Letter 157

Isidore of PelusiumUnknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Athanasius
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore defends the wisdom of limited knowledge, and cites the great Athanasius as a model of the union of action and contemplation.

It is wise — what you call unreasonable — that we do not have knowledge of all things. If everything were clear to us, what need would we have for intelligence? There would be nothing to search for, nothing to discover.

On the great Athanasius: a truly golden chain is woven when a person uses life as his guide and contemplation as the seal of life. Action and contemplation are not rivals. Practice leads to insight; insight perfects practice. The man who divorces them loses both.

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