Section 52

The devil, as David says in the Psalms, watched Antony and gnashed his teeth against him. But Antony was comforted by the Savior and remained unharmed by the devil’s schemes and changing devices.

One night while Antony was keeping vigil, the devil sent wild animals against him. Almost all the hyenas in that desert came out of their dens and surrounded him. Antony stood in their midst, and each seemed ready to bite him.

Realizing that this was a device of the enemy, he said to them all: “If you have received authority over me, I am ready to be devoured by you. But if demons have sent you against me, do not remain here. Go away, for I am a servant of Christ.”

When Antony said this, they fled, driven away by his word as though by a whip.