From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To: Anatoles
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore passes on a serious rebuke — that Anatoles is associating most freely with those whose company is scandalous, while neglecting those deserving of his time.
Many people are greatly reproaching you: that you speak most pleasantly with those whom it is not even right to look at; that you have made close companions of those with whom any association is shameful; and that you show affection in their absence for those whom it would be dishonorable to greet in their presence.
If they are telling the truth, acknowledge it; if not, make the true situation plain. But do not simply ignore the accusation, as if the words of those who tell you uncomfortable things have no claim on you. The man who is known for his good associations is protected by them; the man who is known for his bad ones is already being weighed down by them, whether or not he feels the weight yet.
Context:Isidore passes on a serious rebuke — that Anatoles is associating most freely with those whose company is scandalous, while neglecting those deserving of his time.
Many people are greatly reproaching you: that you speak most pleasantly with those whom it is not even right to look at; that you have made close companions of those with whom any association is shameful; and that you show affection in their absence for those whom it would be dishonorable to greet in their presence.
If they are telling the truth, acknowledge it; if not, make the true situation plain. But do not simply ignore the accusation, as if the words of those who tell you uncomfortable things have no claim on you. The man who is known for his good associations is protected by them; the man who is known for his bad ones is already being weighed down by them, whether or not he feels the weight yet.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.