Letter 310: Liking cannot see far ahead, while dislike cannot see clearly.
Isidore of Pelusium→Cyril of Alexandria|c. 391 AD|Isidore of Pelusium|Human translated
christologyillness
Since you said my previous reflections appeared most excellent to you, receive also another interpretation not unworthy of that one. God repaid the murder of the Hebrew males with a fitting retribution, drowning all the Egyptian males in the Red Sea, so that the punishment might correspond even in the bodies of those who suffered it. Attend carefully, therefore, and do not find fault rashly.
To Emperor Theodosius, concerning the safeguarding of the council: If you yourself find opportunity to be present at the proceedings in Ephesus, blamelessness will attend them, I am certain. But if the votes are surrendered to the hostility of the mob...
To Bishop Lampetius, on how to understand the saying in Ecclesiastes, "Be not overly righteous": Just as the measure of bodily beauty is the proportion of the limbs, so too the ultimate measure of the soul's beauty is the proportion of the virtues. For if extremes fall into vice, as certain wise men have declared -- for one wishing to be thrifty falls into miserliness, and one wishing to be magnanimous falls into prodigality -- therefore they defined the virtues as mean states. For between impiety and false piety, the mean is true piety. Rightly, then, the wise man counseled: "Be not overly righteous." And if he also advises this: do not become a bitter and exacting judge in the wrongs committed against you by your neighbors, but surpass strict justice with goodness, granting pardon even to those who transgress against you beyond what pardon might seem to warrant.
To Nemessianus the Scholasticus: Just as I judge the Greeks and Jews -- and any who have emulated them -- to be impious and foolish when they declare that the prophets said nothing concerning the Savior, so too I do not hold blameless those who attempt to apply the entire Old Testament to him, since they in a certain way collaborate with our opponents in the battle against us. For by forcing onto him what was not spoken about him, and being refuted by those adversaries, they breed suspicion even regarding what was truly and explicitly spoken about him. One must not proceed thus, but rather state clearly what was said concerning him, and acknowledge that what was said about other matters was indeed said about those other matters. For this is the boundary of both truth and demonstration. Those who adduce what is irrelevant cause even what is relevant to be overthrown.
Liking cannot see far ahead, while dislike cannot see clearly. So if you wish to remedy both of these sight problems, do not spout out such vehement statements, instead be more fair in your accusations. Even God All Knowing, before his birth, thought it best out of his love for man to come down and see the boisterousness [1] of the Sodomites, teaching us a lesson in fully inquiring. Many of the people who have come to Ephesus (are) ridiculing you for acting out of personal enmity and not for the doctrine of Jesus Christ. “Here’s this nephew of Theophilus, they say, imitating his way of thinking. Like him, he falls into a rage against the God-loving John, inspired by God, and he desires ever so much to lecture, even though there is a great difference between the people (who are) deciding.” [1] There should be a better word for this.
Since you said my previous reflections appeared most excellent to you, receive also another interpretation not unworthy of that one. God repaid the murder of the Hebrew males with a fitting retribution, drowning all the Egyptian males in the Red Sea, so that the punishment might correspond even in the bodies of those who suffered it. Attend carefully, therefore, and do not find fault rashly.
To Emperor Theodosius, concerning the safeguarding of the council: If you yourself find opportunity to be present at the proceedings in Ephesus, blamelessness will attend them, I am certain. But if the votes are surrendered to the hostility of the mob...
To Bishop Lampetius, on how to understand the saying in Ecclesiastes, "Be not overly righteous": Just as the measure of bodily beauty is the proportion of the limbs, so too the ultimate measure of the soul's beauty is the proportion of the virtues. For if extremes fall into vice, as certain wise men have declared -- for one wishing to be thrifty falls into miserliness, and one wishing to be magnanimous falls into prodigality -- therefore they defined the virtues as mean states. For between impiety and false piety, the mean is true piety. Rightly, then, the wise man counseled: "Be not overly righteous." And if he also advises this: do not become a bitter and exacting judge in the wrongs committed against you by your neighbors, but surpass strict justice with goodness, granting pardon even to those who transgress against you beyond what pardon might seem to warrant.
To Nemessianus the Scholasticus: Just as I judge the Greeks and Jews -- and any who have emulated them -- to be impious and foolish when they declare that the prophets said nothing concerning the Savior, so too I do not hold blameless those who attempt to apply the entire Old Testament to him, since they in a certain way collaborate with our opponents in the battle against us. For by forcing onto him what was not spoken about him, and being refuted by those adversaries, they breed suspicion even regarding what was truly and explicitly spoken about him. One must not proceed thus, but rather state clearly what was said concerning him, and acknowledge that what was said about other matters was indeed said about those other matters. For this is the boundary of both truth and demonstration. Those who adduce what is irrelevant cause even what is relevant to be overthrown.
Human translation - Roger Pearse (additional translations)