Letter 227

Isidore of PelusiumUnknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Serenus
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore on the necessity of moderation in prosperity — warning that success without self-discipline is the setup for a worse fall.

The wise person keeps his head during prosperity and prepares for adversity while things are going well. Excess in good fortune does not extend it — it shortens it, and makes the eventual reversal more catastrophic.

This is not pessimism about prosperity. It is realism about human nature. The person who cannot handle success with equanimity cannot handle failure with dignity. The two are connected. Train the one, and you prepare for the other.

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