[Here begynneth the table of a book entytled the book of good maners.]

¶How abstynence is cause of moche good cap^o. x

By abstynence reason ouercometh the flesshe / And taketh away alle supfluyte / And the vertues ben engendred •• norysshed. And to this purpoos we rede how dyo••ene which was a wyse phylosophre despysed habondaunce of vytayiles and al supfluytees / As valere recyteth in his iiij book. And therfore in wytte & in pacience. he was right renomed & grete¦ly preysed. And as bernard sayth in his micro••••sme. Absty∣nence nouryssheth the wytte / & glotonnye des••••••oyeth it / & ther∣fore somtyme alle they that wold come to grete good lyueden sobrely as it apperyth in many places of holy scrypture / And certeynly we rede how god cōmaūded somtyme to the children of Israel. that they shold lyue sobrely / and that they shold kepe them fro etyng of dyuers metes as it apperyth in the ij chapy¦tre of the boke of leuytes: we rede also how moyses fasted xl dayes to thende that god wold gyue and graunte to hym the comune lawe wreton. as it apperith in the second chapytre of exode / Semblably Helye lyued ryght sobrely to thende that he myght prophetyse the more wysely. And in dede the Aungel brought to hym brede & water. and crowes two tymes in the day brought to hym flesshe. as it apperyth in the thyrd book

of kynges the xvij chapytre. wherfor it appereth how the fen∣des which ben vnderstonden by the crowes desyren a man to glotonnye and replection of his flesshe / but the angellys wyl that a man be sobre and rule hym by abstynence. More ouer we rede how god shewed to danyel many vysions. the whiche lyued ryght sobrely. as it appereth the ix chapytre of Danyel Semblably Anne serued god in fastyng and in prayers / and therfore she prophecyed of Ihesu cryste ryght wysely as sayth saynt Luc in his second chapytre / And therfore somtyme they that deuoutely were consacred dyd by abstynence syngulerly dyuers thynges. whiche myght not be doon in dronkenes / as it is wryton the vi chapytre of the book of nombres. we rede also how saynt Iohan baptyst ete onely hony sokles as saynt Mathew wryteth in hys thyrd chapytre. And therfor he was enhaunced aboue al prophetes. But now the tyme is ••omen that glotonnye regneth. And therfore reason warreth ayenst the flessh and ouercometh it in so moche that lecherye is moche comune in thys world For the nouryture of lecherye is glo∣fonye and dronkēnesse. but we ought to consydere how by ab∣stynence we shold eschewe many euylles. & to gete grete gra∣ces of god. & to this purpoos we re••e how the kyng iosaphath had somtyme vyctorye by cause he fasted / and preched to other that they shold faste / as it apperith in the ij boke of paralapome non the xix chapytre. Semblably we rede how the children of Israel were two tymes dyscomfyt of the chyldrē of bemamyn but after they fasted. and god gaf to them the vyctorye as it ap¦peryth the second book of Iudicū. Semblably the chyldren of Israel were dyscomfyte by the phylistees in so moche that they bare a waye the arke of god. but after the chyldren of Israel be¦gan to wepe & faste. & therfor god gaf to them vyctorye. as it apperith the first book of kynges the iiij & vij chapitre. & therfor saith thobye / that prayer is good. whan it is accompanyed with fastyng / we rede that esdras preched penaunce to the pe∣ple that wold demaunde pardon of god. as it apperyth in the

fourth chapitre of Esd••as / we rede also how achab gate grace of god for to faste as it apperyth iu the second book of kynges the fyrst chapytre / & semblably we rede of the cyte of Nynyue the ij chapytre of Ionas. By the whyche thynges it apperyth how we ought to lyue sobrely for to gete grace & vertues / for as Arystotle sayth in his xiij book of bestes / It is not prouf∣fytable thynge for one to fatte hym self. For ouermoche fatte nes maketh a man sodeynly to deye. as wytnesseth Constan∣tyn / whyche thynge is veray true / & not onely to the body. but also the soule. For glotonye fatteth a man and maketh hym to synne and fynably to deye euylly. wherby it appereth how abstynence is canse of moche good.