Page:The Church, by John Huss.pdf/286

234 sees, that love the chief seats in the synagogues!" Luke 11:43, "and to be called of men Rabbi!" Matt. 23:7. Likewise in acts good generically, as are fasting and prayer—which are not things absolutely evil—the Roman church and prelates are not to be obeyed except as these acts are weighed in the balances of reason. This is plain because an inferior must continue in prayer and fasting, so far that the neglect to do so would mean damage to himself and the church; but this is to be avoided both by him who commands and by the inferior; therefore, the antecedent is true. For it is certain that it would be tempting God to obey a prelate or for me to vow to myself that I would never eat or drink but so much and never have but so many clothes or wraps. And the same would be true with the other counsels, wrongly interpreted. And much more would it be folly for a prelate to obligate a community to perform such a singular measure of conduct as this. For one and the selfsame individual, in view of the diversity of the times, of weakness and health, of youth and old age, of heat and cold, must vary in practices of this sort; and much more in a community made up of different persons are things that are indifferent to be adapted to individuals of different temperaments and states of health. According to Aristotle, Ethics, II, that which is a matter of indifference does not apply in the same way to all. For in the indifferent matter of eating, the amount proportioned to Milo, who wished to eat a whole bull in a day, would not be the amount proportioned for every individual whatsoever, young or decrepit, sound or weak.

Hence, the Saviour wholly excused his disciples who were accused of not fasting, when it is said: "Then came to him the disciples of John saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?" Matt. 9:14. To these calumniators who joined themselves with the pharisees in reproving Christ, the Saviour replied for his disciples and said: "Can the sons of the bridegroom mourn as long as the