{"id":22045,"date":"2023-04-09T20:49:03","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T04:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/?p=22045"},"modified":"2023-04-10T20:16:07","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T04:16:07","slug":"athanasius-life-of-antony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/athanasius-life-of-antony\/","title":{"rendered":"Athanasius: Life of Antony"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fixity of Purpose<\/h4>\n

Progress in virtue, and retirement from the world for the sake of it, ought not to be measured by time, but by desire and fixity of purpose.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He was also mindful of the words spoken by the prophet Elias, \u2018the Lord liveth before whose presence I stand to-day.\u2019 For he observed that in saying \u2018to-day\u2019 the prophet did not compute the time that had gone by: but daily as though ever commencing he eagerly endeavoured to make himself fit to appear before God, being pure in heart and ever ready to submit to His counsel, and to Him alone. And he used to say to himself that from the life of the great Elias the hermit ought to see his own as in a mirror.<\/p>\n

Fishes, if they remain long on dry land, die. And so monks lose their strength if they loiter among you and spend their time with you. Wherefore as fish must hurry to the sea, so must we hasten to the mountain. Lest haply if we delay we forget the things within us.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Deceits of Evil Spirits<\/h4>\n

Let us consider in our soul that the Lord is with us, who put the evil spirits to flight and broke their power. … While the Lord is with us, our foes can do us no hurt. For when they come they approach us in a form corresponding to the state in which they discover us, and adapt their delusions to the condition of mind in which they find us. … and what we of ourselves are thinking, they do, and more also. For if they find us faint-hearted and cowardly, they mightily increase our terror, by their delusions and threats; and with these the unhappy soul is thenceforth tormented. But if they see us rejoicing in the Lord, contemplating the bliss of the future, mindful of the Lord, deeming all things in His hand, and that no evil spirit has any strength against the Christian, … -they are discomfited and turned backwards.<\/p>\n

Antony’s Vision of the Ascension of the Soul<\/h4>\n
\"Temptation<\/a>
Temptation of St. Anthony<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For once, when about to eat, having risen up to pray about the ninth hour, he perceived that he was caught up in the spirit, and, wonderful to tell, he stood and saw himself, as it were, from outside himself, and that he was led in the air by certain ones. Next certain bitter and terrible beings stood in the air and wished to hinder him from passing through. But when his conductors opposed them, they demanded whether he was not accountable to them. And when they wished to sum up the account from his birth, Antony\u2019s conductors stopped them, saying, \u2018The Lord hath wiped out the sins from his birth, but from the time he became a monk, and devoted himself to God, it is permitted you to make a reckoning.\u2019 Then when they accused him and could not convict him, his way was free and unhindered. And immediately he saw himself, as it were, coming and standing by himself, and again he was Antony as before. … Against what mighty opponents our wrestling is, and by what labours we have to pass through the air. … this is what the Apostle said, \u2018according to the prince of the power of the air.\u2019 For in it the enemy hath power to fight and to attempt to hinder those who pass through. Wherefore most earnestly he exhorted, \u2018Take up the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,\u2019 that the enemy, \u2018having no evil thing to say against us, may be ashamed.\u2019<\/p>\n

A Physician Given by God to Egypt<\/h4>\n

He championed those who were wronged in such a way that you would imagine that he, and not the others, was the sufferer. Further, he was able to be of such use to all, that many soldiers and men who had great possessions laid aside the burdens of life, and became monks for the rest of their days. And it was as if a physician had been given by God to Egypt. .. Who came mourning for his dead and did not forthwith put off his sorrow? Who came in anger and was not converted to friendship? What poor and low-spirited man met him who, hearing him and looking upon him, did not despise wealth and console himself in his poverty? .. What young man having come to the mountain and seen Antony, did not forthwith deny himself pleasure and love temperance? Who when tempted by a demon, came to him and did not find rest?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fixity of Purpose Progress in virtue, and retirement from the world for the sake of it, ought not to be measured by time, but by desire and fixity of purpose. He was also mindful of the words spoken by the prophet Elias, \u2018the Lord liveth before whose presence I stand to-day.\u2019 For he observed that in saying \u2018to-day\u2019 the prophet did not compute the time that had gone by: but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[218],"tags":[220,53],"class_list":["post-22045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athanasius","tag-anthony-of-egypt","tag-demonology"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/temptation_of_anthony-scaled.jpg?fit=1950%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22017,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/athanasius-on-the-incarnation-of-the-word\/","url_meta":{"origin":22045,"position":0},"title":"Athanasius: On the Incarnation of the Word","author":"Nemo","date":"April 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Necessity of the God-Man[1] It was in the power of none other to turn the corruptible to incorruption, except the Saviour Himself, that had at the beginning also made all things out of nought; and that none other could create anew the likeness of God\u2019s image for men, save\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Athanasius"","block_context":{"text":"Athanasius","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/athanasius\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/athanasius.jpg?fit=813%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/athanasius.jpg?fit=813%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/athanasius.jpg?fit=813%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/athanasius.jpg?fit=813%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22035,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/athanasius-defence-of-the-nicene-definition\/","url_meta":{"origin":22045,"position":1},"title":"Athanasius: Defence of the Nicene Definition","author":"Nemo","date":"April 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"On Eternal Generation of the Son God is self-existent, enclosing all things, and enclosed by none; within all according to His own goodness and power, yet without all in His proper nature. 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