of later centuries. It is pretty certain that many monks lived in Nubia during- the third and fourth centuries, and it is much to be regretted that neither Palladius nor the author of The Histories of the Monks visited that country to inspect their abodes and describe the manner of their lives. On many points of a general character concerning which the modern student wishes for information Palladius is curiously silent. We know that many solitaries earned enough to keep themselves by weaving ropes of palm leaves, and by plaiting mats and baskets of palm leaves, but only the most strenuous workers could do this, and there must have been many who were obliged to live on alms. We wonder how the alms ot pious women like Melania (Vol. I, p. 103) and well-to-do men in the towns were distributed among the scattered dwellers in the desert, and what proportion of the recluses needed assis tance. In the case of the coenobites the matter was easy enough, for many of them worked at trades, and many of them possessed private means, and the wants of the rest were sup plied by the stewards of the monasteries, who received the gifts of friends of the brotherhood, and managed all financial arrangements. Of the average duration of life among the ascetics also we know nothing. The men who lived on small rations, and who were exposed to the cold of the night and of the early morn ing, must have suffered from fever, even as men do now, and diseases of the eyes must have been common, especially among those who did not possess head-cloths. Of cuts, bruises, and chafing of the hands caused by excessive work at wea ving palm leaves, the monks seem to have taken no notice, and one brother was rebuked by Palladius because he oiled his hands, which were so much cut by the palm leaves that the blood which ran out from them soaked the mat he was weav ing (Vol. I, p. 314). The strenuous monk committed his hurts toGod,believingthatHewouldheal them, but, notwithstanding, there were in "Mount Nitria physicians for the use of the sick " (Vol. I, p. 100). Many recluses must have died, even as Pambo died, " whilst he was sewing palm leaves for mats, without " fever and without sickness"; and Chaeremon died sitting on a chair and holding his work in his hand (Vol. I, p. 175). At Nitria lived the merchant Apollonius, who devoted his time and his money to providing eggs, raisins, and dried cakes for Ixix Beatb an& Burial of /Ifoonfes the sick folk among the five thousand monks who lived there (Vol. I, p. 107), but whether his ministrations extended to the dwellers in the desert is not said. The solitaries did not disdain the aid of the surgeon in certain cases, for we read that Am- monius and Evagrius, when they visited Stephen the Libyan, found him being operated upon by the physician. He was suf fering from a cancerous sore, and whilst portions of his body were being cut off he quietly plaited palm leaves and conversed with his visitors (Vol. I, p. 131). According to one story, a cer tain old man who went naked and lived with the beasts was miraculously cured of a liver complaint which prevented him from standing upright, and he was therefore obliged to pray lying on the ground. One day a man appeared to him, and said, " What is thy pain?" and he said, " My liver troubleth " me and causeth me pain." And when the old man had pointed out the place where he felt pain, his visitor slit his body, as with a sword, and took out his liver and shewed him the sore on it, and having removed the [cause of] the pain he healed the wound in his body forthwith (Vol. I, p. 237). Throughout Egypt the monks believed, like their pagan an cestors, that pains, and sicknesses, and diseases were caused by devils, but they knew that death would come to all of them, and that nothing could prevent it. Though men like Bessarion cured paralytics with a word, and, like Christ, walked on the water, and, like Joshua, made the sun to stand still, and, like Elisha, made bitter waters sweet, and added years of life to dying men (Vol. I, p. 368), and passed through fire unharmed (Vol. I, p. 370), and collected water from the air in their garments ( Vol . I , pp . 244, 367) , they died as all other men died . Some, how ever, reached a good old age in spite of their privations and self-denial, for we read that Pambo lived to the age of seventy, Didymus, Macarius of Alexandria, Dorotheos, Paul the Sim ple, and others to eighty, Isidore to eighty-five, Arsenius to ninety, Theodore of Parme and James the Less to nearly 100, Anthony to the age of 105, Elijah of Antinoe to no, and Mdr Paule to the age of 113 years. The bodies of many of the solitaries who lived in remote places and who died alone must have remained unburied, and have been eaten by the hyenas and jackals. Those who were fortunate enough to have friends near were buried by them in a simple manner, and without apparently service or ceremony. Each community of monks possessed a cemetery, and the ex cavations made in such burying-grounds during recent years shew that the shrouds of ordinary monks were made of coarse linen, and that it was customary to place at the head of each grave a stone recording the name of its occupant. Ixx Beliefs of pagan aiU> Gbristfan Easpt Sufficient has now been said to illustrate the main facts conne6led with the rise and growth of Christian asceticism in Egypt, and to shew that in many particulars the beliefs of its leaders resembled those of the early pagan inhabitants of the country. Moreover, it must always be remembered that the rise and progress of Christianity in that country were partly due to the fact that many of the doctrines of the old religion closely resembled those preached by Christ and the twelve Apostles, and by St. Paul. The system of morality made known to us by the Precepts of Ptah-Hetep, who flourished before B.C. 3000, is of a remarkably high character, and is in many respects equal to that formulated by the writers of the Book of Proverbs and Ecclesiasticus. The monks held converse with their souls on spiritual matters, and so did the writer of the Dialogue between a man and his soul which we find in a papyrus at Berlin. The doctrine of rewards and punishments for deeds done in the body was well known to the Egyptians under the Eighteenth Dynasty (B.C. 1700-1400), and the belief that a god could put on human flesh and dwell in the form of a man on the earth also existed at this period. The belief in the judgement and in the resurrection of Osiris is as old as the dynastic history at least, and there are many proofs in the old literature of Egypt that one school of thought believed in the resurrection of a material body, and in the existence of a ma terial heaven which was full of material delights, and that another proclaimed the resurrection of an immaterial or spiritual body, and the existence of a heaven in which the blessed lived with a god whose attribute was light. The denizens of this material heaven lived upon incorruptible food which proceeded from their god, and those of the immaterial heaven fed upon the light which emanated from their god. In each case the blessed succeeded to immortality, that is to say, to an existence which lasted for "hundreds of thousands of " hundreds of thousands of years " (Book of the Dead, chapter clxxv, line 16). The heaven of the Christians was filled with saints and martyrs, who awaited the arrival of the blessed from the earth and welcomed them with gladness and songs of joy; and, similarly, the kingdom of Osiris in the Other World was filled with his loyal followers, and with those who had served and worshipped him upon earth. Both the pagan and Christian Egyptians believed in an individual existence in heaven, and each class thought that the blessed would be able to recognize each other and to enjoy each other s society. From the Book of Opening the Mouth we learn that at the time when the pyramids were built the Egyptians believed that, through the performance of certain ceremonies and the Ixxj Edicts of pagan aitfc Gbristfan utterance of certain formulae by properly qualified priests standing in places which had been made ceremonially pure, bread and meat and wine could be transformed into spiritual things which were of the nature of the disembodied spirit and of the divine being who was believed to be present at the final funeral ceremony. When the ancient Egyptians ate on this so lemn occasion, they believed that they were partaking of food which had been transformed into the substance of their god, and that communion of themselves and their dead with the god was complete. The belief in transubstantiation was, in fac~t, a fundamental element of their belief in the efficacy of this cere mony. Now in the matter of the Eucharist we find that the monks held two opinions; some thought that the sacramental bread was only a "similitude" of the Body of Christ, and others thought that it was the a6lual Body. Among those who held the former view was " a man of Scete " (Vol. II, p. 159), and when two brethren heard of his opinion they went and reasoned with him, and tried to convince him that he was wrong. They told him that as man who was taken from the dust of the earth is fashioned in the image of God, so also, since He said of the bread, " This is My Body," the sacra mental bread is God. The old man, however, was not con vinced, and at length they agreed to pray to God for a week that the difficulty might be made plain to him. At the end of the week the three men went to the church, and when the bread was placed on the table a Child appeared there at the same time. As the priest stretched out his hand to the bread, the Angel of the Lord came down and slew the Child, and pressed out His Blood into the cup, and when the old man from Scete drew near to partake, "a piece of living flesh 4 smeared and dripping with blood was given to him. Then " the old man cried out, I believe, O Lord, that the bread is u< Thy Body, and that the cup is Thy Blood, and straightway " the flesh which was in his hand became bread like unto that " of the mystery." In the pagan ceremony the flesh of the bull, the bread-cakes and the wine or beer, represented the material forms of Osiris, and the god was in all three; but in the Christian ceremony the two monks believed that the Body was turned into bread and the Blood into wine, because " God " knew the nature of men, and it is unable to eat living flesh." It is clear that the two monks who converted the old man of Scete believed that the Eucharist was " not to be regarded as " a merely commemorative thing," and that, like their pagan ancestors, u they could eat their God." The Christian monks of Egypt, however, lived and preached a religion which possessed characteristics unknown to that of Ixxij ZTbe Insurrection the ancient Egyptians, and among these must stand first Faith, Hope, and Charity. The Egyptian never succeeded in freeing his mind from the idea that the resurrection of his body, whether material or spiritual, depended as much upon the efficacy of amulets, magical and religious formulas, and the making of offerings, as upon his belief in Osiris, but the sublime Faith of theChristian monk, Anthony, made him declare thatmummi- fication was unnecessary, and that Christ would give him back his body, pure and undefiled, at the Resurrection. The pure Hope of the solitary of the mountain or desert was a far loftier conception than that of the pagan Egyptian, for it made him reject every worldly thing and live in and by his faith. Simi larly his Charity, as exhibited in the Histories and Sayings of the Fathers, reached to lengths undreamed of by any except the most spiritually-minded of the ancient Egyptians. In all the known literature of pagan Egypt, no parallel to the following passage can be found: * Fasting is the subjugation of the "body, prayer is converse with God, vigil is a war against " Satan, abstinence is the being weaned from meats, humility "is the state of the great man, kneeling is the inclining of "the body before the Judge, tears are the remembrance of " sins, nakedness is our captivity which is caused by the trans- " gression of the command, and service is constant supplica- " tion to and praise of God" (Vol. II, p. 263). To Palladius we owe the oldest and best history of the lives, and words, and deeds of the solitaries and coenobites of Egypt, and every student of the history of religious thought should be grateful to him for a work which describes truly and impartially a great Christian movement, the effects of which exist even in our own days. Ixxiij ^be jpavabise of tbe 1boty jf atbers y tbe power of our Xorfc Jesus Cbrfst we beain to write tbe BooR ot tbe HMstories of tbe glo* rious Bets of tbe 1bclp jfatbers, [wbo were] monKs of tbe fcesert anb wbo bates tbe worlfc all tbat belongetb tbereto, wbtcb was composed tbe bol^ man of spiritual excellence /llbar JMus, Bisbop of tbe Citp of Ifoelenopolis, ant) was to Xausus tbe prefect. ZTbe %ife of Saint Hntbon& Etbanasius, Hrcbbisbop of Hlq> anbna Bt us begin now, by tbe belp of our OLorfc, anfc write first ot all tbe bistort ot tbe Xife anfc Bets of tbe Saint anfc tbe migbty one of (Bob, tbe blessefc /Ifcar Hntbonp, wbicb was composes bg Saint Htbanastue, tbe Hrcbbisbop of Hlejan&ria. /IDay our Xorfc belp ant) strengtben tbe writer to write, an& [tbe reader] to reafc to perform everptbina wbicb is command [berein]. Bmeiu Xorfc, belp me, an& bring me to tbe enfc [of tbe worfc]! Bmen. MARVELLOUS care and the loving urging 1 of your understanding for the monkish brethren who are in Egypt have moved me with solicitude [to hope] that by constant meditation on the following stories your mind may be drawn to perfection, so that you may not be repeating with your mouthfs] only the following triumphs, and others which are like unto them, but that also in your persons you may be preachers of the example of these lives and deeds. Now, your careful solicitude is seemly and is most acceptable, and in this respect you have become ministers of the Sublime Will, for it is right that this appearance should not depart from the mirror of your career, and that ye should know at once the craftiness of the Enemy, that is to say, what form exactly it taketh, and what it actually is, and by what means it bringeth [a monk] to naught. And this thing hath been wrought at this time by God, for behold ! monasteries which flourish like the flowers and sweet scents of the springtime have been scattered through out the whole earth, and the sign of the solitary ascetics ruleth from one end thereof unto the other. It is then a beautiful thing for us to embrace and to lay hold upon this power of discern ment which your mind hath conceived, and to be the ministers of the fervour of your love with joy and solicitude. For who could be negligent of this service and be blameless, inasmuch as those who have invited me [to write] the history of the tri umphs of a righteous man are themselves righteous? And may the Giver of gifts (blessed be His honour!) Himself open the door of our entreaty, and may we draw into our net each one of the stories which we have been deputed by your love to write down, not for our own sake only, but for the sake of your ZTbe parafcise of tbe 1bols jf atbers most excellent entreaty, and for the sake of the courageous [thoughts] which are in you, so that we may fulfil your labour, and for the sake of the work of him who triumphed by these acts and deeds, in order that his triumphs may never die among his sons in our Lord; and finally for his name s sake, that in this history we may also magnify the glory of God [and show forth] how great is the might which He giveth unto those who fear Him. Now we have been deputed through your affection to write down the triumphs of the blessed man Anthony, and to send by an envoy a history of them to you in writing [which will shew] how it was that he began his discipleship, and what manner of life he led before this took place, and how he was living when he brought his days to a close, and whether all the words which have been spoken concerning him and have come to our hearing are true; and straightway with joy I have devoted myself to the fulfilment of your command. Now by merely writing a commemorative history of the blessed Anthony I also shall gain great benefit, for I am convinced, O my be-* loved, that by narrating these histories two things will be effected: we shall increase the renown of the man of God in honour and wonder, and we shall begin to instruct your minds step by step; for the acts of the blessed Anthony form a perfect example for the solitary ascetics. Now, O my beloved, as con cerning the things which ye have heard about him aforetime, from those who [lived] with him, or [from those] who heard [them] from those who were with him continually, or from those also unto whom accounts of him were handed down by tradition, ye shall have no doubt whatsoever. Ye have, how ever, only heard a little out of a great quantity, and only just as much as the mind (or memory) is able to narrate; now, mine own mind convinceth me that such is the case, and in com piling the present history 1 have learned that indeed this is so. For when I thought that I had collected and enumerated a large number of stories, suddenly a great many others, which were far more numerous than those which had already been collected by me, sprang up, and made my mind to be confused; but as many as I was able to remember and to collect my mind hath, with joy, committed to writing. And as for you, cease ye not to ask questions and to inquire [concerning the blessed Anthony], especially of those whocomeby river from theTheba id, that is to say from Inner Egypt (i.e., Upper Egypt), for it may happen that from those from whom ye expect to hear nothing ye may increase your knowledge greatly. For when a man belongeth unto those who have knowledge, he repeateth the story which he knoweth, and though we may think and be 4 Xffe of Saint Hntbong convinced that we have collected too many already, [we find, on examination, that our] narrative is immeasurably short. Now many of those who openly received [the accounts] of the wonderful things which were wrought by his hands have de parted from this world ; and of those who are still living-, how many are there who have not revealed unto us concerning the conversations which they had with him, or the things done in his presence! And what man would wish to narrate unto his companions only a few stories out of many? And when I had received [your] letter, and had read and seen the force thereof, and what it demanded, I was wishful to send and bring certain solitary ascetics who were always with him, so that, peradventure, between them and me I might be able to fulfil your desire. But because the time in which ships could travel from Egypt to the Thebaid, and from the Thebai d hither, was unfavourable, and because the letter-carrier was in haste, and because I knew that I had been with Saint Anthony continually, I made it to be a care unto me to write myself unto your loving persons, and tell you what I was able to learn about him, and all that happened between us for a long time, and [how] I poured water upon his hands; and I have regarded carefully the word of the truth, lest a man should hear what was superfluous and should be in doubt, or should despise and belittle that which he heard. Now, by race the blessed Anthony was an Egyptian, and he was descended from a noble family, and was, indeed, an owner of slaves. His forefathers were believers, and from his earliest childhood he was brought up in the fear of our Lord; and when he was a child and was being reared among his own kinsfolk, he knew nothing of his father or of what went on among his own people. He was so silent in disposition, and his mind was so humble, that he did not even trouble his pa rents by asking them questions. He was exceedingly modest (or shy), and he was honest beyond measure. He was un able to read or to write because he could not bear the rough behaviour of the boys [in the school]; his whole desire was to be even according to what is written about Jacob, "He was a "simple man, and a dweller in tents" (Genesis xxv, 27). He clung closely to his parents, and when they came to church he would [run] before them in the flow of his affection; and he was not like an ordinary child, the course of whose customary attendance is broken by the amusements of childhood. He never neglected [the observance of] any of the seasons of the Church, and he neither neglected them in his childhood, nor held them lightly in his early manhood. And from the time when he was a child and knew how to distinguish between 5 ZTbe para&fse of tbe 1fool$ ffatbets good and evil, his going- to church was not a mere matter of custom, but was [the result of] discerning understanding. And, moreover, he did not wait for the members of his family (or parents) to be admonishers unto him, because by his life and acts he became a teacher unto them. For they learned by the experience [of] his childhood that he did not live among them like an ordinary simple child, and they accepted the proof of the rectitude of his early manhood; he paid them honour after the manner of a full-grown man, and they regarded him as the master of the house (i.e., steward). Now when the time arrived and they brought their days to an end, and they departed from this world when he was about eighteen or twenty years old, he and one little sister were left behind, and it happened from sheer necessity that he had to rule the house and take care of his sister. And when as yet not six months had passed since the death of his parents, and when, according to his wont, he \vas continually in the church, it came to pass one day, when he was in the church, that a righteous idea entered his mind, and that he began to meditate within himself how the blessed Apostles forsook everything and followed after our Redeemer; and how the others who succeeded them and walked in their footsteps sold everything which they had possessed and laid [the money which they received] at the feet of the Apostles, that it might be spent upon the poor; and how great was the blessing of those who had in this wise obeyed the voice of our Redeemer. Now whilst he was meditating these and such-like things, the Lesson was being read, and when the Scriptures were ended, the Gospel was read, and he heard the words of our Lord, Who said unto the rich man, " If thou wishest to be perfect, go and sell "everything which thou hast, and give to the poor, and take " thy cross, and come after Me, and there shall be unto thee " treasure in heaven" (St. Matthew xix, 21). And the blessed Anthony received the word of the Gospel as a sign to himself, and he reflected that this reading had not taken place as a matter of chance, but in order that the righteous idea which had taken up its abode in him might be confirmed. And straight way he went out from the church, and departed and set in order his house and the possessions which he had inherited from his parents. Now he had three hundred fields, a great estate [which produced] abundant crops, and these he handed over to the people of his village, so that they might trouble neither himself nor his sister; but the remainder of his other posses sions which were in the house he sold, and gathered in money not a little, which he distributed among the poor, but he laid by a little which was sufficient for his sister s wants. 6 ITbe Xife of Saint Hntbong And when, on another First Day of the week, he had again entered the church at the time of [the reading of] the Gos pel, he inclined his ear carefully to see what word would come forth for him; and as he was inclining his ear, the word of our Lord to His disciples was immediately read out, saying, "Take no thought for the morrow" (St. Matthew, vi, 2 5> 3 1 * 345 St. Markxiii, n; St, Luke xii, n, 22). And straight way he received the commandment readily, and he went out and distributed that which remained to him for his sister s use among the poor. Now unto his sister he spake words of love, and of truth, and of the fear of God, and he made her mind to be like his own; and he delivered her over to certain chaste nuns who were living there at that time. And when he had made an end of these things, he forthwith became a solitary monk, and he took no care for anything whatsoever except his soul, and he began to train himself in the habits of the strictest abstinence and self-denial. Now he dwelt alone in a house which was by the side of the village, for as yet there were no monasteries for ascetics in Egypt, and among the monks there was no man who had any knowledge of the inner desert; and every one who wished to have a care for his soul used to seek out an habitation of this kind. Saint Anthony did not betake himself to the mountain at a great distance from the village, but only at a sufficient distance therefrom, so that he might be somewhat apart from the habitation of men. And at that time there was in another village on their bor ders a certain blessed old man, who from his youth up had lived a life of solitary asceticism, and this man the blessed Anthony saw, and was wishful to emulate his fair deeds. First of all he also began to live by the side of the village, in places which were free from the feet [of men], and whilst living in this abode his mind was rent with doubt about the fair works [of the asce tic life], and he gave his soul no rest, for he was constant in meditation about the truth. And he used to ponder within him self [and say], "How did the righteous men of old live? With " what manner of triumphs did they please God? And who can "make me worthy of even a sight of these?" And as a result of this meditation which arose from love of the righteous men, he began to ask and inquire, "What was the condition of the " righteous men? And who shall inform me concerning them?" And whilst asking questions that he might learn something about any of the righteous men who were in [that] place, in the fervour of his love he used to go forth strenuously to seek him (i.e., the old man); and he did not at first return to his own place, without first of all paying homage to the man of God. And he was like unto the wise bee which hovereth and resteth ZTbe parafcfse of tbe Ifools ffatbers over plants of every kind which are filled with honey that it may fill its habitation with the goodness of the earth. In this manner he himself also received from the sight of each of the righteous men provision for the marvellous way; and this was his manner at the beginning of his ascetic career. And his thoughts were exceedingly well disciplined by him at the be ginning of his [life of] righteousness, so that he might not in any wise be anxious about his family, or be fettered by the love of kinsfolk, or be held fast by the affairs of this temporary life; from all [these] he purged himself that he might be a pure offer ing unto God. Now he used also to labour with his hands, be cause he had heard [the words], "If a man doth not work, he 4 * shall not eat " (2 Thessalonians iii, 10) ; with a very little [of the wages] of the work of his hands he used to provide himself with food, and the rest he spent upon the poor. And he prayed con tinually, for he had heard [the words], "Pray, and let it not be 4 tedious unto you" (i Thessalonians v, 17); and he w r as wont to listen to the reading of the Scriptures in such wise that not one word might fall to the ground, and henceforth he kept in his mind the remembrance of the commandments which he heard, and they became unto him even as the Scriptures. Now by these acts and deeds the blessed Anthony was shew ing love to his soul, and, even as it is written, "He found fa- "vour with God and with man" (St. Luke ii, 52). For when it happened that he went [to visit] the righteous men, he hear kened unto them and was subject unto them wholly and in every thing, and the love with which they loved him was such that, if it happened that he tarried in paying his visit to them, they were wont to send after him with anxious care. They observed how greatly he was the object of [God s] mercy, and how great a measure of the love of the things which were spiritual were found with him, and they saw how easy it was for him to gain a reward by trafficking in the riches of heaven. Therefore each Y one of them, according to the measure of his power, took him by his hand. And they looked and saw that he was to be per fected as a chosen vessel, and they observed when as yet he himself saw it not that he had adopted for himself a glorious rule of life among the righteous men. For what joy is there unto which graciousness is not found to be yoked? Or what humility is there wherewith those who possess it are adorned in which it doth not dwell? Or what love is there, which is the founda tion of all the commandments, which it doth not rule? And \vhat man is there who, when he imagineth himself to be merciful, is not carried away thereby [i.e., by this imagination], and who doth not become a prince of wrath, and jealousy, and calumny? Now Saint Anthony was the storehouse of fasting, and of 8 ZTbe OLife of Saint Hntbons prayer, and of ascetic labours, and of patient endurance, and of love, and of righteousness, which is the mother of [them] all, but towards those who were young- monks like himself he was not envious, except in one matter only, that is to say, he would not be second to any of them in fair works. And he con trived in every possible manner not to give offence to the wicked man; on the contrary, [he wished] that those who were yoked together with him might be drawn to his opinion (or mind) by his solicitude [for them], and by his graciousness, and that they might make progress in their career. And he toiled in his labours in such a manner that they were not only not envious of him, but they rejoiced in him and gave thanksgiving for him. Now by reason of these triumphs every man used to call him "Theophilus," which is, being interpreted, God-loving," and all the righteous gave him this name; and some of them loved him like a brother, and some of them like a son. And when the Enemy, the hater of the virtues and the lover of evil things, saw all this great perfection in the young man, he could not endure it, and he surrounded himself with his slaves, even as he is wont to do, and began [to work] on Anthony. At the beginning of his temptings of the saint he approached him with flattery, and cast into him anxiety as to his possessions, and solicitude and love for his sister, and for his family, and for his kinsfolk, and the love of money and lusts of various kinds, and the [thought of the] rest [of the things] of the life of [this] world, and finally of the hard and laborious life which he lived, and of the weakness of body [which would come upon him] with the lapse of time; and, in short, he stirred up in him the power of the thoughts so that by means of one [or other] of them he might be flattered, and might be made to possess shortcomings and be caught in the net through his instigation. Now when the Enemy saw that his craftiness in this matter was without profit, and that the more he brought temptation unto Saint Anthony, the more strenuous the saint was in pro tecting himself against him with the armour of righteousness, he attacked him by means of the vigour of early manhood which is bound up in the nature of our humanity. With the goadings of passion he used to trouble him by night, and in the daytime also he would vex him and pain him with the same to such an extent that even those \vho saw him knew from his appear ance that he was waging war against the Adversary. But the more the Evil One brought unto him filthy and maddening thoughts, the more Saint Anthony took refuge in prayer and in abundant supplication, and amid them [all] he remained wholly chaste. And the Evil One was working [upon him] 9 Ube iparafcfse of tbe tools f atbevs every shameful deed according to his wont, and at length he even appeared unto Saint Anthony in the form of a woman; and other things which resembled this he performed with ease for such things are a subject for boasting to him. But the blessed Anthony knelt down upon his knees on the ground, and prayed before Him Who said, Before thou criest " unto Me, I will answer thee" (Isaiah Ixv, 24), and said, "O " my Lord, this I entreat Thee : let not Thy love be blotted out 1 from my mind, and behold, I am, by Thy grace, innocent before " Thee." And again the Enemy multiplied in him the thoughts of lust, until Saint Anthony became as one who was being burned up, not through the Evil One, but through his own lusts ; but he girded himself about with the threat of the thought of the Judgement, and of the torture of Gehenna, and of the worm which dieth not. And whilst meditating on the thoughts which could be directed against the Evil One, he prayed for thoughts which would be hostile to him. Thus, to the reproach and shame of the Enemy, these things could not be performed ; for he who imagined that he could be God was made a mock of by a young man, and he who boasted over flesh and blood was vanquished by a man who was clothed with flesh. Now in all these things our Lord, Who put on a [human] body for our sakes, was his helper, and He strengthened him to become a shield against the Evil One, so that by means of this ac~t of grace which was wrought on our behalf, before any of the blessed men lived, by the merit of His agony He taught us in what it is meet that we should boast. For when one repeated too often those triumphs which were wrought for him, Saint Anthony answered and said, "It was not I who worked, but His grace which was with me " (i Corinthians xv, 10). And when the Enemy saw that he was vanquished in this fight, and that his craftiness was driven away and brought to naught by the thought (or mind) of the righteous man, he gnashed his teeth, and cried out that he would shew the righteous man his [evil] inner nature (or thoughts) in an external [material] form, that, peradventure, by means of fear and terror he might find an opportunity to perform his will. And he appeared unto Saint Anthony in the form of an Indian boy, and he began to say unto him, "Whom seest thou? " I have come, and behold I will stand up, and I will overcome * thee, and I will bring thee low, even as I do many." And whilst he was saying these words, the blessed Anthony made over himself the Sign of the Cross, and ceased to tremble, and the Enemy saw the Sign of the Cross, and straightway was terri fied. And when the blessed Anthony saw that he was terrified, he began to ask him a question, saying, "Who art thbu, by 10 TOe OLife ot Saint Hntbons whose voice such words as these are heard by me ?" Then the Enemy began [to say] unto him after the manner of a man who blustereth, "I, even I, am the lover of error and of fornication, " and it is I who cast the goadings of these [thoughts] and flat- " teries [into the mind of man]. It is I who have taken upon * myself to lead many astray, and I fight against every man, and "I am against righteousness, and I am, even as the Prophet " called me, the spirit of fornication (Hoseaiv, 12), for through " me have gone astray all those who have stumbled. It is I who " have injured thee on several occasions, and thou hast been held k in contempt by me in everything." And the blessed Anthony gave thanks unto the Lord, and gained great encouragement, and said, "What power thinkest thou that thou hast in thee, O Enemy, to resist the might of the Cross? Thou hast done well to appear in the form of an Indian, for thou art black in thy nature, and thou art as piti ably weak as a boy who hath been brought low by punishment. Thou art esteemed as naught by me, and I tremble not at thy wiles ; for the Lord helpeth me, and I shall look [in triumph] upon mine enemies." Now when that black being heard these words, straightway his appearance vanished from Anthony s sight. This is the first strife which Saint Anthony [waged] against his Enemy, or rather, this is the first acl: of assistance which came to help Anthony from our Redeemer, Who van quished sin in His own body, that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, and that we might not walk after the flesh but after the spirit (Romans viii, 4). But although the blessed Anthony saw the Enemy made powerless and brought low, he neither neglected his prayers nor ceased from his [wonted] course [of life], for he knew well that his contest was against a crafty being, who, although he had been vanquished for the time, would not cease [to trouble], and who, whenever he could find an opportunity through some small negligence on his part, would suddenly rise up and van quish him that had on several occasions gained the victory over him. For Saint Anthony knew that there was no cessation to his wrongdoing, and that he wandered about like a roaring lion seeking whom he might break (i St. Peter v, 8). And he had learned from the Scriptures that the snares of the Adversary were many, and he was certain from his own knowledge that he strove in this manner; and he therefore contended strenuously in the fear of God, keeping his object before him. And he pondered in his mind that although the Enemy had not been able to draw him into his net with lusts of divers kinds, he had still other means whereby he was wont to make our humanity to sin; for the nature thereof yearneth to sin always. 1 1 ipavafcise of tbe 1bol$ if atbers Now it is especially right for us in the time of our victory, when we have our understanding under our will, to oppress and bring our body into subjection to the will of freedom and of righ teousness, lest, while we are imagining that we are victors over one class of sins, we find that we are vanquished by others which are their opposite. And Saint Anthony kept this in mind, and [he was thinking] these thoughts always, and day by day he was adding toil unto his former works of asceticism ; and many were wondering at the greatness of the patient endurance which he possessed, and how long-suffering he was in his afflic tions. For behold, the freedom of his spirit (or soul), and the thoughts of his mind, by reason of the great length [of time] which they were practised by him, as it were renewed him, and changed him from one kind of being to another ; and he used to employ as a foundation some small matter from the example of others, and then he would take it and polish it in his own person, and with him it became so beautiful that the spectators thereof imagined that it was to be found with him alone. For he was a perfect handicraftsman in matters which related to the fear of God, and wheresoever he saw that one of the heavenly works of uprightness was being practised by a man who was not honouring it for its own value, he would take it, and polish it in his own person, and would make mani fest how great its beauty was. And Saint Anthony kept vigil to the utmost, and to such an extent that the greater number of his days dawned on him with out his having had any sleep. He was wont to eat at even tide daily, but on occasions he passed three days, or four days, or even whole weeks at a time [without eating]. His food was bread and salt, and his drink was water, and in the matter of wine, and flesh, and other dainty meats he declared [them] to be so superfluous, that they ought not to be used even by or dinary monks. What he slept upon was a mat made of palm leaves only, but for a very long time he used to make the bare ground his bed. He was, moreover, exceedingly careful not to anoint himself with oil, for he used to say that oil rendered the body soft and made the members thereof effeminate, and for this reason [he] required young men to distil upon themselves from their inward minds the oil of strenuousness. He was also mindful of the word of the Apostle which he spake, saying, "When I am weak (or sick), then am I strong" (i Corin thians xii, 10). And he possessed a wonderful mind, for he never pondered and thought how far he had advanced in dis- cipleship, but each day he kept in mind that he had only just begun at the beginning thereof; for he remembered the word of the Apostle which he spake, " That which is behind me I 12 ZTbe Xife of Saint Bntbong " forget, and I stretch forward unto the things which are before "me" (Philippians iii, 13), and also the words of the Prophet Elijah which he spake, "As the Lord liveth, before whom I " stand this day " (i Kings xvii, i). Thus he prepared himself to bfe worthy to stand always before the Majesty, even as the man [Elijah] who stood on that day before the Lord ; and he used tosayto himself, " It is right that a monk should knowthat in his manner of life (or habitation) and in his acts and deeds he must be an alien unto the world, and an associate (or son of the yoke) of the Angelic Watchers." And after these things he passed into another frame of mind, and, having decided within himself that he would go forth from the village, he departed and took up his abode in a tomb in the cemetery, which was situated in a mountain which lay close by the village ; and he commanded one of his acquain tances to bring him a morsel of bread from time [to time]. And having done these things and entered into the tomb and shut the door upon himself, straightway the Adversary, together with a multitude of devils who were his associates, burst in upon him there, for he was afraid to let Saint Anthony go from the village altogether, and he began to say unto him, "How great * is that which thou endurest ! And to what limit wilt thou drive " thyself? Thou hast come and hast entered into the place of our " abode. What man is there who hath ever done the like? And * when was it ever heard that men ought to live among the " tombs? We have been driven out of the village, and we shall " also be driven out from among the tombs. Now therefore will " we take vengeance upon,^ae, for it is thou who hast made " fools of us." Then the/sand ti to smite him with blows, and they smote him so severeijo &at at length he fell [on the ground], and nothing but his breath was left in him ; and Saint Anthony used to relate that the blows with which the devils smote him were more severe than those of the children of men. But God brought help unto him, and would not deliver him over to death, for He put it into the mind of him that used to visit him to come quickly, and to open [the door of] the tomb according to his wont, and he saw the blessed Anthony, who was like unto a dead man by reason of the blows ; and straight way he lifted him up and brought him to the church in the village. And there collected about him no small number of people, and they gathered together and sat by his side as if he had been a dead man. Now by the sweet rest of sleep the blessed Anthony was refreshed, [and he was relieved] from his affliction, and he came to himself, and he turned round and saw that all the people were asleep, and that only his friend who was sitting watching by his pillow was awake; and he 13 ZTbe iparafcise ot tbe 1bol$ ffatbers made a sign to him, and he drew nigh unto him, and Saint Anthony said unto him quietly, " Come, do [an a6l of] righ- " teousness (or charity), lest the heart of the people should think 4 and mankind should imagine that there is still power left in " the Evil One, and should be afraid to lift up the heel against "him." And the man hearkened unto him, and whilst the people were quiet and asleep, he lifted him up and carried him to the tomb, and shut the door as usual. Then Saint Anthony prayed as he was lying down, for he had no power in him to stand up, and when he had multiplied [his] prayers, he said with a loud voice, "Where are ye, O children of Gehenna? Here am I, " even I, Anthony, and I will not depart from this place until ye " are destroyed in this place: for although yemultiply tortures, I " shall not be remote from the love of Christ." And next he said with a loud voice, Though a whole legion [of devils] encamp, " against me, my heart shall not fear": such were the words which this man, this athlete, proclaimed in his striving. Then the heart of the Enemy of righteousness melted within him, and he cried unto the dogs his kinsfolk, and spake, emitting smoke from himself as he did so, saying unto them, " Did ye " not say unto me, What shall we do unto this man, this inso- " lent fellow, who hath treated us wholly with contempt and dis- " dain? His heart is not afraid of the quaking terror, his hearing " is not perturbed by words (or voices), his eye is not terrified by " visions, and his body hath no fear of blows. Who among you "can give [me] counsel as to what shall be done [with him]? " And thereupon they contriver [mtiMlowing plan. Now it is very easy for the was w? to create apparitions and appearances of such a cbarac^-tv L nat they shall be deemed real and actual objects, and [straightway] phantasms of this kind caused a phantom earthquake, and they rent asunder the four corners of the house, and entered therein in a body from all sides. One had the form of a lion, and another had the appear ance of a wolf, and another was like unto a panther, and all the others were in the forms and similitudes of serpents, and of vipers, and of scorpions. The lion was roaring as a lion roareth when he is about to slay ; the bull was ready to gore [him] with his horns; the panther was prepared to spring [upon him]; and the snakes and the vipers were hissing, and they appeared to be in the act of hurling themselves upon him ; and the sounds which they made and the forms in which they showed themselves were terrible. Now the blessed man An thony was not disturbed (or frightened) by their commotion, and his mind remained wholly undisturbed. And as he was lying down he laughed at these phantoms, and said, " Thus 14 ZTbe %tfe of Saint Bntbong k there is no power in you. Ye have taken unto yourselves the " forms of wild beasts, and if there had been any power whatso- " ever to do harm in you, for one of you only to come [against " me] would have been sufficient; but because our Lord hath cut " off the things which incited you to attack me, and the goad of "your wickedness hath no strength therein, ye lay plots and contrive snares, thinking that, peradventure, ye will be able to "make men quake by fear only. And, moreover, whosoever " hath had experience of your feebleness [knoweth] that ye have " obtained as your helpers the mere forms and appearances of "wild beasts." And Anthony also spake unto them in very great bold ness of heart, saying, " If ye have indeed received power over me, or if it be in your power to do me harm, hesitate ye not to do it, only draw nigh speedily and do ye whatsoever ye lust to " do ; but if ye be unable to do anything, wherefore do ye weary " yourselves in vain? For our faith in our Lord is a seal and a " wall unto us." Now our Lord was not unmindful of the athlete Anthony, and He appeared unto him after his victory. And the blessed Anthony lifted up his eyes, and he saw a roof-curtain drawn aside, and a ray of light descended therefrom upon him ; and straightway the devils dispersed in terror, and the sufferings of his body were relieved, and the blessed man felt the help of our Lord [nigh unto him], and understood. Then having waited for a space, and having recovered somewhat from his tribulations, and having enjoyed rest from the graciousness of the revelation of our Lord, he lifted up his voice, and said, "O my Lord, I adore Thine help : where wast " Thou before these sufferings and tribulations came upon me?" And straightway a voice came to him, saying, " Here was I " by thy side, O Anthony, and I have never left thee, for I re- " mained that I might look upon thy strife; but inasmuch as " thou hast triumphed completely, and hast not been broken " down with sadness in thy tribulations, I will be unto thee a " Guide and a Comforter, and I will make thee to be renowned " as a faithful servant throughout all the earth. "And when these words had been heard by him, straightway [peace] came upon his body, and he had rest from his afflictions. Then he rose up and bowed the knee, and prayed, and gave thanks unto God Who had visited him ; and from that time onwards he perceived that he had very much greater strength in him than formerly. Now at that time Anthony was about five-and-thirty years of age. And it came to pass that on the following morning he de parted from the tomb and went forth to that solitary old monk who used to dwell by the side of the village, and he tried to 15 Ube parabfse of tbe 1bols jf atbers persuade him to go with him to the desert, but the old man excused himself from this, for one thing because of his old age, and for another because he had not been in the habit of living in the desert, and indeed at that time none of the monks lived there. And straightway Anthony rose up and prayed with the old man, and he besought him to join his prayers unto his that God might make his way prosperous before him; and [afterwards] he went forth [alone] into the desert. And once again the Enemy went forth after him, and when Anthony was exhausted by reason of the distance [of the way], he began to contend with him. Now when the blessed man Anthony had journeyed along the road [and had arrived] at the skirt of the desert, he perceived that the Enemy had cast down before him a large silver tablet (or plate); but the blessed man knew that these things were of the wiles of the Evil One, and he made him to know that this example of his handicraft which had been fashioned by him could not cause him to err. And looking at the tablet he answered and said, " Assuredly the " Evil One [wisheth to do me evil] by means of this tablet. How " can it have come in the desert? This is no frequented road, and " there is no inhabited land near, and thieves do not dwell in " this country; it is the handiwork of the Evil One. Thou shalt " not, O [Enemy], pervert my mind by this thing ; may thou and "it go to perdition. " And having made an end of his words the silver tablet was consumed and disappeared in the form of smoke before the fire of the words of the blessed man An thony. But again the Evil One showed him some gold, and it was real gold, and Anthony fell into anxious thought and pon dered [saying], " What is this thing? It is either a piece of the 4 handiwork of the Evil One, or it is a temptation from God, and " a trial from Him (may His Honour be blessed !) Who hath re -strained me from the blandishments of the Evil One [who " saith], Behold, I will show him real gold"; but the blessed man was not overthrown thereby, and he esteemed the gold as filth. [And Anthony said unto the Evil One], " Choose thou some other kind of handiwork and snare, for out of this one have I delivered myself." Now whence that gold came or how it got there Anthony telleth us not, and we, even after most careful thought, are unable to afford any information on the matter; but [what Anthony saw] was gold, and gold in large quantities, fortheblessed man marvelled at the great abundance thereof. Now when the Evil One saw that he had protected him self by the Sign of the Cross and was praying, and that he did not remove himself from his place, he stepped aside and 16 TTbe Xife of Saint Hntbong passed away quickly in the form of a flame of fire, and he neither turned nor looked at him. And Anthony was particu larly well armed for this species of warfare and [he fought] valiantly, and he set out again on the road whereon he had been travelling-. And having arrived at the desert, he went up into a mountain wherein there were serpents ; but inasmuch as the snakes found there were very numerous, he departed from that place and came to the bank of the river, and took up his abode there. And the snakes, which were there when the righteous man set his foot upon that spot, speedily gave place unto him, and each one of them made the greatest possible haste to escape from him ; now his smell caused them to flee, and they knew that this man was not [one] of the people of that country. Now therefore the blessed man Anthony took up his abode there by himself, and he shut himself in ; and he laid in a sup ply of bread once every six months (for the Egyptians were in the habit of making at one time bread sufficient even for a whole year), and as for water he found that there. And he went and dwelt there in a place which was like unto a cleft in the rocks, with the intention of seeing no man and of being seen by none, and he had his abode there for very many years ; in the roof of his house there was a small opening, and through this he used to receive [bread] thrice yearly, for the mountain wherein he dwelt was [remote] from inhabited land. Such people as came to him, whom he could not be induced to ad mit into his presence remained outside, perhaps for one or two days, and when they strained their ears that they might hear something, they would hear a noise like that of a mighty mul titude of people, and confused sounds, and some of the sounds were like unto the voices of men shouting loudly, and some were like unto great cries of lamentation, and some were those of men of war and of a mighty tumult. And among all these was a voice which said, "Depart from us! Why hast thou 44 come to our country to [cause] our death? Hast thou never "heard that which thy Lord spake concerning us, saying, 44 Evil spirits dwell in the desert, and in desolate places, and 44 in the lands wherein there is no water? Behold, hencefor- u ward thou shalt know that this is our habitation; depart 41 thou, and give place unto us once more." And when these words were heard, those who were outside [Anthony s dwelling] thought that men had entered therein through the roof of [his] house and that they were quarrelling with him ; but when they had gone round about the house they found a small opening in the wall, and having looked through it they saw the blessed man alone. Then they understood that 17 2 ZTbe paraWse of tbe 1bolp jfatbers those voices were those of the devils who used to wage war against him, and mighty dread came upon them, and they began to cry out to the blessed man Anthony. Now the just man was more ready to hearken unto their words than unto the tumult of the devils, and to hold converse with them, and he would draw nigh to the side of the door, and say unto them, " Come ye nigh unto me, and be not afraid "; and hav ing conversed with them graciously, and filled their hearts, he would dismiss them in peace, and admonish them, saying, * 4 Be ye afraid neither of sounds (or voices) nor of phantoms of 44 this kind, for in this wise the devils are wont to acl; towards 44 those who are timid; but seal ye yourselves with the Seal of 44 the Cross, and return ye unto your homes in confidence, and 44 forgive those who would make of you laughing-stocks." Thus they were dismissed in peace. And as for Anthony himself he had dwelt in strife with the devils for a long time past, and was very courageous, and the strength which was in him was \ added to in proportion as he saw that his enemies were van- quished. Now when the report of the kind of strife in which he lived reached his friends and acquaintances, they set out to go to him, for they thought that they would certainly find him dead; and having arrived at the place where they wished to be, they came to the side of his house and inclined their ears at the door that peradventure they might hear any sound or breath ing inside. And they heard a sound like the voice of one who played a harp and said, "Let God arise, and let all His ene- 44 mies be scattered, and let all those who hate Him flee before 44 Him; let them be destroyed, even as smoke is made to dis- 44 appear, and as wax melteth before the fire, let the wicked 44 perish before God" (Psalm Ixviii, i, 2). And again, 44 All the 44 nations compassed me round about, and in the Name of the 44 Lord I destroyed them." (Psalm cxviii, 10). And the blessed Anthony lived in this habitation about twenty years. And it came to pass that in the process of time his fame reached all the monks who were in Egypt, and all the other folk therein who did not lead the life of the ascetic and re cluse, and men of distinction, and monks in Egypt began to come unto him in large numbers. The Egyptian monks came that they might copy the manner of his life and deeds, and the laity came that he might pray over them, and might heal cer tain of them of their sicknesses. One day, when a multitude of people had come there in a body [to see him] and they had besought him repeatedly [to speak to them], and he had answered them never a word, they lifted the door out of its socket, and threw themselves down on their faces before him, 18 ZTbe OUte of Saint Hntbons and made supplication unto him and pacified him, and then each man among- them stood up, and made known his request unto him. And having- gone forth [to them] even like a man who goeth forth from the depths of the earth, they saw that his appearance was like unto that of an angel of light, and they marvelled why it was that his body had not been weakened by all his confinement, and why it was that his understanding had not become feeble, and why, on the contrary, his appear ance, and his bodily stature, and his countenance were then as they had known them always to have been in the times which were past. Now when he saw a large concourse of people he was not disturbed, and when they brought their petitions unto him, he was not moved to impatient anger, but he remained in a placid and thoughtful state, for the Living Word was unto him a guide. Among those who came unto him, there were many who were indeed very sorely afflidted, and our Lord healed them by the hand of the blessed man; and, moreover, God gave him such a measure of grace in his speech that every man was wholly gratified thereat, for those who were in affliction and distress were encouraged to endure thereby, those who were occupied with contention were quieted thereby, those who were afflicted sorely became long-suffering, the haughty were made humble thereby, and the arrogant were brought low thereby, in order that every man might learn the doctrine of righteousness. For he used to say, "That we should possess "anything besides Christ is unnecessary, and we should not " esteem anything of value besides the love of Christ, neither " possessions nor kinsfolk, not even our soul itself. For if God did not spare His Son, but delivered Him up on account of our " sins, how much the more is it right for us, having tasted and " known Divine grace, to give our souls not on His behalf, for ( such a thing is not required from us, but on behalf of our own "lives!" By these words he used to persuade many to with draw themselves from this world, and from the tribulation thereof, and to take refuge in a habitation of monks. And he began to increase from that time with Christ in simple-mindedness, and in love towards strangers, and in long- * ffering; now these things not only go with us, but they also go before us, and they make ready for us a place in the coun try of the humble and meek, and no man should lack them, especially when he knoweth the will of his Lord, and that he is bound to prepare himself according to His will. Would any servant dare to stand before his master s face and say unto him, "Yesterday I toiled, but to-day I have done nothing at "all"? Or have we not heard what our Lord said in the 19 2a TOe paraMse of tbe 1bols ffatbers Gospel, "When a servant hath toiled nobly and hath laboured " in the work which is outside, as soon as he hath gone in- " side he shall weave a place for his hands and shall minister "unto his Lord, and then happiness shall be his"? Now, since we have heard these things from the Divine Books, what reason can we have for being without the fear of God? Was it not for this that Ezekiel the Prophet was made a watchman? (Ezekiel iii, 17.) Did not Judas, because of the one night wherein he wrought wickedness, lose the labour of all his days? (St. Matthew xxvi, 47, 49; xxvii, 5.) Let us continue to be strenuous then, O children of our profession, and let it not become wearisome unto us, for our Lord hath been made a guide unto us and unto every man who hath a desire for the virtues. And that it may not be tedious unto us, the blessed Paul became an example unto us aforetime, and said, "I die daily " (i Corinthians xv, 31). Now, if we were to think each day that we had to die that day, we should never sin at all, and this is the explanation of the word which was spoken. If when it is morning we were to imagine that we should never arrive at the evening, and if also when it is even ing we thought that we should never arrive at the morning [we should never sin]; by this thought also the nature of our life would teach us that it is not a matter for confidence. If therefore we were to prepare our mind in this manner, and if we were to live with this thought within us, we should never be overcome by sin, and the lust which is fleeting would not reign over us, and we should not keep anger against a fellow- creature in the flesh, and we should not love the possessions which pass away, and we should forgive every man who offended us. And the lust for women would die in the heart, for how could it be ministered unto? For at all times every thing which is greater than its fellow overcometh its fellow, and the fear of God exalteth itself above everything. * Now therefore, O my beloved, let us be zealous in carry-| ing out the work whereunto we have once bound our selves, and let us travel to the end on the road whereon we have begun to journey, and let no man among us look be hind him, lest we be like unto the wife of Lot (Genesis xix, 26). It is not easy for him that shall turn behind him, after he hath received the doctrine of righteousness, to enter into the kingdom of heaven; he that turneth back, whatsoever be the way in which he turn, will repent of what he hath done, and he will turn to the elements of this world, even as a dog to his vomit (Proverbs xxvi, 2; 2 St. Peter ii, 22). Be ye therefore not afraid as if ye were carrying a heavy burden, for the burden of our Lord is easy and light (St. Matthew xi, 30) unto those 20 Xtte of Saint Bntbons who desire it; if therefore we have the desire, everything is easy unto us. The children of this world travel over the seas and make journeys across difficult countries in order that they may learn profane wisdom, in the do6lrine of which the means of righteousness is not employed, and in the praise of which there is no profit of life ; but we are not wanted either to set out on a journey or to travel on the sea for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, for our Lord declared aforetime, say ing, "The kingdom of heaven is within you" (St. Luke xvii, 21). So therefore, O my beloved, life is in our own hands to gain, for it is within us, and it is ministered unto by us. For the soul by its nature possesseth the perception of the under standing, and therefore our soul hath knowledge of what our life is; it is prepared by the nature of its creation, and is ready for everything which it wisheth. Therefore also Joshua, the son of Nun, commanded the people, saying, "Prepare your hearts "before the God of Israel" (Joshua xxiv, 23), and John also said, "Prepare your ways" (St. Luke iii, 4). Now when the Book decreeth the preparation of the soul, it wisheth that the rectitude of the nature of its first creation shall be in it, but when it goeth forth outside its limit it is condemned by the Book like the Evil One. Therefore, the matter is not a difficult one unto us. For, if we remain in that wherein we were creat ed from the beginning, life is in us and with us; and our mind also condemneth us, when it thinketh evil and hath envy of the thoughts, and bringeth forth a deed of injury in an unseemly manner. Everything, therefore, is given into our own power to do, and there is no master set over us to command us what we shall do; moreover, there is no man who can restrain us either from thinking or doing fair things ; whether we live or whether we die belongeth unto ourselves. For if we desire to withdraw ourselves from thoughts of the wicked and from usurers and pledges, let us take heed diligently and guard for our Lord the liberty, which hath been given unto us without blemish, as something which we have received from the begin ning, and let us be faithful children unto the Lord. Therefore, take ye heed, O my beloved sons, that ye keep not silence like those who have been brought low through sin, or by wrath or by lust ; for it is written that the anger of a man perfecteth not the righteousness of God, and besides, lust conceiveth and bring eth forth sin, and when sin hath been performed completely, it bringeth forth death (St. James i, 15; Psalm vii, 14; Isaiah lix, 4). _ In this wise, O my beloved, let us lead the life of watch fulness and strenuousness, even as it is written, "Keep thine heart with all diligence" (Proverbs iv, 23), for we have cunning 21 tTbe iftarabise of tbe f>oi ff atbers and crafty enemies, and it is against these that our strife must be, even as the Apostle said, "Our contending 1 is not against " flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, and "against those who are masters of the world of darkness, "which is beneath the heavens" (Ephesians vi, 12). Their contending against us is very frequent, and there is no respite to their attacks upon us. Now, even between the devils there is a distinction, but concerning their nature and concerning [this] difference it would be a labour to narrate; we will, how ever, here reveal and describe very briefly those thing s which are necessary to be learnt concerning- their contending against us, and their temptings, and their blandishments (or, flatteries), and, in short, the whole system of their cunning. Before this, however, it is proper for us to learn that the beings which are called devils were not created that they might be devils, for there is nothing evil in the works of God, and even they were created beautiful being s ; but when they turned aside from the mind of righteousness, or from the heavenly understanding, they were removed to a distance from the place wherein they lived. And seeing that they were cast away by the exalted Will, they drew nigh and mingled themselves among the created beings of this world, and they made the heathen to go astray wholly according to their desire; and against us, because they have envy of us, they multiply their contendings that, peradventure, they may be able to turn us out of the way of the truth of the kingdom of heaven, and that we may not attain unto the country wherefrom they were swept out and fell. Therefore the labour of prayer and of abundant supplication is necessary for us, that through the Divine Providence, and through the gift which we have re ceived from the Holy Spirit, we may be able to know what distinction existeth between the evil spirits, and what each one of them hath been commanded to [seek] after, and by what manner of means the destruction of every one of them is to be brought about. For their cunning is very great, and they spread abroad the mesh of their net in everything. Therefore the blessed Apostle and the rest of the righteous men, who like him had experience of and had tried the Tempter in every thing, and it is for this very reason that they have declared it, said "The artifices of the Evil One shall not overcome us " And I will now narrate something of what I have endured from them and a little of the vast knowledge which I have of them and, like the beloved Prophets, I will tell what I understand about them. The whole race of devils is beyond measure an envious one, and it is altogether jealous of all mankind, and particu- 22 tlbe life of Saint Hntbons larly of the monks, for they cannot bear to see heavenly deeds wrought and heavenly lives led upon the earth, and they, therefore, make hidden pits and snares for us, as it is written, "They have laid their nets over my paths" (Psalm Ivii, 7) : now [the words] "their nets" mean thoughts of iniquity. Let us, however, be not afraid of their stirrings, and let us not be made lax by reason of their blandishments (or flatteries) ; but let us be constant in fasting and in prayer, and straightway they shall be vanquished and disappear. Now when they de part, let us not be confident and say, "Behold, they are put to "shame, and we are freed from them," for this race of beings can never be put to shame, and they know not how to blush ; for even whilst their temptations are being brought to naught on this side, they make an attack upon us on the other; and when they have examined and tried by what means our under standing may be flattered or terrified, they plan numberless schemes [to deceive us]. Now the devils are in the habit of leading men astray by declaring something such as the follow ing: "Behold, we will inform you concerning the things which " are about to take place," and then they show them mighty phantoms which reach up to the ceilings, so that by means of these similitudes they may lead astray those whom they are not able to injure in their minds. It is quite unnecessary that we who are believers should be terrified either by the motions of the various species of devils, or by the various forms [which they take], and we should not be afraid of their voices, which are angry and threatening at one time, and which are flattering at another. For the Evil One is a liar, and there is no truth either in his words or his deeds. But although mankind once gave him power, and sin lifted up its horn, our Lord hath now broken the goad (or, sting) thereof, and hath humbled it and brought it down be neath our feet ; and it hath been made a thing for the Gentiles to trample upon, and a laughing-stock to the nations. And this is the proof that the matter is thus, and righteousness testi- fieth that it hath been performed in creation, for behold, he who, in his error, hath exalted himself in his heart, and who boasteth that he can dry up the sea, and can parcel out the dry land, hath not the power to destroy the heavenly mind which is in the monks, and he is unable to turn so small and unimportant a creature as myself from speaking about him. Now the devils are cunning, but they can only lead astray those upon whom they find an opportunity for exercising their wiles ; they appear in all kinds of forms and similitudes, and it happeneth that the Evil One even demandeth for himself the form of righteousness, as it is written, "Satan even taketh 23 tTbe paraMse of the tools if atbers ipon himself the form of an angel of light" (2 Corinthians There is a time when we see no man and yet the sound of the working of the devils is heard by us, and it is like the singing of a song in a loud voice ; and there are time[s] when the word[s] of the Scriptures are heard by us, just as if a living man were repeating them, and they are exactly like the words which we should hear if a man were reading the Book. And it also happeneth that they rouse us up to the night prayer, and incite us to stand on our feet ; and they make us to see also the similitudes of monks and the forms of those who mourn (i.e., the anchorites); and they draw nigh unto us as if they had come from a long journey, that they may make lax the understanding of those who are feeble of soul, and they begin to utter words like unto these, Are we condemned "throughout all creation to love places of desolation?" Or, "Were we not able, when we came to our houses, to fear God "and to do fair deeds?" And when they are unable to work their will by means of a scheme of this kind, they cease from this kind of deceit and turn unto another [and say], "How now is it possible for thee to live? For thou hast sinned and committed iniquity in many things. Thinkest thou that the spirit hath not revealed unto me what hath been done by thee, or that I know not that thou hast done such and such a thing?" If, therefore, a simple brother hear these things, and feel within himself that he hath done evil as the Evil One [hath said], and he be not acquainted with his craftiness, his mind will be troubled straightway, and he shall fall into de spair and turn backwards. It is then, O my beloved, unnecessary for us to be terrified at these things, and we have need to fear only when the devils multiply the speaking of the things which are true, and then we must rebuke them severely. For even in the days of our Redeemer, when they spake [unto Him] the things which were true, He rebuked them and made them to hold their peace and to speak not, lest they should mingle their wickedness with the truth that was in the words which they were speaking. We must then not even appear to incline our hearing to their words, even though they be words of truth which they utter ; for it would be a disgrace unto us that those who have rebelled against God should become [our] teachers. And let us, O my brethren, arm ourselves with the armour of righteousness, and let us put on the helmet of redemption, and in the time of contending let us shoot out from a believing mind spiritual arrows as from a bow which is stretched (compare Ephesians vi, 10-17). For they are nothing at all, and even if they were, 24 tTbe OLffe of Saint Hntbons their strength hath in it nothing which would enable it to resist the might of the Cross. Whatsoever they do they do like thieves and robbers, and not after the manner of soldiers (or, trained men of war), for they have not the strength to stand up and to contend for any length of time. They shout, and wrangle, and make tumultuous noises and commotions, that, peradventure, by means of the sheer fright which they them selves inspire, they may be able to lead away captive weak minds and to make them do their will. If they had the power to perform anything, or to do any harm whatsoever, so much tumult and outcry and trouble would be unnecessary, and if one of them only were to come, he could perform [by himself] that which he had been deputed to do. For when the angel of truth was sent by the Lord of creation against the camp of the Assyrians he had no need of many companions, and he came not with tumult and terror, but with quietness and firmness he made use of the power which had been given to him, and destroyed one hundred and fourscore and five thousand of the Assyrians (2 Kings xix, 35; 2 Chronicles xxxii, 21; Isaiah xxxvii, 26) ; but the assembly of the evil ones, because it possesseth not the power of performing its own will, maketh use of means which are full of terror. Now if any man shall say, " Supposing now the devils to ** have no power in them, by what agency did they bring upon 44 Job all the calamities which are written in the Book?" let him understand that he must think in this wise, that is to say, he must believe that the Evil One hath no power to do harm, and that God only gave power to tempt him into his hands. For if this were not so, He would not have stripped him of every thing, and He would have had compassion upon his soul, but mercy is not found with the Evil One. In this wise must a man think. Moreover, the Evil One appeareth to have been parti cularly feeble, inasmuch as the just man vanquished him in the contest which he waged with a man ; yet this is not a matter for wonder, my beloved, for Job the just was not given over wholly into the hands of the Evil One. And know ye that unless God had so wished, he would neither have had power over Job himself, nor over his herds and his flocks, nor over the miserable wealth of those who were spectators of him if a man may speak thus. And that the matter is thus be ye persuaded from the blessed Gospel, for when our Lord re strained and pursued the devils in one place, they besought Him to permit them to enter into a herd of swine which was nigh unto them (St. Matthew viii, 30; St. Mark v, 2-13; St. Luke viii, 32, 33). If now the devils had not power over the swine, how much [less] can they have power over man, who was 25 tbe paraMse of tbe 1bols jf atbers made in the image of God? So therefore in proportion as it is necessary for us to increase our fear of God, it is meet for us to add to the contempt which we should have for the congre gation of the evil ones. Now in what way can we increase our fear of God? Or in what way are we able to add to our con tempt for the evil ones? The means by which both these things are to be performed are similar in each case. Whensoever we make our life and deeds better than they were before, we increase the pleasure which we give to God, and we also multiply the contempt which we have for the evil ones. For the devils are far more afraid of the fasting of the monks, and of their prayers, and of their chastity, and of their abstinence, and of their meekness, and of their gentleness, than they are of their triumphs, and they are afraid most of all of their righteousness, which is in Christ. And all these [virtues] pierce them on every side after the manner of arrows, and for this reason they do all they can, and they become mad and foam at the mouth, that, if they can help it, they may not arrive at this condition of disgrace. Therefore do not ye give unto them an opportunity in any matter whatsoever, neither when they come against us in the guise of enemies in wars, nor w r hen under the form of friends they attempt to natter us; for they are wont to draw nigh unto us in the guise of friends and to pretend to reveal matters unto us. At one time they will come unto us and inform us before hand concerning the coming of the brethren, and at another we hear [from them] also rumours and reports [of things which are] remote; when, therefore, it happeneth that they tell us of something which is going to happen, and it cometh to pass, let us not be surprised. For it is not a great thing, seeing that they themselves are spirits in their persons, that they should see and perceive the brethren who are coming to us, and should tell us beforehand of their coming, and should [make known] a matter which hath happened in a certain place, and that they should be as it were those who revealed it unto us. Now these things a runner who is swift in his course could do, and also a horseman who rideth rapidly. Therefore, let us not be led away after their deeds through such things, and let us neither marvel at them nor think that they are matters of importance, for that they are not things which have not been done already hath been made known aforetime; but to reveal secret things and to make known aforetime what is to be performed are matters which are in the hands of God only. Know ye, however, O my beloved, that they have made known to many who were afar off the fortune of this our pre sent congregation, and all matters which were in dispute; and 26 Ube life of Saint Hnt^ of what I have said the following [word< ow and an explanation. It hath happened by,-. A r our hath set out from India, or from some remote coui:jj unto us, and when as yet we did not see him, or* v at thing about him, straightway we have had sight of him a have heard where he was prepared to go, for immediately [tl devils] seized upon the news quickly and brought it unto us saying, "Behold, such and such a man from such and such a "place is coming unto you." It hath happened, moreover, that thie man who was coming was a king, or that some obstacle haith prevented him from coming, whosoever he was, or that halving travelled a certain distance, which was not little, he re/turned to his own country, but nevertheless the shameful and reprehensible craftiness of the devils had found it out. j And thus it is also in the case of the waters of the river Ghhon (Nile) which is in our country, for they inform us be- fojrehand whensoever they are going to rise. And whensoever thtey see the clouds and the abundant rain which [falleth] in idia (now this river Nile cometh from that country), they k now and see that by reason of the storm that hath taken lace in India, the river will be full from one bank to the other, d when the final rise of the waters of the Nile will come th clare beforehand, and thus they lead astray the souls ot ririous people who lack understanding. Now the inhabitants India also if they had the pow T er to travel, as the devils have, r ould come and announce the rise of the waters of the Nile to t le people who are in Egypt. And the matter is like that of the watchman when he goeth p to some high place in the sight of the whole camp and is ble to see him that is coming before he arriveth; but he who ometh is also able to afford exact information concerning hat is coming and what are the contents of his dispatch, and hat is the condition of the nation from whom he cometh. In 1 ke manner do the devils see or hear and give information oncerning what they see and hear beforehand. ^ w if God leditateth anything concerning the waters of w river, for I_ le hath power over it, the cunning of the devils .., rebuked ii n the opinion of the wise, but to those who lack understand- i ; ng of heart their error is sweet. By such means of error as t hese hath paganism made its way throughout creation, but the I, x>rd of created things came and rebuked him that did these lings, and humbled his spirit; and behold, the earth is tilled y the law of righteousness, and by the sword of the Spirit; fand behold, the thorns, and the briars, and all the weeds of t^the seed of the Evil One have been rooted out therefrom. Such ; hre the means which are made use of by the error of the devils, 27 ifcise of tbe 1bol dfatbers d as these do they lead astray creation ce , . be among you, O my children, any mai v y_ ade in the image^ Behold, do not the devils declare many thingftn icessarft ic |r us^ haye not [ be f ore ] heard, and do not they describ en > add nany*" things which they have not before seen?" Now, evei n d ation t his be so, O my baloved, let not your minds be disturbe^e - ar c hereby; but enter ye into the counsel of your mind, and g(, ^"understanding concerning the things of [this] world, and fror f fc e re these ye will obtain the power of [preserving your minds] frt o \d "> from storm[s]. ach And before all things know that the physicians, by meaij e .g. of the experience which they have gotten of their handicraft^ are able to know of a certainty before a man falleth sick whVjs- ther he will live or die, and how long the sickness will ] ^\^ \ u and when it will be at an end. And it happeneth thaVeven^t >i when a man himself hath no idea that he is about to pass , t v under afflictions, the physicians from their constant practice in i and from the experience which they have acquired, are able \io ), re& to inform [him] concerning the sicknesses which are about t\o t( h at ^ome upon him, even when the first symptoms thereof hav e je this 1Q t declared themselves. Now the power of foretelling thing s/ e greater with those who steer ships than with the phy ma lsicians, for they have experience of the heavens (or sky) of the wind which is therein, and they are able to declar several days beforehand on what day the heavens (or sky - a] gs will change, and at what periods the wind will become strong^ ike and these things they can do by their knowledge and by theiij experience. And know ye also that the ability of the devils i not superior to that of helmsmen and physicians, for they also ve ;br n); by their experience of matters are able to declare what they have never before heard, and to describe what they have! never before seen. Unto you then these devils and the suppli- nd cation which is made to them are superfluities; let those whc ), of are without them seek these things, but seek ye not freedon i^de therefron? "id let it be unto you an objecl; to finish you) "-it work. ? 1( r h V er For whV [hath commanded us] that we should be strenu- ^e ous in this matter, and should know it? Who among the men. u j c of olden time received praise because they had knowledge of ^ events before they happened ? And who [among them] was ever t " blamed because^ he had no knowledge of events which were er s afar off, or were ; about to take place [immediately]? Each one of us will, howeVer, be judged if he performeth not the work i^ of righteousness, and not because he krioweth or doth not )i know the things of the future. Therefore let us excuse our- L selves from this supplication, and let us pray, not that we mavl 28 paraMsc of tbe Ifooly jf atbers been vouchsafed unto it. This then is the manner of the velation of the knowledge of the truth. f Now fright of the Evil One cometh about in this wi First of all the soul is disturbed and terrified, and it hear the sounds of a great tumult, and of the playing of musical struments, and of singing, which are like unto those made ^ a feast of drunken men and in the caves of robbers; and cause of these sounds which it heareth, the timid soul is grei moved ; and for this reason it becometh afraid. And other soj ke which are brave are terrified because they have heard strai* sounds, for all their affairs in every possible way belong tribulation and misery. And there is a time when they <B after the similitudes of the persons of the children of men very truth, and although [they do] thus, it is well known it is merely a phantom and the form of a man only [which obtain]. For however much an Indian were to rub himself, hf. could never make himself resemble a Greek, and similarly witr Satan, however many forms of the children of men he migl\ steal for himself in order to enable him to declare unto thos^ who beheld him that the truth was with him, and to lead in> ^ error the children of the truth, and however much the phanto,;!^ might resemble the reality, that it could be compared is impossible. There is therefore no room for the devils us into error by any one of these things, and whatsoever thW 11 do, they do to their own disgrace. if Understand ye also the following matter, and learn briev concerning it, that is to say, in the revelation of the Spirit, ai|^ e in the tumult caused by devils [in the soul] fear is vouchsafe r In respect of the devils, however, they can certainly stir upi v ^ us a tumult, and put terror therein, but they cannot turn thej.- or away and make an end of them. Now whilst the Holy Spiritjj-\. revealing itself to a man, the soul is greatly moved by the ro^yg jesty thereof, but the terror which it hath of Him cometh tot nc j end speedily, and perfect happiness maketh its abode in hiii ^ Thus are the wiles and crafts of the Evil One, but, even accd^jg ding to the things which I have already said, let us not be move. - t by the fear which he causeth, and let us not be terrified at h. visions, and let us not turn unto him and make ourselves su ne ject to him so that he may say unto us, "Fall ye down and wcP? " ship me" (compare St. Matthew iv, 5). By his wiles and craj) ^ he hath led the heathen into error, and they imagine that he! - God, but the fearers of our Lord have prevented us, and th ea * have gathered us into His habitation, and [thus] there is BTC| given unto him an opportunity of leading us into captivity. F! . the Evil One is exceedingly bold, and he is without shame, ar \ ^ he even dared to approach our Lord in his madness and deprv lc t 30 TTbe Xtfe of Saint Hntbon# Ity, that is to say, the body which He had put on; and our Lord loked upon him and scorned him, and rebuked him, and said, Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt wor- ship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve" (St. [atthew iv, 10; St. Luke iv, 8). Through the consolation of ese thing s especially the Evil One should be held in con- mpt in our sight; for the word which was spoken by our prd to Satan was spoken on our behalf and on account of that in the same manner we ourselves might also rebuke [e devils, and that as the Evil One was destroyed before the prd of our Lord, so he might also perish and come to an end [fore our words, for in this he cannot multiply boasting. [Now when our word hath power over the devils, and the [nds [run] terrified from before us, let no man marvel when rebuketh the demons and they become subject unto him, Id let him not hold in contempt another man by whose hands limilar thing cannot be \vrought, but let him examine first of land understand the lives and works of various men, and from s scrutiny let him know with whom abideth Divine Grace, and Jere the righteousness of God resteth. For they will be unto la very much better mirror than those who cast out devils, 11 in them the wicked will be able to see their blemishes and ] become rebuked, and in them good men will be able to look lefully at their career and become strengthened. Whether a |n becometh a prosperous toiler or an abje6t coward belong- unto himself, but for a man to stretch out his hand against devils and for them to yield place belongeth not unto him unto heavenly Grace. For when the Disciples returned with [unto their Lord from [preaching the] Gospel which they had sent out to preach, they rejoiced in that even the devils e obedient unto their words. Now therefore let him that B discernment look and hearken unto this answer which given unto them: " Rejoice ye not because the devils also Lve been made subject unto you, but rejoice because your j.meshave been written down in heaven" (St. Luke x, 20). tor names to be written down in the Book of Life is a mony to conduct which is pleasing [to God], and it showeth those who are worthy of this thing have an upright mind; bower over devils is, manifestly, [a mark of] the grace of Redeemer. And that ye may know that this is so, observe : Christ answered those who took refuge in this thing when jpirits were going forth before Him, and they said unto Him, Thy Name we have cast out devils, and have performed l.ny signs and wonders." And He said unto them, "Verily, j-ily, I say unto you I know you not" (St. Matthew vii, 22, Therefore let us pray, as I have already said, that there 3 1 paradise of tbe tools jf atbers may be given unto us the grace to seek after the [power to c distinguish between spirits, according to the word of the Boo which saith, " Be not ye led astray by the spirits which err ^ (compare i Timothy iv). [ZTbe following is] bs tbe tools Writer /Ifcar Htbana? d sius. r e NOW I merit praise in that whilst repeating the triump/ , ^ of the blessed Anthony I desire to keep silence conce/ r . 6 ing many things, being at the same time very care" , not to speak anything on mine own authority only; it> 1 sufficient for me to record the things which actually toe^" place. Let not any man imagine that we declare ther es things as a pastime, but let him be sure that we narra(^~ them as things which took place in very truth, and thfc we do so knowing from a6tual experience that they air true, and that we are only placing on record the wonderfij acts of the blessed man that they may form a small memoris\ n of him. Let the wise man know the purity of our intention anl! that we do not narrate the things which have been said by u (1 in this history without a good object; and we shall be mad. 16 strong by the measure of your love. For I am convinced th? -, 6 it would be neither useful nor beneficial if matters of this kir* } were spoken of in a boastful manner, because our Adversa/^ 11 is very crafty, and it might happen that he could cause us [ stumble even in a thing which concerneth the truth; therefo-r S whilst recording the narrative of the histories of the wiles a\* e arts of the Evil One, it is meet that we should make you toj^ watchful against his subtlety. / - V6 Ube blesseb anfc bols man Hntbons [saitb] : fi") ; H ive OW often then did they ascribe blessings in a Iq voice, and whilst the voice of blessing was reai n ~ ing my ears, the words of cursing were sent for? by them ! For how many times did they inform me befo/. . 6 hand concerning the flood of the Nile, that is to say, of river Gihon, and how many times did I say unto them, "as for you what have ye?" And I used to say unto " I have no need to learn these things from you," but they wo^ come again to me after this in the guise of thieves, and t ne " would surround me, and would stand up and utter thn eat against me, having at the same time their weapons upon th, ei ^ And again, on another occasion they were suddenly found i ?H ing my house with serpents of various kinds, and with rep F.^ in large numbers, and with these there were also horses w.!v"J neighed; then straightway I made myself ready and I st< 32 ZTbe Xtfe of Saint Hntbons I lifted up my voice in Psalms, and said, "Some [put their rust in] chariots, and some in horses, but we will be strong i the Name of the Lord our God" (Psalm xx, 7), and im- diately they came to an end and disappeared from before On another occasion they came to me by night, and they e holding torches of fire and were saying, "We have come ow to burn thee [alive], O Anthony," and as they were say- these things unto me, I closed my eyes so that I might show n that I had placed their light in the portion of darkness; straightway I put on the armour of prayer against them, w r hilst I was praying the light of the sinful ones was ex- jfuished, and it was no more. d again, after a few months they came in the guise of singers of the Psalms, and they began to speak to me th words] from the Scriptures; but I, like a deaf man, did not rken unto them. On another occasion they shook down upon the habitation wherein I was living, but I laughed at them reason of my confidence which [was placed] in our Lord, my mind was in no way whatsoever disturbed by them, d after this they came unto me with whistlings, and they e beating their hands together and dancing with joy; but m they saw that notwithstanding all their clamour I did cease to pray, and that I held not my peace from the sing- of Psalms, like unto men who have been defeated and over- le they turned their songs of joy into lamentations, and they an to wail and to beat their breasts in grief, and at the same e I gave thanks unto my good Lord for all these things, and ause He had broken, and destroyed, and brought low, and mbled, their audacious arrogance and mad folly. \.nd again, on another occasion, there appeared [unto me] evil of an exceedingly haughty and insolent appearance, and tood up before me with thetumultuous noise of many people, he dared to say unto me, "I, even I, am the power of God," "I, even I, am the Lord of the worlds." And he said unto ?, "What dost thou wish me to give thee? Ask and thou fhalt receive." Then I blew a puff of wind at him, and I re- ked him in the Name of Christ, and I made ready to smite n, and when, as I thought, I did smite him, at that very mo- mt all his strength, and all his host [of fiends], at the [men- >n of] the Name of Christ, came to an end. And on another occasion, when I was fasting, the crafty e appeared unto me in the form of a brother monk carrying ead, and he began to speak unto me words of counsel, say- j, "Rise up, and stay thy heart with bread and water, and rest a little from thine excessive labours, for thou art a man, and howsoever greatly thou mayest be exalted thou art clothed 33 3 Iparafcise of tbe U:>ol2 jf atbers " with a mortal body, and [thou shouldst] fear sicknesses a^ Q "tribulations." Then I regarded his words, and I held my pea, r y- and refrained from giving [him] an answer. And I bowed m self down in quietness and I began to make supplication prayer, and I said, "O Lord, make Thou an end of him ev^ " as Thou hast been wont to do him away at all times"; a as I concluded my words he came to an end and vanished li. dust, and went forth from the door like smoke. fjrh e And again, how very many times in the desert hath e )old shown before me things like phantoms which resembled g. , ich in order that I might bow myself down before him and toi g- him even with my finger! I, however, never ceased from sinjLes ing the songs of the Holy Spirit. And how very many tim Ks- when I was receiving enjoyment in the Holy Spirit did he di 0,5 ! turb me in anger, and he even dared so far as to strike mo it Not that I myself am of any account whatsoever, but that y -t may be seen that the power of our Lord is mighty, and that i; in cannot be vanquished even in the feeble ones who believe *1), Him. And Satan laid upon me hard stripes (or cruel blows t<h and in proportion as he multiplied them I kept crying out wit Jje a loud voice, saying, "There is nothing which shall separatee " me from the love of God" (Romans viii, 35); and after thes a ,ll words [had been said] Satan and the members of his host fe -yn one upon the other, and each of them vented his wrath upo^ to his fellow. Now it was God, Who aforetime reduced Satan, ags subjection, and God alone, Who performed all these thijf like which I have related; and [the Book] saith, "I saw Satan f a 7iy " lightning fall from heaven" (St. Luke x, 18). And I, O Y! ve sons, remember the word[s] of the Apostle, who said, "I haj :br " spoken these things for your behalf, both for myself and fl ii); Apollos, that ye may learn of us " (compare i Corinthians i-idive in this wise ye also must learn of me these things which ye h^r nd heard, and ye shall not be wearied [in running] your course, aAof ye shall not fear the appearances (or visions) of Satan and ^de all his hosts. And even though I, like a simple man, have malv it use of these histories, it is for you to hold them to be true; foij v er is meet that we should bring forward in this place whatsoev . tfie we remember, lest under one pretext or another, or by sor , u l c means or other, [Satan] draw nigh unto you, and that ye make 1 * find yourselves ready [to fight] against all his schemes. ea t Now on one occasion Satan approached the house one nig er; s and knocked at the door, and I went out to see who wi fi knocking, and I lifted up mine eyes and saw the form of tiU exceedingly tall and strong man; and having asked "Who art thou?" he answered and said unto me, "la "Satan." And after this I said unto him, "What seeke, 34 Ube Xtfe of Saint Hntbong "thou?" and he answered and said unto me, "Why do the "monks, and the anchorites, and the other Christians revile "me, and why do they at all times heap curses upon me?" And having clasped my head firmly [in wonder] at his mad folly, I said unto him, "Wherefore dost thou give them "trouble?" Then he answered and said unto me, "It is not " I who trouble them, but it is they who trouble themselves. " For there happened unto me on a certain occasion that "which did happen to me, and had I not cried out to them " that I was the Enemy, his slaughters would have come to an "end for ever. I have, therefore, no place [to dwell in], and " not one glittering sword, and not even people who are really " subject unto me, for those who are in service to me hold me "wholly in contempt; and moreover, I have to keep them in " fetters, for they do not cleave to me because they esteem it " right to do so, and they are ever ready to escape from me in " every place. The Christians have filled the whole world, and "behold, even the desert is filled full with their monasteries " and habitations. Let them then take good heed to themselves " when they heap abuse upon me." Then, wondering at the grace of our Lord, I said unto him, " How doth it happen that whilst thou hast been a liar on "every other occasion, at this present the truth is spoken by " thee? And how is it that thou speakest the truth now when " thou art wont to utter lies? It is indeed true that when Christ "came into [this] world thou wast brought down to the lowest " depths, and that the root of thine error was plucked up from " the earth. "And when Satan heard theName of Christ, his form vanished and his words came to an end. Since, therefore, Satan himself confessed that there was nothing in his power, we are compelled wholly to despise him and his host. Such then are the crafts and wiles which are found with the Enemy and with the greedy dogs which form his host. And having learned the feebleness and helplessness thereof, it is meet that we should make ourselves ready to [march] against them as over a road which our Lord hath trodden for us. Let then these phantoms be a help unto us so that our minds may not be frightened by his cunning, and fear may not abide in us by reason of his impudence ; and let not anxious thought be wrought in us, lest the Evil One gain greater strength, and let us not be afraid when he hurleth his darts at us lest this thing be an occasion unto him for boasting. And let us not be like stricken men, but let us be prepared at all times [to act] as men who have vanquished the enemy ; and let this thought be with us at all times, namely, that God, Who hath revealed and exposed the "powers and dominion," is with us 35 3* Ube parafcise of tbe fbols tf atbers at all times. For [otherwise] when the evil ones draw nigh unto us, having made ready to come against us in the hope that they may gain some advantage over us, or may discover some thoughts of fear in us, for they prepare phantoms [which ap pear] unto us in the event that they may find that we are ter rified and afraid, straightway, like thieves who have discovered a place which is without guardians, they will enter into us and will lead us captives of their will, and our miserable souls will be found to be in an agitated state, not by reason of the punish ment of the Adversary, but through our own sluggishness. If, however, the evil ones find us in the love of Christ, and medi tating continually on the hope [of that] which is to come, and thinking thoughts concerning the commandments of our Lord, and [believing] that the kingdom and dominion are His, and that the Evil One hath neither opportunity nor power to resist the might of the Cross, if, I say, the Evil One shall find any believing man in this state of mind when he draweth nigh unto him, at that very moment he will remove himself from him to a distance. It was in such a frame of mind that he found Job who was prepared [to resist him], and the Evil One feared, and was ashamed, and he departed from him as from a man of war ; on the other hand, he led captive to his will wholly Judah whom he found to be entirely destitute of such matters. Let us learn then fully from such examples and from such narratives, that if we wish to do so it is very easy for us to hold in contempt the Evil One. Let us meditate at all times on our Lord, and let our souls rejoice in His hope, and behold, we shall find that the Evil One will vanish from before us like the darkness, and we shall also discover that those who come to persecute us will turn [their backs] upon us like men who are chased out of the battle, for, as I have already told you, they are cowards. For the decree of doom (or judgement) is at all times before them, and they are ever expecting the punishment which is prepared for them, and the fear of the Cross is cast upon them in pro portion to their impudent audacity. Let then these and all the other things [which I have said] be unto you the means of understanding the insolent cunning of the Evil One, and of recognizing the similitudes of the torms of his appearances. If it happen therefore unto any of you that the appearance of one of these forms presenteth itself, be ye not forthwith terrified, but look upon it with great courage as it really is, and ask it, " Who art thou? And whence comest thou?" And if it be a true revelation of the Holy Spirit, straightway the mind will feel that it is so, and will have confidence, and courage (or consolation) will grow in you and fear will diminish ; but if it 36 ZTbe Xfte of Saint Hntbons be an appearance of the error of the Evil One, the thing will be confounded, and there will be no opportunity for it to be bold, and the form of the appearance will not tarry, and the question [which ye ask] will make manifest the courage of the confidence of refuge in our Lord. On one occasion a manifestation revealed itself unto Joshua, the son of Nun, and he asked that which had appeared unto him who he was, and took his stand upon the question ; and similarly Daniel also saw one of the Watchers and rejoiced at the sight, and was afraid at the measure of the honour of him that had come, but he was wholly comforted by the grace of theconfidencewhichhehad in his truth. And in like mannera re velation (or manifestation) of the truth came to each and every one of the [saints of] olden time, and none of the stratagems of the phantoms of the Wicked One ever led them astray. AN D as the blessed man Anthony was saying these things, and every man was hearkening unto him with gladness, unto every man who listened unto him was given help of one kind or another according to his need ; the man who was strongfound his strenuousness to beincreased, andthemanwho was weak found that he received encouragement, and the proud man found that his arrogance was overthrown and swept away, and every man was persuaded to reach forward confi dently towards the hope which is to come. And all the people with one accord ascribed blessing unto the righteous man Anthony because such a degree of strength had been given unto him, and because such great wisdom had made its abode in him, and because that in the fierce strife and warfare which he waged against devils he was able to distinguish and dis cern the difference between good and evil appearances, and the manifestations (or revelations) of our Lord from those which appertained unto devils. And in the days of the blessed man the habitations of the monks were accepted as tabernacles of praises, and Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs were heard therein; and love and righteousness rejoiced therein, and therein was found the rest of prayer coupled with fasting. And the monks toiled in the labour of their hands that they might not be a burden upon any man, and of [the proceeds of] the sweat of their faces the poor and the needy were relieved. And the monastery [of An thony] became at that time a wonder unto the inhabitants of the country, for behold, the silver, and the gold, and the riches of this world which were so highly esteemed in their sight were despised and accounted as dross by such men as the monks thereof; and those at whose wastefulness, and drtin- ZTbe jparaOise of tbe fbols jfatbers kenness, and lasciviousness the monks marvelled, returned [to their homes] in wonder as [if they had seen] an angel and not a human being. No sounds of dissension or con tention were heard there, and no voice of the violent man (?) or of his gaoler sounded therein ; well might a man describe that monastery in the words of the parable which was uttered in olden time, and say, " How fair are thy habitations, O J acob, "and thy tabernacles, O Israel!" (Numbers xxiv, 5), for the country was as if the desert had been roofed over, and it was like a paradise which was by the rivers, and tabernacles which the Lord had stablished, and like cedars by the side of the stream. Now therefore the blessed man, according to his wont, withdrew himself and departed to his habitation (or cell) and to the place which was convenient for him to dwell in, and there like a mighty man he triumphed in the apparel of war ; at all seasons he was mindful of the mansions which were in the heavens, and groaned, for his mind abode between two x [worlds]. He despised the world and held it in contempt, and his mind longed greatly for the kingdom of God, for already, even according to the word of the Apostle, he wished to be with his Lord (Philippians i, 23). And moreover, he was greatly troubled when the time drew nigh in which it was proper for him to eat and drink with the sons of his habitation, for he was shamefaced, and he would fain depart from their midst, and he did not like any man to see him eating or drinking; nevertheless, although he felt thus at the appointed season, he would eat [with them]. Now on the greater number of days the love which he bore towards the brethren would in this way draw him to their company, for he did not desire to grieve them in any way whatsoever, and he was as careful for them as if they had been himself; for he was mindful of the word of the Book which saith, "Ye are members, each of the other, " and if one member be glorified, the whole body is glorified " (Romans xii, 5). And this he used to say and teach unto them: It is right that we should at all times follow after the food of the soul, for the soul worketh together with our spirit in the striving which is against the adversary ; but it is meet for the body to be in subjection and tribulation, for it very speedily becometh unduly exalted by the persuasion and flattery of the Evil One. And it is therefore right that the soul should be more prepared and more exalted than the body, that the body may not prevail (or be strong) over it, and bring it low by the lusts [thereof]. And our Lord also gave this indication to the blessed Apostles, and commanded them, saying, "Be not careful as to what ye 38 Xtfe ot Saint Hntbong 1 shall eat, or what ye shall drink, for such thing s do the peo- 4 pies of the earth seek after, and your Father knoweth what- soever things ye have need of; but seek ye the kingdom of God and His glory, and the things which are superior unto these shall be added unto you " (St. Matthew vi, 31 sq.) Now some short time after these things a storm and a per secution arose in the Church, during the years [of the reign] of Maximinus, the wicked Emperor, and [the soldiers] began to seize and to take into Alexandria a great company of the blessed confessors ; and the report of these things reached the blessed Anthony. And straightway he left his habitation and place of abode, and he made haste at the sound of the strife, and he said to himself, " I will go and draw nigh [thereto], so * that if Divine Grace call me, it shall find me prepared, and 4 if it thinketh otherwise concerning my unworthy self, I shall 4 at all events be a spectator of the strife." Now he desired exceedingly to enter [the race], and to be accounted worthy of the athlete s crown. So he travelled on his way and drew nigh and arrived at the city, and he went in through the gate, and inquired where the athletes had been made to assemble, and where they had been gathered together, and asked concerning the report of the strife. And when he had heard and had learned where the place was, and in what manner of restraint they were fettered, he made his way thither ; and as soon as he saw those who had been called by Divine Grace [unto death] at this time, he planned with all diligence and by every means in his power to be a companion unto every one of them in the contest wherein they were to stand. And he prepared and made himself ready to be with every man, and he became a prisoner in the prison with those who were shut up therein, and he ministered unto them and relieved their wants ; and he passed his time continually in close companionship with the rest of the prisoners who were to be exiled, and those who were to be sent out from the country to the mines, and to the islands, and he ministered unto them with great pains and care. And he was found to be ready to accompany all such as were brought and were going in to their doom, both in their going in and coming out ; as they went in he gave them encouragement and admonition, and as they came out he ascribed blessings unto them and sang hymns of praise. And it was his custom [to do this] day by day, and his acts were so well known and so famous in all the city that at length [the report thereof] came to the ears of the governor. Now when the wicked governor learned concerning him, and the people had informed him concerning Anthony s disposition and work, he marvelled at [the bravery of] his mind, and because he was neither moved by the tortures 39 ZTbe parafcise of tbe 1bol ffatbevs and tribulations which were falling upon his companions, nor was afraid ; and he commanded that he should no longer be found in the city, and that the other monks who were with him should not come therein, because they also were doing the same work. And on another day certain athletes were summoned to the contest, and when the blessed Anthony knew of the command and threat (or prohibition) of the judge, he washed and made white the apparel with which he was clothed (now his tunic was without shoulder coverings and was like the tunics with which the Egyptians cover themselves), and having arrayed himself in his clothing, he went and stood up inside the hall of judgement, opposite to the wicked judge. And when the men who had heard the commands of the king concerning Anthony and his companions lifted up their eyes and saw him, they pre vented him that day from appearing before the judge, for they marvelled at him and at his boldness concerning himself, and his courage in the face of death. Now all this threatening was very sad to him, and [in spite of] his contempt for the Enemy, the door which would enable him to testify was not opened; but God preserved him for the strengthening of those who testified, and for the benefit of those who were about to do so, and for the increase of the monasteries of the monks, and for the praise of the whole Church. And he continued to do this work until God was pleased to put an end to this persecution of the Church (now in those days the blessed Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, bore his testimony) (i.e., was martyred); and after these things the blessed Anthony departed to his monastery and habitation, and he bore testimony continually, and, as it is written, he died daily (i Corinthians xv, 31), and after the persecution he was always adding a little more to the toil of his daily life. Now he wore his apparel with the hair inside, and the skin outside, and to the day of his death he never touched his body with water, for he wished to keep it meagre, and he never dipped his feet in water without the sternest necessity; and no man ever saw him naked or exposed, except when he died, and his body was carried in honour by his disciples. He once decided that for a short time he would remain in silent contem plation, and that he would neither go outside his dwelling nor be seen by any man, and it came to pass that during the days wherein [he was thus occupied] a certain Roman nobleman whose name was Martinianus came to visit him, and he drew nigh and besought him to come forth and to pray with him, and to lay his hand upon his daughter, who was torn by a devil. And when the nobleman had waited a very long time, 40 . ZTbe Xife ot Saint Bntbong and had besought the blessed man incessantly to open his door, though he would not be persuaded to do so, Anthony looked [out of the window] and saw him, and said unto him: " O man, why dost thou weary me? I am a man like unto thy- "self, but if thou dost believe in the Christ Whom I serve, u depart in peace, and according as thou believest pray, and " it shall be [unto thee] even as thou wishest." Then straight way that man had full and complete confidence in the word which he had heard, and went by the way he had come, taking his daughter with him, and she was delivered from the power of the subjugation of the Evil One. And God, Who did say, 44 Ask ye and receive" (St. Matthew vii, 7; St. Luke xi, 9), performed very many things like unto this by the hands of Anthony; now many people who were smitten with diseases of several kinds thronged to him, and came and sat down by the side of his cell, and each of them obtained relief from his afHiclions. Now when he saw that much people were gathered to gether to him, and that the trouble which men and women caused him increased, he became afraid either lest he should be unduly exalted in his mind by reason of the things which God had wrought by his hand, or lest others should esteem him beyond what was right and more than he deserved, and he determined to go away from that place and to enter the The- baid. Then he took a little bread and went and sat down by the side of the river, and waited until he should see a boat go ing to that district to which he was ready to go. And as he was pondering these things in his mind, suddenly a voice from heaven was heard by him, and it called him and said unto him, " Anthony, whither goest thou? Why art thou departing from " this place?" Now he was not afraid of the voice which came to him, but like a man who was accustomed to do so he spake with it, and answered and said, " Because, O my Lord, the people will not permit me [to enjoy] a little silent contem- * plation; it is for this reason that I am wishing to go up to k the Thebai d, and especially do I desire it because the people are seeking at my hands that which is wholly beyond my 4 powers." Then again the voice came to him, saying, " If thou goest k up it will not be to the Thebai d only, and even if thou * goest into the Thebai d as thou art thinking [of doing], thou 4 wilt have to endure toil greater than that which thou [per- formest] here; if, however, thou wishest to enjoy silent con- templation and to be at rest, get thee gone into the innermost 1 desert." And Anthony the blessed answered and said, "O my Lord, who will shew me [the way to] that difficult place? For 4* Ube paraWsc of tbe t>ol fathers "neither do I myself know it, nor am I acquainted with or " have knowledge of men who do." Now whilst he was standing up, there passed by certain Arabs who had made ready and set out on their way to go to that region, and the blessed man drew nigh unto them, and entreated them to let him go with them, and they received him gladly because it was manifest that it was the commandment bf God which was to be performed in this matter. And having travelled with them for three days and three nights, he arrived at a certain high mountain, and he found in the lower parts thereof water which was clear, and cool, and sweet, and a few palm-trees, for the land which was by the side of the mountain was a flat plain; and the place was pleasing to the blessed Anthony, and he loved it well, and he loved it especially because God had been his Governor and had led him to that spot. Therefore Anthony encamped there and dwelt in that place, and he was exalted there like a king in the courts [of his palace]. Now when those Arabs who had brought him to that place saw [this], they wondered and marvelled, and they left with him a little bread which was found with them; and from that time forward whenever they were journey ing into Egypt and returning therefrom, those Arabs, by reason of the wonderful things which they saw in the man, always passed by the place where he was, and also brought him bread. Now there were found in that region a few small birds [which came] from the palm-trees. And it came to pass that after a time it was heard by the brethren where he was, and like beloved sons they remem bered their righteous father, and they made inquiries and found out where the place was, and they laboured strenuously and sent to him everything that could be of use to him. Now when the blessed Anthony saw that the brethren had begun to take trouble for him, he besought those who had begun to go to him to bring him a little jvheat and a hoe; and when they had brought them to him, he went about the land at the foot of the mountain, and found a little place which was suitable for cultivating and watering; thus he was able to provide him self with as much bread as he needed, and he rejoiced greatly because he had found the means which would prevent him from troubling any man, and because he would be a burden to him self only. And having seen that the brethren were thronging to him, and that they would not be prevented from coming to him, he tilled a portion of that ground and made it into a vegetable garden for the benefit of those who came to him. Now when he first began to sow wheat in that place, the wild animals used to come there in large numbers for the sake of the water, and they damaged the crop, but one day when they were among 42 tlbe Xite ot Saint HntbotiB the corn according to their custom, he went quietly and seized one of them, and he said unto them all with a laugh, * Why do ye " do harm to me, seeing that I do no harm to you? Get ye gone " therefore in the Name of the Lord, and come ye never again 4 nigh unto this place"; and from that hour this was a com mand from heaven to them, and they never again did harm to that place. And the blessed Anthony was alone in that desert, for the place wherein he had his habitation was waste and desolate ; and his mind therefore dwelt the more upon exalted : things, and it was content therewith. Now the brethren who used to go to visit him besought and entreated him to allow them to bring him there month by month a few garden herbs and olives and oil ; and although he contended with them about it they overcame him with their entreaty, and compelled him [to receive them], and they began to pay him visits, one at a time, according to their entreaty to him. And the blessed man was exceedingly old, and he was far advanced in years. And in that desert also he endured strife^ not with flesh and blood, but with devils and with impure spirits, and we have learned this also from those who were going to visit him continually. They used to hear also there the sound of tumult and of out cry, and to see flashing spears, and at night time they \vould see the whole mountain filled with fiery phantoms, and those men were greatly terrified; but the blessed Anthony was trained in stratagems (?) of war like a man of war, and he was prepared, and he stood up and rebuked the Evil One, who straightway ceased according to [his] wont; and he en couraged the brethren who were with him not to be terrified or to tremble at [the sight of] such visions as these. For, said he to them, "They are only empty phantoms which perish "as if they had never existed at the Name of the Cross"; and wonder and admiration laid hold upon every man at the great ness and at the manner of the righteousness which was found in the blessed man. He was not terrified at the devils, he was not wearied by the desert, and his soul had no fear of the wild beasts which were therein ; but Satan suffered torture from all these things. And one day he came to the blessed man who was singing the Psalms of David, and he gnashed his teeth upon him loudly ; but the blessed Anthony ceased not [to sing], and he was comforted and helped by the grace of our Lord. One night whilst he was standing up and was watching in prayer, Satan gathered together all the wild beasts of the desert, and brought them against him, and they were so many in number that he can hardly have left one beast in its den ; and as they 43 paraMse of tbe 1bol ff atbers compassed him about on every side, and with threatening- looks were ready [to leap upon him], he looked at them boldly and said unto them, " If ye have received power over me [from " the Lord], draw nigh, and delay not, for I am ready for you ; "but if ye have made ready and come at [the command of) 44 Satan, get ye back to your places and tarry not, for I am a 44 servant of Jesus the Conqueror." And when the blessed man had spoken these words, Satan was straightway driven away by the mention of the Name of Christ like a sparrow before a hawk. And on another day, when he was weaving palm leaves for such was his occupation, and he used to toil thereat so that he might not be a burden upon any man, and that he might [make baskets] to give as gifts to the people who were continually coming to visit him suddenly he put up his hand over the door, and took hold of a rope of palm leaves to bring- outside, and he leaped and stood up to look out. And as he looked out from the door, he saw an animal which had [the following] form : from its head to its side it was like a man, and its legs and feet were those of an ass. When the blessed Anthony saw it he only made the sign of the Cross over him self, and said, "How can anyone imagine that the Evil One is crafty? And how can anyone be agitated [by him] more 4 than once or twice? Is it not within the scope of his cunning" 4 to know that these things are accounted by me merely 4 empty phantasms? And now, if there be anything whatso- 4 ever in the power of him that sent thee, come hither and * perform that which thou wast sent to do ; but if Christ, 4 Who shall make an end of thee, and in Whom I have 4 my hope, liveth, and if He be true, let the destruction pf 44 thyself and of him that sent thee take place immediately." Thereupon, at the word Christ, there fell upon the creature quaking and trembling, and he took to flight, and [as] he was going forth in haste and was running along terrified, he fell down and burst asunder at no great distance from [Anthony s] abode. Now the devils did all these things in order that they might drive the blessed man from the desert. And it came to pass after a time that the brethren [who were] monks appeared before him and besought him to come down and visit them in their monastery for a long period, and having multiplied their entreaties he granted their request; and he rose up and travelled with them in the desert to the borders of Egypt. Now there was with them a camel which was laden with bread and water [and] provisions for the way, for no water whatsoever was to be found in the whole of that desert. And having travelled for one or two days, the water 44 ZIbe Xife of Saint Rfttbottg was finished and came to an end, for the men with him were not a few, and in those days the heat was very fierce, and the people were overcome by thirst ; and they were troubled the more because they had wandered about the whole of that dis trict that they might find water, and they threw themselves down on the ground, being in trouble and in great danger, and because they were in despair about themselves they turned the camel adrift to wander about in the desert. Now when the blessed old man saw the people in such great distress, he sighed heavily, and having departed from them a short dis tance, he bowed his knees upon the ground and spreading out his hands towards heaven, he cried out to God, and said, "Consider, O Lord, at this time also the prayer of Thy ser- "vant" ; and before the words of his prayer were ended, water sprang up from that place whereon he had prayed, and he brought all the people and made them to come [there], and they prayed and gave thanks unto God, and they drank and were relieved from their tribulations, and they also filled the water-skins with the water. Then they went forth in quest of the camel, and they brought him back [to their camp]; now they found him quite near, because it happened that, through the Providence (or Dispensation) of God, whilst the animal was wandering about his cord was caught by a root and he was unable to move, and he stood still until they went and brought him [back]. And they gave the camel water to drink, and they loaded up his load upon him, and they set out on their road. Now when they had come to a district which was inhabited and had entered the villages, many people rushed forth from the whole of that neighbourhood and came to the place where the blessed man was, for every man was waiting and longing for him, and the love of him was hot in their minds, and they drew nigh and made obeisance unto him as unto a righteous father. And the blessed man spread abroad the things which he had provided and was carrying [with him] when he came from the desert, and he made them happy with the enjoyments of the Spirit; and at that time there was twofold joy in the monasteries of the monks, and they rejoiced in the triumphs of the blessed old man whom they saw renewing his youth like the eagle. Now the chief of all the commandments which he used to give unto all the monks was that they should freely confess, before everything, the true faith of Christ, and should love it with all their strength; that they should preserve them selves from evil thoughts, and from the lusts of the body; that they should flee from vain boasting; that they should pray continually, and should be prepared and ready [to sing] 45 Ube parafcise of tbe 1bol^ ffatbers Psalms and [to recite] the Office before they went to sleep; that after sleep they should read and remember the words of the Scriptures, wherein was their life; that they should medi tate upon the ac~ks and lives of the Apostles, and should con sider what they were before they approached Christ, and also what they were after they had drawn nigh to Him, and how in their former state they were despised and held in contempt by the world, and how in the latter state they suddenly waxed great, and were held in high honour, both in this world and in the kingdom of God; and that it was not their own strength which had made for them this exalted estate and honour, but their perfect righteousness towards God. With these and such like [admonitions] did he make zealous and strengthen their minds. And, moreover, he spake the following words: " Since "we, who are monks, are not held fast by anger in anything "whatsoever, Satan filcheth us away through this very thing " that we may rage one against the other; and it is therefore " meet that we should at all times remember the word of our " Lord which saith, If thou bringest to the altar thine offer- " ing, and there rememberest that thou art held by anger against " thy brother, go thou and be reconciled with thy brother, and " then offer up thine offering (St. Matthew v, 23, 24). We " should remember also the word of the Apostle, Let not the " sun go down upon your wrath (Ephesians iv, 26). Now " this command, Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, 4 was not written merely [to tell us] that we were never to be " angry, but [to warn us] against offences of every kind, and " against keeping wrath one against the other; for it is very 4 right and seemly that the sun should not go down by day and " leave us in sin, and that the moon should not overtake us in " the same by night, and should not find us in the service of the "Wicked One, or thinking of him. Since therefore it is well for * us [to be] thus, it is right thatwe should considerand examine " into the word of the Apostle which admonished us, saying, "jTry ye one, another, examine ye one another (2 Corin- "thiansxiii, 5). Letus then each and every day meditate in such "a way that every man among us may receive from his soul the "computation of all his works and thoughts, both by day and "by night; and let every man be an honest investigator of his "own thoughts for himself, before shall come the righteous "Avenger Who shall reward righteously (compare St. Matthew "xvi, 27), and shall punish even according as the Holy Gospel "hath admonished us; for the wages of the mind are always * the same. Those who have fought against sins He will encou- "rage, and him that standeth in the truth He will admonish Xife of Saint Hntbong 4 and urge to new exertions, lest he be filched away by boast- "ing, and be despoiled by means of over-confidence, and lest he "despise one man and love another, and justify his own soul. 4 [Let us then do these things], even as the Apostle Paul said, 444 until our Lord cometh (i Timothy vi, 14), Who shall judge 44 the things which are hidden. 4 For it may happen that we ourselves do not know our 44 own manner of life and works, but though we have lost this 44 knowledge it is manifest before God, Who knoweth the things 44 which are hidden. Let us therefore appoint Him to be the 4 Judge. Let us, at all times, take each the burden of the 4 r 6ther~~and let us suffer for each other even as our Lord suf fered for us; but let us examine our souls unceasingly,, and 44 let us provide and fill our houses in this world with whatsoever things we lack with the greatest care. And let this thing also 44 be an admonition to us against sin, and let each man of us 44 write down both his actions and his thoughts upon the tablets "of his heart, as if he were obliged to read and lay them out in 4 4 due order under the eye of every man. For when he pondereth 4 and considereth [he will find] that it would be a shame and a 4 disgrace that these things should come to light, and when he "meditateth further [he will see] that, inasmuch as the mere "hearing of the same would cause him great ignominy, it is 4 manifest that the doing of the same [would work] great de- "struction. And since it is difficult for sin to come to the light, "it is certain that falsehoodjclingeth and cleaveth thereto; for as "when the natural eye seeth [what is happening] no act of "shame is to be expected, so also if we were men who were 44 obliged to tell each other our manner of life (or conversation) 44 and thoughts, no sin would ever be committed by us because 4 of the shame which would result therefrom. Let then the 4 writings wherein are inscribed our shortcomings be things 44 of which to be ashamed, for they take the place of the eyes 44 of the spectators, and since we are as much ashamed of the 4 writings as if they had been spectators, let us, like men of 4 understanding, cease from the doing of and from meditating 4 upon the works which bring in their train reproach. Now 4 therefore by such means as these, if our souls are a care unto us, "let us bring our bodies into subjection, so that by our works "we shall please God, and treat with contempt the Enemy by 44 means of our strenuousness." Now it was with such matters as these that the blessed man Anthony used to rejoice the monks who went to visit him, and the others, that is to say, those who were smitten with sickness, and those who were evilly entreated by evil spirits he would comfort by his words, and would aid by his 47 paratnse of tbe 1bols f atbevs prayers. And our Lord at all times made him to be happy in his prayers, for when they were heard he was not unduly lifted up in his heart, and when they were not hearkened to he mur mured not, but in all of them he gave thanks to God. And, moreover, he encouraged those who were smitten with sick ness not to be disheartened by reason of their tribulations, and he told them that they must know that neither he nor any other man had power to grant relief to them, and that it was God alone Who could do so, and that He would do so for whomsoever He pleased whensoever He pleased. And these and such-like words became a relief and an aid for those who were smitten with sicknesses, and he gladly lightened the weight of their trials by more than the words which were offered unto them; but those who were made whole were told before everything else that they must not return their thanks and gratitude to the blessed Anthony, but that they must as cribe praise wholly unto God [for their healings]. Now there once went to the blessed Anthony in the inner desert a certain nobleman who was an officer in the palace, whose name was Parniton, and he had an evil spirit ; he was always gnawing his tongue, and the light of his eyes was wellnigh destroyed. And this man went to the blessed Anthony and entreated him to pray over him, and having done so he answered and said to that man, " Depart, and thou shalt be "healed," but Parniton entreated him that he might remain with him for some days. And the blessed man was saying unto him continually, "Thou canst not be healed here. Go away from this place, and when thou arrivest in Egypt thou wilt " see suddenly the wonderful sign which God hath wrought " upon thee." And having confidence in [these words] the man went forth, and before he saw Egypt, there came unto him deliverance straightway, and he became healed, according to the word of the blessed man which was revealed unto him in the Spirit by our Redeemer. And there was a certain virgin of Busiris who suffered from a severe and terrible disease, for the water (or tears) which flowed from the pupil of her eyes, and the matter which fell from her nostrils, before it fell upon the ground became worms, and her whole body was in a state of putrefaction ; and because of the progress of the disease her eyes had lost the power of natural sight and were useless. Now when the kinsfolk of this young woman heard that certain brethren [who were] monks were preparing to go to the blessed Anthony, because they believed wholly in the man who had healed a woman of a flow of blood [which had lasted] twelve years, they entreated them to allow them to go with them also and to follow in their 48 U\K Xtfe of Saint Hntbong company ; and as the brethren received their petition and per mitted them to go in their company, they arrived [in due course] at the place [where the blessed man was]. And the kinsfolk of the maiden remained with their daughter a short distance on this side of the mountain, at the place where dwelt the man of God, Paphnutius the confessor and anchorite. And when the brethren had gone in and had greeted the blessed Anthony, and whilst they were meditating- about relat ing to him concerning the maiden and her kinsfolk, he began to speak before they did about her sickness and afflictions, and said how it happened that she came to be in their company. Then making the conversation of the blessed man the pretext for their words they besought and entreated him to allow the maiden to come into his presence, but he would not be per suaded to do so, and he said unto them, "Get ye back to the " place where the maiden is, and if she be not already dead, " ye will find that she hath been wholly healed; now this hath "not happened either through me or through the gift which "my poor and contemptible person possesseth, but it is a gift from our Redeemer, Who performeth grace and mercy in " every place for those who cry unto Him in affliction. Get ye " out then quickly, for the merciful God hath hearkened unto "the prayer of the maiden, and hath regarded the toil and "labour of her kinsfolk; and behold, His lovingkindness hath "made known and revealed unto me in this hour that relief "from her affliction hath come unto the maiden. Thus this * wonderful thing hath taken place. "And thebrethren went forth and found the kinsfolk of the maiden rejoicing, and their daughter was freed from and was completely healed from her affliction. And at the same time there went forth from Egypt two brethren to visit the blessed Anthony, and when they were near to arrive at the place where he was, it fell out that the water failed, and they were so completely brought low for want thereof that, by reason of his great tribulation, one of them departed from this world, and his companion was well- nigh departing likewise. Then the blessed man called suddenly unto two of those brethren who happened to be with him, and said to them, "Take ye a little water in a vessel and get ye "down quickly on the road to Egypt, for two brethren set * out together to come to us, but when they had left behind them the greater part of the mountain road, they lacked water ; one of them hath already fainted and died, and the other is nigh unto death, [and will die], if ye do not speedily * overtake him. For thus hath it appeared to me when I was praying." And the brethren having made haste arrived at the place and found [a dead man] according to what had been 49 4 TOe paradise of tbe 1bol jfatbers said to them, and they took up the body of him that was dead and carried it away, and they fed him, in whom the spirit was still found to be, with bread and water, and took him and brought him with care to the old man. Now the blessed man was distant from them a journey of two days. And if any man ask why and wherefore the vision did not appear unto the blessed Anthony before the man died, he will ask that which is unseemly, for it belonged not to him to know what God was meditating concerning every man ; this thing belongeth unto God only Who, whensoever He pleaseth, maketh a reve lation unto him that feareth Him. And the blessed Anthony possessed this wonderful attribute. When he was dwelling in the mountain, his mind was alert and watchful to observe and to see, by the operation of the Holy Spirit which dwelt in him, that which was afar off as if it were near. For, on another occasion when he was in the mountain, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and suddenly saw a man being taken up therein ; and wonderment having fallen upon him he magnified [God] and ascribed blessings unto him that had been accounted worthy of this [honour], and he besought the Lord that he might know who the man was who had attained unto such exalted greatness. And suddenly a voice from heaven was heard, saying, "This is the soul of the blessed man "Ammon who used to dwell in the country of Nitria." Now Ammon was a mighty man and a valiant fighter [in the asce tic life], and he had been a monk from his early manhood even unto his old age, and the end of his life was greater than the beginning thereof; and the distance of the country of Nitria from the mountain wherein dwelt the blessed man Anthony was a journey of thirteen days. And when those who were found with the old man Anthony saw him marvelling in this manner concerning the blessed Ammon, they entreated him that they might learn when his departure from the world took place, and he informed them that it had happened when the revelation appeared unto him. And there was also another famous man with whom many were acquainted, for he used to come very frequently to the blessed Anthony, and many glorious deeds and signs and wonders were wrought by his hands unto our Lord. Now on a certain occasion one reason or another made it necessary for the blessed Ammon to cross the river, the name of which was Ddbha (i.e., the Wolf River), and he had with him the righ teous man, [who was called] Theodore; and this blessed man also was mighty in the ascetic life. And when they had come nigh unto the river, and were standing on the bank, they agreed that each should go away a short distance from the 50 ZTbe Xtfe of Saint Hntbong other so that they might not see each other s nakedness as they were crossing- the river. Now when the righteous man Theodore had removed himself from him, the blessed man Ammon began to have shame even of himself, and whilst he he was in this state of mind suddenly Divine Grace seized him, and set him up upon the [other] side of the river. And when the righteous man Theodore had crossed the river, he drew nigh unto the blessed Ammon, and examined him attentively, [and found] that his feet had not been dipped in the water, and that not a drop of water had touched either his body or his garments. Then Theodore began to entreat Ammon to inform him how his passage over the river had been effected, and when he saw that he was making many excuses about it and was debating the matter, he became certain in his mind that it was Divine Grace which had taken him across the river. And he persisted strongly in questioning Ammon, and took hold of his feet, and said unto him, "Yes, or no? I will not leave " thee until thou hast shown me" [this thing]. Now when the old man Ammon saw the persistence of the righteous man Theodore, and [remembered] especially the word which had gone forth to him, he entreated him to make the matter known to no man until his departure from this world had been effected, and then he revealed to him that he had indeed been carried across the river [by the Spirit], and that he had never walked upon the water thereof at all. And this thing our Lord Himself did by His own power, and He made the great Apostle Peter to do so (St. Matthew xiv, 29), and it was done [by Ammon] also by the command of our Lord ; and [it was only] after the old man Ammon was dead that this matter was spoken of by the righteous man Theodore, according to the agreement which he had made with Ammon. Now the brethren, who had heard from the blessed An thony the story of the departure of the old man Ammon from the world, bore in mind the day and the hour wherein it took place, and three days later, when certain brethren came from the country of Nitria, they inquired of them concerning the death of the blessed Ammon, and they learned that the days of the old man had come to an end at the very moment and at the very hour when the blessed Anthony had spoken to them, and when he himself saw Ammon being taken up into heaven. Then the brethren did indeed marvel among themselves con cerning the purity of the soul of the blessed Anthony, and how he had seen performed clearly and openly before him that which had taken place at a distance of a journey of thirteen days, that is to say, the ascension of the soul of the blessed Ammon into heaven. 51 4 ZTbe paradise of tbe 1bols ffatbers And moreover there came unto him a certain Count called Archelaus, and he found him in the outer mountain praying by himself, and he made entreaty unto him on behalf of the nun Polycratia, who was from the city of Laodicea, and was faithful and devoted to the ascetic life. Now she was much afflicted by pains in her stomach and in her right side, and, in short, her whole body was in a state of suffering-. And when the blessed man had prayed for her, Archelaus wrote down the day and the hour in which the prayer had been made, and after this the blessed man dismissed him, and he returned to his own country; and when he had gone to the province of Laodicea he found Polycratia the nun in perfect health. Then he asked at what time she had found deliverance from her sufferings, and by what means it had been brought about, and they related to him that the mercy of God had been poured out upon her at a certain time suddenly, and that she had felt relief and found herself made whole and free from the violent pains of her disease. And immediately that the words of their narrative concerning her illness had come to an end, Archelaus brought forth the paper whereon were written the day and hour wherein the prayer had been made on behalf of the believing woman (Polycratia), and the words of their narrative agreed with those which were written on his paper as if they had been written down [at the same time] with a pen. Then wonder laid hold upon every man, and they all admitted openly that the time at which the prayer was made by the blessed man was precisely that at which relief had come to her. And multitudes of things similar to those which have already been described were performed by his hands; and also when the brethren used to set out to come from Egypt to him, he knew it beforehand and was able to declare it to those who happened to be with him, and it was revealed unto him some times even months and days beforehand that they were com ing to him, and the reason for their journey. For some used to come to him merely to see him, and others [came] that they might be with him for a few days, and others came to him because of their diseases and afflictions of various kinds; and no man found that long road exhausting or fell into despair thereon, because the relief which each man obtained from the blessed Anthony was greater than the toil which he had en dured thereon. And when a man saw these triumphs, and felt anxious to narrate them, the blessed man used to entreat him not to marvel at these deeds, but to wonder at the Divine Grace of God which considered unworthy and feeble men worthy of such great [care]. And on one occasion the brethren entreated him to visit 52 ZTbe Xife of Saint Hntbonp their monasteries, and when they had come to a certain place they besought him to embark in a boat and to cross over the river; and when he had gone up into the boat a foul and fetid smell smote him suddenly. And when the brethren heard of this, they answered and said unto him, " Master, this smell " ariseth from the fish and the salted meat with which the boat is loaded," but he would not be persuaded that it was so, and he said, "This smell ariseth not from these things." Now whilst he was ending his words, a young man, in whom was an evil spirit, was found in the boat, and as soon as he saw the blessed man, he shrank away from him straightway; but when the devil abused him, he cried out and uttered threats against the blessed man from among the people. Then the blessed Anthony turned himself round, and rebuked him, and silenced him, and immediately the young man felt the deliverance from him; and every man was persuaded that the smell was that of the devil whereat they had wondered. And again there came to him a certain well-known man who was very sorely tried by an unclean spirit, and he was so dis tressed through him that his mind was carried away, and he was unable to understand any question which was asked of him; and in his whole body there was not a spot which was not lacerated by his bites, and those who had brought him took him to the blessed man Anthony and besought him to pray for him. Then the old man Anthony looked upon him, and his mercy having revealed itself, he took him by the hand, and made him stand up, and he knelt down on his knees be fore him, and he watched with him the whole night. And at the time of dawn the young man approached the blessed An thony from behind his back, and smote him, and those who had brought him began to rebuke him; but the blessed man answered and said unto them, "Let no man be wroth against " him; this act is not of him, but of the Evil One who is in him, for he hath been commanded to depart from that which God hath created, and to return to his place, and he is, in conse- quence, incensed with him, and hath done this thing. Glorify * ye then God, because of this thing which hath taken place, for it hath given unto you a sign whereby ye may be sure " that God hath wrought for him deliverance." And when the blessed Anthony had said these things, straightway the young man was made whole, and he came to himself, and remem bered where he was, and through whom deliverance had come unto him, and then he began to salute the blessed man, and to confess God with many loud protestations. Now believing men have related very many [wonderful] things like unto this, but in comparison to the other deeds which 53 paraMse of tbe fbois ffatbers were wrought by the blessed man these are not very im portant. On one occasion he stood up to pray at the ninth hour, and he perceived that his mind was exalted, and, what was still more wonderful, that whilst he was on the earth his mind was transformed, and he did not feel that he was upon the earth. For he saw that his soul was not being lifted up by the power of his mind, but was being governed by the angels ; and when he himself was raised up, he saw other beings who came and stood opposite to him, and they prevented him from passing on. And they said, "Let us see of what kind are his deeds, "and if we cannot by any means make him to be taken (or "held) by us." Then those who were guiding him turned round and rebuked them, and said unto them, "Our Lord " by His grace blotted out his shortcomings and his sins before " he became a disciple, but ye are embodied in his triumphs " and in his works and deeds [which took place] after he had " become a disciple"; and thereupon his soul was immediately exalted to the place unto which it attained. And after this his mind took up its abode in him, and he felt and perceived that which had happened to him ; and he magnified and gave thanks to (or confessed) God by reason of everything which had taken place, and [he remained] in prayer the whole night which followed that day, and he tasted no food of any kind whatsoever therein. And a man must also marvel at the severity of our contest, and at the great labour by which he passeth to this air ; and he must remember and say, "This is the word of the Apostle, who "spake, saying, Your contending is against the ruler who " holdeth the power of this world " (Ephesians vi, 12). For this reason the Apostle himself commanded, saying, "Put on " the armour of God in order that ye may be able to stand " against him in the evil day" (Ephesians vi, 13), so that the Enemy may have no occasion in any way to say about us that we have been sorely put to shame. And, my beloved, in con nexion with the history of the blessed man, let us remember the matter of the Apostle who said, "Whether in the body or " out of the body, I know not; God knoweth" (2 Corinthians, xii, 2). Now, the blessed Paul was snatched up into the third heaven, and heard words which may not be uttered, and came down [again]; but the blessed Anthony was lifted up into the place to which he was lifted up, and he received a pledge of the confidence of his labour, and he returned and took up his abode with himself. And the [sign of] grace was also found with him. Whensoever he had in his mind any matter the truth of which he could not comprehend with his thoughts, he would 54 ZTbe Xife of Saint Hntbong make supplication in his prayer, and it would be revealed unto him, and in all these things he was taught by God even as it is written (St. John vi, 45; Isaiah liv, 13). And after these things he had a disputation with certain men who came to him about the ordering and disposition of the soul, and the place to which it went after its departure [from the body]. Then, on another day, he heard a voice from heaven, which said, "Anthony, get thee forth, and thou shalt "see." And, moreover, this thing had also been wrought for him: he was able to distinguish between heavenly voices and the voices of enemies. And he lifted up his eyes and saw the form of a man which was immeasurably abominable; his head reached up into the heavens, and round about him on all sides were numbers of beings, some of which were flying about with their wings, and were soaring up above him; and he put forth his hands that he might lay hold of some [of them], but he was not able to do so. Now those winged beings who were flying about were those who had preserved (or guarded) their faith and their works; but the others he could lay hold of be cause they were those who had not received the faith, and who were remote from works. Then the blessed Anthony saw that the form of the man was gnashing his teeth with bitterness at those who were being lifted up into life, for [that] son of per dition would have been content that every man should perish with him. And straightway a voice came unto the blessed Anthony, and said: " Know thou that which hath been made"; and then he understood that this was the passage (or bridge) of souls, and that he who was standing in the midst was Satan, the enemy of righteousness. Such was the vision which came unto him, and it roused him up and incited him exceedingly to triumph in his old age. Now these things were not related by his will, but the brethren who saw him when he was sighing during his prayer to God perceived that something had been seen by him, and they clung to him and pressed him with entreaties to inform them what had happened. And having examined his mind, and seen that it was free from boasting, he decided within himself that the report of such things as these would certainly admonish the youthful monks to stand up like mighty warriors in the war which the Enemy maketh against us, and not to be caught by him in any way, so that he might not be able to lift up his heel against us; and having thus decided he revealed and made known unto them the whole matter even as it appeared unto them. For he was exceedingly long-suffering in respect of the things which were fitting, and he was thoroughly meek in spirit, and in all these things he preserved scrupulously the 55 ZTbe parafcise of tbe 1bols jf atbers Canons of the Church, and made answer unto every man ac cording to his grade and rank. Unto Bishops and Elders he paid honour like a man who was in duty bound so to do, and he was not ashamed to bow his head before them at the time of the blessing; but deacons he received with joy and with affection, and although like a father he made them to hear words of righteousness and admonition, during the time of prayer he would set them in front by reason of the authority which had once been given unto them by God. He meditated continually upon righteousness, and he did not seek only to make another hear the Word, but he himself rejoiced to hear it, and he was never ashamed to do so, even though he was an old man and a famous one; for on several occasions he asked questions of those who were with him at all times, and entreated that he might hear that which was suitable to his life and deeds, and he would confess that he had been bene fited whensoever a subject of this kind was debated among them. And the countenance of the blessed man was clothed with the splendour of praise, and wonder thereat laid hold upon every man. Whensoever it happened that he was with many people, and it fell out that a man came there who had never seen the blessed Anthony, his eyes would glance quickly over all the people, and he would gaze intently upon them all, and would at once distinguish the newcomer, who, by reason of the splendour of grace which dwelt in the blessed man, would, as if drawn by cords, leave the other people and boldly make his way direct to him. Now this did not arise because the sta ture of the blessed Anthony was greater than that of any other man, or because his external appearance was more beautiful than that of any other man, but by reason of those spiritual triumphs which were within [him], even as it is written, " A "happy heart maketh beautiful the body; and an evil heart " maketh gloomy the countenance" (Proverbs xvii, 22). And, moreover, Jacob discerned by the appearance of the counten ance of Laban that he was meditating fraud concerning him, for he said unto his wives, "I see that the face of your father " is not towards me as it was yesterday and formerly" (Gene sis xxxi, 5). And in the same manner Samuel recognized David, for his eyes were beautiful (i Samuel xvi, 12) and his features were joyous. And thus was it also in the case of the blessed Anthony, and by such indications he was known by those who saw him; when he was troubled [they saw that] his visage was disturbed, and when he was angry that his thoughts were ruffled. And, moreover, he was immeasurably firm in the faith, and 56 Hbe OLtfe of Saint Hntbon$ he held fast thereunto with honour and discretion (or discern ment); he did not conduct himself in the matter of faith like a man who made himself a stranger unto the children of men, or like one who dwelt in the desert, either in common with other monks, or by himself; and he would not receive the people who used to go to him without question and also enquiry. For he never joined himself to the Meletian heretics * who were in Egypt, for from the very beginning he was well acquainted with their dissensions (or schisms), and their restlessness, and he never took count at all of the other heresies, and he even exhorted every man to withdraw himself from them, for he used to say, Neither in the discussion of them nor in their " result is there any advantage." Similarly the Arian heretics were so detestable and contemptible in his sight that he with drew himself altogether from having any dealings with them, and he also exhorted other people to keep themselves far from their words and their doctrines. And it happened on one occa sion that some of these Arians went to him, but when he had enquired at their hands, and had asked them questions and learned that they belonged to the dough of the leaven of Arius, the unbeliever, he drove them forth from his presence like the other wild beasts and vipers. And he said unto them, "Ye are " more bitter and more evil than the beasts of prey and deadly "serpents." Now on one occasion the Arians spread a report and made a scandal which they cast upon the world, and they went about, saying, "Anthony hath agreed to our faith and "hath accepted it," and when this report came to his ears, astonishment laid hold upon him, and he marvelled greatly at the falsehood of the Arians, and how easily error came to them through the impudence of their minds. Now when the bishops and the other brethren saw that the wickedness of the Arians was prevailing, and that they had spread this report through the whole city, they entreated the blessed man to exert himself a little in order that those liars might be put to great shame; and he was persuaded by them to go down to the city of Alexandria, and to proclaim openly there that the Arians were blasphemers, so that their iniquity might come back upon their own heads. And having gone down [to Alexandria] a vast multitude of people thronged there at the report [of the coming of] the blessed man, and when all the people were gathered together [to him] he admonished and exhorted them in a loud voice to beware of the error of the Arians, and he said, "This [i.e., Arianism] is the essence of all " heresies, and it is the work of the Christs of falsehood; get * i.e., the followers of Meletius, Bishop of Lycopolis; he was deposed for his irregular behaviour A.D. 306. 57 iparafcise of tbe 1bols ffatbers 4 ye away then from them afar off that ye become not cor- 44 rupted by them. God forbid that the Son of God should be 44 proclaimed to be a thing which hath been made, or that He 44 should be named as something which came from nothing. 44 For He is of the substance of the Father, and He is His 4 Child, and it is therefore great wickedness for a man to say 44 that there was ever a time when He was not; for the Word 44 existed at all times with God. Therefore flee ye from associa- 44 tion with them, lest ye have a portion in their blasphemy, for 44 light hath no connexion with darkness, and ye must have no 44 connexion whatsoever with them, and ye must have no like- 44 ness to or association with them, for ye are in the righteous- 44 ness of your faith believing Christians, and those who say 44 that the Son of the Living God is a created thing are in no 4< wise different from the heathen. Believe me, O my beloved, 4 the very creatures are far more to be desired than those 44 who worship the creatures in preference to their Creator, and 44 who confound and compare the creatures with the Lord and 44 Creator of the universe." Thereupon all the people held the Arians to be like other heretics, and they were esteemed in their sight wholly as blas phemers and unbelievers, and all men were confirmed in the cor rect view concerning the faith. Then [the people of] the city, both the Christians and the Armaye (i.e., the heathen of Alex andria), and also those who were called 44 priests," ran into the church to see the 44 man of God," for by this name and title was he called; and in that city also our Lord wrought by the hand of the blessed man many signs and wonders, and so many of those whose minds had been injured through error obtained through him the means of healing that more people became Christians on that day than in the whole year [previously]. And large numbers of the heathen entreated to be allowed to see the blessed man, and to draw nigh unto the cloak of the righteous man; to this wonderful pass did the measure of the power of the blessed man come. Now when the brethren saw that a great uproar had arisen, and that the people were troubling him by thronging about him, they made a way through them and surrounded him, for they thought that he would be choked by the throng; but the blessed man answered and said unto them quietly, and with a smile, 44 Let the people 44 perform their desire. For what think ye? Is it not as easy for 44 me to bear with this crowd of believers as with the throng of 41 devils which are in the desert?" And when he had made an end of all these things in Alex andria, he went forth to depart into the wilderness, and the whole city clave unto him; and when he had come to the side 58 ZTbe %ife of Saint Hntbong of the gate of the city, a certain woman came running with all her strength after the crowd, and cried out, "Wait a little for "me, O man of God. My daughter is grievously vexed by a "devil and tormented, and I beseech thee to wait, and let "healing be to my daughter; and moreover, let not my soul "be carried out of [my body] through running overmuch." And when the voice was heard by the ears of the old man, he paused and stood still until the woman drew nigh unto him and cast her daughter down by his feet. Then the blessed man looked up to heaven and cried out the Name of Christ over the devil, and straightway the damsel stood up, and turned towards her mother, being freed from the subjection of the Evil One; and every man gave thanks unto God, and the mother of the damsel also glorified him that had wrought deliverance for her. And immediately after the blessed man had performed this work he turned [again] to his journey, for he rejoiced exceedingly at his going to the desert, and he was even like unto the man who re- joiceth at going [again], after a long absence, to his own house, and the house of his kinsfolk. Now the blessed Anthony was a wise man, and he was one who was full of understanding, and it was a very great wonder in the sight of men how such know ledge and understanding could dwell in a man who had not learned to read or to write. On one occasion there came unto him two philosophers to try him (now he was living on the outer mountain), and so soon as he perceived them afar off he knew and discerned what they were by their garb. And having gone forth to meet them, he said unto them by means of his interpreters, " Why have "ye given yourselves all this trouble to come and see a man "of low estate?" and they answered him [in these] word[s], " Thou art not a man of low estate, but a wise man." Then, after he had understood (or tasted) their words, he began to say unto them, "If ye had come to a man of low estate, ye "would have given yourselves all this trouble in vain, but if "your words are true, and if ye believe indeed that I am a "wise man, become ye even as I am, for it is meet that we " should at all times be zealous to obtain the things which are "fair. Had it happened that I had come unto you, I should "have been impelled to become like unto you; and now that "ye have come unto me, become ye Christians like myself." And when these philosophers heard these words, and saw in what a state of subjection the devils stood before him, they mar velled exceedingly and turned away on their heels in silence. After these there also came unto him others who were like unto them to the outer mountain; now they came prepared to make a mock of him as if he had been a fool, for they had 59 paradise of tbe Ifools ffatbers heard that he possessed no learning. And when they had pressed their talk upon him after this manner, the old man said unto them, " I will ask you a question, and ye shall return " me an answer. Which is the older, learning or the mind? And " which is the source (or cause) of the other? Is learning the "source of the mind, or the mind of learning?" Then the philosophers said unto him, " The mind is the prince of learn- " ing, for it hath discovered learning." And he said unto them, 11 Doth not then the man whose mind is enlightened and bright "surpass greatly [him that hath only] learning? For by the " first word [which he uttereth] do men test a man, and they "understand whether he possesseth a wise and understand ing mind [or not];" then they also marvelled at what they had seen and heard, and they likewise went back to their own country. For he was a man whose intelligence was profound, and he was wise and exceedingly understanding, and he was not in any way like unto a man who had been brought up in the desert from his youth. And when he became old and waxed aged he was simple in his speech, and austere and stern (?) in his mind, but still he was perfect and complete in everything, and every [good] quality was found in him in the state which was most fitting. Now his speech, even as we have already said, was so exceedingly savoury and so well seasoned with heavenly salt, that none of his hearers could be angry at his words, and no man could be envious of the a6ls of his daily life, for he was ready and prepared to hear and answer every kind of opinion. Now on another occasion it happened that certain men, who were wise according to the world and who were received gladly among the Greeks, went to him, and began to ask him ques tions concerning the faith which is in our Lord Jesus Christ, wishing to confound him in a discussion concerning the matter of the Cross and of the preaching of our Lord, and having seen that they were ready to scoff and to mock, he bore with them a little, and then, having observed them, he roared greatly in his heart concerning the error which dwelt in them. Then he spake unto them by means of an interpreter, who was ex ceedingly skilled in translating words from the Egyptian into the Greek language, and he said unto them first of all, "Which " is the easier? For a man to confess the Cross, or to believe that adultery, and fornication, and impure a6ls with men are committed by those who are called gods. For the [doctrine] 4 which is spoken and believed by us is a mark and a likeness of the men by whom death is held in contempt, and the world is considered to be of no account, but the religion 60 Xife of Saint Bntbottfi 44 which ye preach is a service of impurity, and the desire of 44 foul lusts. Which thing then is more beneficial for us to be- 44 lieve? That [Christ] is the Son of God, and that that which 44 He was in His Godhead was in no way changed, although 44 through His care for the redemption of the children of men 44 He took upon Himself the body of our human nature, and 44 with His Godhead was mingled therewith, so that by means 44 of His union with our human nature He might mingle it 44 with His Godhead, or that we should liken God unto beasts 44 and cattle, and that in consequence thereof man should make 44 himself like unto the similitudes of beasts and of the creep- 44 ing things of the earth and should worship them? Now, our 4i belief proclaimed! that the coming of Christ took place for 44 the redemption of the children of men, and that it should 44 not be unto us a cause for fornication, and falsehood, and 44 injustice (or avarice), and gluttony, and drunkenness, and 44 lasciviousness, and the rest of the luxurious practices which 4 exist in the world. And we exhort and admonish [men to 44 avoid] all these things, for a penalty hath been decreed for 44 every man who shall dare to transgress in respect of one of 4 these things. Now ye, through the fable of error, labour in 44 the work of abomination, but we, because we have trust in 44 the power and lovingkindness (or mercy) of God, believe that 44 the preaching of the Cross is easiest for us [to follow]. And 44 ye, without any discernment, ascribe all kinds of hateful prac- 44 tices to your gods, so that ye without any further thought 44 may do everything [ye please]. 44 And moreover, as concerning the soul ye say that it is an 44 image of the mind (or understanding), and when ye have 44 meditated well upon this subject ye go back and say that it 44 will be dissolved; and therefore, because of this opinion 44 which cometh from [your] study, ye lay it down that the 44 mind itself will be divided (or broken up) and changed. 44 For, of necessity, the image must in its form and similitude 4 be exactly like that of which it is the copy; and ye should 4 know that when ye think in this manner about the mind 44 ye also blaspheme the Father thereof. 44 And in respect of the Cross, which is it better for us to 4 say? That it endureth patiently the anger of the attack of 44 the madness of our human nature, and that it neither de- 44 parteth by death, nor doth the terrible death which striketh 44 fear into the mighty man come unto it, or [shall we ascribe 4 to it] the error, and the allegories, and the cunning plans, 44 and the vain stories, and the incitements [to sin], and the 44 flight, and the mockery, and the shame, which are written 44 down in your fables, wherein your gods took refuge, when 61 Ube paraMse of tbe 1boh? ffatbers "strife and death came upon each one of them? For such "things are the wisdom of your wisdom. And wherefore do "ye make a mockery of the Cross only and hold not in won- " der the Resurrection? For those who have written [the "account of] Christ s crucifixion have also proclaimed His " Resurrection. And why, when ye make mention of the Cross, " do ye not also recount the miracles, and the Resurrection from "the dead, and all the other thing s also, that is to say [the " restoration of] the sight of the blind, and the cleansing of " the lepers, and the healing of the paralytics, and the walking " upon the waters? For from these ye would be able to have " understanding of Christ, and ye would learn that he was not "only a man but God also. Indeed, ye appear to me to act "wholly unjustly. For ye do not judge matters rightly, and " the Scriptures are not read in a proper manner by you; and "since certain things are accepted and believed in by you, "whilst others, which are akin to them, are not, where is "your fair dealing in this matter? "Narrate ye now unto us your scriptures, and explain ye "unto us what is therein. What are the animals which are " worshipped, and what are the reptiles unto which are given " the names of gods, except subjects for mockery and con- " tempt? But if a man void of understanding cometh to you, "ye liken each one of them [unto gods] in the speech of ra tional beings, and ye expound the unlikely things [which " are declared concerning them], so that the foolish may think "that they are true. Ye give names to the earth, and to the "heavens, and the sun, and the moon, and the air, and "the sea, and the fire, and the waters, and to other created "things, and call them gods, that ye may lead man astray "thereby from the One God Who is the Creator of the uni- " verse. The quest of the God of truth is not among you, and "ye are found worshipping the things which have been created * rather than Him Who created them. For, if ye gave the names " of gods to such similitudes because created things were so " exceedingly beautiful, it would have been sufficient for you "to be able to admire them, without holding them in such " absolute and singular honour in your minds. And because " of this opinion of error which dwelleth in your mind, it is not " difficult for you either to divert to the house which He hath fashioned and adorned the honour which is due to the Mas- " ter-handicraftsman, or to hold lightly the King, and to ascribe " the glory which is His due to His household which ministereth " unto Him. What then have ye to urge against these [words], " O wise men? [Speak,] so that we may know if there be in " the Cross anything which meriteth mockery." And when the 62 TOe Xifc of Saint Hntbong blessed man had spoken unto them in this fashion the things which they could not endure to hear from him, they began to look to the right hand and to the left. Now when the blessed man knew that they were silently seeking to make objections to his words, he spake unto them again through an interpreter, saying, "The work (i.e., proof) 4 of these my words is also their testimony; but because ye "yourselves take refuge in words of guile and falsehood, "and because ye employ them with the greatest skill, ye " desire that we, like yourselves, shall also journey on without " the truth of investigation. Show ye me now briefly the work " [or proof] of [your] words. First of all, How can the know- " ledge of God be truly comprehended? Which is the older: "the faith which is in works, or the quest of words?" They answered and said unto him, "The faith which is indeed faith; 1 * and this is the true knowledge. " The old man saith unto them , " Ye have well said, for faith is the sign of the love which is " made perfect in the soul. For discussion cometh from words "which are strung together, and therefore the faith which is " in works, and which is closely united to them, is not sought "after, because the quest of words is superfluous; for the " matters which we comprehend by faith ye try by every means " to represent by comparisons and similitudes, and howsoever * much ye weary yourselves ye will never be able to narrate " the things the truth of which we have comprehended. It is, " therefore, well known and evident that our faith which is in * works is far more excellent than your wisdom [which con- " sisteth of] a discussion of words, and that your wisdom can- " not by any means be [rightly] compared therewith." " For we Christians have not acquired the mystery of life "through the wisdom of strange words, but by the power of " faith which hath been given unto us by God, the Lord of all ; " and that the[se] word[s] are true accept the proof from the "following. Behold, we are not learned in books, yet we be- " lieve in God, and we possess understanding concerning His " creation, and concerning the mercy of the Providence of His "grace, and we have confidence through the faith of Jesus "Christ that our faith is sure, [whilst] ye have only words "which are full of contentions ; in your case the phantom of " the adornment of your idols gradually cometh to an end, but "in ours our faith increaseth and becometh more abundant " day by day everywhere. In your case, in spite of the abun- 4 dance of your discussions and wisdom, ye have no power to "turn even one Christian to paganism, but in ours, by the " faith of Christ which we preach, we despise your doctrine, 4 and there is in your well-ordered, carefully arranged and 63 ZTbe paraWsc of tbe 1bolp ffatbers "polished words no power which can do away the teaching* " of Christ. And, moreover, we by means of the Cross which " ye hold in contempt chase away and put to flight those devils " which ye worship as gods, and wheresoever the name of the " Cross is mentioned all the crafts and wiles of error come to "an end. If it be divination it is destroyed, and if it be sor- " eery it is made an end of; and that such hath been done in " very truth ye must admit when ye are asked by us, Where " is divination? Where are the magicians who were in Egypt? " Where are the phantoms of the errors of the sorcerers? " When were these things which appertain unto you de- " stroyed except when the Cross of Christ was mentioned ? " Is then this Cross worthy to be despised? Judge ye this " matter in your souls, and consider it also and marvel there- " at. It is a matter of wonder that your doctrine hath never " before been a subject for persecution, and that it hath only 4 become so at this time when Christian kings [live] in honour " and majesty in every place. " In proportion as persecution cometh your doctrine hideth "itself, but ours, against which storms innumerable have "arrayed themselves, becometh stronger and stronger. Your "doctrine, notwithstanding that it is praised and magnified, "becometh despised and rejected, whilst ours, although held |" in contempt, is great in its acts and glorious in its operation, "and being harassed [spreadeth] from one end of the earth even unto the other without men taking care about it. For " when did the knowledge of God come down into the world, "and chastity flourish, and virginity shed its light abroad, "and death become held in contempt, if it be not after the "Cross of victory came and triumphed throughout all the " earth? And of this fact no man can have any doubt, when he " considereth the blessed martyrs by whom death was de- " spised because of the victory of the Cross. And behold, do we not see that the Church rejoiceth in innumerable congre- " gations of virgins, both men and women, who preserve their "bodies in all holiness? These are the true likenesses which " make known and shew forth the faith of Christ, which is a " living confidence and a knowledge in faith unto those who " put their trust therein. Now if ye have been in doubt [con- " cerning these things] up to this present, it is because your "mind (or opinion) hath been fettered with words of binding " and loosing, the end of which ye will never be able to find ; "for we do not, like you, go astray through the blandish- " ment of the words of alien wisdom, but, according to what "our Teacher spake, we give a proof of our faith, and we "readily make manifest in the clearest possible manner the 64 ZTbe Xife of Saint Bntbon$ "truth of our opinion unto every one who wisheth [to "see it]." And behold, there were in that place certain men who were suffering from injuries to their bodies, and the blessed man commanded them, and they came forth and stood in the midst; then he answered and said unto those wise men, " Draw nigh "now and, by whatsoever means ye wish and will, whether "by the wisdom of your renowned idols, or by your sorceries "and enchantments, give the word, and let these afflicted " souls have relief from their sufferings. But if ye are not able " to do so, stand aside and cease your hostile attacks upon us, "and ye shall straightway see the power of the Cross of "Christ." Then he made the sign of the Cross over them three times, and the people were healed immediately and stood up; and when those philosophers saw [this], they praised him greatly, and they marvelled in very deed at the under standing of the man, and at the visible sign which had been wrought by his hand. And the blessed man said unto them, " Why marvel ye at this thing? It is not we who have done " this, but Christ Who is wont to do suchlike things by the " hands of those who fear Him. Therefore do you also believe " even as do we, and become like us, and see that we possess " none of the handicraft of devils, but only the faith which is " made perfect by means of the love of Christ, our Lord Jesus. " If ye possess this also, ye have no need of the quest of much " discussion, for the deed itself will convince you that it is not " by words, but by manifest works, that our doctrine increaseth "and giveth the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ." Such were the words which the blessed man spake unto those philoso phers, who tarried to hear [them], and who put to the test and then received the proof of all the [mental] adornment of the old man ; and thus having received his grace, they applauded his words and his acts, and having saluted him with great honour they returned to their own country. Now the fame of the blessed man reached even unto the king and the princes, and the Emperor Constantine and his sons Constantius and Constans heard concerning his works and triumphs, and they began to write epistles unto him as unto a father and to entreat him to pray for them, and they longed greatly to become the recipients of letters from him. Now he did not write letters quickly, and he did not consider too highly or boast about those which he received, but he con tinued to preserve the humility and sweetness of disposition which he possessed before he received the imperial epistles, and after he had received them he remained unchanged. When soever he received the imperial letters, he would call and gather 65 5 tTbe ftarabf se of tbe ffools ffatbers together the monks who happened to be with him, and say unto them, "Ye marvel, perhaps, that the kings and the "princes should write epistles unto us, but what [need] is "there for wonder, seeing that it is only one man writing "letters to another? but what ye should wonder at is how "God wrote the Law for the children of men, and how He " hath spoken unto us through His only Son." He preferred, however, not to receive epistles which were sent unto him by the king and the princes, for he said, "It is not in my power " to write epistles like theirs"; but inasmuch as the king and the princes were Christians, he did not consider it seemly that their epistles should be held lightly, lest they might become offended and be displeased, and he permitted them to be read before every one who happened to be with him. Now the manner in which he wrote his epistles [in answer] was as follows: In the first place he magnified [those to whom they were addressed], and returned thanks because they were worshippers of Christ, and he gave them advice and united thereto the counsels which were suitable, and which would benefit them both in this world and in that which is to come. And he told them that the wearisome labours which were visible should not be accounted overmuch by them, and ex horted them to remember the judgement which is to come, and that it is Christ Who is the true and everlasting King. And he advised them to let lovingkindness be found in them, and to be careful for that \vhich is right, and to have considerate regard for the poor. Kings used to receive him and rejoice in him greatly, and he was greatly esteemed by every man, and regarded as a righteous father. Whensoever certain matters had to be done, and certain things had to be talked about, he was in the habit of going back to the inner mountain, and as something which was gratifying unto him he would work his triumphs there. On many occasions when he was sitting with those who went to him, or was walking about, he would hold his peace for a long time, and would keep wholly to himself, according to that which is written in [the book of] Daniel (Daniel vii, 28) ; and after a season he would utter in its order the word which would bind him to the brethren. Now those who saw him [act] in this manner used to know that some vision had appeared unto him, and indeed on several occasions when he was in the mountain he saw things which were being wrought in Egypt ; and Serapion,* the Bishop, related that during the whole of the * Bishop of Thmuis, the site of which city is marked by the Arab village Tamai-al-Amdid; he was surnamed "Scholasticus," and died about A.D. 360. 66 TTbe Xtfe of Saint Hntbong time which he remained with him he had seen the blessed man for several days at a time labouring seriously with visions in this manner. One day whilst he was sitting down at work on the palm leaves he fell into a state of profound stupefaction, and re mained for an exceedingly long time therein seeing a vision of revelation, and he groaned frequently, and after a season he turned round to those who happened to be with him, and groaned again ; and he trembled greatly, and began to pray, and he bent his knees and [then] stood up with his eyes full of tears. Now those who saw the old man thus troubled were beginners in the monastic life, and they were greatly moved and were afraid with a great fear; and after a season they began to entreat them to tell him what was the vision which he had seen, and which had troubled him in this fashion. Then when they had pressed him, he sighed the more, and said unto them, "It would be much better for me to die than for that " which hath appeared unto me to happen." And being urged by their entreaty, he spake sadly and excitedly, saying, "Great " wrath is coming upon the Church, which is about to be de- " livered over to men who are in no wise different from the " wild beasts. I have seen an altar surrounded by mules which "without mercy kicked all the people, both great and small, " for they were as excited as a drove of horses which had been "turned loose without bridles. When I sighed concerning "these things, even ye heard the sound of my sighs, and I " heard a voice which said, My altar shall be defiled. " Such were the things which the old man saw. Two years later (about A.D. 343) the trouble with the Arians took place, and the spoliation of the churches by the hands of the pagans in the sight of all the people of the city who were gathered to gether, and they caused the performance of the holy service to be set aside and abrogated. Now these pagans went forth into the streets of the city, and they thronged them and brought forth people from their shops, and compelled them to assemble with them, and before their eyes they performed the service of the Church and [administered] the Holy Mysteries. It was then that we understood [what] the kickings of the mules [meant], that is to say [the vision] which had appeared unto the blessed man, and the whole work which was wrought with such iniquity and wickedness by the hands of the Arians in the Church. Now when the blessed man saw this vision, and perceived that it was very grievous to the brethren, he consoled them, and said, "My beloved sons, be not afflicted, for as God is " angry now even so will He become pacified again, and after 67 50 ZTbe paraMse of tbe tools jf atbers " no [great] interval between these trials and injuries rest and " peace shall come upon the Church of God. And ye shall see "those who have been persecuted for righteousness sake " return to their places, and the Evil One, together with those " who work his will, shall turn on his heels, and the horn of " the righteous men who hold the true faith shall be exalted, " and they shall openly proclaim the truth in the ears of a perse- " cuted but believing nation. Hearken ye then unto these " things from me, and take heed that ye keep yourselves from " fornication in respect of the faith, and from intercourse with people who are polluted therewith ; for the time of these " things shall be short, and there shall be redemption for the " people of God, and the righteous man shall live by faith. Such were the things which were spoken by the blessed man, and it is not a great matter that such things were uttered and seen by the man who was crucified unto the world, and to whom the world was crucified. For our Lord made the pro mise unto believers, saying, " If ye have in you faith like a " grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, *De- " * part ; and it shall depart, and there is nothing which shall " be too hard for you" (St. Matthew xvii, 20) ; and again He said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask of My Father in My Name " shall be given unto you." And He commanded His disciples, saying, "Go ye forth, and preach, and heal the sick, and cast " out devils; freely ye have received (St. Matthew x, 8), freely " give." Now the blessed man did not perform healings by his own power after the manner of a master, but only with prayer and the mention of the Name of Christ, so that it might be manifest unto every man that it was not he who was the doer of these things, but that God wrought them by his hands. Thus the old man was triumphant in all such matters, for his strength was renewed from day to day even as is the youth of the eagle, by the fervour of his mind, and he had pleasure in the constant works which our Lord Jesus wrought for him. Now he was afflicted and suffered much by reason of the people who were continually coming to him, and he enjoyed no respite from them, and he was therefore compelled to with draw to the outer mountain; and moreover the judges and the governors of the country entreated him to come back to a place of habitation, because it was difficult for them to come near him on account of the numerous people who clung to him, and be cause of the fatigue of the journey which [they had to endure] in going to him. And this matter was exceedingly hard to the blessed man, and he excused himself from suchlike things. Now when the judges and the governors saw that he refused to do what they wanted, they dealt craftily with him in this "68 ZTbe OLife of Saint Hntbons matter, for they sent to him the Greeks and the other people who had been arrested for evil dealing- and wickednesses of various kinds, and they entreated and besought him with much supplication to come back to the habitations of men so that he might work deliverance from prison for them ; and by such means and excuses the judges were able to see him continually, and the toil which he suffered on such journeys was not in vain, for his coming was beneficial to every one. Now the judges heard from him that which helped them to rule [righteously], and they learned to know that they themselves were men, and were even as those who were subject unto them, and that they must not behave towards them angrily, but judge them righteously, for, " With what judgement ye judge [ye shall be judged] " (St. Matthew vii, 2). But although the blessed man rejoiced in the works of the fear of God which he wrought, he was more pleased with his habitation in the desert than with any other thing. And after he had been led by force by those men who had made supplication unto him, and had entreated him to come to the outer mountain, so soon as he had performed for them his kind offices and had spoken unto the governor words which were suitable to his majesty and dominion, he would hasten back to his place. And when the governor did homage to him, and begged him to remain with him for a day or two, the old man entreated him courteously [to be allowed to de part], saying, "This thing is impossible, for as fish die if a 44 man lift them out of the water, so, if we monks prolong 0111 44 stay with men, do our minds become perverted and troubled; 44 therefore it is meet that as fish [pass] their lives beneath the 44 waters we also should let our lives and works be buried in " the wilderness." Now when the governor heard these and other things like unto them, he marvelled and said, "Verily 44 [this is] a true servant of God. He speaketh not that which 44 cometh from himself, but that which is given unto him from 44 heaven. How could this simple man possess such rich know- ^ 44 ledge unless he was beloved by God?" Now a certain duke whose name was B&lak (Balacius) per secuted the Church sorely at the instigation of the Arians, and his wickedness increased to such an extent that he would beat the nuns, and strip the monks naked and flog them. And when the blessed old man heard of the wickedness of this man, he wrote a letter and sent it to him, and in it was thus written, 44 Behold, I see that wrath is coming upon thee; desist there- 44 fore, and accept rebuke, and persecute not the believers, <4 that peradventure the angel of wrath may be restrained, for 4 behold, he hath set out to come." When Balacius received the letter, he looked thereat and laughed, and he spat thereon, 69 ZTbe para&tse of tbe 1bols jfatbers and took it up and threw it away; and in his hatred he cursed the bringer of the letter, and said unto him, "Get thee back and "tell these things to him that sent thee." And he said unto him, " Inasmuch as thou hast exceedingly great regard for " the churches and for those who are persecuted, behold I will ** speedily execute judgement upon thee also"; but after these words he went no further than five days before wrath over took him. For he set out to journey to the first stopping-place [on the road from] Alexandria which is called Chaereus, and as the duke Balacius and Nestor, the prefect of Alexandria, were riding together now they were riding two of Balacius s horses which were the gentlest of all his horses before they arrived at the place [of destination], the horses began to play together according to their wont, and suddenly the gentler of the two horses, that is to say the animal whereonNestortheprefectrode, seized the thigh of Balacius with his mouth and dragged him from his horse and fell upon him and rent him like a dog. And they took Balacius and brought him into Alexandria, and after three days he died; and thus the word of the blessed man actually came to pass, and wonder laid hold upon every man. And these were the things which he was wont to say to the judges of [this] world, and he would give them counsel in a loving manner, that they should not be puffed up in their minds, and that they should not magnify themselves over the people, for there was no governor at that time who would not gladly hearken unto him, and they repented of their [evil] deeds, and ascribed blessing unto those who despised the world and be came aliens thereto. And moreover, he had such great care for those who were treated unjustly, and were plundered of their possessions, that he himself would bear all their [troubles] ; and his words were so grateful and pleasant unto all those who drew nigh unto him that many of the dwellers in villages and in towns, and pagans (or rustics) and men who served in the army would forsake their riches and their occupations and would go and enrol themselves in the order of the monks. Now he was unto Egypt like a good physician who had been given unto the people thereof from God. For who ever came unto him being afflicted that did not go away rejoicing? Or who ever came unto him in sorrow because of the sufferings which had come upon him that did not come back wholly en couraged? And who ever came unto him full of rage and wrath that was not enriched with graciousness and long-suffering? And what poor man ever came unto him broken by poverty who did not [afterwards] by reason of his words and the sight of him despise all riches? And what monk ever came to him sor rowful in mind who did not depart full of strength like a mighty 70 ftbe 14fe of Saint Hntbon$ man of war? And what young man ever came unto him with lusts burning- in him, and saw that the old man had conquered in the strife, who did not go away with his lusts quenched and dead within him? And what youth who was afraid of the war which had come upon him ever came unto him, and seeing his triumphant old age did not [henceforward] contend in the forefront of the battle? And what man ever came unto him troubled in mind who did not go away with it composed and in a state of reason? And there was found in him the gracious gift of being able to distinguish and understand the wiliness of the devils, and the various ways whereby each one of them caused injury [to man]; and he comprehended not only those things which were wrought by the Evil One, but also the various causes whereby men were troubled and perturbed, and he could inform them concerning the craft and cunning of the deceitful one. And every man hearkened unto these things and learned them, and he went away bearing armour and a shield against the pro found wiles of the Evil One. And, moreover, how many were the virgins who saw the blessed man afar off and left the men to whom they were betrothed, and betrothed themselves to Christ ! And many people used to come to him from outside Egypt, and unto all the questions he would return suitable answers ; and he was so great, and was so much beloved by every man, that after he had departed from this world, and had left all men orphans, the memory of him never died among the people, and every man gave himself courage by the repe tition of his triumphs and of his words. Concerning bis Beatb IT is meet that we should call to remembrance his death, and should relate how it took place, and in what manner he finished his life, for I know that ye will be exceedingly pleased therewith. Now he was accustomed to go out and visit the memorial stones of the brethren in the outer moun tain. Now the matter of his death also was not hidden from him, and he went forth [to visit them] even when he knew that his departure was nigh. And after he had spoken to the brethren according to his wont, he said unto them, "ThisacT; " which ye have just performed is the end of all acts; and I " marvel at this world. Let each look [for himself] alone; for "it is time for me to die." Now he was then about one hun dred and five years old. And when the brethren heard [these things], they wept bitter tears, and each of them began to embrace and to kiss him, and the old man, like unto a man from a strange country who is tTbe paraMse of tbe 1bol$ ff atbers about to depart thereto, with great gladness besought them to be quiet, and exhorted them, saying, " Be not ye in despair by reason of your tribulations, and be not lax in your lives and works, but even as men who are dying daily prepare ye for life, and, as I have already said, be watchful ever. Keep ye your souls from thoughts of iniquity, and strive ye for good gifts, and guard ye yourselves against associating yourselves with the Meletians (see page 57), who are heretics, for ye know the cause of their schisms, and how cunning and bitter they are. And flee ye with all your might also from the doc trine of the Arians, for their wickedness is clearly manifest, and take good heed to avoid them, and be not like unto them for ever, neither if they be mighty in their help, nor if they be many in bearing burdens, for however often error raiseth up her nest (?) it shall never be able to contend against the truth. Be ye, therefore, free from all intercourse with them, and thus shall ye be able to take good heed to the true doctrine of our fathers, and to the preaching of the " truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, which ye have received from "the Scriptures." Now when the brethren heard concerning the matter of his departure, they entreated him that he would remain with them in order that his course might be ended there, but he would not accede to their request for many reasons which he had made known in his silence, but for the following reason espe cially. The Egyptians were in the habit of taking the dead bodies of righteous men, and especially those of the blessed martyrs, and of embalming them and placing them not in graves, but on biers in their houses, for they thought that by so doing they were doing them honour. And the blessed old man had on very many occasions besought the Bishops to preach to the people and to command them to cease from this habit. And he himself used to entreat and exhort the multi tudes who came to him, saying, " This work is neither seemly " nor right. Moreover, the burial places of the early Fathers, "and of the Prophets, and of the Apostles are known unto " this day, and even the grave of our Lord Who rose on the " third day." And by these words he showed forth that it was a transgression of a command for a man not to hide [in the ground] the bodies of those who were dead, even though they were righteous men. Therefore many hearkened and were persuaded not to do so, and they laid their dead in the ground, and buried them therein, and they thanked God because they had accepted [his] entreaty, which was seemly. And it was through fear of this thing that he would not grant the entreaty of the brethren and remain with them, but departed to his own place. 72 TTbe %tfe of Saint Hntbottfi And after a few months he became sick, and he cried out to the brethren who were with him (now these were only two in number, and they had been with him from the time when his old age [began], which was nearly fifteen years before, and they ministered unto him with the greatest care), and said unto them, even as it is written, " Behold, I go the way of my 4 fathers, for I have felt within myself for some days [past] "that I have been called by my Lord. Observe ye now how "carefully ye can maintain this contest, and take good heed 11 that ye lose not the long-suffering which ye have acquired, "and that, like men who are just beginning [the strife], ye " increase it more and more and add to it day by day. Ye are " well acquainted with the baneful devils and their craftiness, " and ye know well this fact, that if ye please they shall be ac- " counted as nothing by you. Be ye therefore not terrified by "them, but always take refuge in Christ. And remember ye " everything which ye have heard from me during all this time " [which ye have been with me], that ye have no intercourse " whatsoever with the Arians, the heretics, for ye know how " filthy they are in my sight because of their blasphemy of our " Lord Jesus Christ. Take ye also heed then diligently at all " times that ye cleave to the Spirit of Christ and agree there- " with, and be ye, moreover, friends and associates of just " men that they may receive you into their everlasting habita tions as friends and men of whom they have good know- " ledge. Therefore meditate ye upon these things and keep "them in your minds. And if your minds are [set] upon me, " and ye remember me as a father, permit no man to take my "body and carry it into Egypt, lest, according to the custom "which they have, they embalm me and lay me up in their "houses, for it was [to avoid] this that I came into this de- " sert. And ye know that I have continually made exhortation " concerning this thing and begged that it should not be done, " and ye well know how much I have blamed those who ob- " served this custom. Dig a grave then, and bury me therein, " and hide my body under the earth, and let these my words "be observed carefully by you, and tell ye no man where ye "lay me; [and there I shall be] until the Resurrection of the "dead, when I shall receive [again] this body without cor- " ruption. "And divide ye my garments [into lots], and give one " leather tunic to Bishop Athanasius, and the covering of this " my bed which he gave unto me when it was new; but now "it hath become old. And to Bishop Serapion do ye give the "other leather coat; and this covering of my bed which is "made of hair ye yourselves shall keep; now therefore, my 73 TOe parafcfse of tbe tools ff atb >rs "children, abide in peace, for, behold, Anthony bringeth his "journey to an end, and he goeth whither Divine Grace shall " bring- him." And when he had spoken these words, he straightway stretched out his legs, whereupon the brethren began to cry out [to him], and to kiss him; now his face was full of joy un speakable at the meeting of those who had come for him, and it resembled that of a man when he seeth a friend whom it re- joiceth him to meet. So the blessed man held his peace and died, and was gathered to his fathers. Then the brethren, according to the command which they had received from him, wrapped him round in the garment which he wore, and they carried him out, and dug a hole in the ground and buried his body in the earth, and no man knoweth where they buried him except those two brethren who laid him in the earth. Now whosoever received any one of the clothes of the blessed Anthony regarded it as a most valuable possession, for whensoever a man looked thereat he imagined that he was looking at the blessed man in it, and whensoever any man put on one of his garments he felt as if he were arrayed in the commandments and promises of the blessed Anthony. Here end the history of the life of the blessed old man in the body, and the previous narrative thereto which [dealt with] the beginning of his deeds and labours; and if these appear to be too small in comparison with [the number of] the triumphs of the blessed man, still from these ye will be able to imagine how great was this man of God, who, from his earliest youth to his old age, never desisted from his career in the fear of God. Old age did not reduce his vigour and compel him to gratify the body, and he was not urged by the sickness of his body even to touch water with his feet; and whilst he was thus keeping his body in restraint God preserved him unharmed. For, in spite of his great old age, his eye waxed not dim, and not one of his teeth dropped out, and both his feet and his hands were in a sound and healthy state; and notwithstanding that he kept his body low [in respect of food], his appearance was more glorious than that of all those who fed themselves luxuriously on dainty meats, and who wore fine clothes, and who made use of baths. And moreover he possessed strength which was out of all proportion to his aged body. i ^Now inasmuch as the fame of the blessed Anthony hath gone into every place, and every man holdeth him in wonder, and worshippeth him, it is a sure and certain sign of the truth of his a6ls and deeds and of his perfect love towards God. For he did not become known unto all the world by means of [his] 74 ZTbe Xife of Saint Hntbon^ discourse, or by the wisdom of words, or by means of crafty plans and schemes, but by radiant righteousness towards God, for it was God Who performed this work, and he who hath a doubtful mind about this shall be held in contempt. Otherwise how is it possible that a man who lived in seclusion and who dwelt alone in the desert should become known and proclaimed abroad in Spain, and in Al&niA, and in Rome, and in Africa and other countries unless God, Whom Anthony confessed from the earliest times, had revealed him [to them]? For althoug-h these men of God live in secret places and do not desire to be seen and known, yet our Lord [maketh them] to shine like lamps upon all men. Thus also let those who hear [me], and who are mighty men before God, and who love His commandments, be persuaded to keep [their] steps, not that they may be praised but that they may be justified. Let all the brethren then who are monks read these things so that they may know how it is meet for them to live their lives, and let this little book be unto every man like the testament of a righteous father who had divided his riches and possessions among his beloved sons in our Lord ; for when we gather to gether and reveal unto the believers those means whereby he gained possession of and collected all his wealth, we deliver up riches and give them unto prosperous and beloved sons, even as doth the man who gathered up wealth [for his family]. Let every man know then and have confidence that our Lord Jesus Christ our Redeemer honoureth those who honour Him, and who serve Him unto the end, and that He doth not only invite them to the kingdom of heaven and lead them into it, but in this world also, even though they live in seclusion and hide themselves, He revealeth them, and proclaimeth abroad [their names] for their own glory, and for the benefit of our humanity. And if it be seemly, do not excuse yourselves from reading these things even in the sight of (or before) the hea then, for peradventure even by hearing the same they may become convinced that our Lord Jesus Christ is not only God and the Son of God, but also that for those who serve Him in purity of heart, and who believe in Him in truth, those devils who are imagined to be gods take to flight at the name of Christ. Now that they are not gods the matter itself maketh known, for behold, they are held in contempt, and they are trodden down like the furrows of a field, and they are expelled as thieves and destroyers by the believers everywhere. 1bete enfcetb, b tbe belp of our %ort>, tbe Ibiston? of tbe Uriumpbs of tbe blessed Hntbong, tbe atblete anfc perfect man, wbo trinmpbefc in tbe contest anfc re* 75 ZTbe parafcise of tbe tbol^ ffatbers ceivefc tbe crown of victory 3Bp bis prosperous traf* ticking be mafce double bis mercbanfcise tbrouob our Xorb Jesus Cbrist, TOUbo belpeb bim ant) mafce bint to trtumpb, tbe Xorfc [of ricjbteous men] anb tbe Con* gueror. 7 6 Iparabtse of HIRfc again we begin to write tbe Boofe of tbe umpbs of tbe 1oql\? ifatbers wbo were /Iftonfes, wbicb is called paraM0e. Tribe Epistle of pallafcins, tbe Bisbop of tbe city of vJUIbelenopolis, wbicb be mafce (or wrote) to Xausus tbe prefect wbo asfteb bim to write tor bim an account of tbe lives au& fceefcs of tbe jf atbers wbo were monfcs; anfc be wrote tbus: PALLADIUS the Bishop to LAUSUS the prefect: greeting (or peace). I ascribe blessing to thy beautiful desire, for we may begin [this] epistle with blessing, because whilst many men are devoted unto vain things, and build buildings of stone wherein there is no profit, thou hast shown thyself strenuous to learn concerning the building of the words of the narratives of holy men. For there is One alone Who hath no deed of doc trine (or learning) that is to say, God, Who is over everything, for He existeth of Himself, and there is no other being who existed before Him. Now all rational beings are learners, be cause they are beings who have been made and created. The ranks of the celestial hosts who existed first of all, and the orders of beings who are the most exalted of all possess teach ers in the Trinity, Who is exalted above everything. The orders of beings of the second group learn from the beings of the first group, and those which belong to the third group learn from those of the second group, which is above them, and in this manner each of the later groups learneth from that which is above it, even down to the lowest group of all; for those among them who are superior in respect of knowledge and excellence teach knowledge unto those who are inferior to them. There fore those who imagine that they have no need of teachers, and who will not be convinced by those who teach them things of good, are sick with the want of the knowledge which is the mother and the producer of pride. Now those who are princes and the foremost ones among these in respect of destruction are those who intentionally (or wilfully) fell from sojourning in heaven, and from the service thereof, and these are the devils who fly in the air because they forsook the heavenly Teacher and rebelled. 77 pavabfse of tbe 1bol$ ffatbers For polished words and sentences, or words strung together in admirable order, are not doctrine, for these things are for the most part found with evil-doers and sinners; but this is doctrine, which is the correction of the natural habits and dis position, and the leading of a life of spiritual excellence ac cording to rule, by which I mean the possession of the faculty which shall make a man superior to affliction and to emotion, and to timidity, and to wrath; and which shall make him to possess freedom of speech before every man, and which shall, through the fervour of Divine Love, produce works that shall be like unto coals of fire. For if doctrine be not this, the Great Teacher would not have said unto His disciples, " Learn " of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart " (St. Matthew xi, 29), for He did not instruct (or order) His Apostles merely in the beauty of speech, without at the same time making mani fest a proof (or work) in His own Person. And He caused grief unto no man except those who spurned doctrine, and those who hated their teachers. It is meet that the soul which leadeth its life in God should either learn in faith that which it knoweth not, or should learn wisely that of which it hath knowledge; but if it will do neither of these things it is, if it be possible, sick through madness. The beginning of instruction (or discipline) is the fullness which is of doctrine, and density of speech is a helper of the fear of God, and for these things the soul of him that loveth God hungereth continually. Be strong then, and play the man. Farewell. And may God grant thee the gift of pursuing at all times the knowledge of Christ. ZTbe plan of tbe Boot* [of paradise] IN this book are written the excellent deeds and the mar vellous lives of the holy and blessed Fathers, who took upon themselves the yoke of the solitary life, and who made themselves to be remote from the world, and who lived in the desert, and who wished to live wholly the heavenly life, and to travel on the road which leadeth unto the kingdom of heaven. Let us emulate their example and endeavour to do with all our might what they did ! And together with these we commemo rate also the marvellous women who led their lives in the Divine Spirit, and who waxed exceedingly old, and who with a brave mind brought to an end the strife of the labours of spiritual excellence, according to the Divine manifestation and ove, for they wished to lay hold upon their souls, and to bind [upon their heads] the crown of holiness and impassibility. And as for myself, (because of the sweet manners of the man by whom I have been commanded [to write], whose mind 78 JEpistle of pallabfus is full of doctrine (or learning), whose habits are those of a lover of peace, who feareth God in his heart, who loveth Christ in his mind, who in the things which are needful is an asso ciate, and who, because of all these qualities, hath been chosen from among many, and hath been honoured with the highest rank of all), being protected by the might of the Holy Spirit especially if it be right to speak the truth I would rouse up our heavy minds to the contemplation of the things which are spiri tually excellent, so that we may strive to imitate the most ex cellent lives and deeds of the pious men, and of the immortal and spiritual fathers, whose lives in the flesh were passed in 1 borious and stern service and in pleasing God. Of the virtues of such athletes of the fear of God it is my desire to set down some account in writing and to send it to thee, and I would make clear in my discourse the manifest spiritual excellences of each one of these great men. And he who loveth a divine and spiritual desire like unto this is thyself, Lausus, who art triumphant among men, and who, in accordance with the Divine nod, hast been established as the guardian of this kingdom which loveth Christ. But inasmuch as I have not been trained in language (or speech), and as I possess spiritual knowledge only in the very smallest degree, and am unequal to the task [of describing] the company of the holy Fathers and [their] spiritual lives and works, I am afraid of the greatness of [thy] command which surpasseth my capacity. I have, therefore, up to this present, been urging myself to escape (?) from this work, because I am in great need both of the wisdom which is [essential] exter nally and of spiritual understanding. But being put to shame first of all by the strenuousness of the excellence of him that stirred me up to [do] this work, and considering also the bene fit which shall accrue to those who shall come across these histories, and being, moreover, afraid of the danger of the penalty of disobedience, which is right, I will first of all com mit the weight of the matter unto the Providence of God, and I will, with all diligence, make use of the prayers of the holy Fathers, so that I may be able to mount up as upon wings to the place where their contests were waged, and may tell the story briefly of those athletes, who though young became great and divine men who did valiantly and who triumphed in the works and deeds of spiritual excellence. And I will also relate the histories of those blessed women who were adorned with the fair garb [of the monastic life], and who attained to pre-eminence in divine labours. Now some of these divine persons of whom I am about to tell the story I was held to be worthy to see face to face; and concerning the heavenly lives 79 TOe parafcise of tbe 1bols ffatbers of the others who died in the contest of the fear of God I have learned from the athletes of Christ, who were arrayed in God. Therefore, through very many cities, and villages, and in caves and holes in the earth, and in the tabernacles which the monks had in the desert for a distance as far as a man could walk have I gone round about for the sake of the labour of the fear of God, and I have set down in writing with exactness the things which I have seen. And I have also made known unto thee in this book the things which I have heard from the holy Fathers concerning the triumphs of great men, and concerning the women who for the sake of the hope which is in Christ performed mighty works which were above nature, and I have sent it to thy hearing which loveth divine words. O thou Lausus who art triumphant among men, and who art fair among the friends of God, and who art the orna ment of this believing and God-fearing kingdom, and art the true friend and servant of God, I have written down for thee as far as my feebleness is able, the [history of] the strife of each of the athletes of Christ, both male and female, a name which is honourable and which meriteth praise. And I have narrated unto thee only very few of the very many exceedingly great triumphs which belong to each one of these athletes, and of many of them 1 have added [the names of] their fami lies and cities, and also the places \vhere they lived. And we have also commemorated the men and women who, indeed, attained to the highest excellence in the labours of the spiritual life, and who, because of the pride (or arrogance), which is the mother of that [quality] which is called vainglory, were brought down to the lowest depths of Sheol, and so wasted the great work in the spiritual qualities which they had only acquired after a very long time, and the triumphs in the ascetic virtues which they had won, through [their] pride and boasting in one brief moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Nevertheless, by the Divine Grace of our Redeemer, and by the carefulness of the holy Fathers, and by the cherishing in fluence of the mercy of the Spirit, they were plucked [finally] out of the net of the Calumniator. Counsels to Xausus LET the following be before thy mind in all [thine] acts, and thou shalt sin in no particular. I. To do good to the fool and to bury the dead; both are alike. II. It is meet that a man should put on armour over the breast, and the word of our Redeemer Christ [over] grief; 80 ZTbe JEptetle of armour and shield will hide the breast, but [only] faith and action [can hide] the soul. III. As it is possible to see the skill of the painter on a small tablet, so a small gift [sheweth] the greatness of the disposi tion of the soul. IV. Have no confidence in the belief that that which is placed outside thy soul is thy possession. V. Clothes and raiment drape statues, but habits and manners drape men. VI. An evil word is the beginning of evil deeds. VII. Speak thou according to what is right, and where it is right, and concerning the things which are right, and hearken not unto that which is not right. VIII. It is better to shake a stone vainly than [to utter a vain] word, and it is better to be under subjection to the Bar barians than to evil passions. IX. The excellence of a horse is made apparent in battle, and the disposition of a friend is put to the test in tribu lation. X. It is impossible to divide the sea, and it is also impos sible to still the waves thereof, although for them it is always easy [to still themselves]. XI. The wise and God-fearing man is he who hateth that which is not right. XII. The gentle and gracious man is he who treadeth pride under foot ; but he who is set upon that which is the contrary of this is one who is governed by arrogance. XIII. Constant prayer is the strength, and the armour, and the wall of the soul. XIV. Wine maketh warm the body, and the word of God [warmeth] the soul. XV. Know thou that not even much time will bring oblivion upon one act which thou wouldst hide. XVI. The believing mind is a temple of God which it is meet for a man to adorn daily and to burn incense therein, inas much as it is God Who dwelleth there. And numbers upon numbers of books at divers times and in various ways have they left unto the habitations of men, and some of them are according to the Mind which is above and Divine Grace, and were [written] for the edification and pro tection of those who wished to [follow] carefully after the faith and the doctrine of our Redeemer, and some of them are according to the adulation of the children of men, and the corrupt mind which is mad after the lusts of the body, [and some of them] are for the consolation of those who destroy vainglory; but others are from some vain madness and the 81 6 ZTbe paraMse of tbe 1bolp jfatbers agency (or operation) of that evil Devil who hateth the things which are good, and [their writers] made use of arrogance and hatred, and in order to corrupt the children of men whose minds have been laid waste and who have no understanding they introduced [them] that they might defile the purity of the holy Catholic Church, and hinder its pure life and deeds of ascetic excellence. And, moreover, it hath seemed to me I who fall short of the hope which is in Christ, and who am shamefaced before the command of thy greatmindedness O thou man who lov- est doctrine, that I ought first of all to narrate to thee the story of how I was reared, and concerning the gradual growth of my mind of such excellence as I possess towards God. I lived a life of rule and was in a monastery of solitary brethren for the first part of my life, that is to say until the thirty-third year of my age, and I served the office of Bishop for twenty years ; thus the whole period of my life hath included fifty-six years.* It is, therefore, absolutely necessary, inasmuch as it hath seemed to me that thou art very anxious to hear the triumphs of the holy Fathers, because of the divine and spiritual profit [which is therein], that I should tell thee in writing [concern ing] the men and the women, of whom some I have myself seen, and concerning others of whom I have heard from be lieving men, and concerning others whom I have met with when I was travelling about in the land of Egypt, and in Libya, and in the Thebaid, and also in the region of Syene, and among those who are called men of Tabenna, and after wards in Mesopotamia, and in Palestine, and in Syria, and among these in the countries of the West, and among the Romans, and among the people of the Campagna. And I must also set down in writing with careful exactitude the history of everything which appertaineth closely to these men from the very beginning and set before thee as an example that which will be a most excellent memorial and a benefit of the soul, that is to say, a sure and certain binding up, so that by means of it thou mayest be able to dispel from thy soul all the slumber of error, which cometh into being through irrational desire, and all the doubts of the soul in respect of faith, and sluggish ness in respect of the things which are useful, and all loathing and littleness of soul concerning habits of virtue, that is to say, keenness of wrath and perturbation and animal ferocity and empty fear. Then shalt thou flee from the vain and corrupt delight of this world, and through [thy] constant eager desire thou shalt * There is some mistake in the numbers here given, for 33 + 20 53. 82 TOe Epistle of draw nigh to the hope which is in God; and thou shalt govern thyself in the desire of the fear of God, and those who are with thee, and those who are under thine authority, and moreover, unto him that feareth God thou wilt become king. For through these triumphs all those who have become friends of Christ shall hasten to be united unto Him, and they shall also look for the loosing of the soul from the body, for it is well known that daily [they will do this], even as it is written, " I am con- 4 strained by the good desire which I possess [to wish] to "become free and to be with Christ" (Philippians i, 23). And exceedingly excellent is all that which is said, "Make ready 44 thy works for [thy] going forth, and prepare thy field" (Pro verbs xxiv, 27). For he who remembereth death continually, [and keepeth in his mind the knowledge] that he must most cer tainly die, will neither be negligent of nor commit sin in respecl: of great matters, even according to what is said, 44 In all thy 44 words remember thine end, and thou wilt never commit sin" (Ecclesiasticus vii, 31). And beside all these things I will add this also, so that thou mayest not belittle the tradition of this our faulty history, and mayest not hold in contempt the sim plicity and want of polish of the language [thereof] ; for this matter appertaineth not to the divine doctrine (or teaching), that we should compose speech with wise skill, but we should strengthen the mind with sure and certain words of under standing, according to that which is said, <4 Open thy mouth 44 with the word of truth, and judge every man in a sound 4 manner" (Proverbs xxxi, 9); and moreover 44 thou shalt not 44 forget the narratives of the old men, because they also have 44 themfrom their fathers" (Ecclesiasticus viii, 9). I therefore, O thou lover of doctrine, thou godly man, have lighted upon many things with the holy men, not through making use of ordinary thought, but by making journeys [among them] which have lasted thirty days, yea, even thirty days twice told. And [I say it], as before God, that in travels and journeyings I would have trodden the whole of the terri tory of the Greeks so that I might have the opportunity of con versing with each of the lovers of God, and I would have under taken the labour of a journey such as this gratefully so that I might be able to traffic for a profit (or benefit) which I did not possess. For if that man who was far more excellent than I am, and perhaps far more excellent than the whole world, and who in his life and works, and in his knowledge, and in his wise opinions of the Spirit, and in his faith which was in Christ, surpassed many, I mean the blessed man Paul, who in order that he might see James, and Cephas (Peter), and John made a journey from Tarsus to Juda3a, and it is well known that he 83 6a ZTbe parafcise of tbe Dols 3f atbers related the fa6l of this journey somewhat as a boast when he was declaring abroad and revealing his labours in order that he might stimulate those who were living lives sluggish and indolent in respect of spiritual excellence, and when he said, "I went up to Jerusalem (Galatians i, 18) that I might see " Cephas (Peter)," not that he was denying the spiritual ex cellence of Peter of which he had received [information] by re port, but because he was longing for converse with him also. [Now, if this Paul had need of converse with Peter], how much more did I, who am a debtor often thousand talents, need to do this (i.e., to visit the holy men), for the sake of the benefit, not for the sake of any good which I could do them but for the sake of the advantage which I the sinful man should my self gain? And moreover, the things which writers have writ ten down about the holy Fathers, I mean Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and Elijah, and the other saints, were not composed and narrated to glorify them, but that those who should peruse them might profit thereby. Therefore, O chaste and believing man, Lausus, thou ser vant of God, knowing these things, and having also instructed thyself in many others, be convinced by our discourse also and let the matters thereof be laid up in thy God-fearing mind as in a secure storehouse which is not wont to be disturbed by evil things of divers kinds, either visible or invisible, and which only constant prayer and the converse which concerneth the service of the soul can make to be moved. For many of these brethren who in the fear of God won spi ritual excellence, and who waxed great in ascetic labours and lovingkindness, and who were famed (or boasted) because of their perfect chastity and virginity, and who protracted to great length their meditations upon the Holy Scriptures, and placed their trustupon [their] strenuousness in spiritual doctrine, were never held to be worthy of the state of impassibility, because they served with a mind which possessed not discretion and employed only the form of the fear of God, and because they were diseased with the love of external converse, wherefrom are produced all vices which enter [into a man] from without, and which eradicate that which is the mother of the service which taketh place in the soul. Be strong, therefore, in all wisdom, and nourish not thy soul in the riches which thou hast made (or gotten), having made them sufficiently little by means of the gifts to those who are needy, so that the ministration which ariseth therefrom may perfect the service of excellence, for [this] cometh into being neither through any urging whatsoever, nor through the foolish thoughts of any form whatsoever for the sake of vainglory. And 84 tEbe Epistle of patlabittd do not bind thyself to [do] anything- under a penalty [secured] by oaths as many men do, as for example those who for the sake of vainglory strive eagerly neither to eat nor to drink, for though by the force of [such] oaths they may bring their feeble will into subjection, through this same thing they fall miserably, either by means of pleasures and the loathing [which followeth thereafter], or through the sickness of the body, or else through the delightful gratification of some lust they bring forth false hood. And as thou receivest [what is good] according to reason, so according to reason shalt thou make thyself to be remote [from what is evil], and thou shalt never sin at all; for by the word of God shall all motions of fear be extinguished, and thou shalt draw nigh unto the things which bring [thee] profit, and shalt trample down those which would cause [thee] loss. For for the righteous the Law was not laid down. It is better to drink wine in moderation than to drink water immoderately, and it appeareth to me that those who drink wine in moderation are holy men, and that those who pride- fully use water in an immoderate fashion are depraved and pleasure-loving. Do not therefore ascribe blame or praise to the eating [or not eating] of food, or to the drinking [or not drinking] of wine, but ascribe praise, or woe, unto those who make use properly or improperly of meat and drink. Joseph in olden time drank wine with the Egyptians, and was in no way injured in his mind thereby, for he took good heed unto [the admonitions of] his understanding; but Pythagoras, and Dio genes, and Plato, and with them also the Manichaeans, and other sects of philosophers [did not], and they came thereby to such a pitch of licentiousness and vainglory that they even forgot the God of the universe and worshipped soulless images. On the other hand, the blessed Apostle Peter and those who were with him drew nigh to wine and made use thereof, and because of this the Jews reproached our Lord, the Redeemer of all [men] and their Teacher, and made complaints against Him, saying, "Why do not Thy disciples fast like John?" (St. Matthew ix, 14; St. Mark ii, 18.) And again they lifted them selves up (?) against the disciples and blamed them, saying, " Why doth your master eat and drink with tax-gatherers and "sinners?" (St. Matthew ix, n; x, 18, 19.) Now they did not make their complaints about bread and water only, but also about wine and delicate viands, for it is evident that they only wanted to lay blame upon the disciples in everything. Thereupon our Redeemer made answer, and said, "John "came in the path of righteousness, neither eating nordrink- " ing " now it is well known that flesh and wine [are here referred to], for it was impossible for him to live without food 85 tlbe ipatabise of tbe 1fooi$ jf atbeta of other kinds " and ye say that he hath a devil in him; and "the Son of Man hath come, eating and drinking, and [ye] 4 say, Behold a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax- " * gatherers and sinners ! " What then is it right for us to do, so that we may neither go after those who make complaints [of our a6ts], nor after those who praise them? For we must either fast with John according to discretion, even though the Jews said that there was a devil in him, and that he was cer tainly mad, or we must drink wine with Christ with knowledge, if the body shall have need thereof, even though the children of men shall say concerning us, "Behold a glutton and a " winebibber." For in very truth neither the eating of food nor the abstaining therefrom is anything, but the faith and love which are made perfect in works ; for when a man followeth after faith wholly by actions, he who eateth and drinketh is blameless for faith s sake, for everything which is not of faith is sin. But perhaps one of those who love the carnal lusts, or perhaps one of those who sin not, will say that if they eat in faith, or if they do anything else by the irrational thought ot the carnal appetite, or through a corrupt intent, those who support themselves on faith commit sin. Now our Redeemer made a distinction, saying, "By their fruit ye shall know "them" (St. Matthew vii, 20); and the fruits may be recog nized by the word of God, and by spiritual wisdom, according to the word of the blessed Apostle, who said, "Love, peace, "gladness, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meek- <l ness, patient endurance" (Galatians v, 22, 23) these are the fruits of the Spirit according to the word of the Apostle. Whosoever then is eager to possess these fruits will never, without reason and without thought on any occasion, eat flesh, or drink wine, or dwell with a man with evil intent. Moreover, the blessed Paul saith, " Whosoever is about to strive in a con- " test preserveth his mind free from every other thought, and " thus keepeth his bodyhealthy, and maketh himself to be remote " from the things which would make him fat " (Compare i Co rinthians ix, 25, 27). But if he fall into sickness, or into severe sufferings, or he become a companion unto afflictions which fight against him externally, he must then make use of meat and drink by way of a binding up, and a healing medicine for the things which work tribulation for him. Let us then keep ourselves remote from the evil things which are wrought in the soul, I mean anger, and envy, and vainglory, and dejec tion, and evil discourse, and the suspicion which is not seemly, for whilst a man is giving thanks unto God he cannot com mit sin. Now therefore, having spoken sufficiently concerning these 86 jpfstle of pallabius things, I have another entreaty to bring nigh unto the love of doctrine which is in thee, that is to say, I would that thou didst flee with all thy strength from the converse of men from whom thou canst gain no benefit, although their outside skin be ornamented with various patterns ; even if they be orthodox they will cause thee to suffer loss, and if they be heretics that loss will be very much greater. And although they appear to be exceedingly aged, and their bodies be shrivelled and wi thered, and it may seem to thee that thou canst not in any way be injured by them because of the beautiful dispositions which are in them, that which is in them and which appeareth to thee to be a small matter, will do thee an injury; for thoushaltbecome lax in thy mind in respect of them, and whilst laughing at them thou wiltbecome unduly exalted, and that thou shouldst be driven to arrogance would be a loss for thee. Follow then after the mind of pious men and women who shine with the light which en- tereth in through the windows, so that by means of these, like a book the lines of which are extremely close together, thou mayest be able clearly to see what is in thy heart by com parison with them, either of sluggishness or strenuousness. For there are very many things which testify concerning spiri tual excellence, [such as] the colour of the face which blos- someth with ascetic labours, and the manner in which the apparel is put on, and a peaceable manner, and a mode of speech which is not inflated, and modesty of the countenance, and a discourse which is not crooked, and cheerfulness of the mind, and an understanding which is full of knowledge; by these things both thine own fair beauty will be made strong, and also all those who follow after the goal of the fear of God, even though they be [living] in a state of negligence or in some other similar [vice]. For, according to the word of the wise man, the behaviour of a man, and the gait of his legs, and the laughter of his mouth testify concerning him (Eccle- siasticus xix, 30). 7 Tbere beoin tbe Tbletorice of tbe 1bol$ flDen b\> palla&iua. Gbapter j. ZTbe HMsforp ot Hbba Jsifcove [^Sisbop of ffoermopolis pan>a (IDamanbuv) in Xovver JE3ptJ. BY the help of our Lord I will, therefore, begin [to write] for thee, [O Lausus,] the histories of the holy Fathers, and I will omit nothing concerning them which I will not make known in [my] discourse, neither the histories of those who lived in cities, nor of those who lived in villages or in caves, nor of those who became famous in the desert. Nay, I will even add to my discourse the histories of those who lived among the general assembly of a community, for no special country or place wherein they lived and wherein they perfected the life of ascetic excellence needs to be sought out, for [every where] they led the pure life and conversation of chastity and integrity, and performed the deeds of the simple mind wherein, through the help of Christ, they wrought and fulfilled the lives and deeds of angels. Now at first, when I went to Alexandria in the second con sulship of the Emperor Theodosius the Great, who now be cause of the orthodoxy of his faith in Christ sojourneth with the angels, I met in the city a wonderful man who was adorned in every respect with the most beautiful qualities of speech, and knowledge, and life and conversation, whose name was Isidore. He was a priest and was the overseer (i.e., manager or secretary) of the hospital, of the church of Alexandria, and it was said of him that in his early youth he had lived in a monastery in the desert, and that he triumphed in the contest of the ascetic life: I saw, moreover, his cell in the mountain of Nitria. I met him when he was an old man seventy years of age, and when he had lived fifteen years longer he departed from this world. Now to the end of his life this holy man never put on either a linen tunic or even a head-covering; he never washed, and he never ate flesh, and he never ate a full meal seated comfortably at a table; and yet, through Divine grace, his body shone. He possessed a sound and healthy body, and he was, by the grace of Christ, so fully endowed with strength that those who beheld him and who did not know him would not be persuaded that he lived a life of self-denial, and they thought and said that he must lead a life of great luxury and that he must eat abundantly of rich meats. Now, if 89 Ube parabise of tbe 1bols jf atbers I were to undertake to declare the marvellous character of his life and deeds, and wished to recount the excellence of his soul, and to make manifest every fact concerning them, all time would not suffice [for me to declare them], nor would paper [suffice for me to write them]. For this man was so lovingly merciful and so full of peace that, by the reason of orthodoxy of his faith in Christ, even his enemies who did not believe were put to shame by him, from his early youth up, and at his good deeds and at the abundance of his graciousness were put to the blush ; for he was gracious unto every man. Now he possessed the gift of the spirit and the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and the comprehension of divine learn ing, and he kept the commandments [so strictly] that at noon, the time when the brethren were wont to take their food, the mind of this holy man was carried away as it were in a slum ber, and the greater number of the brethren were marvelling at his example and knowledge, and many, many times they tried to persuade him to relate unto them the things which he saw, and entreated him to tell them concerning the marvellous state which had come upon him, but he could not be persuaded [to do so]. Finally he was constrained by the power of their love, and he answered and said unto them, " My mind de- parted and was carried away by contemplation, and I was " snatched away by the similitude of a thought, and I was fed " with the food of glory, which, however, it is impossible for " me to describe." Now I knew this man, and on several occasions he burst into tears at the table; and when I asked him, " What is the " cause of these tears?" he said unto me, " I am ashamed of " myself because, being a rational being, I eat the food of an irrational creature; I desire to live in Paradise, where I should 1 enjoy the food which is imperishable. For [although] we have received that power which is from Christ, yet am I drawn to k partake of the food which perisheth. I would partake of the " food which is spiritual, and I would that I were in the Para- " dise of delights in the dominion which God hath given unto " me; and behold I am eating the food of the beasts." And unto this man were known all the members of the Ro man Senate and the free-born women of the nobles [of Rome], because in former times he had gone with Bishop Athanasius to that city, and he had also been there with the holy man Bishop Demetrius.* And Isidore, having great riches, and wanting nothing, was wont to give abundantly and without * Bishop of Pessinus in Galatia Secunda, and friend of St Chrysos- tom, whose letter to Innocent I he took to Rome; he was in Rome ag-ain in 405. 90 Bovotbeos of TOebes sparing to the poor and needy. And when he had ended his days and came to die, he made no will whatsoever; and he left no money to any man, and he left nothing- to his brethren. To his sisters who were virgins he also left nothing, and he made no provision at all for them, but committed them to the care of Christ, saying, " He who created you will provide for your "living and also whatsoever things of which ye have need, ** even as He hath [provided] for me." Now with his sisters was a company of about seventy sisters. Now when I had come unto him to be his disciple, and I was persuading him to hold me worthy of the rank of those who lived in a monastery, being in the vigour of my early manhood and needing not the word only but also the labour of the body, and severe physical exercises, even like the young unbroken animal, I besought him to teach me his beautiful way of life and to let me dwell by myself, for I was heedful of nothing, being in the vigour of my early manhood, and I had no great need of doctrine, but only [to learnj to subdue the passions of the flesh. Then, like a good teacher, he took me outside the city unto a place which was six miles distant, and wherein there was restful solitude, and he handed me over unto an anchorite whose name was Dorotheos, Cbapter ij. ZTbe Ibtstot^ of 2)orotbeos of ZTbebes AND whose life was one of spiritual excellence, and who had lived in a cave for sixty years. And he commanded me to live with him, and to lead a life of self-denial with him for a period of three years, so that the passions of the flesh might leave me. For the blessed Isidore knew that blessed old man, and he knew that his life was stern and severe, and he ad monished me, saying, " Whenthou hast completed this period of " three years, return unto me forthe remainder of the doctrine of "spiritual knowledge." But I was unable to fulfil these three years with him, on account of a severe illness into which I fell, and so I departed from Dorotheos before the end of the period, and I returned to him that had brought me out, and entered his abode [that I might learn] the doctrine of the spirit. Now the life of Dorotheos was one of exceedingly hard toil, and the manner thereof was severe, and his food was meagre and wretched, for he lived on dry bread. And he used to go round about in the desert by the side of the sea the whole day long in the heat of the noonday sun and collect stones with which he built cells, which he used to give unto the brethren who were unable to build [cells for themselves]; and he used to finish one cell each year. One day I said unto the holy man, " Father, why workest thou thus in thine old age? for thou 91 ttbe ifrarafcise of tbe fbols jf atbers 11 wilt kill thy body in all this heat." And he said unto me, "I " kill it lest it should kill me." He used to eat one small bread cake, which weighed about six ounces, each day, and a little bundle of green herbs; and he drank water by measure. What then? I know not. As God is my witness I never saw this man stretch out [his legs] and lie down as [men are] wont [to do]; and he never slept upon a bed of palm leaves, or upon any thing else, but he used to work the whole night long weaving baskets made of palm leaves to provide himself with the daily bread which he required and food. Now I imagined at first that he used to work in this manner because I was present, and then I thought, " Peradventure it is only for my sake, and "to show me how to perform such severe labours, that [he " doeth this]." So I made enquiries of many of those who had been his disciples and who were then living by themselves and were emulating his spiritual excellencies, and I also asked others of his disciples who were living by his side if in very truth he always laboured in this wise, and they said unto me, " He hath held to this practice from his youth up, and he hath 4 never been in the habit of sleeping according to what is " right. In the daytime he never sleepeth willingly, but [some- times] when he is working with his hands, or when he is eating, he closeth his eyes and is snatched away by slumber. "As he sitteth working he eateth, and unless slumber over- " came him [suddenly] he would never sleep at all. Many and " many a time he is overcome by slumber while he is eating, " and the morsel of bread falleth out of his mouth because he " is overcome by drowsiness." And when from time to time I used to urge him to sit down, or to throw himself upon a mat of palm leaves and to rest a little, he would answer and say unto me in a grieved manner, " If thou art able to persuade " the angels to sleep, then thou wilt be able to persuade me." One day, towards the ninth hour, Dorotheos sent me to the fountain from which he drank water to fetch him some water, so that he might eat his meal, for he used to eat about this time, and when I had gone there I chanced to see a viper going down the well; and because of [my] fear I was unable to fill [the pitcher] with water, and I went back to him, and said unto him, "O father, we shall die, for I have seen a viper "[going] down into the water." Now when he heard [these words] he laughed reverently, and constrained himself, and he lifted up his face and looked at me not a little time, and he shook his head, and said unto me, "If it were to happen that " Satan had the power to shew thee in every fountain an asp, " or again to cast into them vipers, or serpents, or tortoises, "or any other kinds of venomous reptiles, wouldst thou be 92 TOe Dirafn potamfaena 44 able to do without drinking water entirely ? " And when he had said these words unto me, he went forth and departed [to the fountain] and drew water, and brought [it back], and having made the sign of the Cross over it he straightway drank therefrom before he ate anything. And he constrained me to drink and said unto me, " Where the seal (or sign) of 44 the Cross is, the wickedness of Satan hath no power to do 4 harm." And this blessed man Isidore, the overseer of the hospital [in Alexandria], related unto me the following story, which is worthy of record, and he heard it from the blessed Anthony where he lived with him in the desert in the days of Emperor Maximinus, the prosecutor. Chapter tf j. ttbe ifoistovs of tbe Dtrgtn potamiaena THERE was a certain young virgin [called Potamiaena] who was exceedingly beautiful and she was a Christian; she was the handmaiden of a certain worldly man who was given over to a life of pleasure, and she lived in very great luxury, and her master flattered her greatly, wishing to destroy her. And being unable to bring her into subjection to his will, he at length was seized with madness, and he became furiously angry with her and delivered her over to a certain prefect who lived at that time in Alexandria (i.e., Basilides), saying, 4< She 44 is a Christian, and she revileth the government, and uttereth 44 blasphemies against the Emperor." And he promised to give him much money saying, " If she can be persuaded to do my 44 will, keep her for me without disgrace and punishment, but 44 if she persisteth in her obstinacy of heart, punish her with 44 every kind of torture thou pleasest, and let her not remain 44 alive to laugh at me and at my luxurious way of life." And when they brought the valiant woman before the throne of the judges, she was greatly moved, but she was not persuaded ; and the prefect tortured the body of the virgin of Christ with many different kinds of tortures. Then again after these things he thought out a crafty plan, and invented a method of punish ment by torture which was as follows. He commanded them to bring a huge cauldron which was full of pitch, and to light a fierce fire under it, and when the pitch was melted and was boiling, the judge cried to her, saying, 44 Go thou and submit 44 thyself to the will of thy lord, and know thou if thou doest 44 not this thing thou shalt straightway fall into this cauldron." Now when she heard this, she sealed her soul, and answered and said, 44 Thou judgest with iniquity, O judge, for thou com- 44 mandest me to become subject unto fornication. I am the 44 handmaiden of Christ, and it is meet that I should stand be- 93 Ube paraWse of tbe tools jfatbers "fore His throne without blemish." And when the judge heard this, he was straightway greatly troubled and filled with wrath, and he commanded them to bring her and to cast her into the cauldron. Then the virgin said unto him, " I adjure thee, by " the head of the Emperor, if thou condemnest me to this "thing of thine own self, to command them to put me into " the cauldron little by little, without stripping my apparel " from me, so that thou mayest know the patient endurance " which I have through Christ for the sake of my purity." And as they were dipping her little by little into the cauldron, for a very short space of time, immediately the pitch reached her neck it became cold; thus she delivered her soul unto God, and she was crowned with a good martyrdom. And a great congregation of holy men and women were made perfect (i.e., they suffered martyrdom) at that time in the church of Alexandria, and they became worthy of that land which the meek inherit. [Potamiaena was martyred, with her mother Marcella, in the reign of Septimius Severus.] 1bere enfc tbe trtumpbs of 30ifcore, anfc S>orotbeos, anfc tbe IDircjin potamiaena Cbaptet i\\ Ube 1foistot of iDi&gmus Iborn H.S). 309 or 314] "OGETHER with these I also saw a certain blessed man who was in Alexandria, and whose name was Didymus, and who also, with us, wrote these things; now he was blind, and he could not see at all; he was a marvellous man, and I went several times to see him. He was eighty years of age, and he told me that he became blind when he was four years old and could not see at all, but according to what he himself related to me, "After forty years I perceived the faces " (or external aspects) of things." And although this man had never learned the Testaments, and had never entered a school, the gift of an excellent and healthy mind had been given unto him by God, and he became learned in the knowledge of books through an enlightened understanding. And he was adorned with goodness and with the knowledge of the truth to such a degree, and was so ready and was so wholly wise that there was fulfilled in him that which was written, "The Lord openeth " the eyes of the blind " (Psalm cxlvi, 8). He could interpret the Old and New Testaments word by word in its proper place, and had investigated carefully the commandments and could repeat all the words which were in them. And he was so thoroughly well acquainted with the belief of the truth (or of the true faith), and he comprehended so deeply all heresies that his knowledge 94 VI OIT T B>t&K>mus anfc Hlepnfcra was more excellent than that of many who were before him in the Church. Now [once] when he was urging- me to make a prayer in his cell and I was unwilling to do so, he spake unto me and related unto me concerning Abba Anthony who, he said, "came three times and visited me in this cell. And when " I begged and entreated him to pray, straightway he knelt "down upon his knees, and prayed, and waited not for me to " speak one word about it, but at the first word he corrected " me by his obedience. He did not let me finish my speech, but "by work he made manifest obedience." And Didymus said unto me, "Thou also, if thou wishest to walk in his footsteps " and [to imitate him] in [his] life and deeds, and in hospitality, " and if thou wouldst walk in the life of excellence and in the " love of God, remove thyself from contention." And this blessed man Didymus himself told me the following ing story. "Once on a time I was suffering by reason of the " wretched Emperor Julian. Now one day, when it was even- " tide, and I had eaten no food through my anxiety about this " matter, whilst I was sitting on my seat I dropped into a light " slumber, and there fell upon me a marvellous thing. I saw and " behold there were white horses galloping about, and they had " on them riders who were dressed in white, and they were cry- " ing out and saying, Tell Didymus that Julian died this day " at the seventh hour. Rise up, then, and eat, and send and " make [this news] known unto Bishop Athanasius, so that " he also may know and rejoice. And I w r rote down the day, " and the hour, and the month [wherein this vision took place], " and it was found that it had happened even as it had been " told me in the vision." And the blessed man himself also told me the following story: Gbapter v>. TIbe Ibtston? of tbe /Iftaffcen Hlejanfcra THERE was a certain maiden of Alexandria whose name was Alexandra, and she left the city and shut herself up in a tomb until the end of her life; she used to re ceive her food and whatsoever she needed through a window, and no man and no woman saw her face, neither did she see the face of any man, for twelve years. And a few days after wards she yielded up her soul, and she lay down and went to her rest in peace. Now when her serving woman went to visit her according to her wont, she knocked at the window, but Alexandra gave her no answer, and straightway she knew that she was dead, and she came and made known unto us concern ing her mistress. And we took off the door of her cell and we found her body dried up. 95 TOe paraMse of tbe 1bol2 jf atbers Now the blessed woman Melha also related unto us the story of Alexandra, saying, I have [never] seen her face to face. And I stood outside the cell, close to the window, and * entreated her to tell me for what reason she had shut her- self up in the grave. And Alexandra answered and said unto * me, * Inasmuch as the thought of the love of God was pre- sent in my mind, I prayed before the Lord, and I entreated * Him to permit me to offer unto Him my virginity in the " * state in which it had been born with me. Now a certain " young man regarded me in his thoughts, and looked upon " me, and desired me, and sought to destroy me. But because " I did not want to grieve him, or to say what was evil unto " him, or to be to him an occasion of sin, I chose rather to shut " myself up alive in this grave than to cause a man who was " made in the form of the image of God to stumble. And I " said unto her, How canst thou bear [to] live here not seeing " the face of any man without being driven to despair? Then " she answered and said unto me, I occupy myself with my " prayers and with the work of my hands, and I have no idle " moments. From morn until the ninth hour I weave linen, " and recite the Psalms and pray; and during the rest of the " day I commemorate in my heart the holy fathers, and I re- " volve in my thoughts the histories of all the Prophets and " Apostles, and Martyrs; and during the remaining hours I work with my hands and eat my bread, and by means of " these things I am comforted whilst I await the end of my " life in good hope. " These things we have heard from the blessed woman Melania who told the story of the maiden Alexandra. But in this history I must not underrate those who have toiled in the faith of Christ, to the glory of the per fect and to the admonition of those who hear. Gbapter v>j. TTbe fnstovp of Hbba jflDacarius [tbe Hlejanfcrian] ant) a certain tDinjin THERE was in Alexandria a certain virgin who though meek in appearance was of a haughty disposition. Now she was exceedingly rich and had possessions without number, but she never relieved the poor, and the strangers, and those who were in misery, and she never gave a drachma to the Church, and notwithstanding the frequent re buke with which the Fathers rebuked her, she never allowed any portion of riches to leave her. And this woman had kins folk, and she adopted her sister s daughter, to whom she used to promise by day and by night [to give her] all that she had, for she had fallen from heavenly love. Now, it is a customary thing which belongeth to the deception of Satan that he pro- Cbronius anfc 3ame9 duceth avarice under guise of love of family, for that he hath no genuine care for kinsmanship is well known from the fadl that he taught murder in order that he might make war [be tween] brethren, and is admitted by the Holy Book. (Com pare St. John viii, 44.) And, if he imagined that he implanteth solicitude for kinsfolk in [the hearts of] men, [it must be re membered] that he is not moved to do this on their behalf be cause of [his] love for them, but only that he may minister unto his own will, for manifestly he knoweth the sentence of judgement which hath been passed, that the wicked shall not inherit the kingdom of God (i Corinthians vi, 9). For if a man be moved by spiritual understanding and by divine de sire, he will be able to care for his kinsfolk if they be in want without bringing himself into contempt; but if he devoteth the whole of himself to the care for his kinsfolk, and he bringeth himself into contempt by making himself to labour under poverty, he will fall from the divine law. And the divine man David singeth in the Psalms concerning those who possess themselves of the solicitude of the fear of God, and he saith, "Who shall go up into the mountain of the Lord?" (Psalm xxiv, 3.) Now, inasmuch as hesaith, "Who," he maketh known concerning the smallness of the number [who shall go up]. And [again he saith], "Who shall stand in His holy place? " He whose hands are clean and whose heart is chosen, and " who giveth not himself unto poverty" (Psalm xxiv, 3, 4). For those who devote themselves to poverty are those who think that the soul is dissolved with this body. Now this virgin, who was so in name only, became a stranger unto the various kinds of [spiritual] excellence. And there was a certain priest whose name was Macarius (or Isidore) who wished to cut away as with iron and to lighten the weight of the possessions of those who loved money, and he had the care of, and was the governor (or secretary) of a house for the poor who were sick and infirm in their bodies. And this man thought out the following plan whereby he might entrap the virgin. From his youth up he had been a skilful workman in the cutting of gems, and he went to her and said, "Certain " very precious emeralds and gems have fallen into my hands, " and whether they have been stolen or not I do not know; their value cannot be ascertained, because they are above price, but the man who hath them will sell them for five * hundred dinars. If thou wishest to take them thou wilt * be able to recover the price of five hundred dinars from [the 1 sale of] one of the gems, and the rest thou wilt be able to "employ in the adornment of thy sister s daughter." Now when the virgin heard this she was perturbed, and she fell 97 7 TTbe iparafcfse of tbe tools ffatbers down at his feet making 1 entreaty unto him, and saying 1 , "I "beseech you to let no other person take them." Macarius saith unto her, " Come to my house and see them," but she would not consent to this; and she poured out for him five hundred dinars, and said unto him, " According to what thou " dost require even so take, but I do not wish to see the man " who is selling them." And having taken the five hundred dinars he spent them on food and on things for the use of those who were hungry, and on the poor. And when much time had passed, inasmuch as he was a famous man in Alexandria now this blessed man was well known for his love of God, and for the merciful dis position which was in Mm, and he was almost one hundred years old, and we also knew him and had tarried in his house with him the virgin was ashamed to call the matter [of the five hundred dinars] to his mind. But finally she found him in the church and said unto him, " I beseech thee [to tell me] how " thou hast disposed of the gems for which we gave thee the " five hundred dinars." And he answered and said unto her, < When thou gavest me the money I gave it for the price of the * gems ; if thou wishest come and see them in my house, for there " are they deposited. Come and see them, if it pleaseth thee [so " to do], and if thou wilt not then take thy money." So she went with him joyfully. Now the place to which [she went] was a house of the poor; in the upper parts thereof were lying wo men whose bodies were destroyed, and in the lower parts were men. And when they had come there Macarius brought her in through the door, and said unto her, " Which wouldst thou 41 see first, the emeralds or the gems?" She saith unto him, " Whichever thou pleasest." Then he took her up to the upper parts of the house and showed her the women whose faces and bodies were diseased and deformed, and said unto her, "These ** are the gems" ; and he brought her down to the lower parts, and showed her the men, and said unto her, "These are the "emeralds. If these please thee [good and well]; but if not "take thy money." Then was the virgin ashamed, and she went forth and departed, and by reason of her grief she fell into a sickness, because it was through God and of her own will that she had in this wise performed the matter. Finally, however, she came to herself, and was exceedingly grateful to the priest, and as for the maiden for whose wedding feast she was laying up her riches, she died. TOe fl&onfes of IRitria Cbapter \>ij. Concerning tbe flfconfes wbo lix>efc in IFUtria NOW having held converse with many of the saints, and having gone round about among the monasteries which were nigh unto Alexandriaforthree years, & having met about two thousand of the great and strenuous men who lived there, and who were adorned with the excellence of spiritual lives, I departed from there and came to Mount Nitria. Now between this mountain and Alexandria there lieth a certain lake which is called " Mareotis," which embraceth a space of seventy miles. And having seated myself in a boat I crossed this lake in a day and a half, and I came unto the mountain to the south, whereunto is joined the desert which reacheth unto Gush (Ethiopia). In this mountain of the Mazaki and of the Mauritanians there live excellent men who are adorned with divers kinds of ascetic virtues ; and every monk leadeth the ascetic life as he wisheth and as he is able, either by himself or in a community. Now in this mountain there are seven bakers who make bread and who minister unto them, and unto the chosen men of the inner desert, of whom there are six hundred, and also unto the people of that mountain. And when I had dwelt in this mountain for a year, and had profited by the fathers, the pious and blessed men, I mean Rabbd Barsis [i.e., Arsisius], and Busiris, and Peta-Bast, and Agios, and Khroms, and Serapion, the elder, and had learned from them also concerning the ancient and first spiritual fathers [who had lived there], I entered into the inner desert wherein is Mount Nitria. In this mountain is a great church, and in the courtyard thereof are three palm trees, in each of which hangeth a whip. One of these is for the correcting of the monks who transgress through folly ; the second is for the punishing of the thieves if they be found falling on the place; and the third is for the chastising of the strangers who flock there and who transgress in any matter whatsoever. And it is the same with anyone who shall commit any offence, they bring him to the palm tree and punish him, and he receiveth upon his back the number of stripes which they have appointed unto him. Adjoining the church is a house in which the strangers who arrive there may lodge, and if any man wisheth to work [there] one year, or two, or until he departeth of his own accord [he may do so] ; and every week of days they permit him to rest, so that he may do nothing, but they give him work during the re maining days of the week, either among the bakers, or in the refectory. And if there was among these anyone who was suf- 99 7 Ube parafcfse of tbe fools jfatbers ficiently educated they used to give him a book to read, but they did not allow him to hold converse with any man until the sixth hour. There were also in this mountain physicians for the use of the sick, and those who sold cakes ; and they also used wine which was sold there. All these people worked at the weaving of flax with their hands, and there was no needy man there. Now when the evening cometh thou must rise up to hear the praises, and the Psalms, and the prayers which are sent up to Christ by the people from the monasteries which are there, and a man might imagine, his mind being exalted, that he was in the Paradise of Eden. Now the monks only came to church on the Sabbath and On the First Day of the week. Belonging to this church there were eight priests and governors, but as long as the first one lived none of the others ministered in the church ; he neither judged nor spake with any man, and they lived with him a life of silent contemplation. Now this great man Arsisius and many of the ancient holy men whom we saw were followers of the rule of the blessed man Anthony, and Arsisius himself told me that the holy man Ammon, who was from Nitria, and whom he knew, and whose soul was taken up and carried by the angels into heaven, even saw Anthony. And Arsisius also spake to me concerning the blessed man Pachomius, who came from Tabenna of Hekham, and who possessed the gift of prophecy and who became the governor and head of three thousand men; of this man I will relate the virtues at the end [of this book]. dbapter vnij. TTbe Distort of Hbba Bmmon, [tbe " ff atber of Egyptian /Ifconasticism"] CONCERNING the blessed man Ammon, he used to say: He became a monk in this wise: When he was a young man, and was about twenty-two years old, he was left an orphan by his parents. His father s brother wanted to give him a wife, and because he was unable to resist the counsel of his uncle he was compelled by force to marry one, and to fasten the crown of bridegrooms upon his head, and to take his seat in the marriage chamber, and to fulfil everything according to the law of the marriage feast. Now, Ammon submitted to everything outwardly, but after every one had gone forth having put Ammon and his wife to bed in the marriage cham ber, the blessed man rose up and shut the door and seated himself. And he called to the true and blessed woman his spouse, and said unto her, " Henceforth thou shalt be my lady "and my sister; come therefore, and I will relate unto thee 4< concerning a matter which is more excellent [than marriage]. 100 Bbba Bmmon 41 The marriage which men contract is a perishable thing, but " let us choose for ourselves the marriage which perisheth not, " and the marriage feast which never endeth. Let us each sleep * alone, for in this wise we shall please Christ ; and let us " guard the glory of our virginity unspotted, so that we may " take our rest at the marriage feast which is incorruptible." Then he took out a book from his bosom and read to the maiden [passages] which were uttered by the Apostles and by our Redeemer, and since she had no knowledge of the Scrip tures he added unto their words from his own divine mind. And he read many passages unto her and talked much to her concerning virginity and purity, and at length, by the grace of Christ, she was persuaded. Then she answered and said unto him, "Master, I know well that a rule of life of purity is very " much more excellent [than marriage]; therefore whatsoever " pleaseth thee that do. And I also from this time forth will be " persuaded [to do] whatsoever thou wishest to do." Then Ammon said unto her, "I beg and entreat thee to let " each of us from this time forth dwell alone"; but she would not agree to this, and said, "Let us live in the same house, " and let each of us have a separate bed." So they dwelt to gether holily in the same house for eighteen years. In the morning Ammon used to go forth and pass the whole day in cultivating the balsam trees which he had in his garden ; now the balsam tree is like unto the vine, and must be planted and pruned and cultivated, and it demandeth great attention and in the evening he entered into his house, and recited his prayers, and then ate with her. And he also rose up to [say] the praises (or hymns) of the night, and as soon as the dawn had come he would depart to the garden. Now as they were doing these things they both removed themselves from pas sions, and attained unto impassibility, and the prayers of Abba" Ammon helped [his wife]. And at length the blessed woman said unto him, "Master, I have something to say unto " thee, if thou wilt hearken unto me, and I am convinced that " for God s sake thou lovest me." The blessed man said unto her, "Tell [me] what thou wishest [to say]"; and she said unto him, "It is not right (seeing that thou art a God-fearing "man, and one who liveth a life of righteousness, and that "thou hast also made me, outwardly, to yearn for this path "[of life], and by the help of divine grace I have gotten "purity), to live with me. It is not good that, for my sake, "thou who dwellest with me in purity for our Lord s sake, " shouldst hide the spiritual excellence of thy philosophy; for "it is not seemly that thy fair deeds should be hidden, and "should not be known. Let thy dwelling be apart from me 101 Ube parafcfse of tbe tools ff atbers "and [thus] thou shalt benefit many." Then Ammon praised God, and said unto her, "O lady, this mind is beautiful, and "if it be acceptable unto thee do thou remain and abide in " this house in peace, and I will go and make another for my- " self." And having gone forth from her Ammon departed and entered into Mount Nitria, where as yet the monasteries were not numerous, indeed up to that time there were no monas teries at all there; and he built himself a habitation there, and dwelt therein for two and twenty years. And having attained unto the highest practice of the labours of the ascetic life he ended his days, that is to say, the holy man Ammon went to his rest and slept when he was sixty-two years of age. Twice in the year he used to go and see his spouse; and he died in his virginity, and his wife likewise brought the years of her life to an end in purity. Now the following wonderful thing is told concerning him by the blessed Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, in the book which he composed about the life and deeds of the blessed Anthony. Once when he was about to cross the river which is called "the Wolf" with Theodore his disciple, he was ashamed to take off his clothes [lest] he might see the naked ness of his person. And being doubtful in his mind (literally thoughts) how he should cross over wonder fell upon him, and through an angel he crossed the river without any [boat] whatsoever [on his part]. It was the same Ammon who saw the blessed man Anthony, who lived and died in such wise that his soul was taken to heaven by angels, and it was he who passed over the waters by the might of the Holy Spirit. Now as concerning this river which is called "the Wolf," I myself was once in great fear when I was crossing it in a boat, because it is filled with the overflow of the waters of the Nile. Cbapter f. ZTbe fnstors ot tbe BlesseD /IDan t>or NOW in Mount Nitria there was a certain man whose name was Hor, concerning whom men, especially all the brotherhood, testify to many of his triumphs, and also that marvellous and excellent woman Melha (i.e., Mela- nia), the handmaid of Christ, who went into this mountain before I did. As for me, I never became acquainted with this man. And in his history they say this one thing: "He never "told a lie in his life, and he never used oaths; he never "uttered a curse, and beyond what was absolutely necessary " he never spoke at all." 102 pambo Cbapter . Ube t>istor of tbe Blessefc /IDan pambo [Met) H,B. 393J IN this mountain there also lived the blessed man Pambo (or Panbis), who was the teacher and master of the Bishops Dioscorus, Ammonius, Eusebius, [Euthemis] (Eutymius), and Origen the nephew of Dracontius, a mar vellous man. Now this man Pambo possessed [the power to utter] words of prophecy, and splendid triumphs, yet with all these he despised gold and silver, even as the Word demand- eth. Now the following things [concerning him] were related unto me by the blessed woman Melhci. (i.e., Melania): When I first came from Rome to Alexandria I heard con cerning the life and deeds of Pambo, inasmuch as the blessed man Isidore, who also brought me unto him in the desert, told me about him. And I brought unto him a basket which was filled with stamped silver (i.e., coined money) three hundred pounds [in weight], and I begged him to accept some of my posses sions for his needs. He was sitting and plaiting the leaves ot palm trees, and as he was doing this he merely blessed me, and said, "God give thee thy reward!" Then he said unto his steward, whose name was Origen, "Take and distribute [this] among all the brethren who are in the Island and in Libya" ; for these monasteries are exceedingly poor, and he commanded the steward not to give unto any man who dwelt in Egypt, for those who dwell therein have [abundant] means of subsis tence. Now I stood there and I expected to be treated with honour or to be praised for the greatness of the gift, but when I heard nothing from him, I said unto him, "Master, knowest " thou how much money it is, and that there are three hundred "pounds [in the basket]?" Then Pambo, without lifting up his gaze, said unto me, "My daughter, He unto whom thou " hast offered thy money hath no need [to know] the weight. " For He who weighed the mountains in a balance knoweth "how much is the weight of thy silver. If thou hadst given "the money unto me thou wouldst have done well to have " informed me concerning the weight thereof; but since thou " hast given it to God, Who did not despise the two mites ot "the widow, [what need hast thou to tell Him?] Hold thy "peace." Now our Lord so directed that in the day on which I entered the mountain this blessed man died without having been ill, for he died whilst he was sewing together palm leaves for mats, without fever and without sickness. And he was seventy years old. Now he was sewing together palm leaves for a mat, and coming to the end of it he sent and called me. 103 TTbe parafcise of tbe Ix>l2 ffatbers And when he had finished sewing 1 it, he said unto me, "Take * this mat from my hands, so that thou mayest keep me in re- " membrance, for I have nothing- else whatever to leave thee"; and having given it unto me he straightway died. And t wrapped his body in linen swathings, and buried him, and then I departed from the desert; and I shall treasure the mat as a sacred relic until the day of my death. Now at the time of the death of this holy man Pambo there were standing before him certain famous men, Origen the priest and steward, and Ammonius, together with the remain der of the brethren, and they told [me] that at the time of his death, he said, "From the day wherein I came into this desert "and built this cell in which I have lived [until this day] "I know not that I have [ever] eaten the bread of idleness "(or bread) which did not come from the labour of mine "own hands; and my soul repenteth not that I have ever " spoken an empty word in my life; thus I go to God like one " who hath, as yet, not made a beginning in the fear of God." And Origin and Ammonius, the servants of Christ, in telling 1 us the story of his life, bore witness concerning him that he was never asked a question by any man about a saying 1 from the Book, or about the rules and labours of the ascetic life which he did not either answer immediately, or say, " I have " not as yet understood the matter." Nowthere were times when he spake these words [only] after three months consideration of a matter; and he used to make answer with such under*- standing that every man received the things which were said by him with as great reverence as if they had [been said] by God. Now this excellence was also attributed to Anthony the Great and to the rest of the holy men. Among 1 other things which are said concerning the holy man Pambo is the follow ing. The blessed man Pior once went to Pambo s cell and took with him some bread, and Pambo made a complaint, saying unto him, "Why hast thou done this?" Then Abbd Pior made answer, saying, " Let [this thing] be not grievous " unto thee"; but Pambo was silent and sent him away. And after some time Rabbi Pambo went to the cell of Abbd Pior, and he took with him bread which had been dipped in water; and being asked, * Why hast thou done this ? " the blessed man Pambo said unto him, " Let it not be grievous unto thee that 44 1 have also dipped the bread in water." 104 JSlessefc Hmmontus Chapter rj. Ube tnstorp of tbc Blesses Hmmonfus NOW this man Ammonius and his three brothers [i.e., Dioscorus, Eusebius, and Euthymius, who were called the " Tall Brothers " by Sozomen] and his two sisters were disciples of Rabba Pambo; and when they had attained unto the perfection of divine life and conversation they depar ted from the desert, and founded two monasteries, I mean, one for men and one for women, but they placed the monastery of the women at a sufficient distance from that of the men, for Ammonius did not greatly love the intercourse of speech. It was for this reason that a certain city desired that he should be its bishop, and the people thereof drew nigh unto the bless ed man Timothy, Bishop of Alexandria, and entreated him to make the blessed Ammonius their bishop; and Timothy [who sat from 381-385] told them to bring Ammonius unto him and that he would make him their bishop. Then they took with them much people, and they went unto Ammonius to bring him, and when he saw them he tried to find means to take to flight. But when he saw that he was unable to escape from them, he tried to persuade them, with many oaths, that he would not accept it, but he was unable to make them give up their intention. And when they would not be per suaded by him, he seized a razor and cut off his left ear at the root, and said unto them, " Now I am indeed persuaded that " I cannot be that which ye are urging me to be, for the Law * also commandeth, The man whose ear hath been cut off " shall not draw nigh unto the altar " (Leviticus xxvi, 17); so they left him and went and informed the Bishop, who said unto them, "This law is observed among the Jews, but even " if his nose was split and he had fine qualities I would make 4< him Bishop." Then the people went to Ammonius again and entreated him [to come], and when the pious man would not be persuaded by them, they wanted to take him and to make him come by force; but he said unto them, "If ye do [not] ** leave me I will also slit my tongue" ; and when they heard this they left him and departed. Concerning this man Ammonius so wonderful a thing as the following is said. Whenever a carnal thought entered his mind he never spared his body, but he would make a piece of iron hot on the fire and lay it upon his members, so that they might always be in a state of wounds. From his youth up his rule was as follows: whatsoever had been cooked by fire he would never eat. He could repeat the books of the Old and New Testaments by heart, and he used to read also the books [which were composed by] excellent men, by Origen, and by 105 ZTbe paradise of tbe tools ffatbers Didymus, and by Pierius, and by Stephen [containing] about ten thousand six hundred sayings; concerning this the great fathers who lived in the desert bear witness. It is also said that this man possessed the power of foretelling events, and living in his cell he was so great a comforter to the brethren who lived in the desert that no other man could be compared with him. Now the blessed Evagrius, who was clothed with the spirit, and was skilled in examining thoughts, used to say, " I never saw any man who had attained more closely unto im- " passibility than Ammonius." Once a certain need of those who were dwelling in the desert called the blessed man Ammonius, and Rufinus who was at that time the prefect [also] greatly persuaded him, and he went up to Constantinople. And with him there were also the holy bishops, and other monks who had come from various pro vinces [to be present] at the service of restoration of a certain martyrium which Rufinus had built. And Rufinus wished him to receive him after holy baptism at the service of restoration of the temple which he had built, and so the blessed man re ceived him from the bishops who had baptized him. Thus, as was right, Rufinus paid to the blessed man Ammonius the honour which is due to a life of asceticism, and he used to listen to him in everything; and after a short time he died and was buried in the martyrium which is called the " martyrium " of Rufinus," and many helpful acts took place at his grave on behalf of those who [were worthy] of help. Gbapter jij. ZTbe UMstors of tbe JBlesseb JSenjamin AND there was also in the mountain of Nitria a marvel lous man whose name was Benjamin, who attained to a high state of perfection in the ascetic life, for he had fasted and toiled for eighty years. Now he was held to be worthy of the gift of the craft of the physician, and from every wound (or stripe) upon which he laid his hand, and which Christ blessed or gave [him the power to heal], straightway every pain departed. And this man, who was worthy of such a gift, collected water in his body for eight months before his death, and he was so much swollen that he might well have been called a second Job. And Dioscurus took us, that is to say, the blessed Origen and myself, and said unto us, Come "ye and see a new Job, who whilst [suffering from] such a "severe disease of the body as this healeth others." And Benjamin gave thanks concerning his affliction beyond mea sure, and glorified God continually, and his soul rejoiced and was glad in the hope which it laid up for the saints. Now when we had gone and seen the swelling of his body we found 106 Benjamin an& Epollonius that it had become so large that a man could not with all his hand encircle one of his fingers; and being unable to look upon such a terrible affliction through disease we turned away our eyes. Then the blessed man Benjamin said unto us, " My sons, "pray that the inner man may not collect water. Even when * this my body was in health it in no wise helped me, and now " that it is sick it in no wise hindereth me." Now during the [last] eight months of his illness they made a broad chair for him, and he used to sit therein always, because he was not able to lie down upon a bed by reason of the necessity of his belly and of the other [members of his] body. And whilst he himself lived in such suffering through all his affliction he was healing others, and it is for this reason that I am compelled to narrate to you concerning the affliction of this righteous man, so that when such an affliction as this happeneth unto the righteous we may not hold the matter to be hard. Now when this blessed man died, the whole of the framework of the doorway had to be removed to enable them to bring out his body from his cell, for his body was very large indeed. Cbapter if j. Zlbe UMstors of Hpollonius tbe /Ifcercbant AND again another man, whose name was Apollonius, used to dwell in this Mount Nitria; and he was a mer chant who had come there to learn to lead the life and conversation of an anchorite. Now this man found no handicraft at the exercise of which he could employ himself, and he could neither fast nor keep vigil like the other ascetics to any great extent. During the twenty years which he lived in this moun tain it was his rule of life and triumph that by his own labour and toil he used to buy from Alexandria everything which was required by the brethren, and the things which were needed for the healing of the sick, and carry them to the sick. And it was a marvellous thing to see him going about among the monasteries and cells of the brethren each day, from the earliest dawn, when he set out, until the ninth hour, and he used to stand by the door and say, " Is there, peradventure, " anyone sick here?" And he carried about pomegranates, and dried cakes, and raisins, and eggs, and the things which arc necessary for the sick. Now he found this rule of life easy to acquire, and to continue until his old age, and he was able to attend to the affairs of the five thousand brethren who were dwelling in the mountain. And when he died he left whatever he had unto another man like unto himself, and he begged him to carry out this ministration, because the [place where the monks lived] was a desert and was destitute of the things of the world 107 ZTbe parafcise of tbe tools ffatbers Gbapter ix>. Ube IMstortes of tbe natural JSretbren paesius anfc 5saiab AND there were also there two brethren, whose names were Paesius and Isaiah, who were the sons of a cer tain merchant who traded in Spain ; and when their father died they divided his inheritance between them, and there came to each of them money which amounted to five thousand dinars, and furniture, and raiment, and slaves, and property of all kinds. And these blessed men took counsel to gether and meditated together and said unto each other, "By " what manner of trafficking shall we live in this world? If we "continue to exercise the trade of our father, we shall only "double our labour and toil for [the benefit of] others; and "perhaps [our wealth] will fall into the hands of thieves by "land or of pirates by sea." And whilst they were being* troubled by such thoughts as these they answered and said unto each other, " Let us come to the way of truth, and let " us acquire the life and conversation of the Christians, whereby " we shall both keep the benefit of what our father hath left us, 4 and get possession of our soul. " And this proposition concern ing the labour of the dwellers in the monasteries was pleasing unto them, and each of them found in his discipleship the power to judge as to what work he should embrace. And having divided their father s inheritance they both possessed the eager care to please God by the various kinds of labours of life of the mourner. One of them divided everything which had come to him and gave it to the churches and monastic habitations, and distributed it among the poor and needy; and he learned a handicraft at which he could work and earn [his] daily bread, and he was constant in prayer and fasting. The other brother did not distribute [his possessions], but he built himself a monastery and gathered together unto him a few brethren and providing therefor became a care unto him. All strangers and poor folk, and all the aged men and sick folk who thronged unto him he used to receive and relieve their wants. And every first day of the week, and every Sabbath, he used to prepare three tables and relieve the wants of every one who happened to be present there ; and thus he spent all his pos sessions. Now, when the two brothers died abundant blessing was ascribed unto them by the whole brotherhood, but the one brother pleased some of them [most], and the other the others; and although the brethren praised both brothers, adispute arose among them concerning the superior merit of one or the other of the two brothers. Then the brethren went to the blessed 108 flDacarius Pambo and related the matter unto him, and wished to learn which rule of life and labour was the greater and more excel lent. And Pambo said unto them, " They are both perfect. " One man made manifest the work of Abraham by his hospi tality, and the other the self-denial of Elijah." And again the brethren said unto him, " How is it possible for the two to "be equal in merit? We praise and magnify him who eiriT "braced poverty, for we find that he did the work of the " Gospel in selling everything that he had and giving it to the * poor, and that every day, and at every season, both by day and by night, he took up his cross and followed after his " Lord by his fasting and his prayers." And again the other brethren contended with them, saying, "The other brother " showed such supreme compassion on those who were stran- " gers and on those who were afflicted that he would even sit "in the highways and gather together the passers-by who "were in trouble; and not only did he relieve his own soui, " but he also brought a lightening unto many souls that were "heavy laden, and he would make ready the dead for the "grave ?.nd bury [them]." And the blessed Pambo said unto them, "Again I say unto you that both are equal [in merit], " and I will tell you how each of them became so. Unless the " one had fasted he would not have been worthy of the good- " ness and compassion of the other, and again, the other in " relieving the wants of strangers also lightened his own load, " for although a man may think that he hath trouble in recei- " ving [them] yet he also gaineth rest of body. But tarry ye " here a few days so that I may learn [the answer] from God, " and come ye [back] to me and I will declare [it] unto you. And after a few days they came unto him, and they asked him to tell them what had been revealed unto him ; and he answered and said unto them, " I have seen them both standing in the " Paradise of Eden, as it were in the presence of God." Cbapter jp. Ube IMston? of flDacarius, tbe Cbilfc of bis Cross THERE was also a certain youth whose name was Macarius, and when he became a young man about eighteen years old, he used to pasture flocks and herds, along with [other] young men of his own age and position, by the side of the lake which is called Mareotis, and without wishing to do so he unwittingly committed a murder ; and with out saying a word to any man he straightway rose up and de parted, and he went out and journeyed into the desert. Thus he attained to the fear of God, and to the love of men, in such wise that he esteemed himself lightly; and he passed three 109 ZTbe parafcf se of tbe Tboly ffatbers years in the desert, in the open air, and without a roof [over his head]. Now in that country no rain falleth, and this every one, so to say, knoweth, either from hearsay or from a<5lual experience. And after three years he built himself a cell, and he dwelt therein for five and twenty years [and performed] great labours ; and he was held worthy of the divine gift of being able to treat with contempt the devils, and he was com pletely happy in the ascetic life and in the noble labours there of. Now I dwelt hard by this man for no short time, and once I asked him, "What is thy thought about the sinfulness of "that murder [which thou didst commit]? And he said unto me, " I am entirely untroubled by it, for I am bound to con fess that the sin of [this] involuntary murder was the good " cause of the redemption of my life, and the testimony of the " Book confirmeth this view, saying not even Moses, the ser- " vant of the Lord, would have been held worthy of the divine "vision unless, through fear for the murder which he had "committed, he had forsaken Egypt, and come unto Mount "Sinai, where he was held to be worthy of converse with " God, and to compose the commandments of the spirit." Now we speak these things, not because we wish to help murder, but only in order that we may particularly shew that spiritual excellences spring from tribulations, when a man is not of his own will persuaded to draw nigh unto goodness. Some spiritual excellences arise from the will, and some from tribulation ; and in the works which I have found appended to this history I have discovered that the murder which Maca- rius committed belonged to this latter class. And Macarius prayed always, and he prayed with his arms and hands ex tended in the form of a cross. And when he had drawn nigh to the end of his course, which was not caused by illness, at that time [I say] he stood up in the corner of his cell, and ex tended his hands and arms in prayer, and thus praying he yielded up his spirit. And when he who used to bring him food came and saw him standing by the side of the wall with his hands stretched out, he remained standing outside think ing that Macarius was standing up in prayer, as was his wont. Then, having waited for about three hours, he opened the door and went in, and he said unto him, "Bless, master!" And when he did not answer him he drew nigh and shook him ; and when he saw that he was dead he came to us and told us, and having come we saw him standing in the form of a cross, and we marvelled. Now when we had laid him out upon the ground we were unable to bring his hands nigh unto his body, and so we dug his grave in the form of a cross and laid him in it. And I was sorely grieved because of his depar- no matbanfel ture, and I fell into a slumber and slept, and a voice came unto me, which said, " Inasmuch as during- his lifetime he Moved the cross, which he bore through his good works, in "it also he shall have his rest; in the form of that which he " desired longingly hath he been buried, and in the same form " shall he stand up at the right hand on the day of Christ." And having heard these things I awoke, and I glorified God and the power of the Cross. Cbaptei \>i. ttbe Ibfston? of tbe ffilessefc IRatbaniel [Met) about 376 H.B>.] AND there was also another man among the aged ones whose name was Nathaniel, and him I never met in his life, for he died fifteen years before I entered into this mountain ; but I have met those who dwelt with him for a long time. And having made enquiries of these I learned concerning the triumphs of the man, and they also shewed me his cell wherein at that time no man was living, because it was nigh unto the world; but Abba" Nathaniel built it long ago when the monks were few in number. Now they used to relate concerning this man that his patient endurance in his cell was such that he never moved from his place to go outside the door of his habitation for the disposi tion of his will. At the beginning he was laughed at by the Evil One, who mocketh at and leadeth astray every man, and he made Nathaniel to feel weariness in his first cell, and he went and built himself another cell in the neighbourhood of the city. Now after he had built the other cell and had dwelt therein, some three or four months later the devil, who had waged war against him from the beginning, came by night holding in his hand a sling like a hunter, and he was dressed in the garb of the Romans, and he was slinging [stones] with the sling which he was holding. Then the blessed man Nathaniel answered and said unto him, "Who art thou who "doest these things in the place wherein I dwell?" The devil said unto him, "I am he who made thee to flee from thy first "cell, and I have come that I may make thee to flee from this "place." Now when he knew that the devil was laughing at him because he had departed from his first [cell], straightway he turned and went back thereto, and he lived in his first cell for the space of thirty and seven years in such strict abnega tion that he never passed outside the door, and meanwhile he was warring with the devil. And the wicked devil made him to experience so many afflictions and troubles in order to drive him out of his cell that it would be impossible for [any] man to recount them. But the Evil One watched [and obtained his in Ube pataMse of tbe tools ff atbers opportunity] in the arrival of the Bishops who came to Na thaniel (now they were all holy men), and whether the order ing of the matter was due to the will of God, or to the tempta tion of the Evil One, we know not, but he made Nathaniel to fall away somewhat from his intention. For when the Bishops had prayed and had gone forth, Nathaniel did not escort them the distance of one step, and the servants who were with them said [to him], "Dost thou possess the faculty "of pride that thou wilt not accompany the Bishops?" Then Nathaniel said unto them, "I died once and for all to my "lords the Bishops, and to the whole world, and I have a "secret matter concerning which it is God only Who knoweth "my heart, and why I did not go forth and escort them." Then that devil, who was still making a mock of this self- abnegation, nine months before Nathaniel s death took upon himself the form of a young man who was about twenty years old, and he was following after an ass which was carrying bread in the bed of the river. Now when it was far into the evening the young man passed close to the cell, and pretended that the ass had fallen down under its burden, and he began to cry out, and said, "Abba Nathaniel, help me, and come "and render me assistance." And Nathaniel heard the voice of the young man who he thought was crying out, and he opened the door, and as he was standing inside, he spake with him, and said unto him, "Who art thou? And what dost thou "want me to do for thee?" And the young man said unto him, "I am such and such a young man, and I am carrying bread "to such and such a brother because he wisheth to make a "love feast, and the day which dawneth to-morrow will be the "Sabbath, and [bread for] the Offering will be necessary. "I beg of thee, therefore, not to tarry in assisting me, lest the "hyenas come and devour both me and the ass." Now there were many hyenas in that place. Then the blessed Nathaniel stood still in great astonish ment, and he was much troubled in his mind by the mercy which had revealed itself to him, and he meditated within him self, saying, "It is either through the command of God that I "must fall, or through my will [having reached] its limit." Finally he meditated within himself and said, "It is better for "him who hath guarded for all these years the limit of his "will, and hath not passed over his door, to remain in the " same condition which will put the Evil One to shame than "to go out"; and he prayed to God. Then he made answer unto him whom he believed to be a young man crying out, and said unto him, "Young man, hear me! I believe that the "God Whom I serve will send thee help if it be needed by 112 fl&acarius tbe Egyptian "thee, and that neither the hyenas nor anything else will harm "thee; but if thou art a temptation may God discover thy "craftiness!/ And he shut the door and held his peace. And that devil was put to shame, and by reason of his wickedness he took the form of a whirlwind and the forms of wild asses which dance about and skip and break wind. This is the [story of the] triumph of the blessed Nathaniel, and this is the [story of] his labour and of his ending. Cbapter jvij. Ube Ibistors of tbe two ejaltefc anfc excellent men, /iDacarius tbe lEgsptian, tbe Disciple of /iDar Hbba Hntbons, ant) /IDacarius tbe Hlesan* fcrian CONCERNING the holy and immortal fathers, that is to say Macarius the Egyptian, and Macarius the Alex andrian, who were men to be feared and who were invincible athletes, and concerning the strife of their life and deeds, and conversation, it is exceedingly right and good that we should tell the story. Perhaps it will not be accepted by the unbelievers, and therefore I find it difficult to relate their his tory, and to set it down completely in writing, lest by so doing I should be accounted a liar; and that the Lord destroyeth those who speak falsehood the Holy Spirit maketh clearly manifest. Now, as I myself do not put to the lie the help of Christ, do not thou, O Lausus, thou believer in men, become an unbeliever in the triumphs of the holy fathers which are spoken of, but adorn thyself more and more with the deeds and conversation of these glorious men who were in very truth, even as they are called, blessed men. The athlete of Christ, the first Macarius, was by race an Egyptian, and the second Macarius, although he was second to him in the matter of age, was nevertheless first in the opinion of the monks (or solitaries) ; and this man, whose name also was Macarius, which is interpreted " blessed," was from the city of Alexandria, and he was [one] of those who sold dried fruit and wine. In* another manuscript I have found a different version [of the history of the two Macarii which I have used] in the pre paration of [this] history, and I set this down here also; now it reads as follows : And as concerning the two blessed men whose names were the same, inasmuch as their rule of life and conversation were of an exceedingly exalted character, perhaps many will not believe [what I write]. I, however, am afraid lest I may under state and belittle their triumphs in any way whatsoever, and lie * This is a note of a careful scribe or editor. 113 8 XTbe parafcise of tbe 1bols ffatbers concerning them, for it is written, " Thou wilt destroy those i who speak falsehood" (Psalm xii, 3). The Holy Spirit hath passed this sentence upon me, therefore, O beloved and faith ful men, believe ye me. Now one of these two blessed men was an Egyptian by race, and the other was an Alexandrian who sold dried fruits. First of all I will tell the story of the ascetic excellences of Macarius the Egyptian, the whole of whose years were ninety; he was thirty years old when he went up to the desert, and [he] lived therein for sixty years. And he was given the gift of [performing] mighty deeds in such a remarkable manner that he was called by the fathers " the "aged youth," because straightway and quickly he ascended to the highest grade of ascetic excellence and gifts, and to the power of interpreting the Scriptures, and to spiritual foresight. And the gift of possessing power over devils was also given to him, and he was also esteemed worthy of the priesthood. With this blessed man there lived in the further (or inner) desert, which is called "Scete," two disciples; one of these was his servant, for many folk were wont to come unto him to be healed, and the other remained always in a cell which was nigh unto Macarius. And when much time had passed by, Macarius looked and said unto him that ministered unto him (now his name was John, and he afterwards became the elder in the place of the blessed man), he answered, I say, and said unto him, " Hear me, O John, and receive the rebuke with 4 which I rebuke thee. For thou art suffering temptation, and "behold the spirit of the love of money (i.e., avarice) tempt- "eth thee, for even so have I seen. And I know that if thou "wilt listen unto me thy end in this place shall be praised, and "no harm shall draw nigh unto thy habitation. But if thou "wilt not hearken unto me, because of the love of money which "moveth thee, the leprosy of Gehazi (2 Kings v, 27) shall "come upon thee at the end." And it came to pass some fifteen or twenty years after the death of the blessed man, John for got his commandment, and because he used to steal from the poor, his body became so covered with leprosy that there was not in the whole of it one sound spot large enough for a man to lay his finger upon. Thus the prophecy of the blessed Macarius concerning John actually came to pass. Now if we were to attempt to describe the food and drink of the holy man, we should do what is superfluous, because among the thoughtless monks who lived in that place there was not to be found any one thing which could lead to excess either in eating or drinking; first because of the poverty of the spot, and secondly because of the divine zeal which they dis play towards each other. But I may mention his sad and stern 114 flDacarius tbe habits of self-denial in various other ways. And they relate con cerning him that he was at all times in a state of wonder at some divine vision, and that he used to become like a drunken man by reason of some hidden vision, and that his mind was more often exalted unto God than it was concerned with the things which are in this world, and those which are under the heavens. And, as concerning the wonderful things which God wrought by his hands, it is not seemly that we should keep silence, and of him the following marvellous things are told. A certain Egyptian loved another man s wife, but since he was not able to incite her to love him and to make her yield to his will, he spake unto a certain magician, saying, "Make "this woman to love me, or employ thy sorcery in some way "so that her husband may hate her, and cast her out." Now when the magician had received money not a little, he made use of his sorceries, and he made the woman to appear in the form of a mare ; and when her husband went into his house from outside, and saw her, astonishment seized him [at the sight of] a mare lying upon his bed. Then he lifted up his voice in a sorrowful cry, and he wept tears, and heaved sighs; and he spake with her, but she made no reply unto him, and she answered him not a word. And having seen what had taken place, he went to the elder of the village (i.e., the Shekh al- Balad), and told him concerning this matter, and brought him and took him in and shewed him what had happened. And for a space of three days he knew not what the matter was, for the mare neither ate dried grass like an animal, nor did she partake of bread like a daughter of man ; and she did without food of either kind. Finally, however, in order that God might be glorified, and a miracle might also be made manifest at the hands of the blessed Macarius, and his spiritual perfection be made known, it entered into the mind of the man who was the woman s husband to take her to the desert to the blessed Macarius. And having saddled her like a mare, and thrown over her a halter, like an animal, he led her away and departed to the desert. And when the man arrived at the cell of the blessed Macarius, the brethren who were standing by the side of the cell of the blessed Macarius saw him, and they wanted to keepbackthehus- band of the woman, and strove withhim, saying, " Whyhastthou "brought this mare into the desert?" And the man said unto them, "That she may receive mercy, and be healed." They said unto him, "What aileth her?" And he answered and said unto them, "She is a woman who hath been suddenly trans formed into a mare, and behold, she hath eaten no food for "three days." Then the brethren went and told the blessed 115 8a TTbe iparafctee of tbe fbols ffatbers Macarius what the matter was, and when they came to inform him they found him standing inside [his cell] and praying- for her, for God had already revealed this matter unto him, and he was praying for the woman. And the holy man Macarius answered and said unto his disciples: "Ye are mares which "have the eyes of horses; but that mare is a woman. She " hath not been changed from her nature of a woman except "in the sight to those who have made a mistake; and that " she appeareth as a mare is only an error of the sight of those " who see her." Then the blessed man took water and blessed it, and he threw it over her head and it ran down all over her body; and the blessed man prayed and straightway he made her to appear in the form of a woman to every man. Then he gave her some sacramental bread and made her to eat it before every man, and then he sent her away healed with her hus band ; and they departed from him rejoicing and praising God. And the blessed man exhorted the woman, and said unto her, "Be not at any time remote from the Church, and deprive not "thyself of the Holy Mysteries, for all these things have hap pened unto thee because for five weeks thou didst not partake "of the Offering." Let us now speak about his other excellences, and also of his sad and stern habits of self-denial in other particulars. Now because the large numbers of people who came to be blessed by him gave him much trouble, he thought out the following plan in his mind. He dug out a passage (or trench) in his cell which was about twenty measures [in width], and he made from it a tunnel of considerable length, [and it extended] from his cell to the distance of half amile; at the place where the passage came to an end he made above the end of it a small cave. And when large numbers of people came to him and troubled him, he used to leave his cell secretly and pass along hidden by the tunnel and hide himself in the cave, where no one could find him. Now he used to do this whenever he wished to escape from the vain praise (or glory) of the children of men. And one of his most strenuous disciples told us, saying, "As he "was going from his cell to the cave he used to recite four " and twenty antiphons, and as he was coming back four and 4 twenty also ; and whenever he went from his cell to the church " he used to pray four and twenty prayers during his passage " [thither], and four and twenty as he was coming back." And moreover, they say that he gave life to a dead man in order that he might convert a certain heathen who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and this was spoken of through out the desert. Once a certain unmarried man who was vexed by an evil 116 /IDacarius tbe Blejanfcrian devil was brought unto Macarius, being carefully fettered by two other men, and his mother had caused him to be brought unto him. Now the devil used to ac~l upon him in the following manner. After he had eaten three baskets of bread and drunk three bottles of water he used to vomit, and scatter the bread and water in the air in the form of smoky vapour, and in this wise his food and his drink were consumed in waste, even as anything which is cast into the fire is consumed. Now there are certain kinds of devils which are called "fiery," for there are varieties among devils even as there are among men, in dis position if not in nature. And inasmuch as his mother had not that wherewith to satisfy him, he used to eat his own offal and drink his own water; and his mother besought the blessed man with tears on behalf of her son, and Macarius took him and prayed over him, and entreated God on his behalf. And a day or two after he had healed him of his trial, the blessed man cried unto the mother of the young man, and said unto her, " How much hast thou need of for the food of one day for him?" And she said unto him, "Ten pounds of bread." Then he re buked her and said, "Thou hast said too much." And after seven days Macarius made the young man so that he needed to eat three pounds [only, which was sufficient for him] to work upon and live. Now this miracle God wrought by the hand of the blessed Macarius, whose soul now sojourneth with the angels. I never saw this man, for he died one year before I entered the desert. Gbapter \>fij. TOe Ibtstor^ of fl&acarius tbe brian, tbe Glorious AS for the other Macarius, the Alexandrian, I did seehim, for he was an elder in the place which is called the "Cells," wherein I myself lived for nine years, and he lived for three years after I entered therein; some of [his] wonderful acts I myself have seen, and some of them I have learned from others, and [of others] I have also heard rumours. Now his sad, stern life of self-denial was as follows: Whensoever he heard of any beautiful deed being done by any man whatsoever, he must straightway carry it into practice in a fuller form. He once heard from a certain man that all the brethren of Tabenna never tasted any food whatsoever which had been cooked by fire during the whole of the Forty Days Fast, and he straight way determined within himself that for seven years he would not eat any food which had been cooked by fire, and that he would not partake of anything except young wild herbs, and vegetables which had been made soft by soaking in water, or similar things. And when he had completed this rule of life he 117 TOe paraMse of tbe Ibols jfatbers heard of a monk in a certain monastery who only ate one pound of bread each day, and he straightway broke his bread into pieces and cast it into a vessel with a narrow mouth, and he determined within himself that he would eat nothing that his hand could not draw up out of the vessel the first time [he put it in]. And time after time, he used to tell the story with a smile, and say, "When I put my hand down I could fill it "readily, but I could not draw it up full because the mouth of "the vessel was [too] narrow, and it would not let me take it " out full." Now he lived this hard life for three years, and ate [daily only] four or five ounces of bread; and of water also he only drank sufficient to enable him to eat his bread. Of oil [he took] only one flask each year, making use of it only on the great First Day of the Resurrection, and on the great day ot Pentecost, and at the Nativity, and at the Epiphany, and when he received [the Mysteries] during the Forty Days Fast. I will tell also of the various other practices of his sad, hard life. He determined [once] to vanquish sleep, and it is related that he never entered under a roof for twenty days, and that he was burnt up by the exceedingly great heat of the sun at noonday during all this time, and that during the nights he was without rest. And he himself told us, "Had I not quickly gone in under a " roof and slept, and rested myself the brains in my head would " have dried up, and I should become like a drunk man. But," he would say, "I have been conquered against my will, for "although the nature of the body hath been overcome I have "given it what it needeth." And again, once when he was sitting in his cell a gnat bit him in the leg and he suffered pain, and he crushed the gnat in his hand and killed it. Then straightway he despised him self because he had avenged himself upon the gnat, and he passed upon himself the sentence that he should go^to the place which is called "Scete," that is to say, the inner desert, and sit there naked for six months. For there were many great gnats (i.e., mosquitoes) there, and they were so savage that they could pierce the skins of pigs, and they re sembled wasps; and his whole body was so eaten and swollen that a man would have thought that he had the hide of an elephant, and when he came [back] to his cell six months later they could only recognize from his voice that he was Macarius. And again he desired greatly to go and see the garden of Jannes and Jambres, the magicians of Egypt, because, as he himself told us, they had obtained power, and riches and dominion, and had built there a tomb, and had established there great works in marble; now their tomb was ornamented with many things, and they had also placed there gold and 118 flfoacarius tbe Hlejanbrtan things of a marvellous character, and trees and plants, for the place had been made into a garden, and they had also dug a well there. Now because Macarius did not know the way, he observed the course of the stars, and travelled thereby; and thus he journeyed through the open desert as upon the sea. And he took with him also a bundle of thin reeds, and at the end of each mile he used to drive a reed into the ground like a rock, so that he might be able to find the way when he had to come back. And when he had journeyed for nine days, and had drawn nigh the place wherein was the tomb, the Evil One, who always wageth war against the athletes of the Lord, gathered together all the reeds which the blessed man Macarius had driven into the ground, and put them under his head for a pillow whilst he was asleep, when he was about one mile from the garden, and when the blessed man woke up he found the reeds. Now it is probable that God permitted this thing to happen for His own glory and for the triumph of His servant, so that Macarius might not put his confidence in reeds, but upon God, Who by means of a pillar of cloud led the children of Israel in the desert for forty years. And Macarius told us, saying, " Seventy devils came forth against me from thatgar- " den, and they flew about before my face like ravens, and 1 they were crying out and groaning, and saying, * What " seekest thou here, O Macarius? What seekest thou, O " monk? Why hast thou come hither? Thou canst not stay " here. And I said unto them, I only want to go in and see " [the garden], and then I will depart. And I entered therein, "and I saw everything, and [I found] hanging over the well " an iron chain with a brass bucket, but they were rusted "through age; and the pomegranates which were therein " were dried up and burnt by the sun." And having seen [the garden] he turned and came back in twenty days. Now when he was coming back he lacked water, and the bread also which he had carried was finished, and he was nigh to perish, and was in great tribulation through thirst, when suddenly he saw a damsel who was arrayed in a spotless linen garment and who carried a pitcher of water wherefrom water dripped, and she was distant about half a mile from him. Then he followed her for three days, thinking that he would overtake her and drink, but he did not do so, although she seemed to him to be standing still in one place and bearing a pitcher. Then he despaired of obtaining water to drink, and he was brought very low, when suddenly there appeared unto him there a herd of buffaloes. And among them there was one which had with her a little sucking calf, and she stood still before him; and he drew nigh and sucked milk from her. And 119 ZTbe parafcise of tbe fools jf atbers she came with him through all the desert even unto his cell and gave him milk to drink, and she would not let her calf suck from her in those days. And on another occasion the brethren were digging a well in a certain place which was called Thronon, when a serpent which belonged to the class of deadly serpents bit him. Then Macarius took hold of the serpent with his two hands by his upper and lower lip and, grasping him tightly, tore him in twain, from his head even unto his tail, and said unto him, " Since Christ did not send thee, why didst thou dare to "come [here]?" Now the blessed man had four cells in the desert: one in Scete, in the inner desert, one in Libya (?), one in the " Cells," and one in Mount Nitria. [Two] of these were without windows, and in them he used to dwell in darkness during the Forty Days Fast, another was so narrow that he could not stretch out his legs, but another, wherein he used to receive the brethren who came unto him, was wide and spacious. And he healed so many people who were possessed by devils that no man could count them. Once when I and the blessed Evagrius were there in his cell they brought unto him from Thessalonica a certain virgin who had been a paralytic for many years, but by means of prayers and by anointing her with oil with his hands he cured her in twenty days and sent her away whole to her city and home; and when she had de parted she sent to him gold and goods of various kinds. And again, he heard from a certain man that the monks of the Monastery of Tabenna lived stern lives of self-denial, and he took counsel with himself, and put on the garb of a young man and a husbandman, and in fifteen days he went up to the Monastery of the Broken Ones by the way of the desert, and came to the Monastery of Tabenna, seeking to see the head of that Monastery whose name was Pachomius. Now Pachomius was a man elect and perfect, and he had the gift of prophecy, but the [business] of the blessed Macarius was hidden from him. And when Macarius saw him he said unto him, "Abba, " I beseech thee to receive me into thy monastery that I may " be a monk therein." Pachomius said unto him, "Thou art " an old man, and art not able to fast. The brethren are men " who fast, and thou canst not endure their labours, and be- " cause thou art not able to do this [thou wilt] be offended, " and thou wilt go forth and wilt abuse them"; and he would receive him neither the first day nor the second day, nor any day until seven days [were passed]. But since he remained fasting throughout all these days he said unto the head of the monastery, "Abb, receive me. And if I do not fast like unto " you, and toil as ye do, command them to cast me out;" so 120 /IDacarius tbe the head of the monastery persuaded the brethren to receive him. Now the number of the members of the brotherhood of that monastery were four hundred men, [and they are thus even] unto this day; and they brought in Macarius. And when a few days had passed, the Forty Days Fast drew nigh, and Macarius saw that large numbers of the brethren kept the fast and observed the rule of the house in various ways. There were some who ate daily at eventide, and some [who fasted for some] nights, and there were also some who ate once in five days; and some stood up the whole night through, and sat down in the daytime. And the blessed man Macarius took a large quantity of leaves of date palms, and brought them [to his cell], and he stood up in one corner thereof, and he neither touched bread nor water, nor bent the knee, nor lay down, until the forty days had passed, and the days of unleavened bread had come; but each Sunday he used to eat a few moist cabbage leaves so that he might pretend to be taking food. Whensoever he went outside his cell for a needful purpose he returned straightway and stood up in his place without speaking a word unto any man ; and he stood in his place and held his peace, and he used to do nothing else except pray within himself, and as he stood up he wove rope of the palm leaves. And when all the brethren saw him they made a tumult against the head of their monastery, and said unto him, "W T hence hast thou brought upon us this " man, who hath no body and who is incapable of being tired "out, to judge us and to take vengeance upon us? [Either " send him away and let him depart], or know that we all will " go away." Now when the head of the monastery had heard from the brethren concerning the fasting of Macarius and his rule of life, he prayed to God and entreated Him to reveal to him who this man was, and it was revealed unto him by God. Then he went and took him by his hand, and he brought him to the house of prayer to the place where the altar was stab- lished, and he answered and said unto him, "Come, O blessed "old man, thou art Macarius, and thou hast hidden thyself "from me. For many years past I have earnestly desired to " see thee, and now I thank thee that thou hast broken the " heartof the brethren somewhat, so that they may not imagine " any longer that they observe their fast with excessive rigour. " Go then in peace to thy place, for in no slight measure hast "thou edified us, and do thou continue to pray for us"; then Pachomius having persuaded him, Macarius departed from thence. And Macarius used to say, "Every kind and variety of rule "of the life of self-denial and fasting which I have desired to 121 Ube parafcise ot tfoe tools ff atbers " observe with all my heart have I kept, but there came upon "me the desire that my mind should be with God in heaven " [if] only for five days, and that I should be exalted above " the anxious cares and thoughts of material things. And "having meditated upon this thing, I shut the door of the "courtyard and of the cell, and I constrained myself so that I " might not give a word to [any] man. And I continued thus, " and I began [to fulfil this thought] on the second day of the "week, and I commanded my mind, and said unto it, Thou " shalt not descend from heaven, for behold, there thou hast " angels, and the princes of angels, and all the hosts which " are in heaven, and especially the Good and Gracious God, " the Lord of all. Thou shalt not come down from heaven. " And continuing thus I was sufficient for this thing for two " days and two nights, and I constrained the Evil One to such " a degree that he became a flame of fire and burnt up every- " thing which I had in my cell, and at length the very mat " upon which I stood blazed with fire, and I thought that I " should be wholly consumed. Now when, finally, fear of the fire " took hold upon me my mind came down from heaven on the "third day, because I was unable to keep my mind collected " in the state in which it had been, and I came down to the "contemplation of the world and the things thereof. And this " happened so that I might not boast." And on another occasion I went to his cell, and I found a priest lying there by the side of the door; his whole head was consumed, and was eaten into holes by the disease which is called cancer, and the bone of his skull was shewing through. Now this man had come unto him to be healed, but Macarius did not wish to see him. And I myself besought the blessed man and said unto him, "I beseech thee to have mercy upon " him, and to give unto him a word." Then he answered and said unto me, "He is not worthy to be healed, for [this] "punishment was sent upon him from God. But if thou de- " sirest that he shall be healed persuade him to forsake the " ministration at the altar, for he used both to be minister at "the altar and to commit fornication, and for this reason he "was punished. Persuade him then to forsake [his ministra- " tions], and God will heal him." And having said these things to the sick man he pledged himself and swore an oath, saying, "I will never minister at the altar again"; and afterwards Macarius received him, and said unto him, "Dost thou be- lieve that God existeth ? " and the priest said unto him, Yea, " master." And again Macarius said unto him, "Peradventure " thou art able to scoff [at God]," and the priest said unto him, " Nay." Then the blessed man said unto him, "If now thou 122 /I&acarius tbe 4< dost acknowledge thy folly, and also that thy punishment " was from God and that it was a fitting 1 punishment for thy " deeds, first of all confess thy transgressions." And the priest gave a promise that he would not sin again, and that he would not minister at the altar, but that he would lead a life which was suited to the capacity and grade of those who were in the world ; and Macarius laid his hand upon him, and in a few- days he was made whole, and the hair grew upon his head [again], and he went to his house healed whilst I was looking at him. And again a certain young man who had an evil devil was brought unto him and he laid one hand on the head of the young man and another on his heart, and he prayed until he made the devil to rise up in the air, whereupon the young man breathed out his breath and became like a great [empty] skin bottle ; and he suddenly uttered a cry, and water flowed out from all parts of his members, and he was made whole and became as he was before the devil entered into him. Then Macarius anointed him with the oil of the martyrs, and com manded his father that he was not to taste flesh or wine for forty days, until he was thoroughly healed. And again on a certain occasion certain thoughts of vain glory vexed him, and urged him to go forth from his cell and to depart and heal the multitudes in Rome and to give assis tance unto those who were lying [there] sick, for the grace and might of God were inciting him greatly to heal those who were possessed of devils and to make whole those who were diseas ed; but although he was much disturbed in his mind [on this matter], yet he was not persuaded to go, for the Evil One greatly pressed upon him in his thoughts. Finally, however, he lay down inside the door of his cell, and having set his legs (or feet) on the threshold, he cried out and said, "Pull, un- " clean devils, pull hard, for I will never go [thither] on my * legs, and if you are able to carry me you must do so thus." And he took an oath to them [i.e., the brethren], saying, "I "continued to lie thus until the evening, and if ye had not " lifted me up, I should never have moved from my place." And when the night had come he stood up. And again, on another occasion, when these thoughts were mounting up [in his mind] he filled with sand a basket which held two or three bushels, and lifting it on his shoulders he began to wander about [with it] in the desert. And his kins man Theosebius the Antiochian met him and he said unto him, "What art thou carrying on thy shoulders, father? Tell " me, so that I may carry thy load, and that thou mayest not " toil thyself." And he said unto him, " I am making to work 123 ZTbe paraMse ot tbe 1bois ffatbers " that which hath made me to work, for it wisheth to go forth "from its state of rest, and it fatigueth me"; and having walked about for a long time he went into his cell, having exhausted his body. And one day there laid hold upon me the chills of fever, and I went and sat down, and watched him from the window (or opening in the wall), in the feebleness of his old age. And I was thinking about him that he was like unto one of the brethren of old, and I began to listen unto him that I might see what he was saying, or what he was doing; now he was alone inside [his cell], and he was one hundred years old, and moreover, his teeth had fallen out by reason of his old age. And I listened unto him and to what he was saying, and he was striving with his soul and with Satan, and he was saying unto himself, " What dost thou wish for, O thou wicked old man? Behold, " thou hast eaten oil, and thou hast drunk wine, what more * dost thou wish for ? Wouldst [thou] eat Satan s white food ? " And he was reviling himself. And moreover he said unto Satan, " I cannot conquer thee in any wise, and thou art not able to " do anything unto me; get thee gone from me." And again he said unto himself, " How long shall I be with thee ?" And moreover, Paphnutius, the disciple of this man, re lated unto myself and unto the blessed Evagrius, saying, " One day a female hyena took her whelp, which was blind, "and came and knocked with her head at the door of the "court when he was sitting therein, and she dropped the " whelp at his feet. And he took up the whelp, and prayed, and " spat in its eyes, and straightway its eyes were opened and it " saw ; and its mother gave it suck, and then took it up and " went forth. And one day later she brought unto the blessed "man a sheep-skin cloak, that is to say, a skin which hath " been stripped off a sheep; and the blessed woman Melania " spoke unto me concerning this sheep-skin cloak, saying, I "myself received this sheep-skin cloak from the hands of " Macarius as a blessing." And Paphnutius also spake thus, " From the first day where- " on he received baptism he never spat upon the ground, and he " lived for sixty years after his baptism." Now in his latter days he was beardless, and he only had a small quantity of hair upon his [upper] lip and upon his chin; because by reason of his excessive fasting and the abstinence of his solitary life not even the hair of [his] beard would grow. I once went unto him when weariness of the ascetic life had laid hold upon me, and I said unto him, " Father, what shall II I do? For my thoughts vex me, and say unto me, Thou " art doing no [good], get thee gone from here. " And he said 124 Paul tbe Simple unto me, "Say unto thy thoughts, For Christ s sake I will " guard these walls." I have written for thee these few things out of a very large number concerning the life and deeds of the holy man Maca- rius, and concerning the solitary monks who were his com panions; and everything is indeed true. I entreat all those brethren who read in this book, or who desire to take a copy therefrom, not to forget [to write] after [this section] the nar rative which is found in certain of the codices at the end of the above history which relateth unto the matters of Macarius, as if these histories had been composed by Hieronymus, but they must know that of a certainty that they were composed by Palladius. For I have found the absolute ending of this book which belonged to the histories of the matters of Macarius, with an apology and a preface which were com posed by Palladius [and addressed] to Lausus the Prefect, wherein he maketh known concerning all the various kinds of the divers histories of men and of women which were com posed by him; and I will prepare this apology and preface, and by the help of God I will write them down in the proper place. Cbapter i . f tbe ffilessefc tf&an Paul tbe Simple, tbe HHsciple ot Hbba Hntbon^ NOW there was a certain husbandman whose name was Paul, who was more simple and innocent in nature than are [usually] the children of men ; and he had a wife who was beautiful in her appearance, and wicked in her deeds and actions, and she had wandered from him and had been committing adultery for a long time. And one day, suddenly Paul went into [his house] from the field, and he found her and another working impurity together; now this took place so that Divine Grace might incite Paul [to follow] that which was more excellent. And having [gone in and] seen them, he laughed chastely, and answered and said, "It is good, it is "good, truly she is not accounted mine by me. By Jesus, " henceforth I will not take her again. Get thee gone, and be- "hold she is thine, she and her children : and as forme, I will "go and become a monk." And saying nothing unto any man he went away a journey of eight stages, and he arrived at the cell of Mar Anthony the Great. And having knocked at the door, the blessed man Mar Anthony went out, and he said unto Paul, "What dost thou seek?" Paul said unto him, "I "seek to become a monk." Mar Anthony answered and said unto him, "[Thou art] an old man eighty years old, and it is "impossible for thee to become a monk here; but depart to 125 parafcfse of tbe 1bol^ ff atbers "the village, and work in the fields for thy living, and give "thanks unto God at the same time that thou art not able to "endure the afflictions of the desert." And again Paul answered and said unto him, "Whatsoever thou wilt teach "me, that will I do." Anthony said unto him, "I have told "thee that thou art an old man, and thou canst not [do it]; but if thou wishest to become a monk, get thee gone to some monastic house, and abide where the brethren are many, and where they will be able to bear with thy sickness (or infirmity). As for me, I live by myself alone here, and I only eat once in five days, and even then I do not eat a full meal." With these and suchlike words did Anthony frighten Paul. And as he would not be persuaded to depart, Anthony went into [his cell], and shut the door upon himself for three days, and because of him he did not go outside his cell for three whole days, not even for his need s sake. Nevertheless Paul did not go away; and on the fourth day, when his need com pelled him, Anthony opened the door and went forth. And again he said unto Paul, "Get theegone, O old man, why dost "thou trouble me? It is impossible for thee to stay here." Paul said unto him, "It is impossible for me to die in any other "place except this." And the blessed Anthony, having looked carefully and seen that he was carrying no food with him, and no bread and no water, and that he had fasted during the four days which he had remained, said within himself, Peradventure he will escape and "die, and will plunge my soul in tribulation"; so he accepted him and brought him into [his cell]. And because of Paul duringthose days Anthony performed exceedingly severe ascetic labours, the like of which, even in his early manhood, he had never performed. And he soaked [palm] leaves in water, and gave them unto Paul, and said unto him, "Take these palm "leaves, and weave a mat therefrom even as do I myself." And the old man Paul took [them], and wove them [into a mat] fifteen cubits [long], until at the ninth hour he was ex hausted. And Anthony, seeing what he had woven, was angry with him, and said unto him, " Thou hast woven [the leaves] " loosely, unweave [them], and weave [them] over again neatly "and closely. "And Paul unwove what he had woven, and wove the leaves over again, but still he wove too loosely, because the leaves had become twisted through [the former] weaving and unweaving. Meanwhile Paul was fasting all these days, and Anthony laid these hard labours upon him while his soul was vexed with hunger, so that he might become disgusted and depart from him. Now when Anthony saw that Paul was neither angry nor 126 Paul tbe Simple wrathful, and that he made no complaint, his mercy made itself manifest; and behold when Paul had lived [there an other] day, he said unto him, "Dost thou wish to eat a piece " of bread?" The old man Paul said unto him, "As it pleas- "eth thee, father." And this also especially shamed Mar Anthony, that he did not hasten in his desire to the promise of food, but that he cast all his desire upon him. There upon Anthony said unto him, " Set the table and bring "bread." And Anthony placed on the table four loaves, each of which was of the weight of about six ounces, and he dipped them in water because they were dry, and he placed one before himself and three before Paul. And having placed them [there] he sang a psalm which he knew twelve times, and he recited twelve prayers that he might try Paul, but Paul prayed with him in gladness ; and after the twelve prayers they sat down to eat in the late evening. Having eaten one loaf Anthony did not touch another, but the old man Paul ate slowly, and [when Anthony had finished] he had still some of his loaf [to eat], and Anthony was waiting for him to finish it. And having finished it, he answered and said unto him, "Little father, "wilt thou eat another loaf?" And Paul said unto him, "If "thou wilt eat another I will also; but if thou wilt not, I will "not." Anthony saith unto him, "I have had enough, for I "am a monk." And Paul said unto him, "I also have had "enough, for I also seek to become a monk." And after these things Anthony again stood up, and made twelve prayers, and when they had said together the psalms twelve times they slept for a little during the night, and then they sang and prayed until the morning. And when Anthony saw that the old man was carrying out with gladness a rule of life similar unto his own in every respe<5t, he said unto him, " If thou art able to bear every " day passed in this wise, then stay with me." Paul said unto him, "Although I know nothing else, yet the things which " I do know I can perform easily"; and on another day An thony said unto him, Behold, thou hast become a monk." And a few months afterward when Anthony saw that his soul was perfect before God, and that he was simple beyond measure, and that Divine Grace was helping him, he built him a cell at a distance of about three or four miles away, and said unto him, "Behold, thou art a monk, and henceforth thou must " live by thyself so that thou mayest receive the temptation of "devils." Now when Paul had lived by himself for a year, the gift of healing and of casting out devils was given unto him And in those times they brought unto Anthony a certain man who was vexed by a fierce devil, and that devil was one 127 Ube paradise of tbe Ifools ffatbets of the princes of the devils, and he was so fierce that he would even revile and blaspheme the heavens. And when Anthony saw the man he said, "I cannot heal this man, for [over this " race of princes] neither the gift nor the power [of healing] "hath been given unto me; unto Paul it belongeth to heal " this man." And Anthony therefore took them with him and went unto him, and said unto him, "O Abba Paul, cast out "this devil from this man, so that, being made whole, he " may depart to his house." Then Paul said unto him, " And "what wilt thou do?" And Anthony said unto him, "lam " not able to do it, for I have other work [to do]" ; and he left the man with Paul and went [back] to his cell. Then the old man Paul rose up and prayed a prayer with great feeling, and he began to speak unto that devil, saying, "Father Anthony "saith, Go forth from this man. " And the devil answered with blasphemies, saying, "I will not go forth, O thou who " eatest white bread"; then the old man took his shoulder garment (or skull cap), and began to smite the devil on his back and sides, saying, "I tell thee that Abba Anthony saith, " Get thee forth from him "; whereupon the devil began to curse and revile Abba Anthony and the old man Paul. Finally Paul said [unto him], "Wilt thou go forth, or must I go and "tell Christ, yea Jesus? For if thou wilt not go forth I will "go and tell Christ, and great woe shall come upon thee"; and again he blasphemed and said, "I will not go forth." Then was the blessed man Paul wroth with him, and he went out from his cell; now it was the season of noon, and the heat with the Egyptians [at this time] is so fierce that it is akin to the heat of the fiery furnace of the Babylonians. And he stood upon a stone and prayed, and spake thus, "Behold, O Jesus Christ, Who wast crucified in the days of Pontius Pilate, I will "not come down from this stone, and I will neither eat nor " drink until I die unless Thou dost cast out that devil from " this man, and dost set him free from him." And whilst these words were yet in his mouth the devil cried out by reason of his tribulation, and said, "By Hercules, by whom am I ruled, "by Hercules, I am being persecuted with violence, for the "simplicity of Paul pursueth me; whither shall I go?" Paul saith unto him, "To the uttermost depths of the abyss"; and straightway the devil went forth from the man, and he trans formed himself and became like unto a mighty dragon seventy cubits long, and he wriggled along the ground and in this wise went down to the Red Sea, that might be fulfilled that which is written, "Perfect faith removeth mountains" (St. Matthew xvii, 20). This is the triumph of Paul, who was called the "Simple" by the whole brotherhood. 128 pacbomius Cbapter . f tbe Blessefc /toan pacbomtus AND there was also another man whose name was Pachomius, who was seventy years old and who dwelt in that mountain which is called Scete; unto him I once went when lustful thoughts concerning- women were afflict ing me, and when my mind was dark and obscured by the thoughts of lust, and by the visions and heaviness of the nights, and when I was well nigh departing from the desert, for lust laid upon me many things [hard to bear]. Now I did not reveal unto my neighbours and unto the brethren who were living with me my tribulations, and not even unto my master Evagrius; but I went forth and I began to wander about in the desert, and I saw one of the old men who had grown old in the place now they were all perfect fathers and after this I saw this blessed old man Pachomius, and I found that he was superior to them all in his life, and deeds, and in his understanding. And I took courage to reveal unto him the strife of my mind, and he spake unto me thus: Do " not imagine that this is a strange matter in any way. This " thing hath not happened unto thee through thine own negli- " gence, and the place itself in which thou livest is a witness " for thee, for it is restricted in the matter of things of every " kind, and there is no woman therein; this lust hath fallen 4 upon thee through [thy] strenuousness. For this warfare " of lust and also of fornication is of a threefold [character]; " sometimes it setteth our body against us when it is healthy " and well fed, and at others lust itself, with the natural pas- " sion which is implanted in us [attacketh us], and at others " the Evil One himself because of his envy. And I have " watched many times, and I have found that it is even as " I have said unto thee." And he said unto me, "I, the old " man whom thou seest, have lived in this cell for forty years, " and I have taken the utmost care for my life and for the re- " demption of my soul, and even in this period of great old " age, wherein thou seest that I am, I am greatly tormented "by lust." And he assured me with an oath, saying, " When I was " fifty years old lust placed itself [upon] me for twelve years, " never going away from me either by day or by night, and I " thought in my mind that God had forsaken me, and there- " fore (for to such an extent had lust gained dominion over "me) I determined in my heart that I would either suffer " death through dumb beasts, or that I should become a " laughing-stock or a man condemned through the lust of the "body. And I went forth and wandered round about in the 129 9 ZTbe paraMse of tbe ffools ffatbers 44 desert, and I found a den of hyenas, and I laid myself down 44 naked at the entrance thereof that they might come out and 44 devour me. And when it was evening as it is written, Hehath 44 made the darkness, and it becometh night, wherein all the 14 beasts of the forest do move (Psalm cxiv, 20), and the lions 44 4 roartobreak[theirprey] the hyenas, both male and female, "came out, and they all sniffed at (or smelt) me, and licked 44 my body from my head to my feet, and while I was thinking 44 that they would eat me they went away from me; and there 44 I remained the whole of that night, and they ate me not. 44 And again I thought that God had had compassion upon me, 44 and straightway I returned and came to my cell. And that 44 devil of lust, having forborne with me a little, returned once 44 again, and moreover he attacked me more fiercely than be- 4 fore, and he did so with such vigour that by reason of my 44 affliction I well nigh cursed myself. Now, this devil of lust 44 used to take the form of an Ethiopian damsel whom I saw 44 in my early manhood gathering canes in the summer, and he 44 came in her form and sat upon my knees, and he used to set " me on fire with lust to such an extent that I imagined I was "having intercourse with her, and when through the burning 14 of my heart and the madness thereof, I gave her the cheek, 44 straightway she would lift herself up from me and take 44 to flight. And from the time when I touched her my hand 44 was so polluted that for the space of two hours [afterwards] 41 whensoever I brought my hand near me I was unable [to free 44 it] from her foulness. But again I went forth because of my 44 affliction, and I began to wander about in the desert, and I 44 found a small asp, and I took it and placed its head upon 44 the members of my body, and I squeezed the head of the "asp so that it might bite me and I might die, and so find 44 relief, but it bit me not. And after this I heard a voice which 44 came to my ears and said unto me, Depart, Pachomius, 44 and be strong; I have allowed thee to be overcome in order 44 that thou mightest not imagine that thou wast a mighty 4 4 man and a man of perfection, and that thou hadst triumphed 4 through thine own life and deeds, but that thou mightest 44 know thine infirmity, and the feebleness of thy nature, and 44 that thou mightest not rely upon thine asceticism but 44 mightest confess the help of God and cry out to Him al- 44 ways. And having heard these words I returned to my cell, 44 and I dwelt therein with great boldness of heart, and I never 44 again had anxious care concerning this warfare of lust, but 4 I continued in peace for the rest of my days after this war- 44 fare. Now, the devil of lust, seeing that I no longer medi- 44 tated about the matter, never again approached me." With 130 Stepben these words about the striving against Satan the holy man Pachomius confirmed me, and he made me strong to play the man more and more, and to be mighty in the warfare against the devil of fornication, and he dismissed me and said unto me, "Be strong and mighty in our Lord." Cbapter j. f tbe Blessed /I&an Stepben STEPHEN was a man who was by race of the Libyans who [dwell by] the side of Marmarica and Mareotis, and he lived there for sixty years. Now in another codex [the text readeth] differently, thus : There was also in the desert a certain blessed man whose name was Stephen, and he was by race a Libyan from the border (or side) of Marmarica; and he dwelt there in the desert for sixty years. And having attained unto the heights of a perfect rule of life, he was esteemed [by Divine Grace] worthy of the gift of discerning prudence and of the faculty of giving consolation to such an extent that whosoever drew nigh unto him, being afflicted in any way whatsoever, departed from him with joy. Now the blessed Anthony was acquainted with this man. And this Stephen continued in this life even unto our own days, but I never lived with him and I never met him, because the mountain [wherein he dwelt] was a long way off from me. The holy men Ammonius and Evagrius, however, who went to visit him rela ted unto me stories concerning him, and they said, "Having gone to him we found him grievously sick of a certain sore * sickness which had come upon him, for a cancerous sore had broken out in the lower parts of his body; now this sore is called gangrene, and we found him being cut by a certain physician. Nevertheless the holy man was working with his hands and was plaiting [palm] leaves, and he held 4 converse with us whilst portions of his body were being cut off. And he possessed the faculty of patient endurance to * such a degree that it seemed as if the body of some one else 4 was being cut instead of his own; now when his members * had been shorn off like hair he continued, through the grace of God, to be without perception thereof. And whilst the physician was binding him up he sat still and plaited baskets with his hands, and he conversed with us, rejoicing and giving thanks unto God. And moreover, he displayed * such patient endurance whilst his member was being cut off that one might have thought that it had not been cut off at 4 all, and he resembled altogether a man from whose body threads of hair are being plucked. Now we stood there and marvelled at this affliction, for we could not bear to see the man who had led a life of such ascetic and spiritual excel- 131 9/z Ube parafcise of tbe tools 3f atbers "lences fall into such a state of suffering that at length " amputation of his members was necessary. And the blessed " man, having perceived our thoughts and seen that it grieved "us, answered and said unto us, O my sons, be not ye " afflicted concerning this matter, and do not lessen your * faith because of this thing, for God never performeth any- * thing whatsoever that is evil, on the contrary, He looketh " for a happy conclusion [to His work]. Oh, how many were " the times when these members were condemned to punish- " ment! For they merited being cut off, and it is better that " they should receive their reward here than after their depar- " ture out of this world. These were the things which he 14 spake unto us, and he comforted us and sent us away, say- " ing, Be not ye scandalized when ye see trials of this kind " coming upon holy men, for by such God hath built us up " and comforted us, and hath made us to be confirmed in the (l laws which are against tribulations. " I have related these things in order that we may not wonder when we see the saints falling into tribulations. H preface concerning tbose wbo bave fallen into tbe Brrors of Sins IT is very necessary, O my brethren, that we should also keep in memory the histories which concern the life and deeds of those who have tripped up and fallen as an excel lent admonition of those who come across this book (just as among the trees that were in Paradise the Tree of Good and Evil was also found), so that if it happen that certain men lead good lives through the Grace and help of God, Who is wont to help those whose motive of soul is [directed] straight to the mark, they may not be exalted overmuch and have pride in their works of ascetic excellence. For on many oc casions this very excellence itself hath been the cause of a fall when it hath not been made perfect by means of a correct motive, for it is written, "I have seen the righteous man who hath perished in his righteousness, which also is vanity" (Ecclesiasticus vii, 15). Gbapter ij. f Iflalens tbe Palestinian AND there was a certain man whose name was Valens, who was by race a Palestinian and by education a Corinthian ; now the blessed Paul ascribed to the Corinthians (i Corinthians iv) as a special attribute the passion of pride and inflatedness. And having come to the desert and dwelt with us for many years, at length he arrived at such a degree of vaunting that he was laughed at by the devils; and 132 IDalens from this state he went astray, little by little, until he was de rided by them, and they became able to make him think that angels were appearing unto him. Now therefore one day, according to what they relate concerning him, as he was work ing in the dark at the labour of his hands, the needle where with he was sewing together the palm leaves fell down [on the ground], and although he searched for it he could not find it; and a devil lit a fire for him until he found it, and because of this thing he became the more proud. And at length he be came so proud, and allowed such arrogant thoughts to rise up in his mind that he despised and thought scorn of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ. And moreover, it came to pass that certain men of discernment came and brought unto the church some dried fruits as a [means of obtaining a] blessing, and the blessed Macarius, our elder, received [them] and sent [them] to the brethren, that is, some to every man in his cell, and among the brethren he also sent [some] to Valens. And Valens took the man who had been sent to bring the fruit to him, and heaped insults upon him and smote him, saying, " Go and say unto Macarius: I am neither inferior unto thee " nor am I more of a servant than artthou, that thou shouldst " send me a blessing. " Now Macarius knew that he had been laid hold upon by error, and he rose up and went unto him at the turn of the day that he might persuade him, and he said unto him, " Valens, Valens, thou hast made thyself a laughing-stock, and hast fallen into error; receive then correction"; but seeing that he was unwilling to hearken unto his admonition and reproof he left him and departed. And having become more confirmed in his pride, and having reached the summit thereof, that devil, who had completely led him astray, went and made unto himself a form wherein he resembled our Redeemer; and he came unto him by night, together with phantoms of angels in great numbers who marched along bearing lamps and wax candles, and they advanced with chariots and carnages of fire, as if that devil were Christ Himself. Then one of the angels came forward unto him, and said unto him, "Christ loveth greatly thy life and deeds, and thy boldness of speech, * and He hath come to see thee. Get thee forth from thy cell, * and do nothing whatsoever except such things as I shall tell * thee. When thou seest Him afar off fall down and worship Him, and go back to thy cell." Now therefore when Valens had gone forth and seen the ranks [of phantoms] bearing lamps of fire, and Antichrist himself sitting upon a chariot of fire now he was distant from him about a mile he fell down and worshipped him. And Valens was so much injured in his 133 paradise of tbe 1bols ff atbers niind that at the turn of the day he was sufficiently mad to come into the church and to say before all the brotherhood who were assembled therein, " I have no need to become a " partaker in the offering, for this day I have seen Christ " Himself." Then the fathers tied him up and put iron fetters upon him for about the space of one year, and in this way they made him whole; and he was praying continually, and they humbled him and brought him down from the exalted concep tion which he held concerning himself by means of sundry and divers works of a lovely and humble character, and thus they rooted out from him pride, even as it is written, "Each oppos ing sickness must be healed by medicines which are contrary and opposite thereto." Cbapter stfij. f 1bero tbe Hlejanbrtan [Bfsbop of E>iospolis about H.H>, 365] AND there was also my neighbour, a man whose name was Ahron (Hero), who was by race an Alexandrian; now his early manhood was exceedingly glorious, and he was enlightened in his mind, and his intellect was keen, and the habits of his life were pure. This man, I say, after [performing] many labours was also seized by the passion of boasting and pridefulness, and he wavered and fell; and he evolved in his mind and imagined great things against the fathers, and he reviled also the blessed Evagrius, saying, "Those who allow themselves to be persuaded [into accept- " ing] thy doctrine certainly go astray and err, for [men] re- " quire no other teacher than Christ." And he put forward and urged in witness of his words, with foolish intent, the speech from the Gospel (which our Redeemer also spake), "Ye shall " call no man master on the earth" (St. Matthew xxiii, 8). And his understanding became so greatly blinded that at length on him also iron fetters fell, and he was fast bound, because he would neither be persuaded nor would he receive or be a partaker of the Holy Mysteries, although he loved the truth greatly. Now, the food upon which he lived was too little and the habits of his life were immeasurably strict, for, according to what those who were continually with him used to relate, on several occasions he only partook of a meal once in three months, the participation in the Mysteries only being sufficient for him; but if it happened that he came across some wild herbs by chance [he would eat them]. Now I myself, with the blessed man Albinus, received an experience of him when we were going to Scete. Scete was forty miles distant from us, and we partook of two meals and drank water three times [on the way], whilst he tasted nothing Ptolemy of Scete at all during his journey with us. He travelled on foot, and he was repeating [passages] from the Scriptures by heart; during the time that he went with us, he repeated [passages] from the Scriptures and sang fifteen Psalms, and he repeated the Beati tudes and the Epistle to the Hebrews, and [the book of] Isaiah the Prophet, and a portion of Jeremiah, and after [that] the Gospel of [Saint] Luke, and after [that] the Proverbs; and in spite of all this we were unable to overtake him as he trudged along. Now therefore this man was at length persecuted by lust as by a fire, and he was never again able to dwell in his cell, but he went to Alexandria, and by reason of his pride it happened unto him, through Divine Providence, even as it is said, "One good is rooted up by another." Nevertheless, having fallen willingly into a state of indifference, he finally found redemption. Now he was present continually at the shows of the theatres and circuses, and he was never absent from the public drinking rooms of the taverns; and thus whilst he was leading this life of prodigality and drunkenness he fell and was brought to a standstill in the miry ditch of the lust of women. At length he went to one of those women who are at the head of the grade of harlots, and because of his passion with all boldness he held converse with her, and these things having thus been done by him there broke out in the place of his nature a carbuncle which grew with great vigour, and his sickness waxed sore upon him for a space of six months, and his members rotted away and they had to be cut off. By these means he became finally cured, but he remained without mem bers; and afterwards he went back again to the integrity of [his] nature, and to divine thoughts. [And he came to the desert] and confessed all these things to the fathers, and though he remained not a long time [there] he did not flee from leading the ascetic life, nor from weeping because of what had happened to him, nor from offering up the repentance which was meet. And after a few days he died and departed from this world. Gbapter ix>* f Iptolems tbe Egyptian wbo was in Scete AND there was also another man whose name was Ptolemy, and he was by race from Egypt, and he ob served a rule of life which no man is able to describe, or rather it is very difficult to relate the story of his life. He dwelt away beyond Scete in that [district] which is called " Klimax." Now the place which is thus called it is impossible for a man to dwell in by reason of its ruggedness, and it was distant from the stream of water wherefrom the brethren used 135 TTbe iparafcise of tbe *fcol2 jf atbers to draw twelve miles. Now this man Ptolemy used to take many vessels for water, and carry [them] to a certain spot where much dew