Letter 248
Isidore of Pelusium→Unknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Didymus the Presbyter
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore defends those who fled from a dangerous situation — arguing that fleeing danger is not cowardice but prudence.
Do not blame those who fled headlong from that merciless threat — the danger lurking in what was happening. Flight from a genuine and overwhelming threat is not cowardice. It is prudence. The Lord himself said "when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next" [Matthew 10:23].
Reckless exposure to danger that could have been avoided is not courage — it is waste. Courage is doing what must be done in the face of danger that cannot be avoided. The two are different, and confusing them costs lives unnecessarily.
πιαϊ ἶα. (ϑαρν. ορίδί. .) Μὴ μέμφου τοὺς τὸ ἀμείλικτον ἐχεῖνο θηρίον τ᾽ τροπάδην φεύγοντας, τὸ ἐν τοῖς ἐλεεινοῖς ὠμότατον, ἐν δὲ τοῖς αἰσχίστοις ἀναιδέστατον, τὸ ἐχθροὺς ἡ μενον τοὺς μήτε χατὰ γνώμην βλάπτοντας τοὺς λας, μήτε ἐξ ἐπιτάγματος. ΦΛΕ". -- ΟΥ̓ΑΛΕΝΤΙ, ἘΡΙΘΤΟΙΛΕΆΙΜ . Υ. -- ἘΡΙΤ. ΧΙ... ὈΧΧΧΥ͂. -- ΥΔΙΕΝΤΙ. δὲ εαοεταοίϊο ἱπαϊρπὶς. (γί ορὶδι. ὅ εἰ .) Τοὺς παρ᾽ ἀξίαν τυχόντας ἱερατιχῃῆς τιμῆς ὑπ- αχηύειν ἀνάγχη τοῖς οὐ δεόντως δεδωχόσι, χἂν εἰς αὐτὸ τὸ Θεῖον τὰ δρώμενα βλέπει " διὸ χαὶ ἀλλήλοις τὴν ἄδιχον ταύτην ἀντίδοσιν παρέχοντες, δύναμιν οὗ μικρὰν εἰς τὸ χατὰ τῶν εὖ βιούντων ὁπλίξεσθαι προσλαμθάνουσιν. Εἰ δέ τις ἢ τούτους, ἣ ἐχείνους αἱτιάποιτος παραχινῶσι τοῖς δρωμένοις χαὶ εἰρω- νείαν, ὃ τῶν δρωμένων ἀλγεινότερον, τῷ συγχωρεῖν γίγνεσθαι, ταῦτα βούλεσθαι τὸ Θεῖον χαταψευδόμενοι.
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From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: Didymus the Presbyter
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore defends those who fled from a dangerous situation — arguing that fleeing danger is not cowardice but prudence.
Do not blame those who fled headlong from that merciless threat — the danger lurking in what was happening. Flight from a genuine and overwhelming threat is not cowardice. It is prudence. The Lord himself said "when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next" [Matthew 10:23].
Reckless exposure to danger that could have been avoided is not courage — it is waste. Courage is doing what must be done in the face of danger that cannot be avoided. The two are different, and confusing them costs lives unnecessarily.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.