Letter 176
Isidore of Pelusium→Unknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Archontius the Presbyter
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore argues that those who pursue heavenly glory should be at least as energetic as those who pursue earthly fame through hard work.
Those who are stung by the sharp goads of worldly reputation embrace voluntary hardship — they exhaust themselves pursuing the applause of people who will soon be dead and forgotten.
Those who have been struck by the sharper arrows of heavenly glory should be all the more willing — and all the more eager — to strip down and enter the contest. If earthly praise is worth that much suffering, how much more is the glory that does not fade?
The comparison should embarrass us into action, not into congratulating ourselves on having our priorities right.
δὲ αἰἰἰεία ἰαϑοτεῖ, φμϊαπὶ Οἰιγὶ εἰ πιο ΟοΥ. τχ, . δὲ αυἱΐ δευι}ὶ τυπάδηξ ἰαυἀϊΐδ ιϊηυ}} ἀρ ΔΠ, ἱπαοηῖθδ υὉ υβοϊρίυηϊ ᾿ΔθΟΓ; ποηῆηθ αυΐ οὦ- ᾿εδιὶβ αἱοτίς ( νυϊπογαι! δυηΐ, ἃ ρυογὶ Ἰὰ- νοτῖβ σοι οη(ἱ οΠηι μο τα ΡΔΓ ὁδὶ Εἰ οἱ τοῖς ὁξέσ: τῆς χοσμιχῆς δόξης χέντροις πλητ- τόμενοι πόνους αὐθαιρέτους ἀσπάζονται" οἱ τοῖς ὀξυτάτοις τῆς ὑπερχοσμίου εὐχλείας βέλεσι τετρω- μένοι πολλῷ μᾶλλον νεανιχῶς ἐπὶ τὸν τῶν πόνων ἀγῶνα ἀποδύεσθαι ἂν εἶεν δίχαιοι. ΥΑΠΙ ΓΕΟΤΙΟΝΕΚ ΕΥ̓ ΝΟΤΕ.. () ὑρσϑά,. αι. οἱ ΑἸ. μὴ φτγοάυσυμι μηδὲν. ροδϑίη. () Γέγονας ἰάδιι τπηυϊδιὶ ἴῃ γέγονεν. ἵν.
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From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Archontius the Presbyter
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore argues that those who pursue heavenly glory should be at least as energetic as those who pursue earthly fame through hard work.
Those who are stung by the sharp goads of worldly reputation embrace voluntary hardship — they exhaust themselves pursuing the applause of people who will soon be dead and forgotten.
Those who have been struck by the sharper arrows of heavenly glory should be all the more willing — and all the more eager — to strip down and enter the contest. If earthly praise is worth that much suffering, how much more is the glory that does not fade?
The comparison should embarrass us into action, not into congratulating ourselves on having our priorities right.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.