E01236: Gregory of Nazianzus, in his Oration 21 of 379/380, mentions the Life of *Antony ('the Great', monk of Egypt, ob. 356, S00098) by Athanasius of Alexandria, which he describes as a rule for monastic life in the guise of a narrative account. He expresses the hope that a similar life will be written for *Athanasius (bishop of Alexandria, S00294) himself. Written in Greek at Constantinople.

Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 21, On Athanasius of Alexandria (CPG 3010.21; BHG 186), 5. 1-7

On the context of this passage, see E01235

Πάντα μὲν δὴ τὰ ἐκείνου λέγειν τε καὶ θαυμάζειν μακρότερον ἂν εἴη τυχὸν, ἢ κατὰ τὴν παροῦσαν ὁρμὴν τοῦ λόγου καὶ ἱστορίας ἔργον, οὐκ εὐφημίας· ἃ καὶ ἰδίᾳ παραδοῦναι γραφῇ παίδευμά τε καὶ ἥδυσμα τοῖς εἰς ὕστερον, εὐχῆς ἔργον ἐμοὶ, ὥσπερ ὃν ἐκεῖνος Ἀντωνίου τοῦ θείου βίον συνέγραφε, τοῦ μοναδικοῦ βίου νομοθεσίαν, ἐν πλάσματι διηγήσεως.

‘To tell his full story and praise would take much longer than the present occasion of my talk permits, and would be a subject for a book rather than a panegyric. For me it would be highly desirable to commit these things to a special book for the pleasure and instruction of posterity, just like the life of the divine Antony, which he wrote providing a rule for monastic life in the guise of a narrative account.’

Text: Mossay and Lafontaine 1980
Translation: E. Rizos