A guide to godliness or a Treatise of a Christian life showing the dutiesA guide to godlynesse or a Treatise of a Christian life shewing the duties

§. Sect. 7 Other directions concerning the quantity of our meats and drinks.

§. Sect. 7 Other directions concerning the quantity of our meates and drinkes.

Now for the quantity of our food which every one ought to eat and drink, no certain rule can be given, no more then we can appoint any one size of apparel to fit men of all statures, seeing one mans stomach, health, and strength, requireth more, and another mans less, and that which is but sufficient to satisfy one, is excessive and superfluous to another, and would cause him to surfeit with too much fullness. And therefore the proportion of our meats and drinks is to be measured unto every one by Christian prudence, which we may help by observing these general rules. As first, every man must carefully observe out of his own experience, how much is ordinarily sufficient for the nourishing of his body, and the preserving and increasing of his health and strength, and keep himself unto this proportion as near as he can, not pleasing his greedy appetite, by adding to this sufficiency that which by experience he findeth to be superfluous and more then enough. Secondly, that being in health and strength, or troubled with such infirmities, which cause greater appetite then good digestion, they do not fully satisfy hunger, nor eat so much as the stomach craveth, seeing this fullness within a few hours will turn to a superfluous burden, and this enough will prove too much; but they must (as we say) rise with an appetite, and not make such a churls feast as we can eat no more. For herein Christian temperance is exercised, when we stint the stomach of its desire, and teach it good manners, following herein the direction of reason, and not (like brute beasts) of sense and appetite. In which respect, one giveth this rule, that our ordinary ¹diet should be a daily abstinence, and our refection without all glutting satiety; for it profiteth not to go two or three days with empty bellies, if afterwards we surcharge them with too much fullness, and recompense our fast with saturity and excess. Lastly, seeing the end of our eating and drinking is, that we may be fitted and better enabled for the service of God, in the common duties of Christianity, and the particular duties of our callings, we must therein respect grace as well as nature, the glory of God, as well as the preserving of our health and strength, and the thriving of our souls, as well as the nourishment of our bodies.