Monday, February 15, 2021

Early Christian Quotes On Eating Food

Early Christian Quotes On Eating Food

 

Clement of Alexandria’s Exhortation to Endurance

(Early 3rd Century)

Paragraph 4:

 

Do not release the tension in your soul with feasting and drunkeness, but think about what is needed for the body. And do not arrive early to meals before the time for dinner to come. Let your dinner be bread, and let earth’s grasses and the ripe fruits of trees be set before you, and go to your meal with composure, showing no sign of raging lust for food.

 

Do not indulge in the flesh or too much wine if they do not provide any cure to any illness. But in place of these earthly pleasures, choose the joys that are in divine words and songs, joys given to you by wisdom from God; and let prayer continue to lead you upward to heaven.

 

 

Clement of Alexandria’s Instructor, Book 2

(Early 3rd Century)

Chapter 1, Paragraphs 2-3:

 

The truth is, some men live to eat, as the irrational creatures “whose life is their belly and nothing else.” But the Instructor calls us to eat so we may live. Food is not our business, nor is pleasure our goal; but both are on account of our life here, which the Word is training up to immortality.

 

We should use discrimination with regards to food. It is to be simple, truly plain, suiting little children so that it gives us life, not luxury. The life our food gives us consists of two things--health and strength; to which ordinary, simple food is most suitable, it is conducive both to digestion and lightness of body. Growth, health, and right strength come from it, not strength that is wrong or dangerous and wretched, as is that of athletes when the feed just to make their bodies stronger.

 

Therefore, we must reject different thoughts and actions that create mischief, such as a depraved habit of body and disorders of the stomach, the taste being corrupted by the unfortunate art of cookery and the useless art of making pastry.

 

 

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