nough to occupy them
thoroughly, and many of them suffered grievously from temptations to
which their idleness laid them open. It was supposed, indeed, that they
might find the thoughts of heavenly things enough to fill their minds;
and, when a philosopher asked Antony how he could live without books, he
answered that for him the whole creation was a book, always at hand, in
which he could read God's word whenever he pleased. But it was not every
one who could find such delight in that great book; and many of the
monks, for want of employment, were tormented by all sorts of evil
thoughts, nay, some of them were even driven into madness by their way
of life.

The monks ran into very strange mistakes as to their duty towards their
kindred. Even Antony himself, although he was free from many of the
faults of spiritual pride and the like, which became too common among
his followers, thought himself bound to overcome his love for his young
sister. And, as another sample of the way in which monks were expected
to deaden their natural affections, I may tell you how his disciple Pior
behaved. Pior, when a youth, left his father's house, and vowed that he
would never again look on any of his relations--which was surely a very
rash and foolish and wrong vow. He went into the desert, and had lived
there fifty years, when his sister heard that he was still alive. She
was too infirm to go in search of him, but she contrived that the abbot,
under whose authority he was, should order him to pay her a visit. Pior
went accordingly, and, when he had reached her house, he stood in front
of it, and sent to tell her that he was there. The poor old woman made
all haste to get to him; her heart was full of love and delight at the
thoughts of seeing her brother again after so long a separation. But as
soon as Pior heard the door opening, he shut his eyes, and he kept them
shut all through the meeting. He refused to go into his sister's house,
and when he had let her see him for a short time in this way, without
showing her any token of kindness, he hurried back to the desert.

In later times monks were usually ordained as clergy of the Church. But
at first it was not intended that they should be so, and in each
monastery there were only so many clergy as were needed for the
performance of Divine service and other works of the ministry. And in
those early days, many monks had a great fear of being ordained
clergymen or bishops, because they th