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concerning which the blessed Jacob declared, that they are few and evil. But there are four differences among the things mentioned: some are futile, of those done in a Jewish manner; others are abominable; others are not tolerable; a fourth is the hateful things, among which is also the fast of the Jews. Therefore, just as also in other cases it was shown that there is something to be rejected, and something acceptable to God, so also in the case of fasting; the soul of the Lord hates the abstinence from foods done for show (in the "Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch") as having its end, but he loves that which is undertaken to enslave the mind of the flesh, which achieves sanctification through the disciplining of the flesh. But abstinence from foods is not sufficient in itself to make the fast praiseworthy; but the rest of one's conduct must also be present, in words and in ways of life, and in association with those who are able to benefit; so that the matter of foods is an accompaniment of the spiritual training. Therefore, the diligent man, for the most part, acts according to his mind, and has been occupied with the pursuit of truth, and only seldom descends to the care of the flesh; then, after ministering to the body's necessities, feeding artlessly on whatever is at hand, he immediately leaps away from the preoccupation with useless things, and runs back to his former life. For such conduct removes every occasion by which the mind of the flesh is nourished, so that it no longer tyrannizes over the spirit, nor does the flesh produce its own works: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire. Therefore, having put to death our members that are on the earth, both by means of rebuking words that restrain the passions and by abstinence from foods, let us fast a fast acceptable, well-pleasing to the Lord. For abstinence from foods is indeed a restraint of the appetites of the stomach, and of those below the stomach. And the diligent man will usefully occupy himself with these things, having as an example the life of Elijah, of Moses, of Daniel, of John, and of the other Saints, Of whom the world was not worthy, who went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. But vigor in the abstinence from foods is not yet sufficient for perfection, unless the soul also exists in complete abstinence from things that nourish evil. For just as man is twofold, composed of soul and body, so also are foods twofold, being suitable to the constitution of each, and they make what is nourished more vigorous for its own activities. For just as in gymnastics the athletic foods, when brought to the bodies with suitable exercises, to the extent that they are overcome by the power of those being nourished, to that extent they raise the body to a greater state of well-being and become an addition to it, by being taken up into the constitution of the body, so also in the practice of piety the doctrines of the faith and the corrective words for morals, when continually brought to the soul, and increasing it by small additions, prepare it to be more powerful and more industrious in striving for the greater and more perfect teachings in the doctrines. 1.32 We must therefore guard against the fast in secret, which is said to be hated by the Lord according to a just judgment, concerning which the Prophet also prays, saying: The Lord will not starve the souls of the righteous. For he is not speaking about bodily hunger (for otherwise he would have said, the bodies of the righteous) but about the soul's; For He will not starve the souls of the righteous; and thus it would also be a contradiction to the life of the Blessed; since Paul counts among his boasts, "in fastings often," and "in hunger and thirst." But he prays that the righteous may be spared from hunger. But it is better to understand each of these things according to the higher sense concerning want. Of such a kind is also "I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread." For we remember Elijah who asked for bread from the Sidonian woman, but

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περὶ ὧν ὁ μακάριος Ἰακὼβ ἀπεφήνατο, ὅτι μικραὶ καὶ πονηραί εἰσι. Τέσσαρες δέ εἰσι τῶν μνημονευθέντων διαφοραί· τὰ μέν ἐστι μάταια, τῶν γινομένων Ἰουδαϊκῶς· τὰ δὲ βδελυκτά· τὰ δὲ οὐκ ἀνεκτά· τέταρτόν ἐστι τὰ μισητά, ἐν οἷς καὶ ἡ νηστεία ἐστὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων. Ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων εἶναι μέν τι τὸ ἀπόβλητον, εἶναι δέ τι τὸ εὐπρόσδεκτον τῷ Θεῷ ἐδείκνυτο, οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς νηστείας· τὴν μὲν πρὸς ἐπίδειξιν γινομέ νην ἀποχὴν τῶν βρωμάτων (ἐν τῷ Μὴ ἅψη, μηδὲ γεύσῃ, μηδὲ θίγῃς) τὸ τέλος ἔχειν, μισεῖ ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ Κυρίου· τὴν δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ δουλαγωγῆσαι τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς παραλαμ βανομένην ἀγαπᾷ, διὰ τοῦ ὑπωπιασμοῦ τῆς σαρκὸς τὸν ἁγιασμὸν κατορθοῦσαν. Οὐκ ἐξαρκεῖ δὲ καθ' ἑαυτὴν ἡ ἀποχὴ τῶν βρωμάτων, πρὸς τὸ ἐπαινετὴν ποιῆσαι τὴν νηστείαν· ἀλλὰ δεῖ καὶ τὴν λοιπὴν ἀγωγὴν προσεῖναι, ἔν τε λόγοις καὶ ἀναστροφαῖς, καὶ τῇ πρὸς τοὺς ὠφελεῖν δυ ναμένους συνουσίᾳ· ὥστε τὸ κατὰ τὰ βρώματα παρακο λούθημα εἶναι τῆς ἀσκήσεως. Τὰ πολλὰ μὲν οὖν κατὰ νοῦν ἐνεργοῦντος τοῦ σπουδαίου, καὶ περὶ τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας θήραν ἐσχολακότος, ὀλιγάκις δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν τῆς σαρκὸς καταβαίνοντος· εἶτα, μετὰ τὸ λει τουργῆσαι τὰ ἀναγκαῖα τῷ σώματι, ἐκ τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων ἀ πραγματεύτως διαιτώμενον, εὐθὺς ἀποπηδῶντος τῆς ἀσχολίας τῶν ἀνωφελῶν, καὶ εἰς τὴν προηγουμένην ἑαυτοῦ ζωὴν ἀνα τρέχοντος. Ἡ γὰρ τοιαύτη ἀγωγὴ πᾶσαν ἀφορμὴν, δι' ἧς τρέφεται τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς, ἐξαίρει, ὡς μηκέτι κατα δυναστεύειν τοῦ πνεύματος, μηδὲ ποιεῖν τὰ οἰκεῖα ἔργα τὴν σάρκα, πορνείαν, ἀκαθαρσίαν, πάθος, ἐπιθυμίαν κακήν. Νεκρώσαντες οὖν ἑαυτῶν τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ διὰ λόγων ἐπιπληκτικῶν καταστελλόντων τὰ πάθη καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀποχῆς τῶν βρωμάτων νηστεύσωμεν νηστείαν δεκτὴν, εὐά ρεστον τῷ Κυρίῳ. Ἔστι μὲν οὖν καὶ ἡ ἀποχὴ τῶν βρω μάτων κωλυτικὴ τῶν κατὰ γαστέρα ὀρέξεων, καὶ τῶν ὑπὸ γαστέρα. Καὶ ὁ φιλόπονος δὲ χρησίμως τούτοις ἐνδιατρίψει, ἔχων ὑπόδειγμα τὸν Ἠλίου βίον, τὸν Μωϋσέως, τὸν ∆ανιὴλ, τὸν Ἰωάννου, καὶ τὸν τῶν λοιπῶν Ἁγίων, Ὧν οὐκ ἦν ἄξιοςὁ κόσμος, οἳ περιῆλθον ἐν μηλωταῖς, ἐν αἰγείοις δέρμασιν, ὑστερούμενοι, θλιβόμενοι, κακουχούμενοι. Ἀλλ' οὔπω τὸ ἐν ἀποχῇ βρωμάτων εὔτονον, ἱκανὸν εἰς τελεί ωσιν, ἐὰν μὴ καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ ἐν παντελεῖ ἀποχῇ τῶν τρεφόντων κακίαν ὑπάρχῃ. Ὥσπερ γὰρ διπλοῦς ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἐκ ψυχῆς συνεστὼς καὶ σώματος, οὕτω καὶ αἱ τροφαὶ διπλαῖ, κατάλ ληλοι τῇ ἑκατέρου συστάσει τυγχάνουσαι, εὐτονώτερον πρὸς τὰς οἰκείας ἐνεργείας ἀποτελοῦσι τὸ τρεφόμενον. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς γυμναστικοῖς αἱ ἀθλητικαὶ τροφαὶ, μετὰ τῶν καταλλήλων γυμνασίων τοῖς σώμασι προσαγόμεναι, ὅσον κατακρατοῦνται ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν τρεφομένων δυνάμεως, τοσοῦ τον εἰς εὐεξίαν μείζονα τὸ σῶμα ἐξαίρουσι καὶ προσθήκη αὐτοῦ γινόμεναι, διὰ τοῦ εἰς τὴν τοῦ σώματος ἀναλαμβά νεσθαι σύστασιν, οὕτω καὶ ἐν τῇ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀσκήσει τὰ τῆς πίστεως δόγματα καὶ οἱ διορθωτικοὶ λόγοι τῶν ἠθῶν, συνεχῶς προσαγόμενοι τῇ ψυχῇ, καὶ ταῖς κατὰ μικρὸν αὐ τὴν προσθήκαις αὔξοντες, δυνατωτέραν αὐτὴν καὶ φιλο πονωτέραν εἰς τὸ μειζόνων καὶ τελειοτέρων τῶν ἐν δόγ μασι διδαγμάτων ἐπορέγεσθαι παρασκευάζουσιν. 1.32 Ἀπὸ τῆς οὖν ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ νηστείας φυλακτέον ἡμῖν, τῆς κατὰ δικαίαν κρίσιν μισεῖσθαι λεγομένης ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου, περὶ ἧς καὶ ὁ Προφήτης ἀπεύχεται, λέγων· Οὐ λιμοκτονήσει Κύριος ψυχὰς δικαίων. Οὐ γὰρ περὶ τοῦ σω ματικοῦ λιμοῦ λέγει (ἢ γὰρ ἂν εἶπε, σώματα δικαίων) ἀλλὰ περὶ τοῦ ψυχικοῦ· Οὐ γὰρ λιμοκτονήσει ψυχὰς δι καίων· οὕτω δ' ἂν καὶ ἐναντίωμα ἦν πρὸς τὸν τῶν Μακα ρίων βίον· εἴπερ Παῦλος μὲν ἐν τοῖς καυχήμασιν ἀριθμεῖ τὸ Ἐν νηστείαις πολλάκις, καὶ τὸ Ἐν λιμῷ καὶ δίψει. Τὸν δὲ λιμὸν ἀπεύχεται τοῖς δικαίοις. Ἀλλὰ βέλτιον τούτων ἕκαστον κατὰ τὸν ὑψηλότερον περὶ ἐνδείας νοῦν ἐξακούειν. Τοιοῦτόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ Οὐκ εἶδον δίκαιον ἐγκαταλελειμμέ νον, οὐδὲ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ζητοῦν ἄρτους. Μεμνήμεθα γὰρ Ἠλίου ζητήσαντος ἄρτον παρὰ τῆς Σιδω νίας, ἀλλὰ