Letter 183
Isidore of Pelusium→Unknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: An unnamed person
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore on the paradox that past temptations lose their force while anticipated ones torment repeatedly — and what to do about it.
The temptation that has already passed quickly loses its edge and turns toward forgetting. But the temptation that is still expected torments as many times as it is anticipated — once for each time the mind rehearses it.
This is why the person who dreads future temptation suffers more than the one who has already been through it. The remedy is not to refuse to anticipate — that is impossible — but to anticipate with the confidence of someone who has already seen what the struggle looks like and has survived it once.
χαὶ μάλιστα τῷ παρεληλυθέναι χατὰ τὸ πλεῖστον μέρος ἐχνενευρισμένα. Ὃ μὲν γὰρ ἀποφοιτῆσας πειρασμὸς αὐτίχα μάλα πρὸς λήθην βλέπει, ὁ δὲ προσδοχώμε- νος τοσαυτάχις ἀνιᾷ, ὁσάχις ἂν ἐλπισθῇ.
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From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: An unnamed person
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore on the paradox that past temptations lose their force while anticipated ones torment repeatedly — and what to do about it.
The temptation that has already passed quickly loses its edge and turns toward forgetting. But the temptation that is still expected torments as many times as it is anticipated — once for each time the mind rehearses it.
This is why the person who dreads future temptation suffers more than the one who has already been through it. The remedy is not to refuse to anticipate — that is impossible — but to anticipate with the confidence of someone who has already seen what the struggle looks like and has survived it once.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.