Section 7

This was Antony’s first struggle against the devil—or rather, this victory in Antony was the Savior’s work, the work of him “who condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Yet Antony did not relax his vigilance or despise the enemy simply because the evil one had fallen. Nor did the enemy, though defeated, stop laying snares for him. Again he prowled around like a lion, looking for an opportunity against him. Antony had learned from Scripture that the devil’s schemes are many, and so he continued his ascetic training with still greater zeal. He reasoned that, even if the devil had failed to deceive his heart through bodily pleasure, he would try to ensnare him by some other means, for the demon loves sin.

Therefore Antony disciplined his body more and more and brought it into subjection, lest after overcoming in one area he be dragged down in another. He resolved to accustom himself to a more severe way of life. Many marveled at him, yet he bore the labor easily. The zeal of his soul, strengthened over time, had formed in him a good habit, so that even a small beginning received from others produced great eagerness in him.

He kept vigil so intensely that he often passed the entire night without sleep—not just once, but repeatedly, to the amazement of others. He ate once a day after sunset; sometimes he ate only every second day, and often every fourth day. His food was bread and salt, and his drink was water alone. There is no need even to speak of meat and wine, since such things were not found among the other serious ascetics either. A rush mat was sufficient for sleep, though most often he lay on the bare ground. He refused to anoint himself with oil, saying that young men ought to give themselves earnestly to ascetic training rather than seek things that soften the body. They should accustom the body to labor, remembering the Apostle’s words: “When I am weak, then I am strong.” For, he said, the strength of the soul is firm when the pleasures of the body are diminished.

He also came to this remarkable conviction: progress in virtue, and withdrawal from the world for its sake, should not be measured by length of time but by desire and steadfast purpose. He himself did not dwell on what lay behind. Each day, as though beginning his ascetic life anew, he increased his effort toward progress, often repeating Paul’s words to himself: “Forgetting what lies behind and stretching forward to what lies ahead.” He also remembered the saying of the prophet Elijah: “The Lord lives, before whose presence I stand today.” Antony observed that by saying “today,” the prophet was not counting the time that had already passed. Instead, as though beginning anew each day, he eagerly sought to make himself fit to appear before God—pure in heart, always ready to obey God’s will, and attentive to him alone. He used to say that the solitary should look at his own life in the life of the great Elijah as though in a mirror.