Letter 247: If you wish to judge others, first judge yourself.

Isidore of PelusiumZosimus|c. 409 AD|Isidore of Pelusium|AI-assisted
monasticism

To Zosimus.

Do not be afraid, O sacred precinct of the hatred of wickedness, of those who are incapable of reproving others yet decline to be reproved themselves; rather, displaying a frankness that is free of rashness but tempered with gentleness, expect to accomplish what is fitting. And even if you should not accomplish it, as you have written, and Eusebius and those who were improperly ordained by him, instead of returning thanks, speak slander, do not be discouraged. For the sleepless and all-seeing Eye, the hater of wickedness and the lover of good, will reward you, but will take vengeance on them; and He who [originally in Latin] holds the wicked as hateful and the upright as dear, will indeed take requital on your behalf.

AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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

Μὴ φοβοῦ, ὦ μισοπονηρίας ἱερὸν τέμενος, τοὺς ἐλέγχειν μὲν ἀδυνατοῦντας, ἐλέγχεσθαι δὲ περαιτουμένους, ἀλλὰ τὴν παρρησίαν θρασύτητος μὲν ἀπηλλαγμένην, προσηνείᾳ δὲ κεκραμένην ἐπιδεικνύμενος, προσδόκα ἀνύσειν τὰ πρέποντα. Εἰ δὲ καὶ μὴ ἀνύσειας, ὡς γέγραφας, καὶ Εὐσέβιος, καὶ οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ οὐ δεχέτως χειροτονηθέντες ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀμείβεσθαι κακηγοροῦσι, μὴ ὀλιγώρει. Ὁ γὰρ ἀκοίμητος καὶ πανεπόπτης ὀφθαλμὸς ὁ μισοπόνηρος καὶ φιλάγαθος, σὲ μὲν ἀμείβεται, ἐκείνους δὲ ἀμυνεῖται, καὶ ὁ improbos exosos, et probos charos habet, tibi quidem vicem sumet.

Revision history

  1. 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import

    Initial corpus import from modern isidore pelusium workflow v1.

    Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://archive.org/details/PatrologiaGraeca (PG vol.78)

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