From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Didymus the Scholar
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore urges reconciliation between quarreling parties, arguing that natural gifts of affection are being wasted on conflict.
If your natural gift for love — and it is a great gift — is being wasted on quarrels, then something has gone badly wrong. A nature capable of strong attachment is also capable of strong enmity; the same energy is being used for destruction that could be used for building.
The reconciliation being offered to you is genuine. Accept it without requiring that the other party acknowledge more than they are willing to acknowledge. The complete accounting of who was wrong and by how much can wait for a better time — or, better, can simply be waived. What you gain from reconciliation is worth more than what you would gain from being proved right.
Context:Isidore urges reconciliation between quarreling parties, arguing that natural gifts of affection are being wasted on conflict.
If your natural gift for love — and it is a great gift — is being wasted on quarrels, then something has gone badly wrong. A nature capable of strong attachment is also capable of strong enmity; the same energy is being used for destruction that could be used for building.
The reconciliation being offered to you is genuine. Accept it without requiring that the other party acknowledge more than they are willing to acknowledge. The complete accounting of who was wrong and by how much can wait for a better time — or, better, can simply be waived. What you gain from reconciliation is worth more than what you would gain from being proved right.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.