Letter 140

Isidore of PelusiumUnknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Herminius the Count
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore meditates on the paradoxes of the cross — how apparent defeat became universal victory.

The cross — the very thing the idol-worshippers mocked — crucified their polytheistic delusion. The suffering of Christ exposed and pilloried the accursed demons. Death killed death. The deadening of the flesh deadened the hopes of those who crucified him. The tomb buried the devil and poured out a spring of life for all.

This is why the divine herald declares: "I am not ashamed of the gospel" [Romans 1:16]. He is not ashamed, because what the gospel announces is something better than any prayer we could have offered — life out of death, victory out of defeat, a spring from a tomb.

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