Letter 1574

From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk To: An unnamed person Date: ~410 AD Context: Isidore acknowledges that a correspondent has written something bold but true — and defends him against those who would silence honest speech. What you have written is truly bold — and true. Those are the two qualities that make a word worth reading. The man who is bold but wrong merely makes noise. The man who is right but too timid to say it is useless. But the man who speaks truth boldly in the service of a genuine cause deserves to be heard. Those who are trying to silence you are doing one of two things: either they want to shut down genuine frankness, which serves them, or they want to train shamelessness further into vice — which serves neither them nor anyone else. Do not be deterred. What can be said against a word that is both bold and true? Nothing, except that it is uncomfortable. And discomfort is exactly what it was meant to produce.

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