The First Combat: Gluttony

So the first conflict we must enter is the one against gluttony, which we have described as the pleasures of the palate. And first, since we are about to speak of the system of fasts and the kind of food, we must turn again to the traditions and customs of the Egyptians. For everyone knows that they hold a more advanced discipline in the matter of self-control, and a perfect method of discernment. [a]