Letters

²⁷ And is not temperance agreeable to nature, and to that divine law, which in the very beginning of all created things gave the springs for drink and the fruits of the trees for food? After the Flood the just man found wine a source of temptation to him. Let us then use the natural drink of temperance, and would that we all were able to do so. But because all are not strong the Apostle said: “Use a little wine because of your frequent infirmities.” We must drink it then not for the sake of pleasure, but because of infirmity, and therefore sparingly as a remedy, not in excess as a gratification.