Jerome: Vita Pauli

(1) Inter multos saepe dubitatum est, a quo potissimum Monachorum eremus habitari coepta sit. Quidam enim altius repetentes a beato Elia et Ioanne principia sumpserunt. Quorum et Elias plus nobis uidetur fuisse quam monachus et Ioannes ante prophetare coepisse quam natus sit.

(1) Among many it has often been doubted by whom, most of all, the eremus of the Monks began to be inhabited. For some, going back more loftily, took the principia from the blessed Elijah and John. Of whom Elijah seems to us to have been more than a monk, and John to have begun to prophesy before he was born.

Alii autem, in quam opinionem omne uulgus consentit, adserunt Antonium huius propositi caput, quod ex parte uerum est. Non enim tam ipse ante omnes fuit, quam ab eo omnium incitata sunt studia.

Others, however—an opinion to which the whole populace consents—assert Antony as the head of this purpose, which is in part true. For he himself was not so much before all others, as by him the pursuits of all were incited.

Amatas uero et Macarius, discipuli Antonii, e quibus superior magistri corpus sepeliuit, etiam nunc adfirmant Paulum quemdam Thebaeum principem rei istius fuisse, non nominis, quam opinionem nos quoque probamus.

Amatas indeed and Macarius, disciples of Antony, of whom the former interred the master's body, even now affirm that a certain Paul the Theban was the principal of this matter, not of the name, which opinion we also approve.

Nonnulli et haec et alia prout uoluntas tulit iactitant: subterraneo specu crinitum calcaneo tenus hominem, et multa quae persequi otiosum est incredibilia fingentes. Quorum quia impudens mendacium fuit, ne refellenda quidem sententia uidetur.

Some also vaunt both these and other things as their will bore them: in a subterranean cavern a hair-covered man down to the heel, and they feign many incredible things which it is otiose to pursue. Since their impudent mendacity was such, the opinion does not even seem worth refuting.

Igitur quia de Antonio tam Graeco quam Romano stilo diligenter memoriae traditum est, pauca de Pauli principio et fine scribere disposui, magis quia res omissa erat quam fretus ingenio. Quomodo autem in media aetate uixerit aut quas Satanae pertulerit insidias, nulli hominum compertum habetur.

Therefore, since about Antony, both in Greek and in Roman style, it has been diligently handed down to memory, I have resolved to write a few things about Paul’s beginning and end, rather because the matter had been omitted than relying on my talent. But how he lived in the middle of his life, or what snares of Satan he endured, is held to be known to no man.

(2) Sub Decio et Valeriano persecutoribus, quo tempore Cornelius Romae Cyprianus Carthagine felici cruore damnati sunt, multas apud Aegyptum et Thebaidem Ecclesias tempestas saeua populata est. Voti tunc Christianis erat pro eo nomine gladio percuti. Verum hostis callidus tarda ad mortem supplicia conquirens animas cupiebat iugulare, non corpora.

(2) Under the persecutors Decius and Valerian, at which time Cornelius at Rome and Cyprian at Carthage were condemned to a blessed shedding of blood, a savage tempest laid waste many Churches in Egypt and the Thebaid. It was then a vow for Christians to be struck by the sword for that name. But the crafty enemy, devising punishments slow unto death, desired to slaughter souls, not bodies.

Et ut ipse qui ab ipso passus est Cyprianus ait: 'Volentibus mori non permittebatur occidi.'

And as Cyprian himself, who suffered at his hands, says: 'Those willing to die were not permitted to be killed.'

Cuius ut crudelitas notior fiat, duo memoriae causa exempla subiecimus.

In order that his cruelty may become better known, we have subjoined two examples for the sake of remembrance.

(3) Perseuerantem in fide martyrem et inter eculeum laminasque uictorem, iussit melle perungi et sub ardentissimo sole religatis post tergum manibus reponi, scilicet ut muscarum aculeis cederet qui ignitas sartagines ante superasset.

(3) A martyr persevering in the faith and, amid the rack and the metal plates, a victor, he ordered to be anointed with honey and, under the most ardent sun, to be set with his hands bound behind his back—namely, that he might yield to the stings of flies, he who earlier had overcome flaming frying-pans.

Alium iuuenali aetate florentem in amoenissimos hortulos praecepit adduci ibique inter candentia lilia et rubentes rosas, cum leni iuxta murmure serperet riuus et molli sibilo arborum folia uentus stringeret, super structum plumis lectulum supinari, et ne se inde posset excutere, blandis sertorum nexibus inretitum relinqui. Quo cum recedentibus cunctis meretrix speciosa uenisset, coepit delicatis stringere colla complexibus et, quod dictu quoque scelus est, manibus adtrectare uirilia, ut corpore in libidinem concitato se uictrix impudica superiaceret. Quid ageret miles Christi, quo se uerteret?

He ordered another, flourishing in youthful age, to be brought into most pleasant little gardens, and there, among gleaming lilies and blushing roses, while a rivulet crept nearby with gentle murmur and the wind, with a soft sibilant whisper, brushed the leaves of the trees, to be laid supine upon a feather-stuffed little couch, and, lest he could shake himself off from there, to be left ensnared by the blandishing interlacings of garlands. When, all the rest having withdrawn, a beautiful courtesan had come, she began to clasp his neck with delicate embraces and—what is a crime even to say—to handle with her hands his virile parts, so that, his body roused into lust, the shameless victress might lie over him. What was the soldier of Christ to do, whither was he to turn?

Quem tormenta non uicerant superabat uoluptas. Tandem coelitus inspiratus praecisam mordicus linguam in osculantis se faciem exspuit. Ac sic libidinis sensum succedens doloris magnitudo calcauit.

Pleasure was overcoming him whom torments had not conquered. At last, inspired from heaven, he bit off his tongue with his teeth and spat the severed tongue into the face of the one kissing him. And thus the magnitude of pain, succeeding in its place, trampled down the sense of lust.

(4) Per idem ergo tempus quo talia gerebantur apud inferiorem Thebaidem, cum sorore iam uiro tradita morte amborum parentum in haereditate locupleti Paulus relictus est, annorum circiter sexdecim, litteris tam Graecis quam Aegyptiacis adprime eruditus, mansueti animi, Deum ualde amans. Et cum persecutionis detonaret procella, in uilla remotiore secretior erat.

(4) At the same time, therefore, when such things were being transacted in the Lower Thebaid, with his sister already given to a husband, upon the death of both parents Paul was left with a wealthy inheritance, about sixteen years of age, most highly instructed in letters both Greek and Egyptian, of a gentle spirit, greatly loving God. And when the tempest of persecution thundered, he kept more secluded in a more remote villa.

Verum quid pectora humana non cogis 'Auri sacra fames'? Sororis maritus coepit prodere uelle quem celare debuerat. Non illum uxoris lacrimae, non communio sanguinis, non exspectans cuncta ex alto Deus ab scelere reuocauerunt. Aderat, instabat, crudelitate quasi pietate utebatur.

But what do you not compel, 'accursed hunger for gold,' in human hearts? The sister’s husband began to wish to betray him whom he ought to have concealed. Neither his wife’s tears, nor the communion of blood, nor God, beholding all things from on high, called him back from the crime. He was there, he pressed, he used cruelty as if it were piety.

(5) Quod ubi prudentissimus adulescens intellexit, ad montium deserta confugiens, dum persecutionis finem praestolaretur necessitatem in uoluntatem uertit, ac paulatim procedens rursusque subsistens atque hoc idem saepius faciens tandem repperit saxeum montem, ad cuius radices haud grandis spelunca lapide claudebatur.

(5) When the most prudent adolescent understood this, fleeing for refuge to the desert places of the mountains, while he awaited the end of the persecution he turned necessity into will, and, proceeding little by little and again halting, and doing this same thing rather often, at length he discovered a rocky mountain, at whose roots a not-large cave was shut by a stone.

Quo remoto (ut est cupiditas hominum auidius occulta cognoscere) animaduertit intus grande uestibulum, quod aperto desuper coelo patulis diffusa ramis uetus palma contexerat, fontem lucidissimum ostendens; cuius riuum tantummodo foras statim eadem quae genuerat terra sorbebat. Erant praeterea per exesum montem haud pauca habitacula, in quibus scabrae iam incudes et mallei, quibus pecunia signatur, uisebantur. Hunc locum Aegyptiorum litterae ferunt furtiuam monetae officinam fuisse, ea tempestate qua Cleopatrae iunctus Antonius est.

With this removed (as is the cupidity of men to know hidden things more avidly), he observed inside a large vestibule, which, the sky opened from above, an old palm, its branches spread wide, had interwoven, showing a most lucid spring; whose rivulet, only just outside, the same earth that had begotten it immediately was absorbing. There were moreover, throughout the eaten-away mountain, not a few habitations, in which rough anvils and mallets, by which money is stamped, were seen. The writings of the Egyptians report this place to have been a furtive mint, at that season when Antony was joined to Cleopatra.

(6) Igitur adamato quasi a Deo sibi offerretur habitaculo, omnem ibidem in orationibus et solitudine duxit aetatem. Cibum et uestimentum palma praebebat.

(6) Accordingly, enamored of the habitation as though it were being offered to him by God, he led his whole life there in prayers and solitude. The palm furnished food and clothing.

Quod ne cui impossibile uideatur, Iesum testor et sanctos angelos eius, in ea parte eremi quae iuxta Syriam Saracenis iungitur et uidisse me monachos et uidere, e quibus unus triginta iam per annos clausus hordeaceo pane et lutulenta aqua uiuit. Alter in cisterna ueteri (quam gentili sermone Syri 'gubbam' uocant) quinque caricis per singulos dies sustentatur. Haec incredibilia uidebuntur eis, qui non crediderint omnia possibilia esse credentibus.

Lest this should seem impossible to anyone, I call Jesus and his holy angels to witness, that in that part of the desert which, near Syria, adjoins the Saracens, I both have seen monks and do see them, of whom one, shut in for thirty years now, lives on barley bread and muddy water. Another, in an old cistern (which in the gentile speech the Syrians call ‘gubba’), is sustained by five dried figs each day. These things will seem incredible to those who have not believed that all things are possible to believers.

(7) Sed ut ad id redeam unde digressus sum, cum iam centesimo tertio decimo aetatis suae anno beatus Paulus coelestem uitam ageret in terris et nonagenarius in alia solitudine Antonius moraretur, ut ipse adserere solebat, haec in mentem eius cogitatio incidit, nullum ultra se monacharum in eremo consedisse. Atque illi per noctem quiescenti reuelatum est esse alium interius multo se meliorem ad quem uisendum properare deberet. Illico erumpente luce uenerabilis senex infirmos artus baculo regente sustentans coepit ire uelle quo nesciebat.

(7) But, to return to that from which I digressed, when already in the 113th year of his age the blessed Paul was conducting a celestial life on earth, and Antony, a nonagenarian, was dwelling in another solitude, as he himself used to assert, this thought fell into his mind: that no monk had settled in the desert farther beyond himself. And to him, resting through the night, it was revealed that there was another further inward, much better than himself, to visit whom he ought to hasten. Immediately, with the light bursting forth, the venerable old man, supporting his feeble limbs, the staff directing them, began to go, wishing to go whither he knew not.

Et iam media dies coquente desuper sole feruebat, nec tamen a coepto itinere deducebatur dicens: 'Credo Deo meo, quod olim seruum suum, quem mihi promisit, ostendet.'

And now midday, with the sun cooking from above, was seething, yet he was not turned aside from the undertaken journey, saying: 'I trust my God, that someday he will show to me his servant, whom he has promised.'

Nec plura his, conspicatur hominem equo mixtum, cui opinio poetarum Hippocentauro uocabulum indidit. Quo uiso salutaris impressione signi armat frontem et 'heus tu,' inquit, 'quanam in parte Dei seruus hic habitat?'

And saying no more to these, he catches sight of a man mingled with a horse, to which the opinion of the poets has assigned the appellation Hippocentaur. This seen, he arms his forehead with the impression of the salutary sign and says, 'hey, you, in what region does this servant of God dwell?'

At ille barbarum nescio quid infrendens et frangens potius uerba quam proloquens, inter horrentia ora satis blandum quaesiuit adloquium. Et cum dexterae manus protensione cupitum indicat iter, ac sic patentes campos uolucri transmittens fuga ex oculis mirantis euanuit. Verum hoc utrum diabolus ad terrendum eum simulauerit, an (ut solet) eremus monstruosorum ferax animalium istam quoque gignat bestiam, incertum habemus.

But he, gnashing out I-know-not-what barbarous sound and rather breaking words than uttering them, sought a quite gentle colloquy amid his bristling jaws. And when, by the extension of his right hand, he indicates the desired route, thus, skimming the open plains in winged flight, he vanished from the eyes of the astonished onlooker. But whether the devil simulated this to terrify him, or whether—as is its wont—the desert, fertile of monstrous animals, also begets this beast, we hold uncertain.

(8) Stupens itaque Antonius et de eo quod uiderat secum uoluens ulterius progrediebatur. Nec mora, inter saxosam conuallem haud grandem homunculum uidet aduncis naribus, fronte cornibus asperata, cuius extrema pars corporis in caprarum pedes desinebat. Et hoc adtonitus expectaculo scutum fidei et loricam spei bonus praeliator arripuit.

(8) Therefore, astonished, Antony, turning over with himself about that which he had seen, was advancing further. Without delay, amid a rocky valley he sees a not-large homunculus, with hooked nostrils, his brow roughened with horns, the far end of whose body ended in goats’ feet. And at this spectacle, astonished, the good combatant seized the shield of faith and the breastplate of hope.

Nihilominus memoratum animal palmarum fructus ad uiaticum, quasi pacis obsides, offerebat. Quo cognito gradum pressit Antonius, et quisnam esset interrogans hoc ab eo responsum accepit:

Nevertheless the aforementioned animal was offering the fruits of palms for viaticum, as if pledges of peace. On learning this, Anthony checked his step, and, asking who he might be, received this response from him:

'Mortalis ego sum et unus ex accolis eremi, quos uario delusa errore gentilitas Faunos Satyrosque et Incubos colit. Legatione fungor gregis mei. Precamur ut pro nobis communem Dominum depreceris; salutem mundi olim uenisse cognouimus, et "in uniuersam terram exiit sonus eius."'

'Mortal I am and one of the inhabitants of the desert, whom the Gentile religion, deluded by various error, worships as Fauns and Satyrs and Incubi. I serve as the legate of my flock. We beseech that you would intercede with the common Lord on our behalf; we have come to know that the salvation of the world has once come, and "into all the earth has gone forth his sound."'

Talia eo loquente longaeuus uiator ubertim faciem lacrimis rigabat, quas magnitudo laetitiae indices cordis effuderat. Gaudebat quippe de Christi gloria, de interitu Satanae, simulque admirans, quod eius posset intellegere sermonem et baculo humum percutiens aiebat: 'Vae tibi, Alexandria, quae pro Deo portenta ueneraris. Vae tibi, ciuitas meretrix, in qua totius orbis daemonia confluxere.

As he was speaking such things, the long-lived wayfarer was copiously bathing his face with tears, which the greatness of joy, the indicia of the heart, had poured out. For he rejoiced indeed over the glory of Christ, over the overthrow of Satan, and at the same time, marveling that he could understand his speech, and striking the ground with his staff, he kept saying: 'Woe to you, Alexandria, you who venerate portents in place of God. Woe to you, harlot city, in which the demons of the whole world have flowed together.'

Quid nunc dictura es? Bestiae Christum loquuntur, et tu pro Deo portenta ueneraris!'

What will you say now? The beasts speak of Christ, and you worship monstrosities instead of God!'

Necdum uerba compleuerat et quasi pennigero uolatu petulcum animal aufugit.

He had not yet completed the words, and, as if with winged flight, the petulant animal fled away.

Hoc ne cui ad incredulitatem scrupulum moueat, sub rege Constantio, uniuerso mundo teste, defenditur. Nam Alexandriam istiusmodi homo uiuus perductus magnum populo spectaculum praebuit, et postea cadauer exanime, ne calore aestatis dissiparetur, sale infusum et Antiochiam, ut ab Imperatore uideretur, adlatum est.

Lest this move anyone to a scruple of incredulity, it is attested under King Constantius, with the whole world as witness. For to Alexandria a man of this sort, brought alive, afforded the people a great spectacle; and afterward the exanimate cadaver, lest it be dissolved by the heat of summer, having been infused with salt, was brought to Antioch, that it might be seen by the Emperor.

(9) Sed ut propositum persequar, Antonius coepta regione pergebat, ferarum tantum uestigia intuens et eremi latam uastitatem. Quid ageret, quo uerteret gradum?

(9) But that I may pursue the proposed plan, Anthony was proceeding through the region he had entered upon, gazing only at the footprints of wild beasts and the broad vastness of the desert. What was he to do, whither turn his step?

Iam altera effluxerat dies. Restabat unum, ut deseri se a Christo non posse confideret. Pernox secundas in oratione exegit tenebras, et dubia adhuc luce haud procul intuetur lupam sitis ardoribus anhelantem ad radicem montis inrepere.

Already a second day had flowed away. One thing remained, that he should trust that he could not be deserted by Christ. Through the night he spent the second watch in prayer, and, with the light still doubtful, he beholds not far off a she-wolf, panting with the ardors of thirst, creeping to the foot of the mountain.

Quam secutus oculis et iuxta speluncam, cum fera abiisset, accedens, coepit introspicere, nihil curiositate proficiente, tenebris arcentibus uisum. Verum ut Scriptura ait, 'perfecta dilectio foras mittit timorem.' Suspenso gradu et anhelitu temperato callidus explorator ingressus est, ac paulatim progrediens saepiusque subsistens sonum aure captabat. Tandem per caecae noctis horrorem procul lumen intuitus, dum auidius properat, offensum pede lapidem in strepitum concitauit; post cuius sonitum beatus Paulus ostium quod patebat occludens sera obfirmauit.

Following it with his eyes and, near the cave, when the wild beast had gone away, drawing close, he began to look within, curiosity making no progress, the darkness warding off his sight. But, as Scripture says, 'perfect love casts out fear.' With step held in suspense and breathing moderated, the shrewd explorer entered, and, advancing little by little and more often halting, he was catching the sound with his ear. At length, through the horror of blind night, having espied a light in the distance, while he hastens more eagerly, by his foot striking a stone he stirred up a clatter; after the sound of which the blessed Paul, occluding the door which stood open, fastened it with a bar.

Tunc uero Antonius pro foribus corruens, usque ad sextam et eo amplius horam aditum precabatur dicens: 'Qui sim, unde, cur uenerim, nosti. Scio me non mereri conspectum tuum; tamen nisi uidero, non recedam. Qui bestias suscipis, hominem cur repellis?

Then indeed Anthony, collapsing before the doors, was beseeching for access until the sixth hour and even beyond, saying: 'Who I am, whence, why I have come, you know. I know I do not merit the sight of you; nevertheless, unless I shall have seen, I will not withdraw. You who receive beasts, why do you repel a man?'

Quaesiui et inueni, pulso ut aperiatur. Quod si non impetro, hic, hic moriar ante postes tuos. Certe sepelies uel cadauer.'

'I have sought and I have found; I knock that it may be opened. But if I do not obtain it, here, here I shall die before your doorposts. Surely you will bury at least a cadaver.'

Talia perstabat memorans, fixusque manebat.

He persisted recounting such things, and remained fixed.

Ad quem responsum paucis ita reddidit heros:

To which response the hero thus returned in few words:

'Nemo sic petit ut minetur, nemo cum lacrimis calumniam facit. Et miraris si non recipiam, cum moriturus adueneris?'

'No one so petitions as to threaten; no one with tears practices calumny. And you marvel that I do not receive you, when you have come on the point of dying?'

Sic adridens patefecit ingressum. Quo aperto dum in mutuos miscentur amplexus, propriis se salutauere nominibus; gratiae Domino in commune referuntur.

Thus, smiling, he opened the entrance. When this was opened, while they were mingling in mutual embraces, they greeted one another by their proper names; thanks are rendered to the Lord in common.

(10) Et post sanctum osculum residens Paulus cum Antonio ita exorsus est: 'En quem tanto labore quaesisti, putribus senectute membris operit inculta canities. En uides hominem, puluerem mox futurum. Verum quia caritas omnia sustinet, narra mihi, quaeso, ut se habeat humanum genus.

(10) And after the holy kiss, Paul, sitting with Anthony, thus began: 'Lo, him whom with so great labor you have sought; unkempt hoariness covers limbs putrid with old age. Lo, you see a man, soon to be dust. But since charity sustains all things, tell me, I pray, how the human race is faring.'

An in antiquis urbibus noua tecta consurgant; quo mundus regatur imperio; an supersint aliqui, qui daemonum errore rapiantur.'

Whether in ancient cities new buildings rise; by what imperium the world is ruled; whether there remain any who are carried away by the error of demons.'

Inter has sermocinationes suspiciunt alitem coruum in ramo arboris consedisse, qui inde leniter subuolans integrum panem ante mirantium ora deposuit. Post cuius abscessum: 'Eia,' inquit Paulus, 'Dominus nobis prandium misit, uere pius, uere misericors. Sexaginta iam anni sunt quod dimidii semper panis fragmen accipio, uerum ad aduentum tuum militibus suis Christus duplicauit annonam.'

Amid these conversations they catch sight of a winged creature—a raven—sitting on the branch of a tree, which, gently flying down from there, laid a whole loaf before the faces of those marveling. After its departure: 'Come,' said Paul, 'the Lord has sent us luncheon, truly pious, truly merciful. It is now sixty years that I have always received a half-loaf of bread; but at your arrival Christ has doubled the ration for his soldiers.'

(11) Igitur in Deum gratiarum actione celebrata super uitrei marginem fontis uterque consedit. Hic uero, quis frangeret panem, oborta contentio pene diem duxit in uesperam. Paulus more cogebat hospitii, Antonius iure refellebat aetatis.

(11) Therefore, after an act of thanksgiving to God had been celebrated, both sat down upon the vitreous margin of the fountain. Then indeed, a contention arose as to who should break the bread, and it drew the day almost into evening. Paul was urging the custom of hospitality, Anthony was refuting it by the right of age.

Tandem consilium fuit, ut adprehenso e regione pane, dum ad se quisque nititur, pars sua remaneret in manibus. Dehinc paululum aquae prono in fonte ore libarunt, et immolantes Deo sacrificium laudis noctem transegere uigiliis.

At length the counsel was that, with the bread seized from opposite sides, while each strains it toward himself, his own part should remain in his hands. Then they libated a little water with the mouth bent over the spring, and, immolating to God a sacrifice of praise, they passed the night in vigils.

Cumque iam esset terrae redditus dies, beatus Paulus ad Antonium sic locutus est: 'Olim te, frater, in istis regionibus habitare sciebam, olim conseruum meum mihi promiserat Deus. Sed quia iam dormitionis meae tempus aduenit, et quod semper cupieram dissolui et esse cum Christo, peracto cursu superest mihi corona iustitiae; tu missus a Domino es, qui humo corpusculum tegas, immo terram terrae reddas.'

And when now the day had been returned to the earth, the blessed Paul thus spoke to Antony: 'Long ago I knew you, brother, to dwell in these regions, long ago God had promised to me my fellow-servant. But since now the time of my dormition has come, and what I had always desired—to be dissolved and to be with Christ—the course having been completed, there remains to me the crown of righteousness; you are sent by the Lord to cover with soil the little body, nay rather to render earth to earth.'

(12) His Antonius auditis flens et gemens, ne se desereret atque ut comitem talis itineris acciperet, precabatur. Ac ille: 'Non debes,' inquit, 'quaerere quae tua sunt, sed quae aliena. Expedit quidem tibi sarcina carnis abiecta Agnum sequi.

(12) With these things heard, Anthony, weeping and groaning, begged that he not desert him and that he take him as a companion of such an itinerary. But he: 'You ought not,' he says, 'to seek the things that are yours, but the things that are another’s. It is indeed expedient for you, the burden of the flesh cast off, to follow the Lamb.'

Sed et caeteris expedit fratribus, ut tuo adhuc instituantur exemplo. Quamobrem, perge, quaeso, nisi molestum est, et pallium quod tibi Athanasius episcopus dedit, ad obuoluendum corpusculum meum defer.'

But it is also expedient for the other brothers, that they may still be instructed by your example. Wherefore, go on, I beg, if it is not troublesome, and bring the pallium which Bishop Athanasius gave to you, to enwrap my little body.'

Hoc autem beatus Paulus rogauit non quod magnopere curaret, utrum tectum putresceret cadauer an nudum (quippe qui tanti temporis spatio contextis palmarum foliis uestiebatur), sed ut a se recedenti moeror suae mortis leuaretur.

But the blessed Paul asked this not because he greatly cared whether the cadaver would putrefy covered or naked (indeed he was clothed, for so long a span of time, with interwoven leaves of palms), but so that the grief at his death might be lightened for the one withdrawing from him.

Stupefactus ergo Antonius, quod de Athanasio et pallio eius audierat, quasi Christum in Paulo uidens et in pectore eius Deum uenerans ultra respondere nihil ausus est, sed cum silentio lacrimans exosculatis eius oculis manibusque ad monasterium, quod postea a Saracenis occupatum est, regrediebatur. Neque uero gressus sequebantur animum, sed cum corpus inane ieiuniis seniles etiam anni frangerent, animo uincebat aetatem.

Therefore Anthony, stupefied at what he had heard about Athanasius and his pallium, as if seeing Christ in Paul and venerating God in his breast, dared to make no further reply; but, weeping in silence, after kissing his eyes and hands, he was returning to the monastery, which afterwards was occupied by the Saracens. Nor indeed did his steps follow his spirit; but while the body, emptied by fasts—and the senile years as well—were breaking him, in spirit he was conquering age.

(13) Tandem defatigatus et anhelus ad habitaculum suum confecto itinere peruenit. Cui cum duo discipuli, qui ei iam longaeuo ministrare coeperant, occurrissent dicentes: 'Vbi tamdiu moratus es, pater?', respondit: 'Vae mihi peccatori, qui falsum monachi nomen fero. Vidi Eliam, uidi Ioannem in deserto, et uere in paradiso Paulum uidi.'

(13) At length, fatigued and panting, he arrived at his habitation with the journey completed. And when two disciples, who had already begun to minister to him now that he was long‑aged, met him, saying: 'Where have you tarried so long, father?', he replied: 'Woe to me, a sinner, who bear the false name of monk. I saw Elijah, I saw John in the desert, and truly in paradise I saw Paul.'

Ac sic ore compresso et manu uerberans pectus ex cella pallium protulit. Rogantibusque discipulis ut plenius quidnam rei esset exponeret ait: 'Tempus tacendi et tempus loquendi.'

And so, with his mouth compressed and beating his breast with his hand, he brought out the pallium from the cell. And when the disciples were asking that he explain more fully what the matter was, he said: 'A time for keeping silence and a time for speaking.'

(14) Tunc egressus foras et ne modicum quidem cibi sumens per uiam qua uenerat regrediebatur, illum sitiens, illum uidere desiderans, illum oculis ac mente complectens. Timebat enim, quod et euenit, ne se absente debitum Christo spiritum redderet.

(14) Then, going out and taking not even a small bit of food, he was returning along the road by which he had come, thirsting for him, desiring to see him, embracing him with his eyes and mind. For he feared, as indeed came to pass, lest, with himself absent, he should render to Christ the due spirit.

Cumque iam dies inluxisset alia et trium horarum spatio iter remaneret, uidit inter angelorum cateruas, inter prophetarum et apostolorum choros, niueo Paulum candore fulgentem in sublime conscendere. Et statim in faciem suam procidens sabulum capiti superiaciebat, plorans atque eiulans: 'Cur me, Paule, dimittis? Cur abis insalutatus?

And when now another day had dawned and a span of three hours of the journey remained, he saw, among the companies of angels, among the choruses of prophets and apostles, Paul, shining with a snowy candor, ascending on high. And at once, falling upon his face, he was casting sand upon his head, weeping and wailing: 'Why do you dismiss me, Paul? Why do you depart without a salutation?

Tam tarde notus tam cito recedis?'

'So late known, do you so quickly recede?'

(15) Referebat postea beatus Antonius tanta se uelocitate quod reliquum erat uiae cucurrisse, ut ad instar auis peruolaret. Nec immerito, nam introgressus speluncam uidet genibus complicatis, erecta ceruice, extensisque in altum manibus corpus exanime. Ac primo et ipse uiuere eum credens pariter orabat.

(15) Afterwards the blessed Antony reported that he had run what remained of the way with such velocity that he flew across after the manner of a bird. And not without reason; for, having entered the cave, he sees a lifeless body, the knees folded, the neck erect, and the hands stretched up on high. And at first he too, believing him to live, was praying likewise.

Postquam uero nulla, ut solebat, suspiria precantis audiuit, in flebile osculum ruens intellexit quod etiam cadauer sancti Deum, cui omnia uiuunt, officio gestus precaretur.

After indeed he heard no sighs of the suppliant, as he was wont, rushing into a tearful kiss he understood that even the cadaver of the saint was beseeching God, to whom all things live, by the office of its gesture.

(16) Igitur obuoluto et prolato foras corpore, psalmis quoque ex Christiana traditione cantatis, contristabatur Antonius quod sarculum, quo terram foderet, non habebat, fluctuans uario mentis aestu et secum multa reputans: 'Si ad monasterium reuertar, quatridui iter est; si hic maneam, nihil ultra proficiam. Moriar ergo, ut dignum est, et iuxta bellatorem tuum, Christe, ruens extremum halitum fundam.'

(16) Therefore, the body having been wrapped and brought forth outside, with psalms also sung according to Christian tradition, Anthony was saddened because he did not have a little hoe with which to dig the earth, fluctuating with a various surge of mind and reckoning many things with himself: 'If I return to the monastery, it is a journey of four days; if I remain here, I shall make no further progress. I will die therefore, as is fitting, and, falling beside your warrior, O Christ, I will pour out my final breath.'

Talia eo animo uoluente ecce duo leones ex interioris eremi parte currentes uolantibus per colla iubis ferebantur. Quibus aspectis primo exhorruit. Rursusque ad Deum mentem referens, quasi columbas uideret, mansit intrepidus.

As he was revolving such things in his mind, behold, two lions were being borne from the inner part of the desert, with their manes flying over their necks. At the sight of them he shuddered at first; but again referring his mind to God, as if he saw doves, he remained undaunted.

Et illi quidem directo cursu ad cadauer beati senis substiterunt, adulantibusque caudis circa eius pedes accubuere, fremitu ingenti rugientes, prorsus ut intellegeres eos plangere quo modo poterant.

And they indeed, in a straight course, halted at the cadaver of the blessed elder, and with their tails fawning they lay down around his feet, roaring with an immense growl, altogether so that you might understand that they were lamenting in whatever way they could.

Deinde haud procul coeperunt humum pedibus scalpere, harenamque certatim egerentes unius hominis capacem locum effodere. Ac statim quasi mercedem pro opere postulaturi, cum motu aurium ceruice deiecta ad Antonium perrexerunt, manus eius pedesque lingentes, ut ille animaduertit benedictionem eos a se deprecari. Nec mora, et in laudationem Christi effusus, quod muta quoque animalia Deum esse sentirent, ait: 'Domine, sine cuius nutu nec folium arboris defluit nec unus passerum ad terram cadit, da illis sicut tu scis.'

Then, not far off, they began to scrape the ground with their feet, and, heaving out the sand in rivalry, to excavate a place capacious for one man. And at once, as if about to demand a wage for the work, with a movement of the ears and the neck cast down they went to Anthony, licking his hands and feet; when he noticed that they were beseeching a blessing from him. Without delay, and poured out into the laudation of Christ, because even mute animals perceive that God is, he said: 'Lord, without whose nod not even a leaf of a tree falls nor a single sparrow drops to the earth, give to them as you know.'

Et manu annuens eis ut abirent imperauit. Cumque illi recessissent, sancti corporis onere seniles curuauit humeros, et deposito eo effossam desuper humum congregans tumulum ex more conposuit.

And, nodding with his hand that they should depart, he commanded. And when they had withdrawn, he bent his aged shoulders under the burden of the holy body, and, it having been laid down, gathering the dug-up earth over it, he composed a tumulus according to custom.

Postquam autem dies inluxerat alia, ne quid pius heres ex intestati bonis non possideret, tunicam sibi eius uindicauit, quam in sportarum modum de palmae foliis ipse sibi texuerat. Ac sic ad monasterium reuersus discipulis ex ordine cuncta replicauit; diebusque solemnibus Paschae uel Pentecostes semper Pauli tunica uestitus est.

After another day had dawned, so that the pious heir might not fail to possess anything of the intestate’s goods, he claimed for himself his tunic, which he himself had woven for himself out of palm leaves in the manner of baskets. And thus, having returned to the monastery, he recounted everything to the disciples in order; and on the solemn days of Easter or Pentecost he was always clothed in Paul’s tunic.

(17) Libet in fine opusculi interrogare eos, qui patrimonia sua ignorant, qui domos marmoribus uestiunt, qui uno lino uillarum insuunt pretia: huic seni nudo quid umquam defuit? Vos gemma bibitis, ille concauis manibus naturae satisfecit. Vos in tunicis aurum texitis, ille ne uilissimi quidem mancipii uestri indumentum habuit.

(17) It pleases me, at the end of this little work, to question those who are ignorant of their patrimonies, who clothe their houses with marbles, who sew into a single linen the prices of villas: what ever was lacking to this naked old man? You drink from gemstone, he satisfied nature with hollowed hands. You weave gold into your tunics, he did not have even the garment of your most worthless chattel-slave.

Sed e contrario illi pauperculo paradisus patet, uos auratos gehenna suscipiet. Ille Christi uestem, nudus licet, seruauit; uos uestiti sericis indumentum Christi perdidistis. Paulus uilissimo puluere coopertus iacet resurrecturus in gloriam, uos operosa saxis sepulcra premunt cum uestris opibus arsuros.

But on the contrary, for that poor little man paradise lies open, while Gehenna will receive you, the gilded. He preserved the vestment of Christ, although naked; you, clothed in silks, have lost the vestment of Christ. Paul, covered with the most wretched dust, lies, about to rise into glory; elaborate sepulchres of stone press you down, destined to burn together with your riches.

Parcite, quaeso, uos, parcite saltem diuitiis quas amatis. Cur et mortuos uestros auratis obuoluitis uestibus? Cur ambitio inter luctus lacrimasque non cessat?

Spare, I beg you, spare at least the riches that you love. Why do you even wrap your dead in golden garments? Why does ambition not cease amid mourning and tears?

An cadauera diuitum nisi in serico putrescere nesciunt?

Do the cadavers of the rich know not how to putrefy except in silk?

(18) Obsecro, quicumque haec legis, ut Hieronymi peccatoris memineris; cui si Dominus optionem daret, multo magis eligeret tunicam Pauli cum meritis eius, quam regum purpuras cum regnis suis.

(18) I beseech you, whoever you are who read these things, to remember Jerome the sinner; to whom, if the Lord were to grant the option, he would far rather choose Paul’s tunic along with his merits, than the purples of kings along with their realms.

Latin text from: Hieronymus, Vita Pauli, bezorgd, vertaald en toegelicht door Vincent Hunink, Uitgeverij P., Leuven 2002; Latin text with Dutch translation may be found here. The Latin text is based on research into the manuscripts by Dr. Degorski, as published in his dissertation from 1987. There are numerous differences (about 300) with the Patrologia Latina text.

Latin text from: Jerome, Life of Paul, edited, translated, and annotated by Vincent Hunink, Uitgeverij P., Leuven 2002; the Latin text with Dutch translation may be found here. The Latin text is based on research into the manuscripts by Dr. Degorski, as published in his 1987 dissertation. There are numerous differences (about 300) from the Patrologia Latina text.