Life of Paul the Hermit

Essay by blzh. Jerome of Stridon "The Life of Paul the Hermit" was written in Antioch in 375-379. It tells about St. Paul of Thebaid (Thebes), who, according to the bl. Jerome, was the mentor of St. Anthony the Great and before him should be considered the founder of Egyptian monasticism. When creating his work, bl. Jerome used the work of St. Athanasius the Great "Life of St. Anthony" (in the Latin translation of Evagrius of Antioch) and oral tradition emanating from the then living disciples of St. Antonia - Amatha and Macaria. In this regard, the work contains not only tales of centaurs and satyrs, but also romantic ideas of the young blj. Jerome of Stridon about the ascetic life, but some of the information provided has historical accuracy. St. Paul appears before readers as a model of a strict desert dweller, who spent 113 years in a cave under the shade of a palm tree, which provided him with food and clothing. *The title of the work in Latin is Vita S. Pauli primi eremitae. For many, the question of which of the monks originally began to live in the desert often remained unresolved. Some, turning their gaze to antiquity, believed the beginning of the desert dwellers to be in blessed Elijah and John. But, it seems to me, Elijah was more of a prophet than a monk, and John began to prophesy even before his birth. Others (with which the majority agree) recognize Anthony as the head of the desert; this is partly fair. But Anthony was not so much the first desert dweller as the man who aroused the general desire for this way of life. The students themselves, Anthony, Amatha and Macarius, of whom the first buried the body of the teacher, testified that a certain Paul of Thebes laid the foundation for desert life, although he did not give it a name; We also agree with this opinion. And some chat in any way they please; they say that (the first desert dweller) was a man covered to his toes with hair, who lived in an underground cave, and they invent various incredible things, which would be tiring to follow; the shameless lies of these stories do not seem worth refuting. Since Anthony has been thoroughly written about in both Greek and Roman style, I decided to write a little about the beginning and end of Paul’s life, more because it had not yet been written about it than out of hope for my own mind. But how he lived in the middle of his life, what temptations he endured from Satan, not a single person knows about this. Under the persecutors Decius and Valerian, when Cornelius in Rome and Cyprian in Carthage were condemned to a blessed bloody death, a fierce storm devastated many churches in Egypt and Thebaid. The duty of a Christian then required him to suffer by the sword for the name of Christ. But the cunning enemy, inventing slow murderous executions, wanted to destroy souls, not bodies; and, as Cyprian himself (who suffered from him) says, he did not allow those who wanted to die to die. To show the cruelty of the enemy, I will give two examples for memory. A certain martyr, firm in faith and remaining victorious among the instruments of torture - wooden horses and iron boards, was ordered by the torturer to be tied up and, having twisted his hands behind his back, thrown under the scorching sun, so that the one whom the iron pans could not defeat would be defeated by the stings of flies. The tormentor ordered another confessor of Christ, blooming with youth, to be taken to a beautiful garden and there, with the sweet murmur of a stream and the quiet noise of tree leaves shaken by the wind, he was placed on a downy bed and tied with soft silk ties so that the young man could not free himself. When everyone had left, a beautiful harlot came, began to hug the young man’s neck, and even, which is criminal to say, to touch the male members with her hands, so that, having aroused lust in her body, she would lie on him like a shameless conqueror. The warrior of Christ did not know what to do and where to turn: lust defeated the one whom torment could not defeat. Finally, inspired from above, he bit off his tongue and spat it in the face of the kissing harlot, and thus the excessive force of pain suppressed the feeling of lust. At a time when such deeds were being carried out in the lower Thebaid, Paul, after the marriage of his sister and after the death of both parents, remained the only heir - having about 15 years of age, having received an initial education in Greek and Egyptian, meek in spirit, very loving of God: when the storm of persecution thundered, Paul went to a remote and hidden village. But what does the cursed thirst for gold not do to mortals? 1 Pavlova’s sister’s husband decided to betray someone who should have been hidden. Neither his wife’s tears, nor his kinship, nor God, who sees everything from above, kept him from committing a crime. Cruelty, taking the form of piety, was inexorable. Having learned about this, the most prudent young man fled into the mountain deserts; and although the end of the persecution was expected, Paul, turning a matter of necessity into a matter of hunting, little by little walked further, then stopped, and after several breaks he finally found a rocky mountain, at the base of which there was a huge cave filled with stones; Having rolled away the stone, and in accordance with the universal human desire to know the hidden, carefully examining the inside of the cave, Paul found a large room, which, with the sky open above, was covered with wide branches of an old palm tree and from which the purest spring of water could be seen, the stream from which, having just burst out, immediately disappeared again into a small well of the earth that gave birth to it. In addition, in the mountain recesses there were many empty dwellings, in which there were already rusty anvils and hammers with which coins were minted. Here, according to the legend of Egyptian books, there was a counterfeit coin workshop at the time when Anthony was in relations with Cleopatra. Having fallen in love with this place, as if specially prepared for him by God, Paul spent his entire life there in prayer and solitude: a palm tree provided him with food and clothing. So that this does not seem impossible to anyone, I testify to Jesus and His holy angels that in that part of the desert that adjoins the Saracens near Syria, I saw monks, one of whom, for 30 years, staying hopelessly in the desert, supported his existence with barley bread and dirty water; the other, imprisoned in an old reservoir (which the Syrians call qubba in their vernacular language), fed daily on five stalks of reeds. This will seem incredible to those who do not believe that all things are possible to those who believe. But let me return to what I started talking about; When blessed Paul had already been living a heavenly life on earth for 113 years, and 90-year-old Anthony was laboring in another desert, the latter, according to his own consciousness, came to the head that there was no monk in the desert who would be more perfect than him. But during the night's rest it was revealed to Anthony that there was another monk much better than him, and that he must set out on a journey to see this ascetic. And so, at the first rays of light, the venerable old man, supporting his unsteady limbs with a staff, set off on a journey, not knowing where. It was already midday, and, despite the intense heat of the sun, the old man continued to walk, saying: “I believe in my God that He will show me His servant, promised to me.” But a greater miracle than this: Anthony sees a strange creature, part man, part horse, which in the language of poets is called Hippocentaur 2: seeing him, Anthony overshadowed his forehead with the image of a saving sign. “Hey,” he said, “in what part of the desert does the servant of God live?” The Hippocentaur, muttering something barbaric, and rather distorting than pronouncing the words, in the horror of the old man, tried to speak kindly to him; stretching out his right hand, he showed him the desired path, and, rushing across the wide fields with the speed of a bird, disappeared from the eyes of the surprised old man. We do not know whether the devil presented a ghostly creature to intimidate the old man, or whether in fact such animals would be born in the desert, abundant in monstrous animals. Anthony, perplexed and reasoning with himself about what he saw, goes further. A little later, in a rocky valley, Anthony saw a small man with a curved nose and horns on his forehead, and the lower part of his body ended in goat legs. Struck by this sight, Anthony, like a good warrior, took on the shield of faith and the armor of hope. The mentioned animal brought him palm fruits for food for the road, as if as a pledge of peace. Seeing this, Anthony stopped and asked the unknown creature, “Who are you?” received the following answer: “I am a mortal, one of the inhabitants of the desert, whom paganism, seduced by all sorts of delusions, honors under the name of fauns, satyrs and nightmares that oppress during sleep. I am sent to you from my brothers. We ask you to pray for us to the common Lord, Who, as we have heard, once came to save the world and His message went throughout the whole earth. - Hearing such words, the elderly traveler wet his face with abundant tears, pouring out from an excess of heartfelt joy. He rejoiced over the glory of Christ and the destruction of Satan, and marveling that he could understand the speech of a desert dweller, striking the ground with his staff, he said: “Woe to you, Alexandria, who instead of God honors various wonders! Woe to you, city of the harlot, where the evil spirits (daemonia) of the whole world have flocked. What do you say now? Animals call on the name of Christ, and you honor various wonders! Before the old man had time to finish these words, the horned animal ran away as if in a flight. So that this story does not seem unreliable to anyone, we will recall an event witnessed by the whole world under King Constantius. A living man of this kind was brought to Alexandria and represented an important spectacle for the people; and then the soulless corpse of this man, to protect it from decomposition due to the heat of the sun, was stuffed with salt and brought to Antioch to be shown to the emperor. Meanwhile (I continue the interrupted story), Anthony walked and walked, seeing only the tracks of animals and the vast expanse of desert; he did not know what to do, where to direct his feet. Another day had already passed. There was only one hope left for the elder - that Christ could not leave him. He spent the whole night, which overtook him a second time on the road, in prayer, and at a weak dawn he saw in the distance a she-wolf who, panting heavily from thirst, ran to the foot of the mountain; Following her with his eyes, the old man, when the she-wolf disappeared, saw the entrance to the cave and began to look inside with vain curiosity, because the darkness prevented him from seeing. But, as Scripture says, “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18); With a quiet step and holding his breath, the cautious observer entered the cave, and, little by little moving forward and stopping often, he began to hear sounds. Finally, through the darkness of the night, he sees a light in the distance, and quickly rushing towards it, stumbling onto a stone, making a noise. Hearing this noise, blessed Paul closed and locked the previously open door to his cave. Then Anthony, knocking at the entrance even until the sixth hour and beyond, asked permission to enter, saying: “You know who I am, where I came from and why; I know that I am not worthy of your seeing, but if I don’t see you, I won’t leave. Receiver of beasts, why do you drive away man? I searched and found it. I push so that it will be opened for me; if my requests are in vain, I will die here at the entrance to your cave; at least you will bury my corpse.” Anthony insisted, convincingly, and was adamant. Briefly answering him, this is what our hero said: (Virg. En. books. II and IV). “No one asks with threats; no one curses with tears: will you be surprised that I will not accept you when you came to die?” So smiling, Paul opened the entrance; and then both elders threw themselves into each other’s arms, greeted each other by name and together thanked the Lord. After the holy kiss, Paul, sitting down with Anthony, began to speak like this: “Here is the one whom you sought with such difficulty: his members, half-decayed from old age, covered with ugly gray hair. Here you see before you a man who will soon be dust. But since love endures everything, then tell me, please, how does the human race live now: are new roofs rising in the old cities, by what power is the world governed, and is there anyone left, captivated by the charms of demons?” whole bread in front of the marveling elders. When he flew away, Paul said: “Behold, the Lord is truly good, truly merciful, and has sent us lunch. For 60 years now I have been receiving half a loaf of bread every day; but now, for your coming, Christ has doubled the portion for his soldiers.” So, having given thanks to the Lord, both elders sat down on the bank of a clear stream. But here a dispute began about who should break bread first, and continued until the evening. Paul referred to the custom of hospitality, Anthony - to the right of precedence. Finally, it was decided to take the bread for both of them together and pull it towards each of them, so that each would have his own portion in his hands. Then, having fallen with their lips into the spring, they drank a little water, and, having offered a sacrifice of praise to God, they spent the whole night awake. And when the day returned to earth again, Blessed Paul said the following to Anthony: “For a long time, brother, I knew that you lived in these parts, long ago the Lord promised to send my co-servant to me. But since the time of my dormition has come and (in accordance with my everlasting desire to be resolved and to be with Christ) at the end of the course, the crown of righteousness is awarded to me; then you have been sent from the Lord to bury my body and bury it in the earth.” Hearing this, Anthony, crying and sobbing, began to beg Paul not to leave him on earth, but to take him with him on the path beyond the grave. But Paul answered: “Seek not other than your own, but your neighbor. 3 It is better for you, having laid aside your bodily burden, to follow the Lamb; but it is useful for the brethren to be edified by your example. Therefore, continue the feat, even if it is painful, and bring the mantle that Bishop Athanasius gave you to cover my body.” Blessed Paul asked for this not because he was too concerned whether his corpse would decay, covered or naked, while for so long he had been clothed only with a plexus of palm leaves; but because he wanted, by removing Anthony from himself, to alleviate his sadness about his death. Anthony, amazed at Paul's mention of Athanasius and his mantle, as if seeing Christ in Paul and honoring the presence of God in his soul, did not dare to object any more, but, kissing his eyes and hands with a silent cry, went back to the monastery, which was later occupied by the Saracens. Although his steps did not match the speed of his spirit, although his body was exhausted by fasting and weakened by years, but with the strength of his spirit he conquered the weakness of the flesh. Finally, tired and barely breathing from fatigue, he reached, having overcome the path, his abode. When two disciples, who had long been accustomed to serving him, came out to meet him, saying: “Where did you delay so long, father?” Anthony answered: “Woe to me, a sinner who falsely bears the name of a monk. I saw Elijah, I saw John in the wilderness, and truly I saw Paul in paradise.” Then, closing his lips and striking his chest with his hand, he took the robe out of the cell. When the disciples asked him to tell in more detail what was the matter, Anthony answered: “a time to speak and a time to be silent.” Then, leaving the monastery, and not taking with him even a small amount of food, Anthony again set off along the same road along which he had come, thirsting for Paul, wanting to see him, contemplating him with his mind and eyes, fearing only that Paul, in his absence, would not give up his spirit to Christ, which actually happened. Another day had already dawned and Anthony had gone three hours away, when he saw among the faces of angels, between the hosts of prophets and apostles, Paul, shining with snowy whiteness and ascending on height. Immediately falling on his face, Anthony sprinkled sand on his head, and, crying and sobbing, said: Why, Paul, are you leaving me? Why are you leaving without my greeting? Why, recognized late, are you leaving so soon? Blessed Anthony later said that he ran the rest of the way like a bird; and there was a reason for it. Entering the cave, he saw a soulless body, with knees on bended knees, with an outstretched neck, with arms raised up; and at first, thinking that Paul was alive, he turned to him with the same requests, but then, not hearing the usual sighs of the one praying and giving him a tearful kiss, he realized that the corpse of the saint was in a reverent position praying to God, to Whom everyone is alive. Having wrapped and carried the body out of the cave, and chanting hymns and psalms according to Christian tradition, Anthony began to grieve that he did not have a spade to dig up the earth. Thinking this way and that, and reasoning a lot with himself, Anthony said: “If I return to the monastery, then three days will pass on the journey; If I stay here, I won't do anything. I will die, as it should be, next to your warrior, Christ, and, falling here, I will give my last breath.” During the elder’s thoughts, two lions with flowing manes quickly rushed from the interior of the desert. Seeing them, Anthony was at first frightened, but, again ascending in thought to God, he began to look at the lions as if at doves and remained fearless. The lions, meanwhile, ran straight to the corpse of the blessed old man, waving their tails affectionately, fell at his feet and growled with a strong groan, making it clear that they were crying in their own way. Then, not far away, the lions began to dig the ground with their feet, and, quickly scooping up the sand, they soon dug out a place convenient for placing one person, and immediately, as if asking for a reward for their work, lowering their necks and moving their ears, they ran up to Antonia and began to lick his hands and feet. Anthony realized that the lions were asking him for a blessing. And immediately, having glorified Christ for the fact that even dumb animals feel that there is God, the elder said: “You, Lord, without whose wave a leaf is not torn from a tree and a sparrow does not fall to the ground, give to them as if weighed.” And with a movement of his hand he ordered them to leave. When the lions departed, Anthony bent his old man's shoulders under the burden of the holy body, placed it in the grave and, pouring earth on top, built a hill according to custom. Another day came, and the pious heir, in order not to leave any of the property after the old man who died without a will, took for himself his tunic, which he himself had woven from palm leaves in the likeness of a basket. Returning to the monastery, Anthony told the disciples everything in order; and on the solemn days of Easter and Pentecost he always wore the tunic of Paul. At the end of this short essay, I would like to ask those who do not know how to count their income, who cover their houses with marble, who string the property of entire cities on one thread: - what has this naked old man ever lacked? You drink from precious vessels: he satisfied nature's demand from handfuls; you have gold-woven tunics: he did not have the cheapest clothing of your slave. But for that, heaven was opened for him, the poor one, and Gehenna awaits you, the gold-bearers. He, although naked, retained the garment of Christ; and you, clothed in silk, have lost the robe of Christ. Paul lies covered with insignificant dust, to be resurrected in glory: and you, who along with your riches will become the prey of fire, are crushed by your magnificent stone tombs. I ask you, spare yourself, spare at least the wealth that you love so much. Why do you even wrap your dead bodies in golden robes? Why does your ambition not subside even during lamentations and tears? Are the corpses of rich people only able to rot in silk clothes?... I adjure you, whoever you are, reader, remember the sinful Jerome, who, if the Lord had offered him a choice, would have chosen the tunic of Paul with his awards rather than the purple of the kings with their punishments. Quid non mortalia pectora cogit auri sacra fames? Verse from the Aeneid of B. Maron. In some codes it reads: onocentaur, in others centaur. Pliny testifies that Hippocentaurs were repeatedly brought to Rome and served as the subject of spectacle. Of course, expensive necklaces, the cost of which was equal to the cost of entire cities. You might be interested in: