Through observing the comparison of the St. Anthony’s idealism and Hannah’s realism about the pureness of the soul, it highlights the effort it requires to maintain virtue and turn away sin by choice. A large aspect of St. Anthony’s story was about his ideas of souls and mortality. In the twentieth chapter of the story, he says: “Fore rectitude of soul consists in its having its spiritual part in its natural state as created. But on the other hand, when it swerves and turns away from its natural state, that is called vice of the soul. Thus the matter is not difficult. If we abide as we have been made, we are in a state of virtue, but if we think of ignoble things we shall be accounted evil.” The idea of a ‘natural part’ of the soul is an interesting concept because it suggests this innocence and goodness that all humans are born with. The connotation of it being ‘natural’ makes it seem that being good and faithful is the ‘natural’ way for humanity. It reiterates the notion of free will in the Bible and the choice to have “vice of the soul” and participate in “ignoble things.” The soul seems to be a very crucial aspect of humanity and God by testing humans to see if they are virtuous. The reiteration of the point of good and evil of the soul is presented: “That the demons have not been created like what we mean when we call them by that name; for God made nothing evil, but even they have been made good.” Since nothing is created evil, it must be poisoned by the touch of evil, and it seems that the pure soul can be made evil if not committed to virtue.
St. Anthony also preaches: “I die daily.” “For if we too live as though dying daily, we shall not sin.” This point is specifically connected to the first book of Samuel which details Elijah and Hannah’s relationship. It reads: “And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord” Samuel 1:15. This point about her ‘pouring’ her soul to God and the Lord is an interesting continuation to what St. Anthony’s story presented. Hannah is saying that to keep her soul virtuous and pure, it is hard task. St. Anthony talks about dying daily, which is a very romantic notion to protect your morality, while Hannah sounds more realistic and struggled in her attempt to not choose evil. Since the soul is such an abstract in the Biblical context and in St. Anthony’s telling, Hannah represents a real struggle of how difficult it is to keep the soul ‘natural’ and good.