SO GOOD QUOTES

Basil emphasises the transformative power of monastic asceticism; in fasting, he says, ‘the whole city generally, and all its people, are brought together in well-ordered harmony: raucous voices put to rest, strife banished, insults hushed’. He proceeds to describe the transformation that fasting brings about not only of individual persons but of the whole city. By means of the solidarity deriving from Christian practice, social space itself is redeemed. Fasting, Basil states, preserves health, keeps husbands faithful, sustains marriages, prevents bloodshed, quietens cooks and servants, limits debt and reduces crime.

Theology on the Menu: Asceticism, Meat and Christian Diet
David Grumett, Rachel Muers