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Monica (Augustine’s Mother)
Antony was an Egyptian monk who lived in the fourth century. Notably, his decision to embrace the monastic life is traditionally described as a spontaneous conversion upon hearing a command from scripture, much like Augustine’s. His story inspired Ponticianus’s two friends to become monks themselves, and hearing about the two friends inspires Augustine to change his life in turn.
Antony Quotes in Confessions
The Confessions quotes below are all either spoken by Antony or refer to Antony. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 8 Quotes
As a youth I had been woefully at fault, particularly in early adolescence. I had prayed to you for chastity and said ‘Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.’ For I was afraid that you would answer my prayer at once and cure me too soon of the disease of lust, which I wanted satisfied, not quelled.
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I was asking myself these questions, weeping all the while with the most bitter sorrow in my heart, when all at once I heard the singsong voice of a child in a nearby house. Whether it was the voice of a boy or a girl I cannot say, but again and again it repeated the refrain ‘Take it and read, take it and read’. At this I looked up, thinking hard whether there was any kind of game in which children used to chant words like these, but I could not remember ever hearing them before. I stemmed my flood of tears and stood up, telling myself that this could only be a divine command to open my book of Scripture and read the first passage on which my eyes should fall.
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Antony Character Timeline in Confessions
The timeline below shows where the character Antony appears in Confessions. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 8
...Ponticianus visited them, noticed Augustine’s interest in the Bible, and told them the story of Antony, an Egyptian monk, and the story of two of Ponticianus’s friends, who had been suddenly...
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...must be a divine command to pick up and read his Bible. He recalled that Antony had been converted instantly by hearing a similar command in church. He rushed back to...
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