Part 18 (2/2)

On hearing these words, Paphnutius lifted his eyes to heaven and murmured--

”Lord, Thou lookest with kindness upon this man polluted by adultery, sacrilege, and so many crimes, and Thou turnest away from me, who have always kept Thy commandments! How inscrutable is Thy justice, O my G.o.d!

and how impenetrable are Thy ways!”

Zozimus extended his arms.

”Look, venerable father! On both sides of the horizon are long, black files that look like emigrant ants. They are our brothers, who, like us, are going to meet Anthony.”

When they came to the place of meeting, they saw a magnificent spectacle. The army of monks extended, in three ranks, in an immense semicircle. In the first rank stood the old hermits of the desert, cross in hand, and with long beards that almost touched the ground. The monks, governed by the abbots Ephrem and Serapion, and also all the cen.o.bites of the Nile, formed the second line. Behind them appeared the ascetics, who had come from their distant rocks. Some wore, on their blackened and dried-up bodies, shapeless rags; others had for their only clothes, bundles of reeds held together by withies. Many of them were naked, but G.o.d had covered them with a fell of hair as thick as a sheep's fleece.

All held branches of palm; they looked like an emerald rainbow, or they might have been also compared to the host of the elect--the living walls of the city of G.o.d.

Such perfect order reigned in the a.s.sembly, that Paphnutius found, without difficulty, the monks he governed. He placed himself near them, after having taken care to hide his face under his hood, that he might remain unknown, and not disturb them in their pious expectation.

Suddenly, an immense shout arose--

”The saint!” they all cried. ”The saint! Behold the great saint, against whom h.e.l.l has not prevailed, the well-beloved of G.o.d! Our father, Anthony!”

Then a great silence followed, and every forehead was lowered to the sand.

From the summit of a dune, in the vast void s.p.a.ce, Anthony advanced, supported by his beloved disciples, Macarius and Amathas. He walked slowly, but his figure was still upright, and showed the remains of a superhuman strength. His white beard spread over his broad chest, his polished skull reflected the rays of sunlight like the forehead of Moses. The keen gaze of the eagle was in his eyes; the smile of a child shone on his round cheek. To bless his people, he raised his arms, tired by a century of marvellous works, and his voice burst forth for the last time, with the words of love.

”How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!”

Immediately, from one end to the other of the living wall, like a peal of harmonious thunder, the psalm, ”Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord,” broke forth.

Accompanied by Macarius and Amathas, Anthony pa.s.sed along the ranks of the old hermits, anchorites, and cen.o.bites. This seer, who had beheld heaven and h.e.l.l; this hermit, who from a cave in the rock, governed the Christian Church; this saint, who had sustained the faith of the martyrs; this scholar, whose eloquence had paralysed the heretics, spoke tenderly to each of his sons, and bade them a kindly farewell, on the eve of the blessed death, which G.o.d, who loved him, had at last promised him.

He said to the abbots Ephrem and Serapion--

”You command large armies, and you are both great generals. Therefore, you shall put on in heaven an armour of gold, and the Archangel Michael shall give you the t.i.tle of kiliarchs of his hosts.”

Perceiving the old man Philemon, he embraced him, and said--

”Behold, the kindest and best of all my children. His soul exhales a perfume as sweet as the flower of the beans he sows every year.”

To Abbot Zozimus he addressed these words--

”Thou hast never mistrusted divine goodness, and therefore the peace of the Lord is in thee. The lily of thy virtues has flowered upon the dunghill of thy corruption.”

To all he spoke words of unerring wisdom.

To the old hermits he said--

”The apostle saw, round the throne of G.o.d, eighty old men seated, clad in white robes, and wearing crowns on their heads.”

To the young men--

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