Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
A Study Of “On The Character of Men And the Virtuous Life”: Part XV

A Study Of “On The Character of Men And the Virtuous Life”: Part XV

Last updated on: April 14, 2011 at 4:51 am by Henry Karlson

A Study Of “On The Character of Men And the Virtuous Life”: Part XV 2011-04-14T04:51:44-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Introduction and Part II

The next several paragraphs remind us of our relationship with God. First, we are told that we are never apart from the presence of God. All that we do is seen by God, who is omniscient; when we, made out of “dust” look out into the world, we can see many things at once, so we should not doubt that God can and does see everything at once.[1] It is not just God who is watching us; even when we are “alone” we are being watched by an angel. “When you close the doors of your dwelling place and are alone, you should know that there is present with you the angel whom God has appointed for each man; the Greeks call him the personal daemon. This angel, who is sleepless and cannot be deceived, is always present with you.”[2] And with the angel, is God, who is omnipresent; God, unlike material creation, is unlimited and cannot be contained, but is rather the one who contains all things, all humanity, “in His hand.”[3]

Next, we are reminded of the gratitude and praise we are to give to God. In doing this, we find our relationship with God is improved, which is important because this also leads to our own personal perfection. For example, as those in the military are shown to be loyal and thankful to Caesar because he provides them nourishment for their work, so we are to be thankful to God for providing all things for our sake.[4] We must live virtuously, in gratitude toward God; the rewards for such a life build up over time, and we must await them with patience, the same way those who farm the earth wait patiently for the fruit of their labor to come forth from the earth.[5] We must not put any trust in ourselves, but only in God; it’s not easy, and indeed, it is quite difficult to live life without sin.[6] We must understand our sins come, not from the circumstances we find ourselves in, but from the choices we make; it is for this reason we must use our intellect, to discern how we should act, and to “adore God through intelligent speech and thanksgiving.”[7]

Just as we act in such a way as not to be embarrassed before the sight of others, even more we should “cure the passions of the soul” so that we will not be ashamed before God.[8] We have the ability to act properly, to live life properly; no one can force us to sin.[9] However, because of our passions, which can misdirect us and lead us away from God, it is not an easy task; we must struggle with ourselves to make sure we live life virtuously.[10] We can either let our passions overrule us and turn us into their slave, or we can struggle against them, and lift ourselves up and be rewarded for our virtue.[11] “If there were no passions, there would be no virtues, and no crowns awarded by God to those who are worthy.”[12] We must always make sure our intellect remains pure. We should follow only those who know and heed that good, less we fall for the same vices of those who would lead us. “Those who know what is good, and yet do not see what is to their benefit, are blind in soul and their power of discrimination has become petrified.”[13]

Our life should be lived in thanksgiving to God. We must remember, however difficult our life is, we have been blessed with the gift of life. Being thankful to God helps clear our intellect, and allows us to achieve some peace and happiness in this valley of tears. Jesus, after all, came for us to experience a satisfying life (cf. John 10:10). We are able to participate in the kingdom of God, to find it inside us. When the world is seen in and through a thankful experience of God, we can see the beauty and glory of creation. This is not to say our life will be without hardships or sorrow. Even Jesus knew sorrow, even Jesus wept. The world is riddled with sin, and such sin causes us pain and suffering. God does not want us to ignore sin, but to overcome it. We are called to enter the world and to struggle against the powers of darkness within it. The struggle against sin is a necessary struggle this side of eternity, and those who find victory against it, will be crowned in glory. “Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12 RSV).

God does not leave us in this world to struggle in it without aid. We are given our own guardian angel, someone who not only looks over us, but loves us. Because of that love, they grieve when we suffer, they feel sorrow over us when we sin, and they feel joy when they see us achieving some good. They are a close and personal friend, whose presence is all around us, even if we do not discern it. They are constantly interceding for us, and they bring our plights to God. Those who harm the poor, the weak, the “little ones,” will have to answer to the guardian angel of those they hurt: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 18:10 RSV). How are we to understand these angels, what are their personality? Bulgakov says that the guardian angel has a similar character to the one they guard; they are able to be united with the person as their guardian and friend because of this similarity:

A guardian angel has an affinity of individual character with a human. Inasmuch as individuality in general exists, it only consists in a particular how, in a form of perception for everyone’s sake of one and the same world – the Wisdom of God which is revealed in it. […] One can say that there exists a likeness between the hypostasis of a guardian angel and that of a human; it is one and the same individuality living in two worlds, in heaven and on earth. One must, of course, understand this likeness by taking into account all the distinctions in the disclosure of individuality there and here.[14]

Because the angel has a likeness and similarity to us, they can know and understand us in a way others cannot; they can appreciate even more the conflicts we face in our life, and seek, even better, to help us get through them. Because they are with us even as they are turned before the throne of God, their aid is pure; they represent our personality and character in an unfallen, spiritual fashion. Their existence has been sensed throughout history; Socrates’ daemon can be understood as his angel, and his ability to understand and communicate with that daemon (however imperfect it was) led him to a life of wisdom which, in many ways, anticipated the life of the one completely virtuous man, Jesus Christ.

Most of what we see here has been seen in other portions of our text. Anthony, as we have seen, proclaimed our need to struggle against temptation in order to be saved.[15] Anthony understands that it is through our trials we , and others, find out who we are, what we are made of. “Truly, my beloved, you know that when there is a fair wind, the captain of the ship boasts; but it is in the time of violent adverse winds that every skilled captain is revealed.”[16] In our present text, we find that this struggle not only leads to our salvation, but is also rewarded. This really serves as a complement to what we find in other Anthonite literature and reads as quite genuine.

Likewise, we read of Anthony encouraging those who came to him with great suffering, telling them to be patient, and to be thankful for God if God alleviates their ailments:

And with those who suffered he sympathised and prayed. And oft-times the Lord heard him on behalf of many: yet he boasted not because he was heard, nor did he murmur if he were not. But always he gave the Lord thanks and besought the sufferer to be patient, and to know that healing belonged neither to him nor to man at all, but only to the Lord, who doeth good when and to whom He will. The sufferers therefore used to receive the words of the old man as though they were a cure, learning not to be downhearted but rather to be long-suffering. And those who were healed were taught not to give thanks to Antony but to God alone.[17]

Though the circumstances between the intended reader of our text, and those who came to Anthony seeking his help, might differ, the similarity of spirit between the two reads as the thing Anthony might say. He certainly desired to have people to recall God in their daily lives, so that, with such a recall, they could live their life in the way God desired of them.[18] What we find in our text here is one way people can attain such a constant reflection of God, that is, by telling them that God is ever watchful and observant of what they do.

The most difficult, and questionable, text here is the discussion of guardian angels, and the recognition that the Greeks called them daemons. For the most part, we know of Anthony as a foe of all that is demonic; pagan gods were contested as being evil demons. Now, once again, we can either hold to the theory, said at the introduction of our text, that some of the things in here represents “notes” which Anthony took, as he learned about and considered various ideas from which he developed his ascetic ideals. If we follow with this line of thought, we can understand him looking to the pagan tradition and understanding that the pagans themselves often confused angels for daemons, and therefore, what we see here is him trying to point this out here. We must understand the time this text would have been written in, terminology was often in question. It predates Augustine’s contention that no one can call angels, demons, because the term demon had been used in Scripture and had, in his time, become used only as for something which was evil.[19] Origen, of course, preceded Augustine, and he also indicated that there could be no good “daemons,” but he seems to understand how the term could have been used by pagans, confused as they were without Christ.[20] Although we find so many speaking out in this fashion, we must not be too hasty with asserting this was universal. Others were not so quick to make this claim. Thus, Calcidius expressed an interest in pagan daemonology from a Christian perspective. [21] Philo, moreover, was willing to see daemons as angels.[22] It is probable that the ordinary person also saw some relationship between the two (and why the relationship eventually had to be contested). Anthony, though learned to some degree, could have nonetheless also understood the common parlance and given a nod to it. This, however, is very speculative and seems, in the most part, to go contrary to what we would expect from Anthony himself, and so, we should see this as evidence against Anthony’s authorship of our text.

[1] “On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life,” 338 (#61).

[2] Ibid., 338 (#62).

[3] Ibid., 338 (#62).

[4] Ibid., 338-9 (#63).

[5] Ibid., 339 (#64).

[6] Ibid., 339 (#64).

[7] Ibid., 339 (#65).

[8] Ibid., 339 (#66).

[9] Ibid., 339 (#66).

[10] Ibid., 339 (#66).

[11] Ibid., 339 (#67).

[12] Ibid., 339 (#67).

[13] Ibid., 339 (#68).

[14] Sergius Bulgakov, Jacob’s Ladder: On Angels. Trans. Thomas Allan Smith (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerman’s Publishing Co., 2010), 41.

[15] See part IV.

[16] Chitty, Letters of Saint Antony, 11 [Letter III].

[17] Athanasius, Life of Antony, 211.

[18] See Sayings of the Desert Fathers, 2 (#3).

[19] See Saint Augustine, City of God, Book IX. Note how Augustine is arguing against those who would otherwise see daemon as a word which could be used for angels, indicating a time when at least some people did use the words equivocally.

[20] See for example, Origen, Contra Celsus III.37.

[21] See Jan Den Boeft, Calcidius on Demons (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1977). Calcidius was Ossius of Cordova’s archdeacon; Ossius of Cordova presided over the Council of Nicea and helped in the writing of the creed.

[22] “Those beings, whom other philosophers call demons, Moses usually calls angels; and they are souls hovering in the air.” Philo, “On the Giants” in The Works of Philo. Trans. C.D. Yonge (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993), 152.

Previous Post

April 13, 2011

Credo Ut Intelligam: Sam Harris and Pope Benedict on Faith and Doubt

Next Post

April 14, 2011 A Great Labor Priest, a Perfect Antidote to the Voices on EWTN!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2019 A Consistent Ethic of Life Aaron Weldon Abortion absurdity Abuse Scandal Academics Adoption Advent Africa agreement/disagreement with Church teaching Alexander Schmemann Alexham Alterity America Amnesty International Anarchism angels Anglicanism Animals Annual Statistics Anthony Anxietas Apocalyptic Apophatic Appalachia Aquinas Art Atheism Atonement Augustine Authority Baptism Beauty Bible biblical criticism biblical scholarship Bioethics Bishops Black Catholics Black Theology Blackadder Blogs Books Breastfeeding Brett Salkeld Buddhism Bush administration Byzantine Catholic Calvinism Canada Canon Law Capital Punishment Capitalism Caryll Houselander Catholic Blog Awards Catholic Blogging Catholic League Catholic Social Teaching Catholic Worker Movement Catholicity CFL Charity Children Chris West Christ and Culture Christian Democracy Christian Unity Christmas Christology Church Church Doctrine Church History Climate Change Cohabitation Colbert Collegiality Communion Communism Comparative Theology Competition Conferences conscience conscience rights Consequentialism Consistent Life Ethics Consumerism Contraception Contrition Conversion Converts Coptic COVID-19 Creation Critical Thinking Cross Cuba Culture Culture of Death Culture of Life Darfur David Cruz-Uribe David Wheeler-Reed Death Death Penalty Democracy Demons Desert Fathers Devil Dialogue dignity Disability Disarmament discernment Discipleship discrimination Dissent Distributism Division Doctrine Domestic Church Dorothy Day Double Effect Doubt Down syndrome Driving Early Church Easter Eastern Churches Ecclesiology Economics Economy Ecumenism Education El Salvador Election Election 2020 Ellul Embryonic Stem Cell Research Empire Energy Enlighenment Environmentalism Ephraim Radner Episcopal Church epistemology Equality Eschatology Ethics Eucharist Europe Euthanasia Evangelization Evil Evolution Excommunication F.X. Durrwell Facism Facts Fair Trade Faith Family Fashion Feddie Feminism Feminist theology Fertility Fetal Rights Fiction Film Finances First Things flags Folk Religion Food Foreign Affairs Forgiveness Frank Sheed Free Speech Freedom gay & lesbian persons Genocide George W. Bush George Weigel Gerald L. Campbell Girard/Mimetic Theory Global Warming Globalization Gnosticism Good Friday Grace Gratitude Greed Grey Cup 2009 Guadalupe Guest Post Guest Posts Gun Control Gustave Martelet Habitat for Humanity Hans Urs von Balthasar Harry Potter Hate Speech Health Health Care Healthcare Heather King Hebrew Bible Henri de Lubac Henry Karlson Herbert McCabe Heresy HHS Mandate Controversy History Holidays Holiness Holy Spirit Homiletics Homily Homosexuality Hope Hospitality How Far Can We Go? How Far Can We Go? Human Person Human Rights Humanae Vitae Humility Humor Hunger Hunting Identity Idolatry Ignacio Ellacuría Imagination Immigration In Memoriam Income Inequality Inculturation Indigenous People Individualism Inklings Intellect Interdependence Internet Interpretation Interviews Introduction Iraq War Islam Israel Jain James Alison James Martin Jazz Jesus Christ Jews Joe Biden Joe Hargrave Johann Baptist Metz John Allen John Henry Newman John Paul II John the Baptist John XXIII Jonathan Josef Pieper Joseph (the husband of Mary) Joseph Bernardin Joseph Ratzinger Josh Brumfield Journals Joy Judgment Just War Justice Kari Lundgren Karl Rahner Katerina Ivanovna Kenya Keynes Kingdom of God Kyle R. Cupp Labor Language Latin America Law Leanne Ogasawara Legion of Christ Leisure Lent Liberalism Liberation Theology Libertarianism Libya Lies Life life & dignity & responsibility of the human person Literature Little Way Liturgical music Liturgical Year Liturgy Living Simply Living Wage Local Church Lombard Lord of the Rings Louis Dupre Love M.Z. Magic Magisterium Mark DeFrancisis Mark Gordon Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Jr. Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masculinity Matt Talbot Matthew Fish Matthew Levering McCain Media Memorial Day Mennonites Mental Illness mercy Michael Iafrate Middle East militarism Miroslav Volf Mitt Romney Modesty Moral Theology Morality Mormonism Morning's Minion Mother Teresa Music Muslims Natalie Nate Wildermuth Nationalism Native Americans Nature Nazis Neuhaus New Evangelization New York City News NFP nihilism Nonviolence Not Abortion Nova's Ordo Nuclear weapons Nuns Obama Occult Old Age Opus Dei Ordination ordination of women original sin Orthodoxy Oscar Romero Other Voices Pacifism Palestine Palin Papacy Papal Peace Messages Papal Social Encyclicals Particular Affections Partisanship Patriotism Paul Paul Ryan Paul VI Peace Pentimento persecution Personalism Phantastes Philosophy PKD Planned Parenthood Pluralism Poetry Policraticus Politcal Apathy Politics Poll Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope Leo XIV Population Postcolonialsim Poverty Power Prayer Preaching Predictions Predictions for 2012 President Barack Obama priestly formation & discernment Pro-Life Progress Prophetic Witness Proportionalism Public Diplomacy Public Policy Question Quotes Rachel Maddow Racism Radical Catholic Mom Radical Catholicism Raymund Schwager Real Catholic TV Real Presence Reconciliation Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange Religion religious freedom Responsibility Ressourcement Resurrection Rick Garnett Ridiculous Crap You Never Thought You'd See Robert Barron Roe v. Wade Roman Curia Rome Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation History Sam Harris Sam Rocha Same-sex Marriage Saskatchewan Roughriders Satire School of the Americas Science Scripture Seamless Garment Second Vatican Council Seeing Sex sexual violence Sexuality Sia Sin social justice Social Security Socialism Society of Jesus Sofia Loves Wisdom Solidarity Sophia soteriology Soutenus Spirituality Sports St. Dismas St. Joseph Stanley Hauerwas Statistics Stimulus Suffering Sunday Reflections Supernatural Supreme Court Symbolism Syria Taxing Technology Terrorism The State The Tea Party The Trump Administration Theological Anthropology Theology Theotokos Thomas Merton Throwaway Culture Tim Muldoon Tim Riley Tim Tebow Time Titian Tolkien Torture Toys Trade Traditionalism Transgender Transportation Transubstantiation Trinity Truth TV U.S. Affairs Uncategorized Unions unity among people who disagree US Catholicism USCCB Usury Utilitarianism Utopia Valentine's Day Vatican Vatican II Veterans Vicarious Suffering Video Violence Virgin Mary Vocations Voluntary Associations Voluntary Poverty Voting Vox Nova vox nova blog war War and Peace War Strategy Wealth Weirdness Welfare state Women Women Priests Work Woundedness Youth

Select a Month June 2026 May 2025 February 2025 January 2025 July 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 July 2023 March 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 November 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: 2 John is addressed to Gaius, the beloved friend.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE