anthonyhowelljournal

Books one to twenty of my epic poem The Runiad are available to read on this Heyzine link.

From Book 20

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This blessed Paul, Paul of Thrace, had opted to live in

The most remote cave in the wilderness, so that the Word could be

Heard by any, possibly fleeing from justice, more probably

Fleeing from injustice; yes, even if their flight took them to the

Furthest, most desolate reach of all. Paul had already lived

On earth for a hundred and thirteen years. Antony,

x

At the age of ninety, occupied another place esteemed remote

(As he himself was wont to declare). Having successfully coped

With his demons, Antony was feeling good. He lived a life

Of solitude that earned him respect. When the thought occurred

That there lived no holier man in the waste; no one more hermetic

Than he, he slept the whole blessed night. No demons.

However, in the stillness of a later night it was revealed

x

That there was, further into the wilderness, a hermit more

Hermetic than he: a certain hermit Paul, who hailed from Thrace.

And since Paul served the Lord in the most desolate of places,

Antony ought to pay him a visit. So then at break of day

The venerable Saint, supported by a staff, started out:

But what direction to choose he knew not. The point was simply

To start. Scorching noontide came, with a broiling sun overhead,

x

But still he did not allow himself to be turned from the journey

He had begun. Said he, I believe in my God: some time or other

He will show me the fellow-servant He’s promised me.

He said no more. All at once he beholds a creature of mingled shape,

Half horse half man, called by the poets Hippocentaur.

At the sight of this he arms himself by making on his forehead

The Sign of the Cross, and then exclaims, Holloa! Where in these parts

x

Is the cave of a servant of God? The monster after gnashing out

Some kind of outlandish utterance in words broken rather

Than spoken through his bristling lips, at length finds a clearer

Mode of communication, and extending his right hand

Points out the way desired. Then he rears, next he careers

Through the trees and vanishes from the sight of the astonished

Saint. But whether the devil took this shape to terrify him,

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Or whether it be that the wilderness which is known to abound

In monstrous shapes engenders also that hybrid strain,

We cannot decide. Anyway, Antony was astounded.

Mulling over what he had seen, he continued on his way.

Before long, in a small rocky valley shut in on all sides,

He meets a mannikin with hooked snout, horned forehead,

Cloven hooves like a goat’s. When he saw this, Antony

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Militarily seized the shield of faith and the helmet

Of hope: the creature none the less began to offer the fruit

Of the palm-trees to support him and, as it were, offer

Pledges of peace. Antony perceiving this asked who he was.

The answer he received was this: I am a mortal being

And one of those inhabitants of the desert whom the Gentiles,

Deluded by varieties of error, worship under the names

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 Of Fauns, Satyrs, and Incubi. I am sent to represent my tribe.

We pray you on our behalf to entreat for us the favour of your Lord

And ours, who, we have learned, came once to save the world,

And ‘whose sound has gone forth into all reaches of the earth.’

As he heard such words from the creature, the aged traveller’s cheeks

Streamed with tears, the sign of his deep rapture;

Tears he shed in the fullness of his joy. He rejoiced over

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The Glory of Christ and the destruction of Satan.

Marvelling all the while that he could understand

The Satyr’s language, and striking the ground with his staff,

He said, Woe to you, Alexandria, prostrate before

Unholy beings! Woe to you, harlot city, into which

Have flowed together all the demons of the world!

What will you say now? Beasts speak of Christ, and you instead

X

Of God worship monsters! He had not finished speaking when,

As if on wings, the Satyr fled away. Let no one scruple

To believe this incident; its truth is supported by

What took place when Constantine was on the throne,

A matter to which the whole world was a witness.

For one half-man of that kind was brought alive to Alexandria

And shown as a wonderful sight to the crowd. Afterwards

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His lifeless corpse, to prevent its decay through the summer heat,

Was preserved in salt and brought to Antioch that

The Emperor might see it. Just as freaks were brought to Peter

For his Kunst Kamera in Saint Petersburg. I love to trace

The trajectories of these souls, on earth, back in those early days:

The trajectory of Christopher, of the Centaur whom he meets,

Of Antony, in the vicinity of the cave of Paul of Thrace.