Antony’s Address to the Monks

One day, when all the monks had gathered around him and asked to hear him speak, he went out to them and spoke to them in the Egyptian language as follows: “The Scriptures are enough for our instruction. Still, it is a good thing to encourage one another in the faith and to stir one another up with words. So you, like children, bring what you know to your father; and I, as the elder, will share with you what I know and what experience has taught me. “Above all, let this be the common aim of us all: once we have begun, not to give way, not to lose heart in trouble, and not to say, ‘We have lived in the discipline a long time.’ Rather, as though we were making a fresh start every day, let us increase our earnestness. For the whole life of a human being is very short when it is measured against the ages to come, so that all our time is nothing compared with eternal life. In the world everything is sold at its price, and a person trades one thing for another of equal value; but the promise of eternal life is bought for a trifle. For it is written, ‘The days of our life in them are seventy years, but if they are in strength, eighty years, and what is more than these is labor and sorrow.’ “So whenever we live a full eighty years in the discipline, or even a hundred, we will not reign for a hundred years only; instead of a hundred, we will reign forever and ever. And though we fought on earth, we will not receive our inheritance on earth: we have the promises in heaven. And when we have put off the body, which is corruptible, we will receive it back incorruptible. [a]

“So, children, let us not lose heart, or think that the time is long, or that we are doing something great, ‘for the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.’ Nor, as we look at the world, let us think that we have given up anything of much consequence; for the whole earth is very small compared with the whole of heaven. So even if we happened to be lords of all the earth and gave it all up, it would be nothing worth comparing with the kingdom of heaven. It is as if someone were to think nothing of a copper drachma in order to gain a hundred drachmas of gold. In the same way, if someone were lord of all the earth and gave it up, what he gives up is little, and he receives a hundredfold. But if not even the whole earth is equal in value to the heavens, then someone who has given up a few acres leaves, as it were, nothing; and even if he has given up a house or a great deal of gold, he ought not to boast or be downcast. “Further, we should consider that even if we do not give these things up for virtue’s sake, still, afterward, when we die, we will leave them behind, very often, as the Preacher says, to people we would not wish to have them. Why, then, should we not give them up for virtue’s sake, so that we may even inherit a kingdom? So let the desire to possess take hold of no one. For what do we gain by acquiring things we cannot take with us? Why not rather get the things we can take away with us: prudence, justice, self-control, courage, understanding, love, kindness to the poor, faith in Christ, freedom from anger, hospitality? If we possess these, we will find that they of themselves prepare a welcome for us there, in the land of the meek in heart. [d]

“So by such thoughts let each person persuade himself not to take things lightly, especially if he considers that he himself is the Lord’s servant and ought to serve his Master. A servant would not dare to say, ‘Because I worked yesterday, I will not work today’; nor would he count up the time already past and do no work in the future. Instead, as it is written in the Gospel, he shows the same readiness every day to please his master and to avoid danger. In the same way, let us stand firm in our discipline every day, knowing that if we are careless for a single day, the Lord will not pardon us for the sake of the past, but will be angry with us for our neglect. So we have heard in Ezekiel; and so Judas, because of one night, destroyed all his earlier labor. [h] “So, children, let us hold fast to our discipline and not be careless. For in it the Lord is our fellow worker, as it is written: ‘God works together for good with all who choose the good.’ But to keep from growing heedless, it is good to think on the apostle’s saying, ‘I die daily.’ For if we too live as though we were dying every day, we will not sin. The meaning of that saying is this: as we rise each day, we should think that we will not live until evening; and again, as we lie down to sleep, we should think that we will not get up. For our life is uncertain by nature, and Providence measures it out to us day by day. “If we order our daily life in this way, we will not fall into sin, or crave anything, or hold anger against anyone, or heap up treasure on earth. Instead, as people who expect death every day, we will be without possessions, we will forgive everyone everything, and we will not keep any desire at all for women or for any other foul pleasure. We will turn away from it as something past and gone, always striving and looking ahead to the day of judgment. For the greater dread of torment, and its danger, always destroys the ease that pleasure brings, and lifts the soul up if it is about to fall. [i]

“So, since we have already begun and set out on the way of virtue, let us strive all the more to reach what lies ahead. Let no one turn back to the things behind, like Lot’s wife, all the more since the Lord has said, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and turns back is fit for the kingdom of heaven.’ This turning back is nothing else than to feel regret and to become worldly-minded once more. “But do not be afraid when you hear of virtue, and do not be startled at the word. For it is not far from us, nor is it outside us; it is within us, and it is easy if only we are willing. The Greeks leave home and cross the sea to gain learning, but we have no need to leave home for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, or to cross the sea for the sake of virtue. For the Lord said long ago, ‘The kingdom of heaven is within you.’ So virtue needs only our willingness, since it is in us and is formed from us. For when the soul keeps its spiritual faculty in its natural state, virtue is formed. And it is in its natural state when it remains as it came into being. And when it came into being, it was beautiful and wholly upright. “That is why Joshua the son of Nun, exhorting the people, said, ‘Make your heart straight toward the Lord God of Israel’; and John said, ‘Make your paths straight.’ For the soul’s uprightness consists in having its spiritual part in its natural state, as it was created. But when it swerves and turns away from its natural state, that is called the soul’s vice. So the matter is not difficult. If we remain as we were made, we are in a state of virtue; but if we think about base things, we will be counted evil. If this had to be acquired from outside, it would truly be difficult; but since it is in us, let us keep ourselves from foul thoughts. And since we have received the soul as something entrusted to us, let us keep it safe for the Lord, so that he may recognize his work as being just as he made it. [j]

“Let us strive, too, that anger does not rule us and craving does not overpower us. For it is written, ‘The anger of man does not work the righteousness of God. And craving, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.’ Living in this way, let us keep careful guard, and, as it is written, ‘keep our hearts with all watchfulness.’ For we have terrible and crafty enemies, the evil spirits, and it is against them that we wrestle, as the apostle said: ‘not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.’ Their number in the air around us is great, and they are not far from us. There are great differences among them, and much could be said about their nature and their differences; but such an account is for others with greater powers than we have. For now, what is pressing and necessary for us is only to know their schemes against ourselves. [n] “First, then, we must know this: the demons were not created as what we mean when we call them by that name. For God made nothing evil; they too were made good. But they fell from the heavenly wisdom, and ever since they have been groveling on the earth. On the one hand, they deceived the Greeks with their displays; on the other, out of envy of us Christians, they set everything in motion in their desire to keep us from entering heaven, so that we may not go up to the place from which they fell. “So there is need of much prayer and discipline, so that a person who has received through the Spirit the gift of discerning spirits may be able to recognize their characteristics: which of them are less evil and which more; what each one especially goes after; and how each of them is overthrown and driven out. For their villainies and the shifts in their plots are many. The blessed apostle and those with him knew such things when they said, ‘For we are not ignorant of his designs.’ And we, from the temptations we have suffered at their hands, ought to set one another right concerning them. That is why I, having had experience of them, speak to you as to children. [o]

“So when the demons see all Christians, and monks above all, working gladly and making progress, they first attack with temptation and put obstacles in the way to hamper us, namely, evil thoughts. But we need not fear what they suggest, for by prayer, fasting and faith in the Lord their attack fails at once. Yet even when it fails they do not stop, but come on again with cunning and trickery. When they cannot deceive the heart openly with foul pleasures, they come at it in a different guise. From then on they fashion displays and try to strike fear, changing their shapes and taking the forms of women, wild beasts, creeping things, giant bodies and troops of soldiers. But even then you need not fear their deceitful displays. For they are nothing, and they quickly disappear, especially if a person fortifies himself beforehand with faith and the sign of the cross. “Yet they are brazen and utterly shameless. If they are beaten in this way, they attack in another manner: they pretend to prophesy and foretell the future, and they show themselves as tall as the roof and very broad, so that by such displays they may secretly catch those who could not be deceived by their arguments. If here too they find the soul strengthened by faith and a hopeful mind, then they bring their leader to help them.

“And he said that they often appear in the form in which the Lord revealed the devil to Job, saying, ‘His eyes are like the morning star. Out of his mouth come burning lamps, and hearths of fire are cast out. The smoke of a furnace blazing with the fire of coals comes from his nostrils. His breath is coals, and out of his mouth comes flame.’ When the prince of the demons appears in this way, the crafty one, as I said before, strikes terror by speaking great things, just as the Lord again exposed him when he said to Job, ‘He counts iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood; yes, he counts the sea as a pot of ointment, and the depth of the abyss as a captive, and the abyss as a covered walkway.’ And through the prophet: ‘The enemy said, I will pursue and overtake.’ And again through another: ‘I will grasp the whole world in my hand like a nest, and take it up like eggs that have been left behind.’ Such, in a word, are their boasts and claims, made in order to deceive the godly. “But not even then ought we, the faithful, to fear his appearance or pay attention to his words. For he is a liar and never speaks a word of truth. Though he speaks so many and such great words in his boldness, there is no doubt that he was drawn out by the Savior with a hook, like a dragon. Like a beast of burden he received the halter around his nostrils; like a runaway his nostrils were bound with a ring and his lips were pierced with an armlet. He was bound by the Lord like a sparrow, so that we might mock him. And with him the demons, his companions, are set like serpents and scorpions, to be trodden underfoot by us Christians. The proof of this is that we now live in opposition to him. For look: he who threatened to dry up the sea and seize the world cannot now hold back our discipline, nor even stop me from speaking against him. “So let us pay no attention to his words, for he is a liar; and let us not fear his visions, since they too are deceptive. For what appears in them is no true light. They are rather the foretastes and likenesses of the fire prepared for the demons, who try to terrify people with those flames in which they themselves will be burned. They do appear, no doubt; but in a moment they disappear again, harming none of the faithful, and bringing with them only the likeness of the fire that is waiting to receive them. So it is not fitting that we should fear them on account of these things; for through the grace of Christ all their practices come to nothing. [p]

“Again, they are treacherous, and ready to change themselves into every form and take on every appearance. Very often, too, without appearing at all, they imitate the music of a harp and a voice, and recite the words of Scripture. Sometimes, while we are reading, they at once repeat what is read many times over, like an echo. They rouse us from sleep to pray, and they do it constantly, hardly letting us sleep at all. At other times they take on the appearance of monks and imitate the speech of holy men, so that by the likeness they may deceive and then drag their victims wherever they wish. But no attention must be paid to them, even if they rouse us to prayer, even if they advise us not to eat at all, even if they seem to accuse and shame us for things they once allowed. For they do this not for the sake of godliness or truth, but to carry the simple off into despair, to say that the discipline is useless, to make people loathe the solitary life as a trouble and a burden, and to hinder those who walk in it in spite of them. “That is why the prophet sent by the Lord called them wretched, saying, ‘Woe to the one who gives his neighbors muddy ruin to drink.’ For such practices and devices overturn the way that leads to virtue. And the Lord himself, even when the demons spoke the truth (for they said truly, ‘You are the Son of God’), still bridled their mouths and did not let them speak. He did this so that they might not sow their own evil along with the truth, and so that he might accustom us never to listen to them, even when they seem to speak what is true. For it is unfitting that we, who have the Holy Scriptures and the freedom that comes from the Savior, should be taught by the devil, who did not keep his own rank but turned his mind from one thing to another. That is why, even when he uses the language of Scripture, the Lord forbids him, saying, ‘But to the sinner God said, Why do you declare my ordinances and take my covenant in your mouth?’ “For the demons do everything to deceive the simple: they chatter, they confuse, they pretend, they confound. They make a din, laugh like madmen, and whistle; but if no attention is paid to them, they at once weep and lament as though they were beaten. [t]

“So the Lord, as God, silenced the demons; and it is fitting that we, taught by the saints, should do as they did and imitate their courage. For when they saw these things, they used to say, ‘When the sinner rose up against me, I was mute and humbled, and kept silent even from good words.’ And again, ‘But I was like a deaf man and did not hear, and like a mute man who does not open his mouth; and I became like a man who does not hear.’ So let us neither listen to them, since they are strangers to us, nor pay attention to them, even when they rouse us to prayer and speak about fasting. Let us rather apply ourselves to the discipline we have resolved on, and not be deceived by those who do everything with deceit, even if they threaten death. For they are weak, and can do nothing but threaten. [w]

“I have already spoken of these things in passing, but now I must not shrink from speaking of them at greater length, for reminding you of them will keep you safe. Since the Lord visited the earth, the enemy has fallen and his powers are weakened. So, although he could do nothing, he did not take his fall quietly, but like a tyrant he made threats, though his threats were only words. Let each of you consider this, and he will be able to despise the demons. “If they were hampered by bodies such as ours, they could say, ‘When people are hidden we cannot find them, but whenever we do find them we harm them.’ And we too could escape them by lying hidden and shutting the doors against them. But they are not of that nature. They can come in even when the doors are shut, and they haunt all the air, both they and their leader the devil; they are eager for evil and ready to do harm; and, as the Savior said, ‘From the beginning the devil is a murderer and a father of vice.’ Yet, though this is so, we are alive, and spend our lives all the more in opposing him. So it is plain that they have no power. For place is no hindrance to their plots, nor do they look on us as friends, that they should spare us, nor are they lovers of good, that they should mend their ways. On the contrary, they are evil, and they seek nothing so much as to wound those who love virtue and fear God. But since they have no power to do anything, they do nothing but threaten. If they could, they would not hesitate but would do evil at once, for all their desire is set on this, and especially against us. Look: here we are, gathered together and speaking against them, and they know that as we advance they grow weak. If they had power, then, they would let none of us Christians live, for godliness is an abomination to a sinner. But since they can do nothing, they wound themselves the more, for they can carry out none of their threats. “Next, so that we may have no fear of them, we ought to consider this: if they had the power, they would not come in crowds, or fashion displays, or contrive deceits by changing their form. It would be enough for one alone to come and do what he was both able and willing to do; especially since anyone who has power does not kill with a show, or strike fear with an uproar, but at once uses his authority fully, as he wishes. But the demons, since they have no power, are like actors on the stage, changing their shapes and frightening children with noisy apparitions and all kinds of forms; and for this very reason they ought rather to be despised, since they show their weakness. The true angel of the Lord, at least, sent against the Assyrian, had no need of uproar or of outward displays, of noises or of rattlings; he used his power in quiet, and at once destroyed a hundred and eighty-five thousand. But demons like these, who have no power, try at least to terrify by their displays. [x]

“But suppose someone, with the story of Job in mind, should say, ‘Why then did the devil go out and do everything against him: strip him of all his possessions, kill his children, and strike him with terrible sores?’ Let such a person recognize, on the other hand, that it was not the devil who was strong, but God, who handed Job over to him to be tested. Certainly the devil had no power to do anything; he asked, and having received permission, he did what he did. So from this, too, the enemy is all the more to be condemned, for though he wished to, he could not prevail against one righteous man. If he could have, he would not have asked permission. But by asking not once but a second time, he shows his weakness and lack of power. And it is no wonder he could do nothing against Job, when not even Job’s cattle would have been destroyed had God not allowed it. He does not even have power over pigs, for, as it is written in the Gospel, the demons begged the Lord, saying, ‘Let us go into the pigs.’ But if they had no power even over pigs, much less do they have any over human beings, who are formed in the image of God. [aa] “So then we ought to fear God alone, and despise the demons, and have no fear of them at all. The more they do these things, the more let us intensify our discipline against them; for a good life and faith in God are a great weapon. At any rate, they fear the ascetics’ fasting, their keeping awake, their prayers, their gentleness, their quietness, their contempt for money and for empty glory, their humility, their love for the poor, their almsgiving, their freedom from anger, and, chief of all, their devotion to Christ. That is why they do everything they can so as not to have anyone trampling on them; for they know the grace given to the faithful against them by the Savior, when he says, ‘Look, I have given you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.’ [ab]

“So if they pretend to foretell the future, let no one pay attention. For often they announce days in advance that the brothers are coming, and they do come. But the demons do this not out of any care for the hearers, but to win their trust, and then at last, once they have them in their power, to destroy them. So we must pay no attention to them; rather, we ought to refute them when they speak, since we have no need of them. For what is so wonderful about it, if, having more subtle bodies than people have, they see travelers setting out on their journey, outrun them, and announce their coming? A horseman who gets a head start on someone on foot announces the walker’s arrival beforehand; so in this there is no need for us to wonder at them. For they know none of the things that do not yet exist; God alone is the one who knows all things before they come to be. “But these, like thieves, run off first with what they see and proclaim it. To how many have they already announced our business: that we are gathered together and are discussing measures against them, before any one of us could go and tell of it! A fleet-footed boy could truly do as much, getting far ahead of someone slower. What I mean is this. If someone sets out to walk from the Thebaid, or from any other district, they do not know, before he starts, whether he will go. But once they have seen him walking, they run ahead and report his approach before he arrives. And so it turns out that a few days later the travelers arrive. But often the travelers turn back, and the demons are proved false. [ac] “So too with the water of the river, they sometimes make foolish statements. Having seen that there has been much rain in the regions of Ethiopia, and knowing that this rain is the cause of the river’s flood, they run ahead and announce it before the water has reached Egypt. People could have told this too, if they had as great a power of running as the demons. David’s lookout went up to a high place and saw the man approaching better than someone who stayed down below; and the runner who went ahead himself announced, before the others arrived, not things that had not yet happened, but things already on the way and in progress. In the same way, these too choose to take the trouble and declare what is happening to others, simply in order to deceive them. But if Providence meanwhile plans something different for the waters or the travelers (and Providence can do this), the demons are deceived, and those who listened to them are cheated. [ae]

“This is how the oracles of the Greeks arose in days gone by, and this is how the Greeks were led astray by the demons. But this too is how their deception was from then on brought to an end, by the coming of the Lord, who brought the demons and their devices to nothing. For they know nothing of themselves. Like thieves, they pass on what they learn from others, and they guess at things rather than foretell them. So if they sometimes speak the truth, let no one marvel at them for it. Experienced physicians, too, since they see the same illness in different people, often foretell what it is, working it out from their familiarity with it. Ship’s pilots and farmers, too, from their familiarity with the weather, tell at a glance the state of the sky and forecast whether it will be stormy or fine. And no one would say that they do this by inspiration, but from experience and practice. So if the demons sometimes do the same by guesswork, let no one wonder at it or pay attention to them. “For what use is it to the hearers to learn from them what is going to happen before its time? Or what concern is it of ours to know such things, even if the knowledge is true? It produces no virtue, and it is no sign of goodness. For none of us is judged for what he does not know, and no one is called blessed because he has learning and knowledge. But each one will be called to judgment on these points: whether he has kept the faith and truly observed the commandments. “So there is no need to set much value on these things, or to practice a life of discipline and labor for their sake; we practice it so that, by living well, we may please God. We ought not to pray to know the future, or ask for it as the reward of our discipline. Our prayer should be that the Lord may be our fellow helper for victory over the devil. And if we ever do wish to know the future, let us be pure in mind. For I believe that if a soul is completely pure and in its natural state, it is clear-sighted and able to see more, and farther, than the demons, since it has the Lord to reveal things to it. So it was with the soul of Elisha, which saw what Gehazi had done, and beheld the hosts standing on its side. [ag]

“So when they come to you by night wanting to tell you the future, or saying, ‘We are the angels,’ pay no attention, for they are lying. Even if they praise your discipline and call you blessed, do not listen to them or have any dealings with them. Instead, make the sign of the cross over yourselves and your houses, and pray, and you will see them vanish. For they are cowards, and they greatly fear the sign of the Lord’s cross, since by it the Savior truly stripped them and made an example of them. But if they shamelessly stand their ground, capering about and changing the forms in which they appear, do not fear them or shrink back, or listen to them as though they were good spirits. “With God’s help, the presence of the good and of the evil can easily be told apart. The vision of the holy ones brings no turmoil, ‘for they will not strive, or cry out, nor will anyone hear their voice.’ It comes so quietly and gently that at once joy, gladness and courage rise up in the soul. For the Lord, who is our joy, is with them, and the power of God the Father. And the thoughts of the soul stay calm and undisturbed, so that, lit up as it were by rays of light, it sees for itself those who appear. For a love of what is divine and of the things to come takes hold of it, and it would gladly be joined with them completely, if it could depart along with them. “But if some, being human, are afraid at the vision of the good, those who appear take the fear away at once; as Gabriel did for Zechariah, as the angel did who appeared to the women at the holy tomb, and as the one did who said to the shepherds in the Gospel, ‘Do not be afraid.’ For their fear did not come from cowardice, but from recognizing the presence of greater beings. Such, then, is the nature of the visions of the holy ones. [ah]

“But the onset and the display of the evil spirits are full of turmoil, with din and noises and shouting, like the disturbance that boorish young men or robbers would make. From this come fear in the heart, uproar and confusion of thought, dejection, hatred toward those who live a life of discipline, listlessness, grief, thoughts of one’s family and fear of death, and finally a desire for evil things, contempt for virtue and an unsettled way of life. “So whenever you have seen something and are afraid, if your fear is taken away at once, and in its place come joy beyond words, cheerfulness, courage, renewed strength, calm of thought and all the things I named before, boldness and love toward God, then take courage and pray. For joy and a settled state of soul show the holiness of the one who is present. So Abraham rejoiced when he saw the Lord; so too John leaped for gladness at the voice of Mary, the Bearer of God. But if, when someone appears, there is confusion, knocking outside, worldly display, threats of death and the other things I have already mentioned, know that it is an attack of evil spirits. [ak] “Let this also be a sign for you: whenever the soul stays fearful, the enemies are present. For the demons do not take away the fear their presence causes, as the great archangel Gabriel did for Mary and Zechariah, and as the one did who appeared to the women at the tomb. Rather, whenever they see people afraid, they multiply their delusions so that people may be terrified all the more; and at last they attack and mock them, saying, ‘Fall down and worship.’ This is how they deceived the Greeks, and this is how the Greeks came to regard them as gods, falsely so called. But the Lord did not let us be deceived by the devil. Whenever the devil contrived such delusions against him, he rebuked him, saying, ‘Get behind me, Satan; for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ So let the deceiver be despised by us more and more; for what the Lord said, he did for our sakes, so that the demons, hearing the same words from us, may be put to flight through the Lord who rebuked them with those words. [am]

“It is not fitting to boast about casting out demons, or to be lifted up by the healing of diseases. Nor is it fitting that the one who casts out demons should alone be highly esteemed, while the one who does not cast them out is counted as nothing. Rather, let each person learn the discipline of each of the others, and either imitate it, rival it, or correct it. For working signs is not our work but the Savior’s. That is why he said to his disciples, ‘Do not rejoice that the demons are subject to you, but that your names are written in heaven.’ For the fact that our names are written in heaven is a proof of our virtuous life; but casting out demons is a favor from the Savior who granted it. That is why, to those who boasted in signs and not in virtue, and said, ‘Lord, did we not cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ he answered, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you’; for the Lord does not know the ways of the wicked. But we ought always to pray, as I said above, that we may receive the gift of discerning spirits, so that, as it is written, we may not believe every spirit. [an]

“I would have liked to say no more and to add nothing on my own account, content with what I have said. But I do not want you to think that I am speaking at random, or to believe that I relate these things without experience or truth. So for this reason, even if I should become like a fool, the Lord who hears knows that my conscience is clear, and that it is not for my own sake, but because of your affection for me and at your request, that I tell you again what I have seen of the practices of the evil spirits. “How often they have called me blessed, and I have cursed them in the name of the Lord! How often they have predicted the rising of the river, and I have answered them, ‘What business is it of yours?’ Once they came threatening and surrounded me like soldiers in full armor. Another time they filled the house with horses, wild beasts and creeping things; and I sang, ‘Some in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord our God’; and at my prayers they were put to flight by the Lord. Once they came in darkness, wearing the appearance of a light, and said, ‘We have come to give you a light, Antony.’ But I closed my eyes and prayed, and at once the light of the wicked ones was put out. A few months later they came as though singing psalms and babbling the words of Scripture; ‘but I, like a deaf man, did not hear.’ Once they shook the cell with an earthquake, but I went on praying with an unshaken heart. After this they came again, making noises, whistling and dancing. But as I prayed and lay singing psalms to myself, they at once began to lament and weep, as if their strength had failed them. And I gave glory to the Lord, who had brought down their daring and their madness and made an example of them. [ao]

“Once a demon of enormous height appeared with great pomp and dared to say, ‘I am the power of God, and I am Providence. What do you wish me to give you?’ But then I breathed on him all the more, spoke the name of Christ, and set about striking him. I seemed to have struck him, and at once, big as he was, he disappeared with all his demons at the name of Christ. Another time, while I was fasting, he came, full of cunning, in the guise of a monk, with what looked like loaves of bread, and gave me advice, saying, ‘Eat, and rest from your many labors. You too are a man, and you are likely to fall sick.’ But I saw through his trick and got up to pray; and he could not bear it, but left, and something like smoke seemed to go out through the door. “How often in the desert he has shown me what looked like gold, so that I would only touch it and look at it! But I sang psalms against him, and he vanished. Often they would beat me with blows, and I said over and over, ‘Nothing shall separate me from the love of Christ’; and at this they fell to beating one another instead. Nor was it I who stopped them and destroyed their power; it was the Lord, who said, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’ But I, children, remembering the apostle’s words, have applied this to myself, so that you may learn not to lose heart in the discipline, and not to fear the devil or the delusions of the demons. [aq]

“And since I have made myself a fool in telling these things, take this too as an aid to your safety and fearlessness; and believe me, for I am not lying. Once someone knocked at the door of my cell. Going out, I saw someone who seemed huge and tall. When I asked, ‘Who are you?’ he said, ‘I am Satan.’ When I said, ‘Why are you here?’ he answered, ‘Why do the monks and all the other Christians blame me undeservedly? Why do they curse me every hour?’ I answered, ‘Why do you trouble them?’ He said, ‘I am not the one who troubles them; they trouble themselves, for I have become weak. Have they not read, “The swords of the enemy have come to an end, and you have destroyed the cities”? I no longer have a place, a weapon, a city. The Christians are spread everywhere, and now even the desert is filled with monks. Let them look to themselves, and not curse me undeservedly.’ “Then I marveled at the grace of the Lord and said to him, ‘You who are always a liar and never speak the truth have at last, even against your will, spoken the truth this time. For the coming of Christ has made you weak; he has cast you down and stripped you.’ But when he heard the Savior’s name, he could not bear the burning that came from it, and he vanished. [at]

“If, then, the devil himself confesses that his power is gone, we ought to despise him and his demons utterly. And since the enemy and his hounds have only tricks of this sort, we, having come to know their weakness, are able to despise them. So let us not lose heart in this way, or harbor cowardly thoughts in our hearts, or invent fears for ourselves, saying, ‘I am afraid a demon may come and overthrow me; or lift me up and throw me down; or rise against me suddenly and throw me into confusion.’ Let us not have such thoughts in mind at all, or be sorrowful as though we were perishing. Rather, let us be courageous and always rejoice, believing that we are safe. Let us consider in our souls that the Lord is with us, who put the evil spirits to flight and broke their power. Let us consider and take to heart that while the Lord is with us, our enemies can do us no harm. “For when they come, they approach us in a form that matches the state they find us in, and they fit their delusions to the frame of mind they find in us. So if they find us timid and confused, they at once lay siege to the place like robbers who have found it unguarded; and whatever we are thinking by ourselves, they do, and more besides. If they find us fainthearted and cowardly, they greatly increase our terror with their delusions and threats, and with these the unhappy soul is tormented from then on. But if they see us rejoicing in the Lord, thinking on the happiness to come, mindful of the Lord, counting all things to be in his hand, and holding that no evil spirit has any strength against a Christian, or any power at all over anyone; when they see the soul fortified with these thoughts, they are thrown into confusion and turned back. So the enemy, seeing Job fenced around with these thoughts, withdrew from him; but finding Judas unguarded, he took him captive. So if we wish to despise the enemy, let us always ponder the things of the Lord, and let the soul always rejoice in hope. And we will see that the snares of the demon are like smoke, and that the evil ones themselves flee rather than pursue. For, as I said before, they are exceedingly fearful, always looking ahead to the fire prepared for them.

“And to be fearless against them, hold to this sure sign. Whenever any apparition comes, do not fall down in fear; whatever it is, first ask boldly, ‘Who are you? And where do you come from?’ If it is a vision of holy ones, they will reassure you and change your fear into joy. But if the vision is from the devil, it at once grows weak when it sees your firm purpose of mind. For simply to ask, ‘Who are you? And where do you come from?’ is a sign of a calm mind. By asking in this way the son of Nun learned who his helper was; and the enemy did not escape the questioning of Daniel.” [au]