SAINT, was born in Egypt in 251, and inherited a large fortune, which he distributed among his neighbours and the poor, retired into solitude, founded a religious order, built many monasteries, and died anno 356. Many ridiculous stories are told of his conflicts with the devil and of his miracles. There are seven epistles extant attributed to him.
St Anthony is sometimes represented with a fire by his side, signifying that he relieves persons from the inflammation called after his name; but always accompanied by a hog, on account of his having been a swineherd, and curing all disorders in that animal. To do him the greater honour, the Romans in several places keep at common charges a hog denominated St Anthony's hog, for which they have great veneration. Some will have St Anthony's picture on the walls of their houses, hoping by that to be preserved from the plague; and the Italians, who do not know the true signification of the fire painted at the side of their faint, concluding that he preserves houses from being burnt, invoke him on such occasions. Both painters and poets have made very free with this saint and his followers: the former, by the many ludicrous pictures of his temptation; and the latter, by divers epigrams on his disciples or friars; one of which is the following, printed in Stephen's World of Wonders:
Once fed'dst thou, Anthony, an herd of swine, And now an herd of monks thou feedest still. For wit and gut alike both charges bin; Both loven filth alike; both like to fill Their greedy paunch alike: nor was that kind More beafty, fottish, twinish, than this laft. All else agrees: one fault I only find, Thou feedest not thy monks with oaken maft.
ANTHONY or Knights of St Anthony, a military order, instituted by Albert duke of Bavaria, Holland, and Zealand, when he designed to make war against the Turks in 1382. The knights wore a collar of gold. ANTHONY gold made in form of a hermit's girdle, from which hung a stick cut like a crutch, with a little bell, as they are represented in St Anthony's pictures.
St Anthony also gives the denomination to an order of religious founded in France about the year 1295, to take care of those afflicted with St Anthony's fire; (see the next article.)—It is said, that, in some places, these monks assume to themselves a power of giving, as well as removing, the ignis fever, or crypsipelas; a power which stands them in great stead for keeping the poor people in subjection, and extorting alms. To avoid the menaces of these monks, the country people present them every year with a fat hog a piece. Some prelates endeavoured to persuade Pope Paul III. to abolish the order; questuarium illorum sancti Antonii, qui deplentant religionem simplices, quique innumeris superstitionibus implicati, de medio tollendos esse. But they failed, notwithstanding, to this day, in several places.
St Anthony's Fire, a name properly given to the crypsipelas. Apparently it took this denomination, as those afflicted with it made their peculiar application to St Anthony of Padua for a cure. It is known, that anciently particular diseases had their peculiar saints: thus, in the ophthalmia, persons had recourse to St Lucia; in the toothache, to St Apollonia; in the hydrophobia, to St Hubert, &c.