54) Once, at the request of the monks to come to them and visit them and their place of residence for a while, he set out together with the monks who had come to him. The camel carried bread and water for them; for this desert is waterless, and there is no water suitable for drinking anywhere in it, except on that one mountain on which there was a monastery of Anthony, where they stored up water. And when on the way their water was exhausted, and the heat was very strong; At that time, everyone was in danger of losing their lives. Having walked around the surroundings and not finding water, they were no longer able to continue their journey, they lay down on the ground, and despairing of their lives, they let the camel go where it wanted. The elder, seeing that everyone was in need, was greatly saddened and sighed, and went far away from them and, kneeling and raising his hands, began to pray; and the Lord soon caused water to flow in the place where he stood praying; and thus they quenched all their thirst and revived, filled the skins with water, began to look for the camel and found it. It so happened that the rope wound around one stone and held the camel. So they brought him back, and having given him water, they put skins on him, and continued their journey comfortably. When Anthony reached the first monasteries on the way, everyone greeted him, looked at him as at a father, and he, as if bringing parting words from the mountain, treated them with a word, and taught them what was beneficial. Again on the mountains there was joy, competition for perfection, and consolation for one another in faith. Anthony himself rejoiced, seeing the zeal of the monks, and his sister, who had grown old in childhood and was already the abbess of other virgins.

55) After a few days he again went to his mountain. And then many began to come to him, even some who were suffering dared to come. To every monk who came to him, he constantly gave the following commandment: "Believe in the Lord and love Him, guard yourself from impure thoughts and carnal pleasures, and as it is written in Proverbs, do not be deceived by the feeding of the belly (Prov. 24:15), flee from vanity, pray unceasingly, sing psalms before going to bed and after sleep, repeat the commandments given to you in the Scriptures, keep in mind the deeds of the saints, so that your soul, remembering the commandments, may have the zeal of the saints as a model for itself." Anthony especially advised us to meditate unceasingly on the Apostle's saying: "Let not the sun go down on your wrath" (Ephesians 4:26), and to think that this is said in general in relation to every commandment, so that the sun does not set not only in anger, but also in other sins of knowledge. For it is good and necessary that neither the sun should condemn us for the transgression of the day, nor the moon for the sin of the night, nor even for evil thoughts. And in order to guard oneself from this, it is good to listen to and preserve the Apostle's word. For it is said: "Torture yourselves, tempt yourselves" (2 Corinthians 13:5). Therefore, let everyone daily give himself an account of his day and night actions. And if he has sinned, let him cease to sin; but if he has not sinned, let him not boast about it, but let him abide in good, and do not give himself over to negligence, and do not condemn his neighbor, and do not consider himself righteous, until, as the blessed Apostle Paul said, the Lord will come (1 Corinthians 4:5), searching in secret. Often what we do is hidden from ourselves. But although we do not know this, nevertheless the Lord sees everything. Therefore, having left judgment to the Lord, let us be compassionate to one another, let us bear one another's burdens (Gal. 6:2), and torment ourselves, and what we are lacking, let us try to make up for it. And in order to protect ourselves from sin, let us observe what follows. Let each of us notice and record his actions and mental movements, as if with the intention of communicating them to each other; and be sure that, being ashamed of fame, we will certainly cease to sin and even to keep anything evil in our thoughts. For who, when he sins, desires that these things should be seen? Or who, having sinned, does not wish to lie better, if only to conceal the sin? How, watching one another, let us not commit fornication; Thus, if we write down our thoughts, with the intention of communicating them to each other, then it will be easier for us to guard ourselves from impure thoughts, being ashamed of our fame. Therefore, let writing take the place of the eyes of our companions for us, so that when we write down, we feel the same shame that we feel when we look at us, and we do not even keep anything evil in our thoughts. If we educate ourselves in this way, then we will come to the state of enslaving our body, pleasing the Lord and trampling on the snares of the enemy."

56) Such instructions were given by Anthony to those who came; but he was compassionate to those who suffered, and prayed with them. And the Lord often listened to his prayers for many. But when he was heard by the Lord, he did not boast; and when he was not heard, he did not murmur. But just as he himself always thanked the Lord, so he inspired the suffering to be patient and to know that healing is not from him and not from people at all, but from God alone, Who gives it when He wants and to whom He wills. For this reason the suffering also accepted the elder's instructions as medicine, learning not to be faint-hearted, but rather to be patient; and those who were healed learned to give thanks not to Anthony, but to God alone.

57) A certain man named Fronto, one of the courtiers, suffering from a severe illness, bit his tongue and was ready to deprive himself of his sight. Coming to the mountain, he asked Anthony to pray for him. Anthony, having prayed, said to Fronton: "Go and you will be healed." And when the sick man persisted and remained in the monastery for several days, Anthony stood in his word, saying: "You cannot be healed while you are here; go, and when you reach Egypt, you will see a sign done on you." Fronton believed, departed, and as soon as he saw Egypt, his illness passed, and he became healthy according to the word of Anthony, as the Saviour revealed to him during prayer.

58) A certain maiden from Busiris of Trypillya had a terrible and extremely vile disease. Her tears, phlegm, and moisture flowing from her ears, as soon as they fell to the ground, immediately turned into worms; but her body was relaxed and her eyes were not in a natural state. Her parents, having learned that the monks were going to Anthony, out of faith in the Lord, Who had healed the bleeding woman, asked them to go on the road together with their daughter. The monks came to Anthony, and hardly wanted to inform him about the maiden, when he warned them and told them what illness the maiden had and how she had gone with them; when they began to ask that he would allow the parents and the maiden to enter, Anthony did not allow this, but said: "Go, and if the maiden is not dead, you will find her healed. This is not my business, and there is no reason for her to come to me, a poor man; healing is given by the Saviour, Who in every place shows His mercy to those who call upon Him. The Lord bowed down to her prayer, and His love for mankind revealed to me that He would heal the sickness of the girl who was there." Thus the miracle was accomplished; The monks went, and found the parents rejoicing, and the maiden was already healthy.

(59) Two brothers were walking, and when they lacked water on the way, one died, and the other was close to death and, not having the strength to walk, was already lying on the ground and waiting for him to die. Anthony, who was in the mountain, summoned two monks who were then with him, and urged them to hurry, saying: "Take the vessels of water and go quickly to the Egyptian road. Of the two travelers, one has already died, the other will soon die if you do not hurry. This is revealed to me now during prayer." The monks go, find a dead man lying down, bury him, and bring another back to life with water and bring him to the elder; the distance was one day's journey. If anyone asks: why did Anthony not speak before the other died? then the question will be wrong. The definition of death was not from Anthony, but from God, Who ordained one to die, and gave revelation about the other. In Anthony, however, the only thing that was miraculous was that, while in sorrow, he had a sober heart; and the Lord showed him what was happening in the distance.

60) Once more, being in grief and looking up, Anthony saw that someone was ascending through the air, to the great joy of those who met him. Then, marveling and delighting such a host, he begins to pray that it may be revealed to him what this means. And suddenly a voice came to him: "This is the soul of Amun, a monk of Nitria." Amun remained an ascetic until old age. And the distance from Nitria to the mountain where Antony lived was thirteen days' journey. Therefore, those who were with Anthony, seeing the marveling elder, wished to know the reason, and heard that (recently) Amun had died; but he was known to them, because he was often there, and moreover he performed many signs, one of which is this.

One day Amun was urged to cross a river called the Lykos; There was plenty of water then. Amun began to ask Theodore, who was with him, to move further away, so that they would not see each other naked when they swam across the river. Later, when Theodore had departed, Amun was also ashamed to see himself naked; but while he was struggling with shame and worrying, he was suddenly transported to the other side. Theodore, also a reverent man, approached and saw that Amun had preceded him and had not in the least dipped himself in the water, and asked him to tell him how he had crossed the water. When he saw that Amun did not want to say this, he embraced his feet and began to assure him that he would not let him go until he knew him. And so Amun, seeing the obstinacy of Theodore, and especially for the sake of the word he spoke, himself first asked not to tell anyone about it until his death, and then announced that he had been carried and placed on the other shore, but did not walk on the waters at all; for this is absolutely impossible for men, but it is possible for the Lord alone, and to whom He will permit it, as He permitted the great Apostle Peter. Theodore related this after the death of Amun.

The monks to whom Anthony told about the death of Amun noticed the day. And when, thirty days later, the brethren came from Nitria, they asked them and learned that Amun had reposed on the very day and hour in which the elder saw his soul being lifted up. Both were much amazed at the purity of Anthony's soul, and at how he recognized what had happened at the distance of the thirteen-day journey at the same moment and saw the soul being lifted up.

61) One day, the comite Archelaus, having found Anthony on the outer mountain, asked him only to pray for Polycratia, a wondrous and Christ-bearing virgin in Laodicea. She suffered from extraordinary feats with severe pain in the womb and side, and she was completely exhausted bodily. Anthony prayed; and the comitus noticed the day on which the prayer was brought, and returning to Laodicea, he found the virgin healthy. Having asked when and on what day she was freed from illness, he took out the charter on which he had written down the time of prayer, and after the healed woman answered, he himself showed the record at the same time; and everyone was amazed to learn that then the Lord delivered her from suffering, when Anthony prayed for her and called upon the Savior's goodness to help her.

62) Often Anthony foretold about those who were coming to him, a few days in advance, even a month in advance, for what reason they were going. For some came only to see him, others because of illness, and others because they suffered from demons. And no one considered the difficulty of the journey a burden for himself and did not regret his labors; because everyone came back feeling the benefit. When Anthony had such a vision and he told about it, he always asked that no one should be amazed at him, but rather at the Lord, Who has given us men the opportunity to know Him to the best of our ability.

63) Once, when they came to the monasteries that were on the outer mountain, they begged him to board the ship and pray with the monks; he alone felt a strong and very disgusting stench. Those who were on the ship said that there was fish and salted meat, and therefore the smell; but Anthony said that it was a different kind of stench. While he was still speaking, suddenly a young man cried out, possessed by a demon, who, having entered the ship before the others, was hiding on it.

64) And another of the nobles came to Anthony, having a demon in him; this demon was very fierce; possessed by him, he did not know that he had been brought to Anthony, and devoured the eruptions of his body. Those who brought her asked Antonov to pray for the demoniac man. Anthony, out of compassion for the youth, prayed, and spent the whole night with him in vigil. Before dawn, the youth, suddenly rushing at Anthony, threw him to the ground, and when those who came with him were indignant at this, Anthony said to them: "Do not be angry with the youth; It is not he who is to blame, but the demon that dwells in him. Therefore, praise the Lord. For such an aspiration of the young man against me was a sign to you that the demon had come out." While Anthony was still saying this, the youth immediately became well, and finally, coming to his senses, he learned where he was, and greeted the elder, offering thanks to God.

65) Very many of the monks agreed and in the same way that Anthony had done many other similar things. But this is not so much miraculous as the following seems most strange to everyone else. Once, before partaking of food, at about the ninth hour, Anthony got up to pray, and felt within himself that he was enraptured in his mind, and what was surprising, he saw himself as if he were beside himself, and someone was as if he were leading him through the air; and in the air there are some gloomy and terrible faces who want to block his path to ascent. but Anthony's guides prevented this, saying: "What was from his birth, the Lord blotted out; keep count from the time when he became a monk and made a vow to God." Then, since the accusers could not convict him, his path became free and unhindered. And suddenly he saw that it was as if he were returning and entering into himself, and again becoming the former Anthony. At this time, forgetting to eat food, he spent the rest of the day and the whole night in sighing and prayer; for he was amazed, seeing how many enemies we had to fight, and with what difficulties a man had to pass through the air. And then it came to his mind that the Apostle had said in this very sense: "According to the prince are the powers of the air" (Ephesians 2:2). For the enemy has in the air the power to enter into battle with those who pass through it, and attempts to block their way. For this reason, moreover, the Apostle advised: "Take up all the armor of God, that ye may be able to resist in the day of death" (Ephesians 6:13), so that the enemy may be put to shame, having nothing to speak about us stubbornly (Titus 2:8). And when we hear this, let us bring to our memory the Apostle, who says: "If we are in the body, we do not know, if we do not know except the body, God knows" (2 Corinthians 12:2). But Paul was caught up to the third heaven, and descended from there, having heard ineffable words; and Antony saw himself passing through the air and fighting there until he was free.