Letter 453
Isidore of Pelusium→Unknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Athanasios
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore commends Athanasios for seeking guidance, and urges him to pursue divine wisdom with genuine urgency rather than treating it as an accessory to his other concerns.
I have received what you sent, and I recognize in it the spirit of one who genuinely seeks rather than one who merely inquires. There is a difference. The one who genuinely seeks is already moving; the one who merely inquires is waiting to see if the answer suits him before deciding to move.
Pursue divine wisdom, Athanasios, as a man who needs it — because you do. The soul that is not actively fed is not standing still; it is declining. The time for leisurely consideration has passed. What is needed now is decision and motion.
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From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Athanasios
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore commends Athanasios for seeking guidance, and urges him to pursue divine wisdom with genuine urgency rather than treating it as an accessory to his other concerns.
I have received what you sent, and I recognize in it the spirit of one who genuinely seeks rather than one who merely inquires. There is a difference. The one who genuinely seeks is already moving; the one who merely inquires is waiting to see if the answer suits him before deciding to move.
Pursue divine wisdom, Athanasios, as a man who needs it — because you do. The soul that is not actively fed is not standing still; it is declining. The time for leisurely consideration has passed. What is needed now is decision and motion.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.