forth as the champion of
Truth and defender of the Faith--a gallant warrior who had not laid
down his arms until the day of his death. Where a weaker man would
have lost courage, he had stood firm; suffering had only served to
temper his spirit, as steel is tempered by the fire. Among men who
were capable of every compromise he had remained loyal and true, and
few have been more loved or hated than he. To his own people he was
not only their Bishop, but a Saint, an ascetic, a martyr in all but
deed; above all, he was an intensely lovable personality, whose very
greatness of soul only made him more compassionate. To the outside
world he was a guiding light, a beacon pointing straight to God and
Heaven. He was a living example of the truth that a man may be
large-minded and yet strong; that he may hate error, yet love the
erring--stand like a rock against heresy, yet be full of compassion
for heretics.

Scarcely was Athanasius dead when he was honored as a Saint. Six years
after his death, St. Gregory Nazianzen speaks of him in one breath
with the patriarchs, prophets and martyrs who had fought for the Faith
and won the crown of glory. His influence is with us to this day, his
memory lingers in the words of that Nicene Creed which was his war
cry; for it is largely owing to his valor that we possess it still.
And through all his works breathes the same spirit--the spirit that
nerved him to fight and suffer--an intense love and devotion to Him
who was the Lord and Master of his life--Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, today and forever.

End of Project Gutenberg's Saint Athanasius, by F.A. [Frances Alice] Forbes

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