Letter 138

Isidore of PelusiumUnknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Didymus the Presbyter
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore makes a pointed logical argument: those who fail at what everyone agrees on forfeit credibility on contested questions.

Those who fail conspicuously at what is universally acknowledged to be right have no authority to pronounce on matters that seem disputed. For if they embrace wickedness even when the whole world agrees it is wicked — what weight can their judgment carry when the question is harder?

Credibility, like virtue, is built on the foundations everyone can see. Tear up the foundations and the upper structure goes with them.

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