Section 47

When at last the persecution ended and the blessed bishop Peter had borne his martyr’s witness, Antony departed and again withdrew to his cell. There he became, day after day, a martyr in conscience, continually contending in the struggles of faith.

His ascetic practice became still more severe. He fasted continually. His inner garment was made of hair, while his outer garment was of skin, and he kept these until the end of his life.

He did not bathe his body with water to wash away dirt. He never washed his feet and would not even allow them to be put into water unless necessity compelled it. No one ever saw him unclothed or saw his body naked at all until after his death, when his body was prepared for burial.