Letter 19

Isidore of PelusiumUnknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To: An unnamed monk
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore rebukes someone who vowed the ascetic life but lives indulgently.

Why did you choose the narrow way and make vows to God about it, only to walk the broad road? You made a covenant with God, then broke it. You put on the monk's habit, then lived as though you had not. A soldier who deserts in peacetime is shameful enough — but one who deserts after swearing an oath is beneath contempt. Either return to the discipline you promised, or stop pretending. God is not mocked by costumes.

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