ANTHONY, SAINT (c. A.D. 250-350), the first Christian monk, was born in middle Egypt. At the age of 2n he began to practise an ascetic life, and after 15 years of this life, he withdrew for solitude to a mountain by the Nile, called Pispir, now Der el Memum, opposite Arsinoe in the Fayum. In the early years of the 4th century, he emerged from his retreat to organize the mo nastic life of the monks who imitated him. After a time, he again withdrew to the mountain by the Red sea, where now stands the monastery that bears his name (Der Mar Antonios). Shortly before his death, he ventured to Alexandria to preach against Arianism.
Anthony is noted for his combats with the hosts of evil. Athanasius tells us that he was first tempted by thoughts of family joys and duties, and of the difficulty of his chosen life, but the devil finding argument of no avail, and hoping to arouse in him the pride of success, appeared as a cringing black boy ad mitting that he had been defeated by the saint. At other times he appeared under the guise of a monk bringing him bread during his fasts, or under the form of wild beasts, women or soldiers, sometimes beating the saint and leaving him as dead.
Anthony is also recognized as the father of Christian monachism. The monastic rule which bears his name was not written by him, but was compiled from writings and discourses attributed to him in the Life and the Apophthegmata Patrum. The rule is still observed by a number of Coptic Syrian and Armenian monks. (See MONASTICISM.) BIBLIOGRAPHY.—The Greek Vita is among the works of St. AthanaBibliography.—The Greek Vita is among the works of St. Athana- sius; for the almost contemporary Latin trans. see Rosweyd's Vitae Patrum (Migne, Patrol Lat. lxxiii.) ; English trans. in the Athanasius volume of the "Nicene and Post-Nicene Library." Accounts of St. Anthony are given by Card. Newman, Church of the Fathers (His torical Sketches) and Alban Butler, Lives of the Saints (Jan. 17). Discussions of the historical and critical questions will be found in E. C. Butler, Lausiac History of 1904) , part i., pp. 197, 215-228; part ii., pp. 9-12 ; and Contzen, Die Regel des hl. An tonius (Melten, 1896) .