80 Wisdom to the Wise
He (St. Antony..(A) also had a very high degree of practical wisdom. the wonder was that although he was without formal schooling *
(wherever * appears -this #244, there is a footnote. i will not quote all but parts that seem especially helpful to understand and his situation better....'hertling rightly remarks..this does not necessarily mean that he did not know how to read or write, but only that he had not received the rhetorical and humanistic training usual with sons of parents as comfortably situated as were A's ..Athanasius ..and Jerome ..report that A exchanged letters with (Emperor) Constantine and other men in high position and corresponded with various monks, this does not prove that he could read and write: as he used interpreters in dealing with Greeks, so a fellow monk could assist him as reader and amanuensis. ' he was yet a man of ready wit and understanding.)
to illustrate: once 2 greek philosophers came to him, thinking they could experiment with A. he happened to be on the Outer Mountain at the time. when he had sized up the men from their appearance, he went out to them and said through an interpreter:
'why, philosophers, have you done to so much trouble to come to a foolish man?
when they said that he was not foolish, but very wise, he said to them:
'if you have come to a foolish man, your trouble is to no purpose; but if you do think that I am wise, make yourselves what I am, for one ought to imitate the good. indeed, if I had come to you, I should have imitated you; conversely, now that you have come to me, make yourselves what I am: I am a Christian
the left marvelling at him, for they saw that even demons feared A.
others again of the same kind met him in the Outer Mountain and thought they could fop (def - excessive, vain dress?) him because he had not received any schooling. A said to them:
'well, what do you say, which is first, the mind or letters?
and which is the cause of which - the mind of letters or letters of the mind?
when they stated that the ind is first and the inventor of letters, Antony said:
'therefore, one who has a sound mind has no need of letters.*
(245 Cassian...quotes the abbot Theodore, a master of Scripture interpretation, as saying that one who has a pure heart and, as a result, a clear mind, has all that is required for the understanding of the mysteries of Holy Scripture and has no need of laboring over commentaries. )
this amazed both them and the bystanders. they went away.
81 astonished to see such wisdom in an ordinary man*.
(246 Socrates, Hist. Eccl. 4.23, relates: 'to the good A there came a philosopher of the day and said: 'Father, how do you hold up deprived as you are of he solace of books: A said: 'my book, philosopher, is nature, and thus I can read God's language at will'. )
for he did not have the rough manner of one who had lived and grown old in the mountains, but he was a man of grace and urbanity. his speech was seasoned with divine wisdom*
(247 lit. . 'with divine salt': def. col. 4.6 and mark 9.49)
so that no one bore him ill-will, but rather all rejoiced over him who sought him out.
and indeed, after this still others came*.
248 attracted, no doubt, by the account of the other groups just mentioned.
they were of those who among the pagans are supposedly wise. they asked him to state an argument for our faith in Christ. when they tried to make inferences from the preaching of the divine cross*
249 ..Atheanasius, De Incarn. 53, where he eloquently describes the routing of the gods by the Cross and the acceptance of the crucified Savior by the pagans ('Greekss) who once jeered Him..to be God and to be crucified was a paradox which from the beginning was a stumbling block to the Jews and spelled sheer folly to the pagans (see I cor. 1.23). see Tertullian's defense (Apol. 16; AD nat. 1.12) against the notorious charge that christians adore the Cross and an ass's head; so, too, Minucius Felix, Oct. 29. in this connection it is pointed out that the 'infamy of the Cross' must be understood from the fact that in the world empire of the Romans crucifixion was the most disgraceful form of capital punishment, one reserved for slave, pirates and thieves. but it is often overlooked that this penalty remained in force well into the fourth century, coexistent, therefore , with the rise and full development of Christianity from that cross. the position of Christians explaining and defending their allegiance to it was not easy and non-Christians could be in very good faith if they could not see rhyme or reason in such allegiance.
and wished to scoff, A paused for a moment and first pitying them for their ignorance, said through an interpreter who gave an excellent translation of his words: 'which is better - to confess the Cross, or to attribute adulteries and pederasties to your so-called gods? for to maintain what we maintain is a sign of manly spirit and betokens disregard for death, whereas your claims bespeak but wanton passions. again which is better - to say that the Word of God was not changed, but remaining the same took on a human body for the salvation and well-being of mankind, so that by sharing human birth, He might make men partakers of the divine and spiritual nature;*
250 see II peter 1.4
or to put the divine on a level with senseless things and therefore to worship beasts and reptiles and images of men? these precisely are the objects worshipped by you wise men. who dare you revile us for saying that Christ has appeared as man, whereas you derive the soul from heaven, saying that it strayed and fell from the vault of the heavens into the body? would that it were only into the body of man and not that it changed and migrated into beasts and serpents!*
251 here two well-known elements of ancient psychology are adverted to, the pre-existence and the transmigration (metem-psychosis) of the soul. within the Greek sphere of thought and religion this teaching is found particularly in Orphism, Pythagoras, Plato, the Gnostics and Neo-platonism. for the present passage Neo-platonism as developed by Plotinus, a native of Egypt and pupil of Ammonius Saccas in Alexandria , seems to offer the material for A's (or Athanasius') polemic..
82 our faith declares Christ's coming*
252 the word parousia (greek) is used her: 'presence, arrival, coming' - first employed in a technical sense in the profane sphere to designate the official visit of a ruler or other high personage. it is found frequently in the New Testament, notably in the Epistles of St. paul (eg. I corinthians 15.23; I thessalonians 2.19; II thess. 2.1) and is there employed as a standing term for the second coming of Christ at the Last Judgment. early in the second century the term began to be used to refer also to the first coming of Christ in his Incarnation and Redemption..
for the salvation of men; but you mistakenly theorize about an uncreated Soul.*
253 the third of Plotinus' Triad of Divine Principles, the 'World-Soul ('all-Soul', 'Soul of the All', 'Cosmic Soul') psuche (greek) from which the individual souls diverge or emanate.
we believe in the power of Providence and His love of men and that this*
254 that is, the Incarnation of the Son of God, the coming of Christ, just referred to.
also was not impossible with God; but you, calling the Soul an image of the Mind,* impute falls to it and fabricate myths about its ability to change * consequently, you make also the Mind itself changeable because of the Soul. for as was the image, so, too, must be that of which it is the image. but when you have such thoughts about the Mind, remember that you are also blaspheming the Father of the Mind. *
'and regarding the Cross, which would you say is better: when treachery is resorted to by wicked men, to endure the Cross and not to flinch from death in any manner or form,* or to fabricate fables about the wanderings of Osiris and Isis,*
259 Egyptian tutelar (def - guardian, protector) divinities whose cult also spread to the Greeks and Romans. Isis' wanderings began when her husband, Osiris, was murdered by his plotting brother Typhon and cast into the Nile. she finally found the corpse, only to be forced into another long search when Typhon discovered the body, dismembered it into 14 parts and scattered these to the four winds . she recovered 13 parts, buried them at Philoe. Osiris then inhabited the sacred bull Apis and his wanderings took place from the death of one bull to the reappearance or reincarnation of Apis in another.
the plots of Typhon, the banishment of Cronus,*
260 Cronus (Saturn of the Romans) was one of the Titans. he rebelled against his father Uranus, mutilated him and took the world dominion from him. in the course of time his father's curse was visited upon him. fearing for his throne, he wallowed his own children as they were born - Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. Zeus alone escaped. when he had grown up, he forced his father to regurgitate his brothers and sisters, defeated him in the battle with the Titans and banished him to Tartarus.
the swallowing of children and slaying of fathers? yes, here we have your wisdom!
'and why is it that while you deride the Cross, you do not marvel at the Resurrection? for those who reported the one also wrote of the other. or why is it that while you remember the Cross, you have nothing to say about the dead brought back to life, the blind who saw again, the paralytics who were cured and the lepers made clean, the walking on the sea and the other signs and wonders which show Christ not as man but as God? at all events, it seems to me that you are but defrauding yourselves and are not really familiar with our Scriptures. but do read them and see that the things which Christ did, prove Him to be God abiding with us for the salvation of mankind.
'but you must also tell us your own teachings.
83 though, what could you say about senseless things except senselessness and barbarism? but if, as I hear, you wish to say that among you people such things are spoken figuratively;*
261 the frequent castigation by the early christian writers of allegory as a rationalization of the ancient myths, shows how common it was resorted to as a last desperate effort to defend the pagan pantheon against unbelievers and scoffers.
and you make the rape of Persephone* an allegory of the earth, Hephaestus' lameness of the fire, Hera of the air, Apollo of the sun, Artemis of the moon, and Poseidon of the sea: even so you are not worshipping God Himself, but you are rendering service to the creature in place of the God who created all. for it you have composed such stories because creation is beautiful, it was for you to do no further than to admire it and not to make gods of the creatures lest you give the honor that is the maker's * to the things made. in that case it were time that you transferred the honor due the architect to the house build by him, or the honor due the general to the soldier. now, what have you to say to all this? thus we shall know whether the Cross has anything that deserves to be made a jest of.
they were embarrassed and turning this way and that. A smiled and said, again through an interpreter: 'sight itself bears proof of all that I have said. but since, of course, you pin your faith on demonstrative proofs and this is an art in which you are masters and you want us also not to worship God without demonstrative arguments - do you first tell me this. how does precise knowledge of things come about, especially knowledge about God? is it by verbal proof or by an act of faith? and which comes first, an active faith or verbal proof? ' when they replied that the act of faith takes precedence and that this constitutes accurate knowledge, A said: 'Well said! faith arises from the disposition of the soul, while dialectic comes from the skill of those who
84 devise it. accordingly, those who are equipped with an active faith have no need of verbal argument and probably find it even superfluous. for what we apprehend by faith, that you attempt to construct by arguments:; and often you cannot even express what we perceive. the conclusion is that an active faith is better and stronger than your sophistic arguments.
'we christians, therefore, possess religious truth* not on the basis of Greek philosophical reasoning,*
265 literally, 'in the wisdom of Greek words' - see I cor. 1.17
but founded on the power of a faith vouchsafed us by God through Jesus Christ. and as for the truth of the account given, note how we who have remained unlettered believe in God, recognizing from His works His Providence over all things. and as for our faith being something effectual, note how we lean upon our belief in Christ, while you take support from sophistical wranglings over words; and your phantom idols are passing into desuetude, but our faith is spreading everywhere. and you with your syllogisms and sophisms are not converting anybody from christianity to paganism:*
266 the text: eis 'EllAnismon (greek for 'the Gentiles)
but we, teaching faith in Christ, are stripping your gods of the fear they inspiried,*
267 the (greek) word used here, dAsidImonEa, which to the pagan mind usually meant 'due respect to the gods' or simply 'religion', but to the christian became synonymous with 'superstition', is undoubtedly a reminiscence of the same term used by St. Paul in addressing the philosophers at Athens, Acts 17.22: 'Men of Athens, wherever I look I find you SCRUPULOUSLY RELIGIOUS' (dAsidImonestepUs..)
now that all are recognizing Christ as God and the son of God. you with all your elegant diction do not hinder the teaching of Christ; but we by mentioning the name of the crucified Christ drive away all the demons whom you fear as gods. where the Sign of the Cross appears, there magic is powerless and sorcery ineffectual.*
'indeed, tell us, where are now your oracles? where are the incantations of the Egyptians? where are the phantom illusions of the magicians? when did all these things cease and lose their significance? was it not
85 when the Cross of Christ came? wherefore, is it this that deserves scorn, and not rather the things that have been done away with by it and proved powerless? this, too, is remarkable, the fact that your religion was never persecuted; ; on the contrary, among men it is held in honor in every city. Christ's followers, however, are persecuted, and yet it is our cause that flourishes and prevails, not yours. your religion, for all the tranquility and protection it enjoys, is dying; whereas the faith and teaching of Christ, scorned by you and often persecuted by the rulers, has filled the world. when was there a time that the knowledge of God shone forth so brightly? or when was there a time that continence and the virtue of virginity so showed itself? or when was death so despised as when the Cross of Christ came? and this no one doubts when he sees*
269 among numerous similar passages in the writings of the Fathers, Tertullian's Semen est sanguis christianorum (Apol. 50.6) ..(me..something like 'the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church)has come down as one of antiquity's most celebrated aphorisms...and Tertullian himself, so tradition has it, owed his conversion from a pagan lawyer and profligate, to his observation of the Christian men and women martyred in the Roman amphitheatre
the martyrs despising death for Christ's sake or sees the virgins of the Church who for Christ's sake keep their bodies pure and undefiled.
'these are proofs sufficient to show that faith in Christ is the only true religion. still, here you are - you who seek for conclusions based on reasoning, you have no faith! we, however, do not prove, as our teacher said, IN PERSUASIVE WORDS OF GREEK WISDOM; *
270 I corinthians 2.4
but it is by faith that we persuade men, faith which tangibly precedes any constructive reasoning of arguments. see, here we have with us some who are suffering from demons'. these were people who had come to him troubled by demons; bringing them forward, he said: 'either cleanse these by your syllogisms and by any art or magic you wish, calling on your idols; or, if you cannot, then stop fighting us and see the power of the Cross of Christ . having said this, he invoked Christ and signed the afflicted with the Sign of the
86 Cross, repeating the action a second and third time. and at once the persons stood up completely cured, restored to their right mind and giving thanks to the Lord. the so-called philosophers were astonished and really amazed at the man's sagacity and at the miracle performed. but Antony said: 'why do you marvel at this? it is not we who do it, but Christ who does these things through those who believe in Him. do you, therefore, also believe and you will see that it is not wordcraft which we have, but faith through love that works for Christ; and if you, too, will make this your own, you will no longer seek arguments from reason, but will consider faith in Christ sufficient by itself.
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