Letter 9

Isidore of PelusiumThe same inquirer|isidore pelusium

Concerning the appearances at night. The appearances at night, as you have written, you who are most fond of learning, are not only echoes of associations and conversations of the day, but also the product of frivolous practice. For when the mind is seized in a stupor from drunkenness, a stimulant of the passions occurs. But when one is wakefully self-controlled and preparedly waiting for the Lord, that person is neither defeated by the belly nor by the passions of the belly. For you see, nothing other than this will prepare someone or bind the strength of the loins.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.

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