On how the Lord will judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy): That the living and the dead will be judged means this: that both soul and body will come to judgment, neither separated from the other, but just as they shared a common union here, so also they will undergo the judgment there in unity. If you seek yet another interpretation, it is this: to distinguish the living -- those who pursued an ever-living and God-beloved life -- and to render them unending rewards; to judge those who were deadened by their sins and buried in their own laziness the talent given to them as in a tomb, and to requite them with punishment. And if yet another reading: to judge those who remain alive at that time, and those who have already fallen asleep before them.
To Archontius the Presbyter, on the phrase "the knuckle of a hand": Since you asked what "the knuckle of a hand" means, hear this. When the barbarian king, drunk with tyranny, puffed up with arrogance, and heavy-headed with wine, set forth the sacred vessels for use not only by men but also by the women who served his pleasures, there appeared the part of the hand beyond the wrist, inscribing the sentence against him. For just as painters -- to draw my proof from their boldness -- giving bodies to incorporeal things, undertake to depict a hand alone crowning the heads of earthly kings, in order to show that their authority was given from heaven, so too there it appeared by way of divine condescension, to show that the King of all was pronouncing the verdict against the tyrant and inscribing the sentence.
...safeguarding the proclamation. For what does Paul say? "Even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let him be accursed." Thus the angels too rejoiced in the security of the proclamation, since even the one sent to Cornelius announced the teacher and did not entrust the matter to himself.
To Martinianus the Presbyter: Do not seek wealth, good sir -- the father of pride, the begetter of contempt, the supplier of pleasures, the craftsman of every evil, the thing that robs a man of friendship with God. Seek rather virtue, which delivers from all evils. And if it involves sweat and toil, do not on that account flee from it, but for that very reason embrace it all the more, considering that even in other affairs, what is acquired with toil and sweat, however small it may be, is treasured far more greatly.
On how you cannot argue with an ignorant person. Just as it is not safe to travel through an uninhabited land with a belligerent person, so it is not very easy to have an educated conversation with an ignorant person. The former will unleash his full force on you when you are alone if something is said or done not to his liking, while the latter, unless everything said is dumbed down to his lack of education, will single out for disgrace and ridicule everyone intelligent in the world, including learned philosophers and virtue-loving men. Frequently, people’s lack of letters tends to spread and at the current time you will find it preeminent everywhere. Even the Church is not without its share of it as well as the State and even the empire itself cannot be governed without it. Because of this, our troubles grow and the spirit of slavery has taken hold through the empire. So be very patient with the unlearned person, because you gladly abstain from the mindless, being mindful of our Lord. What a picture these give us of the conditions in the fifth century. The emperor, drawn into pointless dogmatic quarrels, while the nation drifted towards ignorance and contempt for learning. I’ve now obtained Pierre Evieux’s study of Isidore of Pelusium. It’s entirely discussion; none of the letters are included. From it I learn that the letters have been highly regarded. Mainly they deal with Old and New Testament exegesis. In some cases they quote Demosthenes and are a source of readings for establishing his text. Isidore was definitely in favour of using pagan learning, so long as it was baptised. Interestingly many scholars have denied the authenticity of the letters. They point to the fact that the collection of 2,000 letters emanates from the “Sleepless” monastery of Constantinople — so called because the monks took it in shifts to keep the services going 24 hrs — and suggest that it was forged by them. We thus have the absurd situation where scholars demand that we call him “pseudo-Isidore” and claim that these letters are not by the otherwise unknown father of the 5th century, but by someone else of the same name! Evieux remarks that the existence of additional letters in Syriac, outside the “Sleepless” collection, disproves the idea of a later forgery.
On how the Lord will judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy): That the living and the dead will be judged means this: that both soul and body will come to judgment, neither separated from the other, but just as they shared a common union here, so also they will undergo the judgment there in unity. If you seek yet another interpretation, it is this: to distinguish the living -- those who pursued an ever-living and God-beloved life -- and to render them unending rewards; to judge those who were deadened by their sins and buried in their own laziness the talent given to them as in a tomb, and to requite them with punishment. And if yet another reading: to judge those who remain alive at that time, and those who have already fallen asleep before them.
To Archontius the Presbyter, on the phrase "the knuckle of a hand": Since you asked what "the knuckle of a hand" means, hear this. When the barbarian king, drunk with tyranny, puffed up with arrogance, and heavy-headed with wine, set forth the sacred vessels for use not only by men but also by the women who served his pleasures, there appeared the part of the hand beyond the wrist, inscribing the sentence against him. For just as painters -- to draw my proof from their boldness -- giving bodies to incorporeal things, undertake to depict a hand alone crowning the heads of earthly kings, in order to show that their authority was given from heaven, so too there it appeared by way of divine condescension, to show that the King of all was pronouncing the verdict against the tyrant and inscribing the sentence.
...safeguarding the proclamation. For what does Paul say? "Even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let him be accursed." Thus the angels too rejoiced in the security of the proclamation, since even the one sent to Cornelius announced the teacher and did not entrust the matter to himself.
To Martinianus the Presbyter: Do not seek wealth, good sir -- the father of pride, the begetter of contempt, the supplier of pleasures, the craftsman of every evil, the thing that robs a man of friendship with God. Seek rather virtue, which delivers from all evils. And if it involves sweat and toil, do not on that account flee from it, but for that very reason embrace it all the more, considering that even in other affairs, what is acquired with toil and sweat, however small it may be, is treasured far more greatly.
Human translation — Roger Pearse (additional translations)