Antony would rather not
[468-520]
Antony’s vocation was for the solitary life. He lived in a cave near Lake Como, which brought him some local acclaim. People started camping nearby, hoping Antony would teach them his hermitly ways, but he refused. He was afraid the attention would make him vain, so he moved somewhere else.
A few years ago, the novelist Lorenzo Carcaterra wrote a story for National Geographic about visiting Lake Como with his wife, who was then in stage four lung cancer. Carcaterra called the trip a “glimpse of heaven,” though he didn’t acknowledge the lake’s actual religious significance. Antony would’ve appreciated that.