Sermon XVII. On the Nature and Characteristics of Gluttony, Second Part (the five signs)

It is not I, but St. Thomas of Aquin, and with him the holy Pope St. Gregory, who have given the following signs of gluttony: præpropere, laute, nimis, ardenter, studiose; to eat or drink too early is one sign; to be too delicate in eating or drinking, is another; to eat or drink too much is the third; to eat or drink too eagerly is the fourth; to be too careful about good eating and drinking is the fifth sign that one does not take food or drink for the proper end, but rather to satisfy the sense of taste, and that therefore, one is guilty of gluttony.

First, then, præpropere, means, as St. Thomas says, "to eat and drink before necessity obliges." Thus Jonathan was sentenced to death by his father, because he tasted a little honey before the proper time, as St. Gregory says. This sign is to be seen in those who have no proper time fixed for their meals, and who regard their appetite and their desire as their clock, and not hunger or necessity. They are always ready to eat, as often as they find anything that suits their taste. Early or late, morning, noon, or evening, between meals, it is all one to them. There are some who, before they have finished dressing in the morning, nay, immediately on awaking, and while still in bed, must have tea, coffee, a pipe of tobacco, or something else, ready for them; they eat and drink before they hear Mass, or say their morning prayers, nay, before they make the sign of the Cross, or a good intention, or even think of God. An evident sign amongst those who are in good health, and have no valid excuse for anticipating the usual time, is, that they eat and drink not through necessity, and for the sake of preserving their strength for the service of God, but merely to satisfy their sense of taste, and that therefore they are guilty of gluttony. Metaphrastes, in the life of St. Pachomius, brings forward a miraculous occurrence to prove that eating in this way outside of the ordinary meal-times is the work of the demon of gluttony. Pachomius, visiting once a certain monastery, saw an evil spirit sitting on the top of a high fig-tree enticing young boys to climb up and eat the fruit; he recognized him at once as the demon of gluttony, and ordered the tree to be cut down, so as to take away the occasion of sin. The gardener was very sorry at this, and begged that the tree might be spared, as it was so fruitful. Pachomius granted his request and allowed the tree to remain, but, behold, on the next morning it was quite withered. "Mark," says St.

Humbertus, "those who are fond of eating fruit and the like between meals. Was it not a sin of that kind on the part of our first parents that caused the ruin of the world? Did not that nun who ate lettuce in the convent garden, swallow down the devil with it? as St. Gregory relates in his dialogues." This consideration induced St. Sabbas to make a resolution never to eat fruit; for having once plucked an apple from a tree, when he was on the point of eating it, he remembered the fall of our first parents in paradise, and knowing that the devil was tempting him, he blushed with shame at his weakness and at his intention of committing gluttony, and throwing the apple on the ground, he trampled it under foot, and thus conquered his desire for such things. The holy Abbot Esaias therefore advises his disciples "never to eat the least thing out of meal-times, lest from a small sin of gluttony they might go on to great ones." Laute, that is to say, to be too delicate in eating, is the second sign of gluttony, and it is to be observed in those, who, although they do not eat out of meal-times, yet insist on having everything cooked in a particular manner, so as to suit their taste, and if that is not done, they have no words hard enough for the cook; they are never satisfied with common food, no matter how good it is; they must always have the best of everything, no matter what it costs. Amongst other things, the Holy Scripture says of the children of Heli: "Also before they burnt the fat, the servant of the priest came, and said to the man that sacrificed: Give me flesh to boil for the priest, for I will not take of thee sodden flesh, but raw." Now why did the wicked priests ask for raw meat? Would not the cooked meat have been better for them, as it would have saved them the fuel and the labor necessary to cook it? The commentators of the Sacred Scriptures answer this question by saying that the priests acted thus through gluttony; "The sons of Heli," says St. Isidor, "took raw meat from those who offered it, contrary to custom, that they might cook it afterwards so as to suit their own taste." St. Gregory agrees with this: "The first sin of the Children of Heli consisted in the commanding their servant not to take the cooked meat, according to the established custom, but to ask for uncooked meat, that they might prepare it as they wished." For according to the law of God, the flesh thus offered should be simply boiled in pure water. The sensual and gluttonous priests were not content with this; they wished to have the meat roasted, or cooked in some other way, so as to suit their taste better. Therefore, they said; "I will not take of thee sodden flesh, but raw;" and if the man who offered sacrifice, did not give them what they asked, they took it by force; "Thou shalt give it me now, or I will take it by force." Therefore, says the Sacred Scripture, "The sin of the young men was exceeding great before the Lord, because they withdrew men from the sacrifice of the Lord." See, my dear brethren, how far one may be brought by gluttony. It is in our own days frequently the case that more is given for one dinner, than is earned in a whole week. There are many who consume in one supper all they will make for some days after; nay, very often the poor children and servants have to go hungry or to content themselves with very coarse food, on account of the gluttony of one man. Oh, how many feasts and entertainments the devil will bring forward at the last day, as a testimony against those who gave them, and who, not having paid their debts, were guilty of so many acts of injustice and theft! Surius writes that in the year 1511, there was a giant in Venice, who used to eat every day for his dinner a sheep and a calf; certainly he must have been very fat, and must have had a wonderful appetite, since he was able to eat at one meal as much as would have sufficed to feed a whole family for some time. Yet, my dear brethren, there are some of those delicate eaters who consume even more than that gluttonous giant; for they eat up all the substance of their children and leave them in poverty. In this class, however, I do not mean to include the sick, or the delicate, or those of high station who place exquisite viands before their guests, according to the requirements of necessity, Christian charity and courtesy. But generally speaking, the satisfying one's self with food of that kind, can hardly be called anything but gluttony and sensuality. This ordinarily gives rise to the third sign, nimis, that is, eating too much. He who measures the quantity of his food by his appetite and taste, cannot but exceed the bounds of moderation, and will eat more than necessity requires. There are some to whom one might with truth apply those words of the Prophet Isaias: "Most impudent dogs, they never had enough;" They eat and drink as if they could never satisfy themselves; as long as they like the food, and have plenty of it, they continue to gorge themselves, until the overloaded stomach refuses to bear any more. These people, says St. Gregory, are worse than oxen, horses and mules, that never eat more than is necessary to satisfy their hunger. This is therefore the most odious and most injurious form of gluttony. Shame, cries out the so-called Author of the Imperfect Work, "One should eat in the day what natural reason requires, and not what sensuality demands." The fourth sign of gluttony is, ardenter, that is, a too great eagerness in eating, the sin that Esau committed, when he so far forgot himself that he sold his birth-right for a mess of pottage; as St. Gregory says: "Esau lost the glory of his birth-right, because he gave way to his desire for that vile food, for the sake of which he sold his dignity as first-born; thus showing what an influence gluttony had on him," From which he concludes, that it is not the costliness of the food, but the too great desire for it which constitutes gluttony. As Hugo of St. Victor remarks, the most remarkable sins of gluttony were caused, not by delicately prepared meats, but by coarse and common food: "The first man was tempted, not by the well-cooked flesh of a swine, but by a raw apple; Esau, by a dish of lentils, not by a roast fowl;" and, he adds, "The devil tempted Our Lord by a piece of dry bread, and not by a well prepared dish." Caesarius writes that there was once a soldier who could never perform his sacramental penance, because he found it too difficult; until at last his confessor asked him if there was anything he would undertake to do instead. Yes, answered the soldier, I have an apple tree, the fruit of which is so bitter that I cannot bear the taste of it; put it upon me as a penance never to eat any of that fruit as long as I live. The priest, who knew well that our corrupt nature is only too much inclined to do what is forbidden, and that the devil would not fail to tempt the soldier to eat that fruit, sour as it was, agreed to the proposal, and imposed the required penance. The soldier went his way rejoicing, and thinking that he would not have any difficulty now in performing his penance. But, wonderful to relate, he never passed by that tree, without feeling a strong inclination to eat some of the fruit; however, he remembered his obligation, and restrained his desire. On one occasion he was standing by the tree, when the temptation came so strong upon him that he actually stretched out his arm to pluck an apple, but he drew it back again at once. This struggle against the temptation lasted nearly the whole day; But he was strengthened by divine grace, and he resisted so valiantly, that the effort cost him his life; he fell down dead under the tree. So true is it, that it is not the quality of the food, but a too great eagerness for it that constitutes gluttony. They sin, who, while they are eating, are so completely absorbed in what they are doing, that their eyes, hands and their whole bodies, as well as their mouths are fully occupied, they swallow down one mouthful after another, as if they were afraid the table would fly away from them, unless they make haste. An evident sign of gluttony, and indeed of rudeness, which is not only contrary to Christian temperance, but is also very injurious to health. People should remember the warning of the Wise Ecclesiasticus:

"Use as a frugal man the things that are set before thee; lest if thou eatest much, thou be hated;" that is to say, eat with prudence, modesty and decency.

The fifth sign is, studiose, that is, to be too careful about good eating and drinking, as is the case with those who are always feasting, as if they did not eat to preserve life, but were on the earth for no other purpose than to eat and drink. Of such people St. Paul says: "Whose God is their belly;" they are nearly always thinking of eating, drinking and feasting. It was for living in that way that the rich man in the Gospel was condemned to hell; for the Gospel does not say that he was guilty of any other sin but gluttony; "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day;" This is the way to swallow up one's yearly income, so that very often one's heirs have no legacy to expect beyond the trouble and anxiety to find the means of continuing such a luxurious and indolent life. What will be still harder to answer for at the judgment-seat, is that those who live in that way, have hardly anything left wherewith to give alms, although the poor are suffering hunger and thirst. There was a certain French courtier, as Mazarin writes, who had built for himself a magnificent house like a palace; when the king saw it he could not sufficiently admire the skill of the architect, the beauty of the furniture, etc. But when he went into the kitchen, and saw that it was very small and that it had only one fire-place, he was amazed, and asked how such a mistake was made, to put a small kitchen like that in so large and fine a house. Your majesty, answered the courtier, it was no mistake; for it was done at my special order; "a small kitchen makes a large house, but a large kitchen makes a small house." It is not hard to understand what he meant by that.

Finally, one may be addicted to the vice of gluttony, although one does not eat out of meal-times, nor too delicately, nor too much, nor too greedily, nor too luxuriously. And how is that? A beggar may be avaricious, although he does not own a farthing; a poor girl may be proud, although no one has any regard for her; namely, in heart, and through an inordinate desire of riches and honors. In the same way one may be guilty of gluttony, and many in fact are guilty of it, who have hardly enough to support life, and yet long for good living and envy those who can sit every day at a well-furnished table, while they think themselves unhappy in being deprived of that pleasure.

Like the Israelites in the desert, who longed for the flesh-pots of Egypt, and who were tired of the manna that was sent them daily from heaven: "Our soul now loatheth this very light food;" so these people long for the means of indulging in the pleasures of the table. And how severely the Israelites were punished for their sin! "Wherefore the Lord sent amongst the people fiery serpents;" to bite and kill them, and to teach them, and us also, how hateful to God is the vice of gluttony.

Think of this, my dear brethren, and reason thus with yourselves: if a merciful God punished His chosen people so severely for a gluttony that they committed only in desire, how will not the same God chastise the gluttony that is actually committed in so many ways and daily by Christians living under a holy and perfect law? What have those tepid and half-hearted Christians to expect, who refuse to mortify their sensuality sufficiently even to observe the Lenten fast in a manner becoming Catholics, and who, for the sake of satisfying their gluttony, eat three full meals every day, without scruple, so that one hardly knows whether it is Lent or carnival time with them? What have they to expect who look upon it as an intolerable penance to fast even during Holy Week, so that even this short time seems too long for them, and who like the Jews, hanker after their flesh-pots? What, I ask, have such Christians to expect by way of punishment? Let that religious tell us, whose gluttony cost him so dear; he was once wearied after a journey, and, as it was a day of abstinence, his friend, who gave him hospitality, offered him fish to eat; the religious was not satisfied with it, and asked his friend to have a fowl cooked for him; his request was granted, but the first bit of the fowl that he took, stuck in his throat and choked him. Oh, how many Christians would die suddenly nowadays, if the first bit of meat they eat on days of abstinence were to choke them! Therefore, the chief object of my present instruction is to remind you, and myself as well, that we must mortify and overcome gluttony, at least so far as to observe all fasts? But, besides this, whenever we enjoy the gifts of God in the shape of food and drink, we must not forget the good intention, nor lose sight of the end for which we should eat and drink, which is to preserve our strength for the service of God; and if we do that we shall at once overcome all gluttony. There are opportunities of mortifying ourselves in that respect, even at a well furnished table; for instance, we might allow one or two morsels of something we are very fond of, to remain untasted, and offer them up to God in thought; or we might now and then abstain altogether from the dish we like best, or what is still better, keep it for Jesus Christ, that is, for the poor, as we read of St. Louis, king of France, whose biographer says of him, that he always kept the best food for the poor, while he himself was contented with the worst; or we might leave the table before having fully satisfied our appetite, etc. Mortifications of this kind, when practised with perseverance, and daily, are of more profit than fasting occasionally for whole days together. Let us often recall those words of the Apostle to the Romans: "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in this serveth Christ, pleaseth God." Therefore, according to the example of the same Apostle, who says elsewhere, "I know both how to abound and to suffer need;" let us try to practise temperance that we too may be able to say of ourselves with truth, I know how to eat and to be hungry; I know how to act when I have abundance and when I am in want. They who have to be content with coarse and homely food, must be resigned to the will of God, and thank Him for what He has given them. They who have abundance, must learn how to keep themselves within the bounds of Christian temperance. And with regard to this matter, let us all remember the words of Christ: "The kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away;" and so we shall learn to reserve our greatest appetite for the heavenly banquet which will satiate us for all eternity. Amen.