Letter 226

Isidore of PelusiumPaulus, of Naples|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Paul
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore on the double crown of the one who neither transgresses himself nor leads others to transgress.

The one who neither transgresses himself nor leads others to transgress has achieved a double crown. The first part is difficult enough; the second is harder still, because it requires not only personal virtue but the sustained management of one's influence on others.

Every person of standing affects those around him — whether or not he intends to. The teacher who lives badly gives his students permission to live badly. The elder who cuts corners makes it easier for the young to cut corners. The good of the many depends, in ways they cannot see, on the integrity of the few.

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

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