and [thus] thou shalt benefit many.” Then Ammôn praised God, and said unto her, “O lady, this mind is beautiful, and if it be acceptable unto thee do thou remain and abide in this house in peace, and I will go and make another for myself.” And having gone forth from her Ammôn departed and entered into Mount Nitria, where as yet the monasteries were not numerous, indeed up to that time there were no monasteries at all there; and he built himself a habitation there, and dwelt therein for two and twenty years. And having attained unto the highest practice of the labours of the ascetic life he ended his days, that is to say, the holy man Ammôn went to his rest and slept when he was sixty-two years of age. Twice in the year he used to go and see his spouse; and he died in his virginity, and his wife likewise brought the years of her life to an end in purity.
Now the following wonderful thing is told concerning him by the blessed Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, in the book which he composed about the life and deeds of the blessed Anthony. Once when he was about to cross the river which is called “the Wolf” with Theodore his disciple, he was ashamed to take off his clothes [lest] he might see the nakedness of his person. And being doubtful in his mind (literally thoughts) how he should cross over wonder fell upon him, and through an angel he crossed the river without any [boat] whatsoever [on his part]. It was the same Ammôn who saw the blessed man Anthony, who lived and died in such wise that his soul was taken to heaven by angels, and it was he who passed over the waters by the might of the Holy Spirit. Now as concerning this river which is called “the Wolf,” I myself was once in great fear when I was crossing it in a boat, because it is filled with the overflow of the waters of the Nile.
Chapter ix. The History of the Blessed Man Hor
NOW in Mount Nitria there was a certain man whose name was Hor, concerning whom men, especially all the brotherhood, testify to many of his triumphs, and also that marvellous and excellent woman Melhâ (i.e., Melania), the handmaid of Christ, who went into this mountain before I did. As for me, I never became acquainted with this man. And in his history they say this one thing: “He never told a lie in his life, and he never used oaths; he never uttered a curse, and beyond what was absolutely necessary he never spoke at all.”
