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Saint Anthony

Life & Quotes on Humility

"When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom."

(Proverbs 11:2)

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The Greatest of Virtues -Humility

Humility to virtues, it is often said, is like a root to a tree. A tree could not grow strong, bear fruit, or live a long life unless its roots are established deep in the ground. The branches of humility are modesty, unpretentiousness and respect. Therefore humility, defined as being free from pride, is primary for all those seeking a strong enduring relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Humility, once firmly established, makes the foundation for wisdom strong. King Solomon famed for his wisdom said,

"When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom."

(Proverbs 11:2)

David the Prophet and King said,

"The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple"

(Psalm 19:7)

"the simple" referred to here means the humble.

His Mind was Humble

Anthony was by descent an Egyptian. His parents were of good family and possessed considerable wealth. They were Christians who raised Anthony in the faith. In childhood, he was brought up with his parents knowing nothing more than his parents and his home. However, when he was grown, he did not desire to attend school and associate with other boys. Rather his desire was, as it is written of Jacob, to live a plain man at home (Genesis 25:27).

With his parents, he used to attend church. In his life, he was never idle, and he never disrespected his parents, but he was both obedient to his father and mother and attentive to what was read from scripture, keeping in his heart all that was profitable. And though as a child brought up in moderate affluence, he did not trouble his parents for luxurious items, nor was this a source of pleasure to him. He was content with what he had, and his main pleasure was in attending church seeking to grow in the faith.

He was silent in nature, and his mind was so humble that he did not even trouble his parents by asking them questions. He was exceedingly modest and honest beyond measure. When he attended church with his parents, he would run before them in an outflow of his affection. St. Anthony never neglected or held lightly the observance of any of the seasons of the church neither in his childhood nor in his early manhood.

His going to church was not a mere custom, but the result of discernment and understanding. As a child and a young man, St. Anthony looked up to his family as his teachers, paying them honor after the manner of a fully grown man, and they, at their old age, regarded him as the master of the house until their days came to an end.

When St. Anthony became an adult, he made the eastern mountains and desert his home. He continually strove to overcome great obstacles in his attempt to achieve the highest level of sainthood. He desired to prove his love to God by exhausting every effort to live in unity with God. So, he left the world voluntarily, giving up all his wealth to the needy so that he could live the life of poverty in order to live nearest to the Lord, which is what he so ardently desired.
Throughout St. Anthony's earthly accomplishments and fame, he retained his humility.

As St. Makarius in one of his contemplations asked when he saw demonic temptations scattered all over the earth, "Lord, who can escape it?" and following this question, St. Makarius heard a voice answering, "The humble will."

With his humility, St. Anthony overcame stringency and stubbornness normally associated with isolation. His modesty created gentleness in him. He flexibly exercised wisdom, increasing moderation and discernment with himself and others. He became happy and joyful in his humility and kept it a central part of him till the end of his earthly life.

His Quotes on Humility

+The brothers praised a monk before St. Anthony. When the monk came to see him, Anthony wanted to know how he would bear insults, and seeing that he could not bear them at all, he said to him,

“You are like a village magnificently decorated on the outside but destroyed from within by robbers.”

+One day some old men came to see Abba Anthony. In the midst of them was Abba Joseph. Wanting to test them, the old man suggested a text from the Scriptures, and beginning with the youngest, he asked them what it meant. Each gave his opinion as he was able. But to each one the old man said, “You have not understood it.” Last of all he said to Abba Joseph, “How would you explain this saying?” And he replied, “I do not know.” Then Abba Anthony said,

“Indeed, Abba Joseph has found the way, for he has said: ‘I do not know.'”

“I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I said groaning, ‘What can get through from such snares?’ Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Humility.' ”

-St. Anthony

“Obedience with abstinence gives men power over wild beasts.”

- St. Anthony

“Whoever hammers a lump of iron, first decides what he is going to make of it, a scythe, a sword, or an axe. Even so we ought to make up our minds what kind of virtue we want to forge, or else we labor in vain.”

- St. Anthony

Indeed, he made up his mind, labored and gained both the virtues of humility and wisdom. May the prayers of this great saint be with us all to follow his steps and gain these virtues.

References

The Famous 38 Sayings- LA Copts

St. Anthony the Great: Wisdom Derived from Humility- SUSCOPTS