Letter 812
Isidore of Pelusium→Unknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To: An unnamed person
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore writes on matters of prayer.
Prayer is not the manipulation of God but the alignment of our will with his. We do not pray to change God's mind but to change our own.
Ποίοις ὀφθαλμοῖς εἰς τοὺς φίλους ἔτι τοὺς σαντοῦ, εἴ γ᾽ ἔχεις φίλους, βλέψεις, ἀνθρώπῳ εὐεργέτῃ καὶ φίλῳ ἐπιδουλεύσας; Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἀδεέστερον (), ὡς ἐπυθόμην, συνῆν, ἀναμφισδήτητον ἐνέχυρον οἰόμενος ἔχειν τοῦ μηδὲν ἂν ἐξ ἑκιδουλῇς παθεῖν, τὸ τῆς εὐνοίας χαὶ τὸ τῆς εὐεργεσίας μέγεθος. Σὺ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς θῆρας τῇ ἀγριότητι, χαὶ τῇ ὠμό- τητι νενίχηχας " εἰσὶ γὰρ ἐν αὐτοῖς οἵ χαὶ τοῖς εὐερ- γέταις χάριν ἴσασι () καὶ ἐναόρύνῃ τῷ χαχῷ. Πότε οὖν στήσῃ λοιπὸν χαταποντίζων τὴν σαυτοῦ ψυχὴν, τοῦ φέρεσθαι χάτω διηνεχῶς ἀνάγχην αὐτῇ ἐπι- τιθείς; π΄. -- ΕΥ̓ΤΟΝΙΩ ΔΙΑΚΟΝΩ. Ὃ τὴν εὐχαιρίαν τῶν πραγμάτων προδιδοὺς, τῆς τὧν χαλῶν ἐχπεσεῖται θήρας. Τίς γὰρ γεωργὸν ἀπο- ἤρὺγ. , ὅ.
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From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To: An unnamed person
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore writes on matters of prayer.
Prayer is not the manipulation of God but the alignment of our will with his. We do not pray to change God's mind but to change our own.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.