Michael | Stories of the Desert Fathers
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Abba Anthony and the Hunter: Why the Monks Were Laughing
What the video says
A hunter waits since before dawn downwind of desert scrub, hoping to shoot a gazelle. When a Dorcas gazelle appears, his bow cracks as he draws it, and the arrow misses. Thirsty, he goes to a nearby settlement of monks, whom he respects for their disciplined life, and finds them laughing together with their elder, Antony.
Their laughter stirs disdain in him. Antony asks him to draw the bow further, and when the hunter refuses for fear of breaking it, Antony says it is the same with the work of God: if we stretch the brothers beyond their limits, they will break, and sometimes it is necessary to come down and meet their needs. Antony then tells him to take food and water on his way out.
Key moments
- 0:00 A hunter waits since before dawn near desert scrub; a missed shot means no food for a day, a broken bow no food for a week.
- 0:32 As he draws on a Dorcas gazelle, the upper limb of his bow cracks; the startled shot misses and the gazelle escapes.
- 1:04 Thirst drives him to a settlement of monks, whose disciplined life he respects, and he trades hides and leather goods for their produce.
- 1:34 He finds the monks laughing together with their elder, Antony, and their laughter stirs disdain in him.
- 1:34 Antony asks him to draw the bow further; the hunter refuses, saying it will break if bent more.
- 2:07 Antony says it is the same with the work of God: stretching the brothers beyond their limits breaks them, and sometimes it is necessary to come down and meet their needs.
- 2:07 Antony tells the hunter to take food and water on his way out.
A hunter in the desert comes upon Abba Anthony and the brethren enjoying themselves together, and he is shocked. Monks, in his eyes, should not be laughing. Anthony does not argue with him. Instead he asks the hunter to put an arrow in his bow and shoot it, then to shoot again, and then yet again.
When the hunter refuses a third time, saying that if he bends his bow so much he will break it, Anthony answers: 'It is the same with the work of God. If we stretch the brethren beyond measure they will soon break. Sometimes it is necessary to come down to meet their needs.' The saying teaches that ascetic effort has limits, and that an elder must sometimes set severity aside to meet the needs of those in his care.
The hunter, pierced by compunction, goes away greatly edified by the old man, and the brethren go home strengthened. The accompanying retelling expands the scene with narrative detail: the hunter waits since before dawn downwind of desert scrub, where a missed shot means no food for a day and a broken bow no food for a week. As he draws on a Dorcas gazelle, the upper limb of his bow cracks, the startled shot misses, and the gazelle escapes.
Thirst drives him to a settlement of monks whose disciplined life he respects, and he trades hides and leather goods for their produce. There he finds the monks laughing with their elder Antony, and their laughter stirs disdain in him. Antony asks him to draw the bow further; the hunter refuses for fear of breaking it.
After giving the saying about the work of God, Antony tells the hunter to take food and water on his way out.
Main points
- A hunter sees Abba Anthony and the brethren enjoying themselves and is shocked.
- Anthony asks him to shoot his bow again and again until the hunter says it will break if bent more.
- Anthony answers that if the brethren are stretched beyond measure they will soon break, and sometimes it is necessary to come down to meet their needs.
- The hunter is pierced by compunction and goes away edified; the brethren go home strengthened.
- In the retelling, the hunter's bow cracks as he draws on a Dorcas gazelle, and Antony later tells him to take food and water on his way out.