Letter 1546
Isidore of Pelusium→Unknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To: An unnamed person
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Two short letters — one urging a father to stop pretending not to notice that his sons are quarreling.
Some say that your eldest and youngest children are at odds, and that you know this but pretend not to. Put down the deliberate ignorance quickly and try to reconcile them before the breach widens. A wound that could have been stitched shut in a day becomes a scar that lasts a lifetime if left unattended.
A father who sees a quarrel between his children and looks away is not keeping the peace — he is merely postponing it. The one who intervenes early, even if they do not thank him immediately, will be thanked in the end.
Ἠογίαι!εν μἱ ἐμιον βίὶο5 ἐμὸς τοσοποὶ[ἰδί σοποοτάξαηε δἰ ἀπιονοῆὶ. Εἰ ἰυὰπἢ τᾶχηυ πδῖυ τη γα ὸ ([ - δι Γ, ἰθ4ὺ6 : Γαΐ (Ὅγυηι οοηδοίυη.,, (β γα ἴ8- , 4υδϑὶ πΠοδοα8. θαροβίία ἰίάφυθ δρομῃίδιθα [ ἱκηογδηιία, οοηΆΓ6, .., [Π Δ ηγυΐϊαυπὶ δάϊα γο ΔΊΠΟΓΘΙΙ,, Π6 ἰμμπιοάϊοαυ!ϊα εἶπα τηδίμη Οχϑὶϑίδί. θβοογΐα δηΐπὶ θοηΐ ἢ] αἰφηΐ!. δος δὶ, υἱ φυθδιη- ϑιἰπηοι πη ΡΑΓΘῺΒ βαπα δι, δἷς οἱ "θη ᾿ υἱ οἰι, οἴδιοῖδς, ΟΟΥΙΙ. -- ΕἸΌΕΜ. Τὸν πρεσδύτατόν σου τῶν παίδων πρὸς τὸν νεώτα- τον διαφέρεσθαί τινές φασι, χαὶ σὲ μὲν εἰδέναι, προσ- ποιεῖσθαι δὲ μὴ εἰδέναι" βᾶττον τοίνυν ἀποθέμενος τὴν ἐχούσιον ἄγνοιαν, πειράθητι αὐτοὺς εἰς φιλίαν συναλλάξαι, μὴ ποτέ τι ἀνήχεστον τεχθεέη χαχόν" οὐ γάρ τι χρηστὸν ἡ φιλονειχία ὠδίνει" ἵν᾽ ὥσπερ τοῦ εἶναι μετὰ τὴν πρόνοιαν αὐτοῖς χατέστης αἴτιος, οὕτω καὶ τοῦ εὖ εἶναι κατασταίης. ΣΖ'. -- Τῷ ΑΥ̓́ΤΩ. Υὶς αηιογὶς πιμίῇ. ὕιτιη οὐΐυι) αἰφυδιο οοηνίοἰυπὶ) οχ Ποβίθ Ρἰαυϑὶ- Ὁ ραγῖι, ἰἴὰ σοηῖγὰ δυλίοἰ εἶα γο οὶ ἃς νοΐ ῃγ0- (εἶδ ἱυγρίιπ . ΟΟΥ̓ΠΙ. --- ΟΙΙΟΝΙ. “Ὥσπερ ἡ ἀπέχθεια εὐπαράδεχτόν πως τὴν παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐργάζεται λοιδορίαν, οὕτως ἡ φιλία δια- χρούεται ταύτην καὶ ἀχοντίζει ().
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From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To: An unnamed person
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Two short letters — one urging a father to stop pretending not to notice that his sons are quarreling.
Some say that your eldest and youngest children are at odds, and that you know this but pretend not to. Put down the deliberate ignorance quickly and try to reconcile them before the breach widens. A wound that could have been stitched shut in a day becomes a scar that lasts a lifetime if left unattended.
A father who sees a quarrel between his children and looks away is not keeping the peace — he is merely postponing it. The one who intervenes early, even if they do not thank him immediately, will be thanked in the end.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.