Letter 39

Isidore of PelusiumUnknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To: An unnamed recipient
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore warns against debating with the uneducated.

Just as it is not safe to travel through a wilderness with a violent companion, so it is not easy to engage in reasoned discussion with an ignorant person. The violent man will use all his strength against you in the desert if you say or do anything that displeases him. The ignorant man, if you do not say everything to his liking, will turn the whole conversation into a brawl. Save your arguments for those who can understand them. With the rest, let your life do the persuading.

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