Letter 73: You ask why wine does not affect everyone the same way — why it makes some genial, others aggressive; some...

Isidore of PelusiumMarkos|c. 398 AD|Isidore of Pelusium|AI-assisted
education books

Because one is slow to anger, one should not on that account be indifferent to those who owe correction. You seem not to know that the same word, the same name, and the same speech, spoken without the proper tone, sometimes conveys reason and sometimes conveys wrath. The tone of reproof must match the gravity of the offense.

AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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

ΚΓ΄. – ΖΗΝΟΒΙΩ ΟΙΚΟΔΟΜΩ
ΦΩΤΕΙΝΩ
Διὰ τὸ βραδὺς εἶναι πρὸς ὀργήν καὶ τοὺς ὀφείλοντας
ΤΑ΄. – ΑΡΧΟΝΤΙΩ ΠΟΛΙΤΕΥΟΜΕΝΩ.
Ἔοικας ἀγνοεῖν, ὅτι τὸ αὐτὸ ῥῆμα, καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ
ὄνομα, καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς λόγος, μὴ μετὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ τόνου
λεγόμενος, ποτὲ μὲν ἐμφαίνει λογισμοῦ, ποτὲ δὲ ὀρ-
γῆς καρπέν.
ΟΓ΄. – ΕΥΣΕΒΙΟ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟ (34).
Εἰς τὴν κιβωτὸν, καὶ τὸ ἰλαστήριον, καὶ τὰ χε
ρουβίμ, καὶ τὸ μάννα, καὶ τὴν ῥάβδον 'Ααρών.

Ἡ μὲν κιβωτὸς, καὶ τὸ Ιλαστήριον, ὅπερ ἦν τῆς
κιβωτοῦ ἐπίθεμα (32), ἀνθρώπου (33) φυλάττοντος
τὰ θεῖα λόγια, καὶ λεων ἔχοντος τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ φυ-
λαττόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν θείων δυνάμεων, καθώς φησιν
ὁ Μελωδός· · Ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου ἔκρυψα τὰ λόγια
σου» διὸ καὶ ἔλεγεν· « Ἐν σκέπῃ τῶν πτερύγων σου
σκεπάσεις με· · οἷον τῶν δυνάμεων τὰ χερουβίμ τοῖς
πτέρυξι καὶ τὴν κιβωτὸν ἐφύλαττον (34), καὶ τὸ
Ιλαστήριον· φυσικώτερον δὲ, τοῦ τὸν νόμον πληρώ
σαντος Χριστοῦ, τοῦ γενομένου ἱλασμοῦ περὶ τῶν
ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν, ἐδήλου ἐναργῆ τεκμήρια· ὅστις
τὸν νόμον πληρῶν, οὗτος Ιλάσεται τοῦ κόσμου τὴν
ἁμαρτίαν. Προέθετο γὰρ αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς, ὡς φησιν ὁ
τῶν Δεσποτικῶν χρησμῶν ταμίας, Ιλαστήριον· ὥστε
ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι ἐνδείξασθαι τὴν οἰκείαν δικαιο
---CONTINUES---
ΟΓ΄. – ΤΩ ΑΥΤΩ
Εἰ φαίη ὁ πονηρὸς γυμνάζων τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῦ νουθεσίας σμικρύνου κατηγορίας πικρότεραι δῆλον ἦν τὰ εἴδη μιμηθῆναι διακοῦντ᾽ ἀλλήλοις τὴν λύπην ἔχοντας ταῖς ψυχαῖς, ἵνα ὡς ἕτοιμος ἦν πρὸς τὸν ἀνατρεπόμενον ἐλεεινὸ
ΡΜ΄. – ΙΣΙΔΩΡΩ
Πειρᾶσθαι φεύγειν μάλιστα μὲν τὸ πονηρὸν, ἔπειτα δὲ τὸ μηδέτερον.

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