A Fruitful Treatise, Chapter 19
The .xix. Chapter.
VNtoUnto this taming,De salut. document Capi. xxxv chastining subduing & mortifying of y• flesh by y• true vse of fasting dothe. S. Austen exhort vsus, sayinge: Let oureflesh be continuallye subiecte to oure soule, and serue it as an handmaide dothe her Masters. Lette vsus not suffer oure bodye to be ouerlustye, least … warre against the spirite, but alwayes let the fleshe be subiecte that it obei the commaundement of the holye ghost.Bene. xvi. Neither let vsus suffer the handmaide to waxe to rancke, leaste she set lyght by her maistres, but rather let her obey all her commaundementes and do her seruise. For as horses must be brideled, so muste our bodies be restrained with fasting, watch & prayer For as if the guides of chariots do giuegive their horsse the reanes thei draw them into head long down fals so if our body be not brideled, the soul and it both together slip into the depe pit of hel. Let vsus therfore be good and experte Carters or Chariot dryuers to our body, that we may go the rig…twai. &c.Quest. …. xx vet. et …dtest. Again he saieth fasting swageth the intemperancye and vnrulines of the bodye, and represseth or keepeth vnderunder the troubio…s mocions & raging lustes therof. It causeth the soul to …e at liberty and not to be oppressed of the flesh, as the Lorde saith, take hede that your hartes be not ouercom with surfetyng & drōkēnes.Luke. xxi. For whē the soul is deliuered frō to much eating & drinking, then doth it consider it selfe the b…tt…r, & waieth in what case it standeth. For as a mā in a filthye glas seeth not him selfe such one as he is in deede, so likewise if he be ouerladen wyth to muche eatynge and drinckynge, he thincketh him selfe to be another manner of man then he is. Yea then is hee prouoked vntounto sensualilitie and filthye luste, moued vntounto anger, puffed vp with pride, & stirred vntounto letchery. In respecte wherof the Apostle sayeth, be not dronke wyth wyne,…. v wherin is vnhonest behauioure. But if the body be kept in order, and accustomed wyth fastyng, then doth the soul know the better, with what deuociō she ought to serue her redemer. Fastyng therfore is very necessari. Hereunto pertaineth y• saying of.In Gene. Home. ix. Why we abstayne from meates. S. Ihon goldē mouth The abstinence fro meates is receiued for this purpose, y• it shuld restrain the rigour & fearsnes of y• flesh to make it obedient to the spirit, euē as an horse is to his keper. For he that fasteth, muste aboue all thinges refraine anger, learne mekenes and gentlenes, hauehave an hearte contrite, and such one as may repel and put backe vncleane concupiscences & lusts He muste also set before his eies alway the eye of the euerlastinge iudge and y• iudgeing place that canne not be corrupted. Againe he muste by his monye be made the better by distributing it to the pore, & hauehave rule ouer it. He must be liberal in geuing almes & receiue into his hart no euil against his neighboure,Esay. … as Esaye speaking in y• persō of god sath: hauehave I chosen this fast, sayth the lord? Thoughe thou wrye aboute thy necke lyke an hoope, and strowest vnderunder the sackeclothe and ashes, yet wyll not I regard thy fast saith the lord. What fast thē, tel me? Losen, saith he, the bonds of the wicked bargaines, breake thy breade to the hongry bringe the pore man that hath no house into thi house. If thou doest these these things, saith he, thē shal thy light breake forth as y• morning light and thy health shal spryng right shortly. Hast thou now sene (my welbeloued) what y• true fast is? Let vsus loke vpō this fast, and let vsus not thincke, as many do, y• fastinge standeth in this pointe, if we continewe without any dinner til it be night. S. Hierome also saieth: Satietie or fulnes is to be exchewed euen of y• most vyle meats. For ther is nothing y• so ouerwhelmeth y• mind, as a ful bellye. Thus hauehave we herd that the first & principal vse of fastinge is to tame, chastise, subdue & mortifi the flesh,A Rule to bee obserued in fastyng. y• it resist not, but rather obei the rule of y• spirit as an hād maide, her maistres, or an horsse hys keper. But this is to be cōsidered in our fasting, y• we do not with our vnmeasurable fasts so make weake & feable the bodye, that it be hable to serue neyther God, nor our neighbour, nor yet our selues, & by this meanes vtterly quench the vse & workyng of the spirit, as we rede that many in times past hauehave done, such fasts please not God. This commaūdement therfore of S Paul is to be obserued in al our fasts, Make not prouisiō,Rom. xiii. sayth he, for the flesh to fulfyl the lustes of it. An horsse that is to much delicate lyfed, casteth his master, againe if he be kept to hongry, he faynteth in the mids of the iourney, & doth not his office. A meane therfore is to be had as in fedinge of the horsse, so likewise in ordering of the bodye. We lyue not to eat, but we eate to lyue.