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170 Teachings of St. Anthony the Great: A One-Hour Reading from the Philokalia
1:03:04
What the video says
The video presents a continuous reading of spiritual teachings attributed to St. Anthony the Great on the intelligent soul, virtue, and the knowledge of God. True intelligence, the text says, is not learning but the ability to discriminate between good and evil and to practice virtue with gratitude to God. The soul is free, created by God with the power to choose, and no authority can compel it to evil.
God is not the cause of evil; man's negligence and indolence give birth to evil passions. The reading covers detachment from wealth and bodily desires, the freedom of the soul from bodily suffering and death, the presence of the guardian angel, the relationship of intellect, soul, and body in life and death, and how God, unchanging, is said to turn away from the wicked as the sun hides from the blind.
It ends with teachings on plants having life but no soul, and on the soul's continual movement and the need to watch over oneself against sensual pleasure.
Key moments
- Intelligent men are not those learned in the books of the wise, but those who discriminate between good and evil, avoid what harms the soul, and practice what benefits it.
- God has given self-control, forbearance, fortitude, and patience as powers to resist the enemy's attacks, so that nothing that befalls us seems unbearable.
- Those who practice virtue should not pretend to a piety they lack, but like painters should manifest holiness through their works and shun evil pleasures as snares.
- Human authorities have power over the body alone; if they command murders or soul-corrupting acts, one must not obey, for God created the soul free to choose between good and evil.
- Death, when understood, is deathlessness; what must be feared is not death but the loss of the soul, which is ignorance of God.
- When alone behind closed doors, remember the angel God has appointed for each man is present, sleepless and watchful.
- God is not the cause of evil; He gave man knowledge, discrimination, and free will, while man's negligence and indolence give birth to evil passions.
- God neither rejoices nor grows angry, for these are passions; saying He turns away from the wicked is like saying the sun hides itself from the blind.
The video is a continuous one-hour reading of 170 teachings of St. Anthony the Great, taken from the Philokalia text 'On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life: One Hundred and Seventy Texts'. The reading is meant for slow listening during prayer, quiet reflection, rest, or before sleep, with no need to hurry through the teachings.
St. Anthony speaks about the virtuous life, freedom from the passions, self-control, humility, death, divine providence, the immortality of the soul, and the knowledge of God. Among the teachings: true intelligence is not book learning but the ability to discriminate between good and evil and to practice virtue with gratitude to God.
The soul is free, created by God with the power to choose, and no human authority can compel it to evil; if rulers command murders or soul-corrupting acts, one must not obey. God is not the cause of evil: He gave man knowledge, discrimination, and free will, while man's negligence and indolence give birth to evil passions. Death, when understood, is deathlessness; what must be feared is the loss of the soul, which is ignorance of God.
The reading also covers detachment from wealth and bodily desires, the presence of the guardian angel who is sleepless and watchful even behind closed doors, the relationship of intellect, soul, and body in life and death, and how God, who neither rejoices nor grows angry, is said to turn away from the wicked as the sun hides from the blind.
It ends with teachings on plants having life but no soul, and on the soul's continual movement and the need to watch over oneself against sensual pleasure.
Main points
- True intelligence is not learning from books but discriminating between good and evil and practicing virtue with gratitude to God.
- The soul is free to choose; human authorities have power over the body alone, so one must not obey commands to murder or corrupt the soul.
- God is not the cause of evil; man's negligence and indolence give birth to evil passions.
- Death, when understood, is deathlessness; the real fear is losing the soul through ignorance of God.
- Behind closed doors, remember the guardian angel God appointed for each man is present, sleepless and watchful.