of the reason of this avoidance is expressly put — "Why do we (the disciples of John) and the Pharisees fast oft, but thj' disciples fiist not.'" Tlie answer shows the voluntary character of fasting in the Christian Church — "Can the children of the bridechamber iast?" It is true that a period is alluded to when these chil- dren "shall fast;" but the general scope of the pas- sage, taken in connection with the fact that Christ's disciples fasted not, and witli the other fact, that while John (Matt, xi, 18, I'J) "came neither eating nor drinking," the Son of man "came eating and drink- ing," clearly shows that our Lord, as he did not posi- tively enjoin religious fasting, so bj- the assertion tliat a time would come when, being deprived of the (per- sonal presence of the) bridegroom, his disciples would fast, meant to intimate the approach of a period of general mourning, and emploj^ed the term "fast" de- rivativel}' to signify- rather sorrow of mind than any corporeal self-denial (Neander, Lcben Jesu, p. 231, 805). In his sermon on the mount, however (Matt, vi, 17), while correcting the self-righteous austerit}' of Pliari- saic fasting, he clearly allows the practice itself, but leaves the frequency, extent, and occasion of its per- formance to the private conscience and circumstances of each individual.
Tliat the early Christians observed the ordinary fasts which the public practice of their day sanctioned is clear from more than one passage in the Xew-Tes- tament Scriptures (Acts xiii, 2 ; xiv, 23 ; 2 Cor. vi, 5) ; but in this they probaljly did nothing more than yield obedience, as in general they tliought themselves bound to do, to the law of tlicir fatliers so long as the Mosaic institutions remained entire. Although the great bod}' of the Christian Church held themselves free from all ritual and ceremonial observances when God in his providence had brought Judaism to a termi- nation in tlie rasure of the holy city and the closing of the Temple, yet the practice of fasting thus origin- ated might easily and unobscrvedly have been trans- mitted from j-ear to jear and from age to age, and that the I'athcr because so large a portion of the disci- ples being Jews (to say nothing of the influence of the Ebionites in the primitive Church), thousands must have been accustomed to fasting from the earliest days of their existence, either in their own practice, or the practice of their fathers, relatives, and associates (comp. Cor. vii, 5).— Kitto, s. v ; Smith, s. v. See Fasting.
Literature. — Ciacconius, Be jcjimiis apnd antinuos (Rom. 1599); Tiegenhorn, Descriptio jejuniorum (.Jen. 1607); Drexel,Z>ey'j(m/o(Antw.lG37); l)a.\\xus,Beje- jiiniis et Quadrageshnn (Dauentr. 1G54") ; Ortlob, Be ritu jejuniorvm (Viteb. 1656); Lochner, De jejunio contra pontificios (llost. 1G56) ; Launoy, Be cilorum ddectu in jejuwis (Par. 1GG3) ; Funke, Be jejuniis (Altcnb. 16G3) ; Nicolai, Bejejunio Christiano (Par. 1667) ; Sommer, Be jcjunioruni natura (Jen. 1670) ; Sagittarius, Be jejuniis vsterum (Jen. 1672) ; Varenius, Jejunium Christianorum (Post. 1684); Salden, Be jejuniis (in Otia theol. [Amst. 1684], p. 658 sq.) ; Thomasin, Traite des jeiinrs (Paris, 1690) ; Hooper, Biscourse concerning Lent (Lond. 1696) ; Ortlob, Dc j'jiinio Mosis quadragedmali (Lips. 1701); Andry, Le regime de careme (Par. 1710) ; Pfanner, Be jejuniis Chriatianor. (in Ohss. sncr. ii, 324-520) ; Mabil- lon, Jeune de VEpiphanie (in Gunvrcs posih. i, 431 sq.) ; Hildebrand, Be jejunio (Helms t. 1719) ; Bohmer, Be jure cira jejunantes (Hal. 1722) ; Schutz, Be quat. tem- porum, jejuniis (^^'emig. 1723) ; Volland, Be jejuniis Sab- bat!cisXl\o?t. 1724) ; Muratori, De quat. temporum jeju- niis (in Awed, ii, 246 sq.) ; Pjernhold, Be jejunio partiali (Altd. 1725); '\\a\q\ Be jf junto quadragesimali (Jena, 1727); Berniiold, Bejejunio spirituali (Altorf. 1736); Carpzov, De jejuniis Sahbaticis (ISost. 1741) ; :\ Seelen, Dejjuniis Snhbnticis (Rost. 1741-2) ; Becker, De jeju- niis vett. Christianorum (Leucop. 1742) ; Ehrlich, Be Quadri I ge.'iinup jejunio CLips. 17-14); Kiesling, Z)c xero- phagiii ap. Jwheos et Christianos (Lips. 174G) ; Seidel, Be Hieronymo,jijunil suasore (Lond. 1747) ; Schickedanz,
FASTIDIUS
490
FASTIXG
Dej'jnnio Salbatico (Servest. 17G8) ; Kcirner, Jejiinlum ChriMo propodlum (Lips. 1770) ; Anon. Gesch. chr Fas- teuaustaltcn (\'ien. 1787); Anon. Apologle dujeune (Par. and Genev. 1790); Van Falckenhausen, Ueb. d. AWdg. Fastenfjebet (Augsburg, 1809) : Braun, Werth d. Fastens (Vion. 1830) ; Morin, Jcmmc chez les anciens (in Mem. de rAcad. des Inscr. iv, '29 sq.). On fasting in the Chris- tian Church, see Fasting.
Fastidius, Priscus, an English writer, and, ac- cording to some authorities, bishop of London in the 5th century. He is proved by IIoLstenius to be the autlior of a treatise found in Augustine's works, voL ix, and published by Holstenius (Rome, 16G3) under the title De Vita Christiana et Viduitate. Its precepts are good and practical, but Tillemont (^Mim. xv, 16) considers it as tending to Pelagianism, inasmuch as it reduces Christianity to love of God and our neighbors, including good works. It is given, with prolegome- na, in Galland, Bib. Vet. Putt: t. ix, and is reprinted in Jligne, Patrol. Lat. 1, 377 sq. — Clarke, Succession of Sac. Lit. ii, 152 ; Cave, Hist. Lit. i, 401.
Fasting in the Christian Church. In the ar- ticle Fast we have given an account of Jewish fast- ing, and also of the notices of fiisting in the N. T. We confine ourselves in this article to a history of fasting in the Cliristian Church.