the decorum and order which reign in all His works. St. Bernard teaches us the same lesson in these words: "In regard to eating there are four things to be regulated: the time, the manner, the quantity, and the quality. The time should be limited to the usual hours of our repast; the manner should be free from that eagerness which makes us appear absorbed in what is set before us; the quantity and quality should not exceed what is granted others, except when a condition of health manifestly requires delicacies."[1]
In forcible words, supported by appropriate examples, St. Gregory declares the same sentiments: "It belongs to abstinence not to anticipate the ordinary time of meals, as Jonathan did when he ate the honeycomb;[2] not to desire the greatest delicacies, as the Israelites did in the desert when they longed for the flesh-pots of Egypt;[3] not to wish for the choicest preparation of food, as the people of Sodom;[4] and not to yield to greediness, as Esau did[5] when he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage."[6]
Hugh of St. Victor tells us we must be very attentive to our deportment at table, always observing a certain modesty of the eyes and a reserve of speech. There are some, he says, who are no sooner seated at table than their uncontrolled appetite is manifested by their bearing their eyes eagerly scan the whole board; they rudely help themselves before
