Hippolytus of Rome : But they wished to prove to him that beauty and strength does not come by earthly food which was supplied to the humans, but that the grace of God which was given through the Word supplies beauty and strength, and so they said to him, "Then test your slaves for ten days and give us vegetables and we shall eat them and drink water and our appearances shall be seen and you shall see the appearances of the boys who eat from the table of the king and, just as you see, in this way do to us." [Daniel 1:12-13] Do you see the unalterable faith of the youths and the immutable fear of God? They asked for intervals of time, ten days, so that in this they may prove that they are not able to procure grace from God differently from other men, but only by believing the preaching of the word through Jesus. — Commentary on Daniel 1.11.4-5 Jerome : Verse 12. "I beg thee, try us thy servants for ten days, and let pulse be given us to eat and water to drink." His faith was so incredibly great that he not only promised he would be in good flesh by eating the humbler food, but he even set a time-limit. Therefore it was not a matter of temerity but of faith, for the sake of which he despised the sumptuous fare of the king. — St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER ONE Leander of Seville : A fish is caught by being enticed by a hook. A bird falls into a net while trying to get food. Animals that are tough by nature's endowment fall into a pit from the desire to eat, and what nature does not soften, food deceives. Therefore, learn temperance and parsimony from the prayer and the examples of ancients: from prayer, because the Lord says, "Lest your hearts be overburdened with self-indulgence and drunkenness"; from examples, because David was unwilling to drink the water he wanted, since he recognized the danger of being responsible for another's blood;6 because Daniel scorned the feasts of kings and lived on vegetables. What you possess in common with your companions should be acceptable to you, and you should not cause others to be intemperate; also, do not become a cause for scandal to those to whom you wish to set an example by encouragement and by proof of a good life. — THE TRAINING OF NUNS 13 Tertullian : The exception of certain kinds from use as food is a partial fast.… Daniel and his companions, preferring as they did a diet of vegetables and the beverage of water to the royal dishes and decanters, were found "more handsome" … and in addition were more spiritually cultured. For God gave to the young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature, and to Daniel in every word, and in dreams and in every kind of wisdom; which [wisdom] was to make him wise in this very thing also, namely, by what means the recognition of mysteries was to be obtained from God. — ON FASTING 9