Quote
1558·Padua, Italy
Old age, which is dreaded by all men, is to me the sweetest and most pleasant period of my life.
I found that a strict and regular life is the true way to conquer nature, and that the proverb which says that nature is so powerful is in part false.
It is certain that habit eventually has such power over human nature that it becomes, as it were, a second nature, and forces it to practise that to which it has become accustomed, regardless of whether or not it is good for health.
Maimonides·1170A person should not eat until his stomach is full. Rather, he should eat until he has consumed approximately three quarters of his fill.
MaimonidesBy following entirely the guidance of lust, in the manner of fools, man loses his intellectual energy, injures his body, and perishes before his natural time; sighs and cares multiply; there is an increase of envy, hatred, and warfare, for the purpose of taking what another possesses. The cause of all this is the circumstance that the ignorant considers physical enjoyment as an object to be sought for its own sake. God in His wisdom has therefore given us such commandments as would counteract that object, and prevent us altogether from directing our attention to it, and has debarred us from everything that leads only to excessive desire and to lust. This is an important thing included in the objects of our Law.
Plutarch·100 ADThe stomach is not to be loaded, for there is nothing so hostile to thought as a full belly.
