Muiredach, abbot of Monasterboice, 890-923 AD.; his life and surroundings . sed asceticism,withdrawing more and more into solitude, till at last he ended his daysat an extreme age in a mountain by the shore of the Red Sea, where amonastery still perpetuates his name. The life of Antony, with the story of his perpetual struggles against theassaults of the powers of evil, has been written by Athanasius, and hasmade the subject of countless pictures—good, bad, and indifferent. Atha- > MONASTER BO ICE 8i nasius, however, says nothing of the incident figured on our Cross, whichis recorded by St.
Muiredach, abbot of Monasterboice, 890-923 AD.; his life and surroundings . sed asceticism,withdrawing more and more into solitude, till at last he ended his daysat an extreme age in a mountain by the shore of the Red Sea, where amonastery still perpetuates his name. The life of Antony, with the story of his perpetual struggles against theassaults of the powers of evil, has been written by Athanasius, and hasmade the subject of countless pictures—good, bad, and indifferent. Atha- > MONASTER BO ICE 8i nasius, however, says nothing of the incident figured on our Cross, whichis recorded by St. Jerome in his fife of a contemporary hermit, St. Paulof Thebes. He hkewise found refuge from the evil world in the depthsof the Egyptian desert. When St. Antony was ninety years of age, andSt. Paul twenty-three years older, the former chanced one day to thinkthat no monk more perfect than himself had settled in the desert. Theexistence of St. Paul was revealed to him in the following night, with acommand to go to pay him a visit. Guided over the trackless desert first. Fig. 35.—Meeting of SS. Paul and Antony, panel [41].{From a drawing by the aiitJior.) by a centaur, then by a satyr, and finally by a she-wolf, Antony soughtthe cave of Paul. At first the older hermit barred the door against theintruder on his solitude, but on Antonys introducing himself and tellinghis errand, the other with smiles gave him access. As they were con-versing, a raven came flying down, and laid before them a whole loaf ofbread. See, said Paul, the loving and merciful Lord has sent us aloaf. For the last sixty years I have always received half a loaf; but, nowthou hast come, Christ has doubled his soldiers rations. Then there arose a dispute as to who should break the bread, which, after a whole days L 82 MUIREDACH discussion, was settled by each seizing the loaf on the side nearest him,pulling, and keeping for himself the part that remained in his hand. Forthe rest of the story—how Paul died
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