and pitiful in that He sendeth us a meal [in this way]. For behold, for fully sixty years I have been in the habit of receiving from this bird half a loaf of bread [daily], but at thy coming, behold, our Lord hath sent unto us a double portion of food because we are His servants.” Then having given thanks unto God, both men sat down at the table, and they disputed with each other who should first break the bread, and whilst they were thus disputing the night came on; thereupon the two men took the bread and spread out their hands, and brake the loaf in the Name of our Lord, and ate it, and having eaten they stood up the whole night in prayer.
Now when the morning had come Paule said unto Anthony, “Thou must know, O my brother Anthony, that I have been living in the desert for a long time past, and that it was our Lord Himself who revealed unto me what manner of man thou art; but, because the time of my rest hath come, and because that which I have been seeking, that is to say, that I should depart and be with our Lord, is about to overtake me [I could not go to see thee]. And now that my time hath come to an end, and, as I believe, a crown of righteousness hath been laid up for me, thou hast been sent by our Lord that thou mayest bury my body in the ground.” Now whilst the blessed man Paule was saying these things Mâr Anthony was weeping with many tears and heaving sighs, and he made supplication unto him, and said, “O my beloved one, leave thou me not here, but take me with thee whither thou goest.” And the blessed Paule answered and said unto him, “It is not meet that thou shouldst seek thine own [advantage], but that of thy neighbours, and therefore, O my beloved, I beseech thee, if it be not a thing which is too hard for thee, to go quickly to thy monastery, and to bring hither to me the cloak which Mâr Athanasius the Bishop gave thee.” Now he did not speak thus because he had need of any apparel, but because he wished to depart from his body whilst Mâr Anthony was absent.
And when Anthony heard concerning the Bishop and concerning his cloak, he marvelled within himself, and having looked upon the blessed Paule in our Lord Jesus, and bowed down before him, he prayed and set forth to go on his journey, and he approached and kissed him on his eyes and on his hands, and he made haste and went forth to depart to his monastery. And having made the journey and arrived at this monastery, his two disciples, who had been seeking him for a long time, met him, and they said unto him, “O father, where hast thou been these days?” And he answered and said unto them, “Woe be unto me! woe be unto me a
