ds and feet go, commend himself to God's
governance, and entrust nothing to his reason, as Jeremiah says, "O
Lord, I know that the way of man is not in his own power." We see proof
of this, when the children of Israel went out of Egypt through the
Wilderness, where there was no way, no food, no drink, no help.
Therefore God went before them, by day in a bright: cloud, by night in
a fiery pillar, fed them with manna from heaven, and kept their
garments and shoes that they waxed not old, as we read in the Books of
Moses. For this reason we pray: "Thy kingdom come, that Thou rule us,
and not: we ourselves," for there is nothing more perilous in us than
our reason and will. And this is the first and highest work of God in
us and the best training, that we cease from our works, that we let our
reason and will be idle, that we rest and commend ourselves to God in
all things, especially when they seem to be spiritual and good.

XIX. After this comes the discipline of the flesh, to kill its gross,
evil lust, to give it rest and relief. This we must kill and quiet with
fasting, watching and labor, and from this we learn how much and why we
shall fast, watch and labor.

There are, alas! many blind men, who practise their castigation,
whether it be fasting, watching or labor, only because they think these
are good works, intending by them to gain much merit. Far blinder still
are they who measure their fasting not only by the quantity or
duration, as these do, but also by the nature of the food, thinking
that it is of far greater worth if they do not eat meat, eggs or
butter. Beyond these are those who fast according to the saints, and
according to the days; one fasting on Wednesday, another on Saturday,
another on St. Barbara's day, another on St. Sebastian's day, and so
on. These all seek in their fasting nothing beyond the work itself:
when they have performed that, they think they have done a good work. I
will here say nothing of the fact that some fast in such a way that
they none the less drink themselves full; some fast by eating fish and
other foods so lavishly that they would come much nearer to fasting if
they ate meat, eggs and butter, and by so doing would obtain far better
results from their fasting. For such fasting is not fasting, but a
mockery of fasting and of God.

Therefore I allow everyone to choose his day, food and quantity for
fasting, as he will, on condition that he do not stop with that, but
have regar