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Stories XVIII and XCIV

often made vows of repentance but broke them again, till one of the Sheikhs said to him: "I think thou art in the habit of eating a great deal, and that thy power of restraining appetite is more slender than a hair, whilst an appetite such as thou nourishest would rupture a chain, and a day may come when it will tear thee up."

A man brought up a wolf's whelp; when it was brought up, it tore him up.

is narrated in the life of Ardeshi Bâbekân that he asked an Arab physician how much food he must consume daily. He replied: "The weight of one hundred dirhems will be enough."

The King queried: "What strength will this quantity give me?"

He replied: "This quantity will carry thee, and whatever is more than that, thou wilt be the carrier of it. Eating is for living and praying; thou thinkest living is for eating."