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On Fasting

Tertullian

Chapter 2

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Author: Tertullian

Chapter II.—Arguments of the Psychics, Drawn from the Law, the Gospel, the Acts, the Epistles, and Heathenish Practices.

For, so far as pertains to fasts, they oppose to

‹ Chapter 1 Chapter 3 ›

us

the

definite

days

appointed

by

God

:

as

when

,

in

Leviticus

,

the

Lord

enjoins

upon

Moses

the

tenth

day

of

the

seventh

month

(

as

)

a

day

of

atonement

,

saying

,

“

Holy

shall

be

to

you

the

day

,

and

ye

shall

vex

your

souls

;

and

every

soul

which

shall

not

have

been

vexed

in

that

day

shall

be

exterminated

from

his

people

.

”

At

all

events

,

in

the

Gospel

they

think

that

those

days

were

definitely

appointed

for

fasts

in

which

“

the

Bridegroom

was

taken

away

;

”

and

that

these

are

now

the

only

legitimate

days

for

Christian

fasts

,

the

legal

and

prophetical

antiquities

having

been

abolished

:

for

wherever

it

suits

their

wishes

,

they

recognise

what

is

the

meaning

of

“

the

Law

and

the

prophets

until

John

.

”

Accordingly

,

(

they

think

)

that

,

with

regard

to

the

future

,

fasting

was

to

be

indifferently

observed

,

by

the

New

Discipline

,

of

choice

,

not

of

command

,

according

to

the

times

and

needs

of

each

individual

:

that

this

,

withal

,

had

been

the

observance

of

the

apostles

,

imposing

(

as

they

did

)

no

other

yoke

of

definite

fasts

to

be

observed

by

all

generally

,

nor

similarly

of

Stations

either

,

which

(

they

think

)

have

withal

days

of

their

own

(

the

fourth

and

sixth

days

of

the

week

)

,

but

yet

take

a

wide

range

according

to

individual

judgment

,

neither

subject

to

the

law

of

a

given

precept

,

nor

(

to

be

protracted

)

beyond

the

last

hour

of

the

day

,

since

even

prayers

the

ninth

hour

generally

concludes

,

after

Peter’s

example

,

which

is

recorded

in

the

Acts

.

Xerophagies

,

however

,

(

they

consider

)

the

novel

name

of

a

studied

duty

,

and

very

much

akin

to

heathenish

superstition

,

like

the

abstemious

rigours

which

purify

an

Apis

,

an

Isis

,

and

a

Magna

Mater

,

by

a

restriction

laid

upon

certain

kinds

of

food

;

whereas

faith

,

free

in

Christ

,

owes

no

abstinence

from

particular

meats

to

the

Jewish

Law

even

,

admitted

as

it

has

been

by

the

apostle

once

for

all

to

the

whole

range

of

the

meat

-

market

—

(

the

apostle

,

I

say

)

,

that

detester

of

such

as

,

in

like

manner

as

they

prohibit

marrying

,

so

bid

us

abstain

from

meats

created

by

God

.

And

accordingly

(

they

think

)

us

to

have

been

even

then

prenoted

as

“

in

the

latest

times

departing

from

the

faith

,

giving

heed

to

spirits

which

seduce

the

world

,

having

a

conscience

inburnt

with

doctrines

of

liars

.

”

(

Inburnt

?

)

With

what

fires

,

prithee

?

The

fires

,

I

ween

,

which

lead

us

to

repeated

contracting

of

nuptials

and

daily

cooking

of

dinners

!

Thus

,

too

,

they

affirm

that

we

share

with

the

Galatians

the

piercing

rebuke

(

of

the

apostle

)

,

as

“

observers

of

days

,

and

of

months

,

and

of

years

.

”

Meantime

they

huff

in

our

teeth

the

fact

that

Isaiah

withal

has

authoritatively

declared

,

“

Not

such

a

fast

hath

the

Lord

elected

,

”

that

is

,

not

abstinence

from

food

,

but

the

works

of

righteousness

,

which

he

there

appends

:

and

that

the

Lord

Himself

in

the

Gospel

has

given

a

compendious

answer

to

every

kind

of

scrupulousness

in

regard

to

food

;

“

that

not

by

such

things

as

are

introduced

into

the

mouth

is

a

man

defiled

,

but

by

such

as

are

produced

out

of

the

mouth

;

”

while

Himself

withal

was

wont

to

eat

and

drink

till

He

made

Himself

noted

thus

;

“

Behold

,

a

gormandizer

and

a

drinker

:

”

(

finally

)

,

that

so

,

too

,

does

the

apostle

teach

that

“

food

commendeth

us

not

to

God

;

since

we

neither

abound

if

we

eat

,

nor

lack

if

we

eat

not

.

”

By the instrumentalities of these and similar passages, they subtlely tend at last to such a point, that every one who is somewhat prone to appetite finds it possible to regard as superfluous, and not so very necessary, the duties of abstinence from, or diminution or delay of, food, since “God,” forsooth, “prefers the works of justice and of innocence.” And we know the quality of the hortatory addresses of carnal conveniences, how easy it is to say, “I must believe with my whole heart; I must love God, and my neighbour as myself: for ‘on these two precepts the whole Law hangeth, and the prophets,’ not on the emptiness of my lungs and intestines.”

Notes

1
Lev. xvi. 29; xxiii. 26–29.
2
Matt. ix. 14, 15; Mark ii. 18–20; Luke v. 33–35.
3
Luke xvi. 16; Matt. xi. 13.
4
Comp. Gal. v. 1.
5
Comp. 1 Cor. x. 25.
6
Comp. 1 Tim. iv. 3.
7
So Oehler punctuates. The reference is to 1 Tim. iv. 1, 2.
8
See Gal. iv. 10; the words καὶ καιρούς Tertullian omits.
9
See Isa. lviii. 3–7.
10
See Matt. xv. 11; Mark vii. 15.
11
Matt. xi. 19; Luke vii. 34.
12
1 Cor. viii. 8.
13
Rom. x. 10.

14

Comp. Matt. xxii. 37–40, and the parallel passages.