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The Life of S. Hilarion

31.

The occasion seems a fitting one, since we are on the spot itself, to describe the abode of this great man. There is a high and rocky mountain extending for about a mile, with gushing springs amongst its spurs, the waters of which are partly absorbed by the sand, partly flow towards the plain and gradually form a stream shaded on either side by countless palms which lend much pleasantness and charm to the place. Here the old man might be seen pacing to and fro with the disciples of blessed Antony. Here, so they said, Antony himself used to sing, pray, work, and rest when weary. Those vines and shrubs were planted by his own hand: that garden bed was his own design. This pool for watering the garden was made by him after much toil. That hoe was handled by him for many years. Hilarion would lie upon the saint’s bed and as though it were still warm would affectionately kiss it. The cell was square, its sides measuring no more than the length of a sleeping man. Moreover on the lofty mountaintop, the ascent of which was by a zig-zag path very difficult, were to be seen two cells of the same dimensions, in which he stayed when he escaped from the crowds of visitors or the company of his disciples. These were cut out of the live rock and were only furnished with doors. When they came to the garden, “You see,” said Isaac, “this garden with its shrubs and green vegetables; about three years ago it was ravaged by a troop of wild asses. One of their leaders was hidden by Antony to stand still while he thrashed the animal’s sides with a stick and wanted to know why they devoured what they had not sown. And ever afterwards, excepting the water which they were accustomed to come and drink, they never touched anything, not a bush or a vegetable.” The old man further asked to be shown his burial place, and they thereupon took him aside; but whether they showed him the tomb or not is unknown. It is related that the motive for secrecy was compliance with Antony’s orders and to prevent Pergamius, a very wealthy man of the district, from removing the saint’s body to his house and erecting a shrine to his memory.

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Vita S. Hilarionis

31.

Habitaculum S. Antonii. Cellula Antonii. Ignotum sepulcrum B. Antonii. – Et quia se praebet occasio, et ad loci venimus, dignum videtur brevi sermone habitaculum tanti viri describere. Saxeus et sublimis mons per mille circiter passus, ad radices suas aquas exprimit, quarum alias arenae ebibunt, [0045B] aliae ad inferiora delapsae, paulatim rivum efficiunt; super quem ex utraque ripa palmae innumerabiles multum loco et amoenitatis et commodi tribuunt. Videres senem huc atque illuc cum discipulis beati Antonii discurrere. Hic, aiebant, psallere, hic orare, hic operari, hic fessus residere solitus erat. Has vites, has arbusculas ipse plantavit: illam areolam manibus suis ipse composuit. Hanc piscinam [Mss. piscinulam] ad irrigandum hortulum multo sudore fabricatus est. Istum sarculum ad fodiendam terram pluribus annis habuit. Iacebat in stratu eius, et quasi calens adhuc cubile deosculabatur. Erat autem cellula non plus mensurae per quadrum tenens quam homo dormiens extendi poterat. Praeterea in sublimi montis vertice, quasi per cochleam ascendentibus, [0045C] et arduo valde nisu [al. adnisu], duae eiusdem mensurae cellulae visebantur: in quibus venientium frequentiam, et discipulorum suorum contubernium fugiens moratus est. Verum hae in vivo excisae saxo, ostia tantum addita habebant. Postquam autem ad hortulum venerant: Videtis, inquit Isaac, hoc pomarium [al. pomerium] arbusculis consitum, et oleribus virens; ante hoc ferme triennium cum onagrorum grex vastaret, unum e ductoribus eorum stare iussit, baculoque tundens latera: Quare, inquit, comeditis quod non seminastis? Et exinde exceptis aquis, ad quas potandas ventitabant, numquam eos nec arbusculam, nec olera contigisse. Praeterea rogabat senex, ut sibi locum tumuli eius ostenderent. Qui cum seorsum eum abduxissent, utrum [0045D] monstraverint necne ignoratur. Causam occultandi iuxta praeceptum Antonii fuisse referentes, ne Pergamius, qui in illis locis ditissimus erat, sublato ad villam suam sancti corpore, martyrium fabricaretur.