From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Maron
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore reproves Maron for both his own meddling and his role in encouraging others to slander — pointing out that he has never actually tasted the tranquil life he could have had.
You seem to be ignorant of how great a joy the untroubled life contains. Perhaps not you alone, but also those who have taken up the same kind of life as you — since none of you have ever tasted it cleanly, without the aftertaste of all this busyness.
Stop, then, not only your own meddling and slander, but also your habit of encouraging those who slander. You are bringing something on yourself that is far from the life that was within your reach. The peaceful life does not come to the man who keeps one hand busy stirring up trouble. You must choose it, Maron, and choose it completely — not as a direction while still moving the other way.
Context:Isidore reproves Maron for both his own meddling and his role in encouraging others to slander — pointing out that he has never actually tasted the tranquil life he could have had.
You seem to be ignorant of how great a joy the untroubled life contains. Perhaps not you alone, but also those who have taken up the same kind of life as you — since none of you have ever tasted it cleanly, without the aftertaste of all this busyness.
Stop, then, not only your own meddling and slander, but also your habit of encouraging those who slander. You are bringing something on yourself that is far from the life that was within your reach. The peaceful life does not come to the man who keeps one hand busy stirring up trouble. You must choose it, Maron, and choose it completely — not as a direction while still moving the other way.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.