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Whoever hammers a lump of iron, first decides what he is going to make of it, a scythe, a sword, or an axe. Even so we ought to make up our minds what kind of virtue we want to forge or we labour in vain.

— Anthony the Great The Living Testament: The Essential Writings of Christianity Since the Bible (1985)

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More quotes by Anthony the Great

If we would despise the enemy, our thoughts must always be of God and our souls always glad with hope.

To those who have an active belief, reasoned proofs are needless and probably useless.

To one whose mind is sound, letters are needless.

Regret not that which is past; and trust not to thine own righteousness.

Just as fish die if they are on dry land for some time, so do monks who loiter outside their cells or waste time with worldlings release themselves from the tension of hesychia.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Anthony the Great (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.