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not only servants, nor maids, but even horses the relatives cover with sackcloth, and command them to follow to the tomb, displaying the magnitude of the disaster, and drawing all to pity; so indeed when that city was about to be destroyed, they also clothed irrational nature with sackcloth and the yoke of fasting. It is not possible for irrational creatures to learn of God's wrath by reason, he says. Let them learn through hunger; for those that are to share in the punishment, let them also share in the fast. But if some of those gathered here are hindered by bodily weakness and cannot remain without food, I advise these both to comfort their bodily weakness and not deprive themselves of this spiritual teaching, but rather to show greater zeal in this. For God commands abstinence from foods for this reason, that by bridling the leaps of the flesh, we may make it obedient for the fulfillment of the commandments. But if, because of the weakness of the body, we should not even bring to ourselves the help of fasting, and should show greater laziness, we suffer the greatest losses. For if a lack of good deeds with fasting benefits us nothing, much more so, if we cannot even use the medicine of fasting, shall we show greater laziness toward the fulfillment of the commandments. For if those who partake in the affairs of this life would never tolerate taking up a practice without first considering the profit from it, it is much more just for us to do this, and not simply to run through the weeks of the fasts, but to search our own conscience, and to examine our reasoning, and to consider what has been achieved this week, and what in the other, and what addition we have received for the coming one, and which of the passions within us we have corrected. For if we do not manage our own affairs in this way, and take such great care of our own soul, there will be no benefit to us from the fasting and abstinence from food which we endure. If, therefore, because of bodily weakness you cannot prolong the day without food, no one of right mind will be able to accuse you for this. For we have a gentle and 63.598 philanthropic Master, who seeks nothing from us beyond our strength. For He does not simply require abstinence from foods and fasting from us, nor is it for this reason, that we should only remain without food, but that, withdrawing ourselves from worldly affairs, we may spend all our leisure on spiritual things. Since if we managed our life with a sober mind, and showed all diligence for spiritual things, and approached food so as only to satisfy our need, and spent our whole life in good deeds, we would have had no need of the help that comes from fasting. But since human nature is lazy, and gives itself over more to luxury and ease, for this reason, like a loving father, the philanthropic Master devised for us the cure of fasting, so that the things of luxury may be cut off from us, and we may transfer our concern for worldly things to the work of spiritual things. But there are many men who, as if about to box with fasting as with a wild beast, so arm themselves with gluttony, and having burst and stupefied themselves, with much madness they receive the calm and gentle eye of the fast. And if I ask, for what reason do you run to the bath today, you say, So that I may receive the fast with a clean body; but if I ask, for what reason do you get drunk, you will say again, Because I am about to enter into the fast. How then is it not absurd, to receive this most beautiful fast with a body that is clean, but a soul that is unclean and drunk? Let us therefore accustom ourselves to eat so much as only is for living, not so much as to be torn apart and weighed down. For we were not born and do not live for this, that we might eat and drink, but for this

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οἰκέτας μόνον, οὐδὲ θεραπαινίδας, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἵππους οἱ προσήκοντες σάκκῳ περιβαλόντες, ἀκολουθεῖν ἐπὶ τὸ μνῆμα κελεύουσι, τὸ μέγεθος τῆς συμφορᾶς ἐπιδεικνύμενοι, καὶ πρὸς ἔλεον ἅπαντας ἐπισπώμενοι, οὕτω δὴ καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης ἀπόλλυσθαι μελλούσης, καὶ τὴν ἄλογον φύσιν σάκκῳ περιέβαλον καὶ ζυγῷ νηστείας. Οὐκ ἔστι τὰ ἄλογα λόγῳ μαθεῖν, φησὶ, τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ὀργήν. Μανθανέτωσαν διὰ τοῦ λιμοῦ· καὶ γὰρ τὰ μέλλοντα κοινωνεῖν τῆς κολάσεως, κοινωνείτω καὶ τῆς νηστείας. Εἰ δέ τινες τῶν ἐνταῦθα συνόντων ὑπὸ ἀσθενείας σωματικῆς κωλυόμενοι, οὐ δύνανται ἄσιτοι διαμένειν, τούτοις παραινῶ, καὶ τὴν ἀσθένειαν τὴν σωματικὴν παραμυθεῖσθαι, καὶ τῆς διδασκαλίας ταύτης τῆς πνευματικῆς μὴ ἀποστερεῖν ἑαυτοὺς, ἀλλὰ ταύτῃ μᾶλλον πλείονα τὴν σπουδὴν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο τὴν ἀποχὴν τῶν βρωμάτων κελεύει γίνεσθαι ὁ Θεὸς, ἵνα χαλινοῦντες τὰ σκιρτήματα τῆς σαρκὸς, εὐήνιον αὐτὴν ἀπεργαζώμεθα πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐκπλήρωσιν. Εἰ δὲ μέλλοιμεν μηδὲ τὴν ἀπὸ νηστείας βοήθειαν ἑαυτοῖς προσάγειν διὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος ἀσθένειαν, καὶ πλείονα τὴν ῥᾳθυμίαν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι, τὰ μέγιστα ζημιούμεθα. Εἰ γὰρ μετὰ νηστείας ἡ τῶν κατορθωμάτων ἔλλειψις οὐδὲν ἡμᾶς ὀνίνησι, πολλῷ μᾶλλον, εἰ μηδὲ τῷ φαρμάκῳ τῆς νηστείας χρήσασθαι δυνάμεθα, πλείονα τὴν ῥᾳθυμίαν ἐπιδειξόμεθα, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐκπλήρωσιν. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ τῶν βιωτικῶν μετέχοντες πραγμάτων, οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἀνάσχοιντο ἐπιτηδεύματος ἅψασθαι, μὴ πρότερον τὸ ἐκεῖθεν κέρδος περισκοπήσαντες, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡμᾶς δίκαιον τοῦτο ποιεῖν, καὶ μὴ ἁπλῶς τὰς ἑβδομάδας τῶν νηστειῶν παρατρέχειν, ἀλλὰ διερευνᾶσθαι τὴν ἑαυτῶν συνείδησιν, καὶ τὸν λογισμὸν βασανίζειν, καὶ σκοπεῖν, τί μὲν ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ἑβδομάδι κατώρθωται, τί δὲ ἐν τῇ ἑτέρᾳ, καὶ τίνα προσθήκην ἐδεξάμεθα εἰς τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν, καὶ ποῖον τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν παθῶν διωρθώσαμεν. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ μέλλοιμεν οὕτω τὰ καθ' ἑαυτοὺς οἰκονομεῖν, καὶ τοσαύτην ἐπιμέλειαν ποιεῖσθαι τῆς ἑαυτῶν ψυχῆς, οὐδὲν ἡμῖν ὄφελος ἔσται τῆς νηστείας καὶ τῆς ἀσιτίας ἧς ὑπομένομεν. Εἰ τοίνυν δι' ἀσθένειαν σωματικὴν οὐ δύνασαι ἄσιτος παρατείνειν τὴν ἡμέραν, οὐδεὶς εὐφρονῶν ὑπὲρ τούτου σε ἐγκαλέσαι δυνήσεται. ∆εσπότην γὰρ ἔχομεν ἥμερον καὶ 63.598 φιλάνθρωπον, καὶ οὐδὲν τῶν ὑπὲρ δύναμιν παρ' ἡμῶν ἐπιζητοῦντα. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τὴν ἀποχὴν τῶν βρωμάτων καὶ τὴν νηστείαν ἁπλῶς ἀπαιτεῖ παρ' ἡμῶν γίνεσθαι, οὐδὲ διὰ τοῦτο, ἵνα ἄσιτοι διαμένωμεν μόνον, ἀλλ' ἵνα ἀφιστῶντες ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων, πᾶσαν τὴν σχολὴν ἐν τοῖς πνευματικοῖς ἀναλίσκωμεν. Ὡς εἰ μετὰ νηφούσης διανοίας τὸν ἑαυτῶν βίον ᾠκονομοῦμεν, καὶ περὶ τὰ πνευματικὰ πᾶσαν τὴν σπουδὴν ἐπεδεικνύμεθα, καὶ τῇ τροφῇ οὕτω προσίεμεν, ὡς τὴν χρείαν μόνον πληροῦν, καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἀγαθαῖς πράξεσιν ἅπαντα τὸν βίον καταναλίσκειν, οὐδὲ χρεία ἦν ἡμῖν τῆς βοηθείας τῆς ἀπὸ τῆς νηστείας. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ῥᾴθυμός ἐστιν ἡ φύσις ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη, καὶ τῇ τρυφῇ καὶ τῇ ἀνέσει μᾶλλον ἑαυτὴν ἐπιδίδωσι, διὰ τοῦτο καθάπερ πατὴρ φιλόστοργος, τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς νηστείας ἡμῖν ἰατρείαν ἐπενόησεν ὁ φιλάνθρωπος ∆εσπότης, ἵνα καὶ τὰ τῆς τρυφῆς ἡμῖν ἐκκόπτηται, καὶ τὴν περὶ τὰ βιωτικὰ φροντίδα μεταγάγωμεν ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν πνευματικῶν ἐργασίαν. Ἀλλ' εἰσὶ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οἳ καθάπερ θηρίῳ τῇ νηστείᾳ πυκτεύειν μέλλοντες, οὕτω τῇ γαστριμαργίᾳ καθοπλίζονται, καὶ διαῤῥήξαντες ἑαυτοὺς καὶ σκοτώσαντες, μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς παραφροσύνης ὑποδέχονται τὸ γαληνὸν καὶ ἥμερον τῆς νηστείας ὄμμα. Καὶ ἐὰν ἐρωτήσω, τίνος ἕνεκεν εἰς βαλανεῖον τρέχεις σήμερον, λέγεις, Ἵνα καθαρῷ τῷ σώματι τὴν νηστείαν ὑποδέξωμαι· ἐὰν δὲ ἐρωτήσω, τίνος ἕνεκεν μεθύεις, πάλαι ἐρεῖς, Ἐπειδὴ τῇ νηστείᾳ εἰσιέναι μέλλω. Πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄτοπον, σώματι μὲν καθαρῷ, ψυχῇ δὲ ἀκαθάρτῳ καὶ μεθυούσῃ τὴν καλλίστην νηστείαν ταύτην ὑποδέχεσθαι; Τοσοῦτον τοίνυν ἑαυτοὺς ἐθίσωμεν ἐσθίειν, ὅσον πρὸς τὸ ζῇν μόνον, οὐχ ὅσον διασπᾶσθαι καὶ βαρύνεσθαι. Οὐ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἐγενόμεθα καὶ ζῶμεν, ἵνα φάγωμεν καὶ πίωμεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο