The two early Christian writings brought together in this volume differ considerably in subject and in form.
One employs narrative to set forth the career and teachings of a celebrated "man of God," while the other
offers fairly systematic instruction concerning the nature and use of the Psalter. Despite their contrasting purposes
and styles, these two lengthy epistles bear the common stamp of Christianity in the patristic age, and readers
will soon sense that both works are informed by assumptions, concepts, and energies that are as fundamental to
the ear of the church fathers as they seem foreign to our own. Although the authorship of the Life of Antony has
been a matter of debate,(1) both of these treatises are now widely thought to be products of Athanasius, the controversial
and frequently exiled bishop of Alexandria during the tumultuous years from 328 to 373.(2) Advocacy of the Christian
beliefs articulated at the Council of Nicaea in 325 (called thereafter "orthodoxy" by its champions)
was Athanasius's consuming vocation, and it was in his capacity as antiheretical activist and writer that he became
one of the more vivid and forceful personalities in fourth-century ecclesiastical and political affairs. Although
the works published here do not purport to be polemical writings, they too provide evidence of Athanasius's vigilance
against unorthodox ideas and doctrines. By the standards of the classical world, the Life of Antony was an immediate
literary sensation. It enjoyed broad circulation among literate members of the Church, presumably was read to others,
and quickly was made available in translation to those who did not read Greek. The treatise contained a view of
Christian living too revolutionary in its implications for individuals and institutions to be labeled, in the modern
sense, "devotional reading." An incounter with the Vita Antonii could have traumatic effect. We may take
it for granted that Athanasius's account of the deeds and powers of Antony appealed also to readers beyond the
Christian community, for though the taste for stories about the exploits of holy men and women is present in most
cultures and times, this appetite was especially strong in late Roman society. To our age and culture the figure
of Antony is thoroughly startling - even offensive. Other centuries did not think him so bizzare, but from the
first there must have been a mixture of admiration and puzzled fascination in the responses of those, Christians
and non-Christians alike, who learned of his life. The Letter to Marcellinus created no comparable stir. Athanasius's
treatment of the Book of Psalms is provocative in ways quite distinct from the story of Antony, and its subject
is, in the strict sense, more esoteric: It contains information and direction intended exclusively for those who
make use of the Psalter in their public and private prayer, and do so as Christians. THE LIFE OF ANTONY The Simplicity
and Complexity of a Classic It was apparently quite soon after Antony's death in 356 that Athanasius answered a
request for more information abaout the renowned Egyptian's life.(3) His correspondents wanted to know of Antony's
yough, of his beginning.....(continued in the book).
Summary
"The [publisher] is to be congratulated on a major publishing enterprise....It is an important ecumenical
series, each book being translated or edited from the original or best available texts and introduced by recognized
scholars and spiritual leaders. This means that for the first time authoritative texts of these great classics
are being made available in an attractive large paperback format with four-color original art covers and with the
texts, notes, introductions and prefaces all presented in an easy-to-read type." Methodist Recorder Athanasius:
The Life of Antony and The Letter to Marcellinus Translation and introduction by Robert c. Gregg Preface by William
A. Clebsch "And it seems to me that these words become like a mirror to the persons singing them, so that
he might perceive himself and the emotions of his soul, and thus affected, he might recite them. For in fact he
who hears the one reading receives the song that is recited as being about him, and either, when he is convicted
by his conscience, being pierced, he will repent, or hearing of the hope that resides in God, and of the succor
available to believers-how this kind of grace exists for him-he exults and begins to give thanks to God."
Athanasius (c. 295-373) Athanasius was a major figure of 14th-century Christendom. As the Bishop of Alexandria,
spiritual master and theologian, he led the Church in its battle against the Arian heresy. Athanasius' The Life
of Antony is one of the foremost classics of Christian asceticism. It tells the spiritual story of St. Antony,
the founder of Christian monasticism. Written at the request of the desert monks of Egypt to provide "an ideal
pattern of the ascetical life," it immediately became astonishingly popular. This work contributed greatly
to the establishment of monastic life in Western Christianity. From a literary perspective, it created a new Christian
genre for the lives of saints. The Letter to Marcellinus is an introduction to the spiritual sense of the Psalms.
The Psalms are presented as a variety of attitudes which coexist in a truly harmonious and whole sense of prayer.
William A. Clebsch of Stanford University, President of the American Academy of Religion, in his Preface to this
volume, says, "This translator's fidelity to the texts ensures that the reader receives in these works Athanasius'
meaning, so far as feasible in the order of his thoughts and in the equivalence of his words."
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
The Life And Affairs of Our Holy Father Antony
A Letter of Athanasius, Our Holy Father, Archbishop of Alexandria, to Marcellinus on the Interpretation of the
Psalms
