I EXHORT thee in God, that thou add [speed] to thy course, and that thou vindicate thy dignity. Have a care to preserve concord with the saints. Bear [the burdens of] the weak, that " thou mayest fulfil the law of Christ."^ Devote ^ thy- self to fasting and prayer, but not beyond meas- ure, lest thou destroy thyself-* thereby. Do not altogether abstain from wine and flesh, for these things are not to be viewed with abhorrence, since [the Scripture] saith, " Ye shall eat the good things of the earth." 5 And again, '' Ye shall eat fl.^sh even as herbs." ^ And again, " Wine maketh glad the heart of man, and oil exhilarates, and bread strengthens him." ^ But all are to be used with moderation, as being the gifts of God. " For who shall eat or who shall drink without Him? For if anything be beauti- ful, it is His ; and if anything be good, it is His."^ Give attention to reading, 9 that thou mayest not only thyself know the laws, but mayest also ex- plain them to others, as the earnest servant '° of God. " No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may