The Lives of the Saints, Volume 01 (of 16): JanuaryBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Religion
The Lives of the Saints, Volume 01 (of 16): January
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Christian saints
And after that many came to him; and others, who suffered, dared also to
come. Now to all the monks who came to him he gave continually this
command: To trust in the Lord and love Him, and to keep themselves from
foul thoughts and fleshly pleasures; and not to be deceived by fulness
of bread; and to avoid vainglory; and to pray continually; and to sing
before sleep and after sleep; and to lay by in their hearts the
commandments of Scripture; and to remember the works of the Saints, in
order to have their souls attuned to emulate them. But especially he
counselled them to meditate continually on the Apostle's saying, "Let
not the sun go down upon your wrath;" and this he said was spoken of all
commandments in common, in order that, not on wrath alone, but on every
other sin, the sun should never go down; for it was noble and necessary
that the sun should never condemn us for a baseness by day, nor the moon
for a sin or even a thought by night; therefore, in order that that
which is noble may be preserved in us, it was good to hear and to keep
what the Apostle commanded: for he said, "Judge yourselves, and prove
yourselves." Let each then take account with himself, day by day, of his
daily and nightly deeds; and if he has not sinned, let him not boast,
but let him endure in what is good and not be negligent, neither condemn
his neighbour, neither justify himself until the Lord comes who searches
secret things. For we often deceive ourselves in what we do. Giving
therefore the judgment to Him, let us sympathize with each other; and
let us bear each other's burdens, and examine ourselves; and what we are
behind in, let us be eager to fill up. And let this, too, be our counsel
for safety against sinning. Let us each note and write down the deeds
and motions of the soul as if we were about to relate them to another;
and be confident that as we shall be utterly ashamed that they should
be known, we shall cease from sinning, and even from desiring anything
mean. As therefore, when in each other's sight we dare not commit a
crime, so if we write down our thoughts, and confess them, we shall keep
ourselves the more from foul thoughts, for shame lest they should be
known. And thus forming ourselves we shall be able to bring the body
into slavery, and please the Lord on the one hand, and on the other
trample on the snares of the enemy. This was his exhortation to those
who met him: but with those who suffered he suffered, and prayed with
them. And those who suffered he exhorted to keep up heart, and to know
that the power of cure was none of his, nor of any man's; but only
belonged to God, who works when and whatsoever He chooses. So the
sufferers received this as a remedy, learning not to despise the old
man's words, but rather to keep up heart; and those who were cured,
learned not to bless Antony, but God alone.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account