Letter 120

Isidore of PelusiumUnknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To: An unnamed person
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore humbly defers to Paul's wisdom and warns against arrogance.

I know perfectly well that if I were to ask you whether I am wiser than Paul, you would treat the very question as arrogance. Then how is it that someone who is not equal to Paul in wisdom dares to do what Paul himself did not dare? Paul submitted himself to the judgment of others; you submit to no one. Paul called himself the chief of sinners; you act as though you were chief of the saints. Measure yourself against the apostle, and then see if your confidence survives.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.