Letter 511
Isidore of Pelusium→Unknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Theodosius the Scholar
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore on the application of the virtue of justice to commercial and professional dealings — the Christian businessman must hold the same standards in the market as in the church.
The standards of justice do not change depending on the arena, Theodosius. What is unjust in a church dispute is unjust in a business transaction. The man who is scrupulously honest in his religious practice and flexible in his commercial dealings has divided his life into two kingdoms with incompatible laws — and the commercial one, being where the money is, will eventually dominate.
There is no separate ethics for the marketplace. The same God who hears prayers also observes contracts, and the standards he applies to the one are the standards he applies to the other. Whatever is false and exploitative in commerce is false and exploitative — the blessing of a church membership changes nothing about its nature.
Be just in all your dealings, Theodosius. The cost of integrity in business is rarely as high as people fear. The cost of its absence is always higher than they expect.
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From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Theodosius the Scholar
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore on the application of the virtue of justice to commercial and professional dealings — the Christian businessman must hold the same standards in the market as in the church.
The standards of justice do not change depending on the arena, Theodosius. What is unjust in a church dispute is unjust in a business transaction. The man who is scrupulously honest in his religious practice and flexible in his commercial dealings has divided his life into two kingdoms with incompatible laws — and the commercial one, being where the money is, will eventually dominate.
There is no separate ethics for the marketplace. The same God who hears prayers also observes contracts, and the standards he applies to the one are the standards he applies to the other. Whatever is false and exploitative in commerce is false and exploitative — the blessing of a church membership changes nothing about its nature.
Be just in all your dealings, Theodosius. The cost of integrity in business is rarely as high as people fear. The cost of its absence is always higher than they expect.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.