Hungering for Simplicity

Οὐκ ἀρκεῖ ἡ Βρῶσις καὶ πόσις καὶ στρωμνὴ Ἰωάννου πρὸς πέρας ασκήσεως, τοῖς ταῦτα ζητοῦσιν, ὦ ἄριστε, ἀλλὰ χρεία καὶ τῆς γνώμης Ἰωάννου πρὸς τὴν τελείσιν. Εἰ τοίνυν ἡμῶν ἐπεινεῖς τὴν λιτότητα, κατόρθωσον ἡμιν τὴν πραότητα, ἥπερ πᾶσαν ἐκκλίνει περπερείαν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΗΘ', Ἱεραξ

Food and drink and blankets did not please John for the ascetic life,1 and those who seek these things, O good fellow, must lack the flawless judgement of John. If then you hunger for our simplicity, set right your own surroundings, which more than anything incline a man to vainglory. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Book 1, Letter 162, To Hierax 1 cf Mt 3.4