Page:Gesta Romanorum - Swan - Wright - 2.djvu/403

Rh ; the third, to take it before there is occasion; the fourth, to take it too greedily, and the fifth, in too large a quantity. The first man, Adam, was conquered by gluttony; and for this, Esau gave away his birth-right. This excited the people of Sodom to sin, and overthrew the children of Israel in the wilderness. So the Psalmist, "While the meat was yet in their mouths, the anger of God came upon them." The iniquity of Sodom arose in its super-abundance; and the man of God, who was sent to Bethel, was slain by a lion in consequence of indulging his appetite. Dives, of whom it is said in the Gospel, that he feasted sumptuously every day, was buried in hell. Nabusardan, the prince of cooks, destroyed Jerusalem. How great the danger of gluttony is, let the Scriptures testify. "Woe to the land," says Solomon, "whose princes eat in the morning." Again, "All the labour