Letter 127

Isidore of PelusiumUnknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To: An unnamed person
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore warns against the pursuit of wealth and commends virtue instead.

Do not seek wealth, my friend — it is the father of pride, the parent of contempt, the supplier of pleasures, the craftsman of every vice, the thing that robs a person of friendship with God. Seek virtue instead — it frees you from all evils. And if virtue involves sweat and toil, do not flee from it on that account. Everything worth having costs something. The question is not whether the price is high but whether the purchase is worth it. And virtue is worth everything.

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