Letter 20: If the shamelessness of sinners and the arrogance of the wicked trouble you, do not be surprised.

Isidore of PelusiumTeomos|c. 394 AD|Isidore of Pelusium|AI-assisted
monasticism

If the heretic who has disputed with you accepts, as you have written, the Son of God as a trustworthy teacher, then the Son himself teaches the nature of the adorable Spirit of unity, having declared one name for the divine Trinity and signifying the union of the one substance. But if he does not believe the Son when he reveals the nature of the kindred Spirit and teaches what surpasses the human mind, then our words of commendation are superfluous, since the earthly tabernacle scarcely discovers what lies at its feet. The hidden things in heaven, which surpass our perception, he himself both reveals and knows, who dwells in heaven.

AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.

Latin / Greek Original

Τῷ Ἡρακλείῳ
Κατὰ Μακεδονιανῶν, ἤτοι Πνευματομάχων.

Εἰ δέχεται ὁ πρὸς σὲ διενεχθεὶς αἱρετικὸς, καθὼς
γέγραφας, τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱὸν δογματιστὴν ἀξιόπι-
στον, αὐτὸς διδάσκει τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ προσκυνητοῦ
τῆς ἑνότητος Πνεύματος, ἓν ὄνομα τῆς θείας
Τριάδος ἀποφηνάμενος, τῆς μιᾶς οὐσίας σημαίνων
τὴν ἕνωσιν. Εἰ δὲ αὐτῷ μὴ πιστεύει, τὴν ἀκρίβειαν
τοῦ συγγενοῦς σημαίνοντι Πνεύματος, καὶ τὰ ὑπὲρ
νοῦν ἀνθρώπινον ἐκδιδάσκοντι, περιττή τυγχάνει
τῶν ἡμετέρων λόγων ἡ σύστασις· ἐπειδὴ τὸ γεῶδες
σκῆνος μόλις εὑρίσκει τὰ ἐν ποσί. Τὰ δὲ ἐν οὐρανῷ
ἀπόκρυφα, καὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν αἴσθησιν ὑπερβαίνοντα,
αὐτὸς καὶ ἀποκαλύπτει, καὶ ἐπίσταται ὁ κατοικῶν
τὸν οὐρανόν.
Τῷ Ἱεράκι
Coztra Macedonianos, et eos qui S. Spiritum im-
pugnant.

Si hæreticus ille, qui tecum, ut scribis, conten-
tionem habuit, Dei Filium, ut dogmatum auctorem,
idoneum cui fides habeatur, admittit, ipse adorandi
unitatis Spiritus essentiam docet, quippe qui unum
divinæ Trinitatis nomen esse pronuntiarit, unius
videlicet essentiæ conjunctionem atque unionem
significans. Quod si ipsi, cognati Spiritus certitudi-
nem significanti, atque ea, quæ humanam mentem
superant, docenti, minime fidem adhibet, superva-
canea est nostrorum sermonum confirmatio. Quan-
doquidem terrestre tabernaculum vix ea, quæ ad
pedes jacent, invenire potest. Cœlestia autem ar-
cana, et nostrum sensum excedentia, ipse et pate-
facit et explorate novit, qui cœlum pro domicilio
habet.
ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΜΒ΄. ΤΩ ΑΥΤΩ.
Ἐπειδὴ ἔγωγε ἔμαθον διδαχῇ χρηστῶν ἀνθρ
οἳ γὰρ ἔδει σέ προτέροις ἀντιλέγειν μᾶλλον ἢ
ἀπατῆσθαι νομίζεις· ἐπειδὴ ἀδικοῦσί σοι σ
Κ'. – ΕΡΜΟΓΕΝΕΙ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ.

Τῆς θείας καὶ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως ἡ ἱερωσύνη
ὥσπερ μέση καθέστηκεν, ἵνα τὴν μὲν θεραπεύῃ, τῇ
δὲ μεταβολὴν ἐργάζηται κρείττονα. Εί τις τοιγαροῦν
ταύτης μείζον φρονεῖ, οὐδὲ φρόνησιν ἔχειν μοι
δοκεῖ.
Ν΄. – ΜΑΡΙΝΩ ΣΧΟΛΑΣΤΙΚΩ

Στεφάνῳ περιθεῖσαι, ὃς μηδὲ ταῖς ἀρεταῖς ἐνδέθην, εἴ πῃ ταῖς ἐμαυτοῦ
ἀγαθότητος καυχῆ, δι᾽ ἣν παρὰ τῶν ἐμοὶ κακῶς διακειμένων ἐπαγωγὸς
γέγονεν, ταῖς ἐναδέλφοις οὐδὲν ὠφέλημα καταξιοῦται.
Κ΄. – ΤΩ ΑΥΤΩ
Δέον μὴ τὸ γένος τῆς ψυχῆς ἐξετάζειν τοῖς κινουμένοις, ἀλλὰ σκοπεῖν ἄνωθεν, εἰ ἐπίσταιντο καλῶς τὴν ἀρετὴν τοῖς ἐθέλουσιν ἀκολουθεῖν αὐτῇ.
Λ΄. – ΔΑΝΙΗΛ ΣΧΟΛΑΣΤΙΚΩ.
Ὁ ἀγαθὸς δεῖ ἐπαίνων μόνον τοῦτο ζητεῖν, πῶς
ἐπανορθώσῃ κακῶς λεγόμενα; ἄλλως τυραννίδι ἐοίκοτες
ἀγαποῦσι τὰ κολακεύοντα.
---CONTINUES---
ΡΛΖ΄. – ΑΝΔΡΟΝΙΚΩ ΚΟΜΙΤΙ
Σοφοὶ ἀναπηροῦνται παρὰ ἀσόφων ἀνδρῶν.
P. 41, lit. E, lin. 4. Ρ. πᾶσι, cal. πᾶσιν.

Related Letters