Books/Writings
  • History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne, Vol. 1 (Author: W. E. Lecky)
    (Available New, Used, and as a Free Digital Edition)
  • History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne, Vol. 2 (Author: W. E. Lecky)
    (Available New, Used, and as a Free Digital Edition)
St. Anthony
251 – 356
Egyptian

Christian Hermit and later Saint. He sold all his possessions at twenty to give to the poor and entered into a life of strict solitude in the desert of Egypt.

After several decades, during which he reportedly experienced and overcame repeated temptations by the devil, he founded a monastic movement whose influence quickly spread. Members of the movement, often called anchorites, typically rejected books, learning and knowledge, and, in addition to seclusion, emphasized the most resolute asceticism. At its extreme, this meant self-starvation, wearing the same clothes until they rotted, never bathing or cutting hair, living in holes and old wells, carrying weights, or exposing oneself to venomous insect stings.

St. Antony did not indulge in the most violent penances, (although he reputedly never washed his feet), but his followers seemingly strove to outdo one another in self-immolation.

Contemporaries
346–395Theodosius I
350–428Theodore of Mopsuestia
348–410Prudentius
340–385Priscillian
233–304Porphyry
205–270Plotinus
fl. 350St. Pachomius
185–254Origen
fl. 350St. Nicholas
215–276Manichaeus
?–355Donatus Magnus
240–320Lactantius
332–363Julian
342–420St. Jerome
291–371St. Hilarion
c. 275–303St. George
?–342Eusebius of Nicomedia
264–340Eusebius of Caesarea
304–384St. Damasus I
200–258St. Cyprian
315–386St. Cyril of Jerusalem
274–337Constantine I
fl. 350Chandragupta II
?–307St. Catherine
329–379St. Basil
354–430St. Augustine
296–373St. Athanasius
250–336Arius
339–397St. Ambrose