“The Logos,” as John said, “was made flesh.” Scripture, in fact, has the habit of indicating people with the term “flesh,” as when it says by the mouth of the prophet Joel, “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,” and as Daniel said to Astyages, “I do not adore idols made by the hands of people, but the living God, who has created the sky and the earth and has power over all flesh,” for he and Joel identify the flesh with the human race.
Ah! What a great sign of acknowledgment—that a god eats and drinks a lot! Daniel did not say, “Master, this could never be God” (the king in fact was a weak person) but instead explained, “I speak to you about the God who created the earth and the sky, and you speak to me about such utter nonsense? Surely this would not be something that matters to God. God in fact does not have hunger, nor does he get tired.”
Which damage does not derive from the excess of eating and drinking? Diseases, strife and all kinds of problems derive from the satiety of the belly, with all their consequences. When did it happen that Eve went out looking for something outside of paradise? Was it not perhaps when she listened to the snake and ate of the fruit of the tree in order to please herself with the fruit that had been forbidden to her? When did it happen that Cain decided to commit the abomination of killing his brother? Was it not perhaps when he tasted the fruit of the firstfruits, reserving the best for his own appetite? When did it happen that the sons of Job suddenly found their tombs in the same place as they were eating? Was it not perhaps while they were attempting to eat and to drink [to excess]? When did it happen that Esau fell from divine blessing? Was it not perhaps when, for the attraction of the gullet, he became a slave to his belly? When did it happen that Saul fell from his royal status? Was it not perhaps when he ate the meat of the precious sheep against the prohibition of the law? When did it happen that the people of Israel provoked the temper of God? Was it not perhaps when they mourned for the dishes of the Egyptians, expecting from their leader meats and pots of stew? Hofni and Phineas, Eli’s sons, how is it that they did not survive even a single hour but were killed in battle? Was it not perhaps because they secretly stole the offerings of meat destined for the sacrifice? And as for Jacob, one who was naturally blameworthy, is it not that he began revolting “when he ate and was not filled up, he grew fat and became thick and broad”? And when did it happen that the Sodomites took to stimulating themselves against the laws of nature? Was it not perhaps when they corrupted their minds in their continuous banquets? This in fact is what Ezekiel recalls to their shame when he says, “In the abundance of the wine and the satiety of the bread they abandoned helping others,” and he says this regarding the city of Sodom. But then he adds, “And also her daughters,” namely, the suburbs that always imitate the customs of the city. And what happened when the purpose of temperance was abandoned by that ancient people? Was it not perhaps when, in a similar way, they got older they began to lie around on the couch, which is how they are described with some disdain by the prophet: “They eat lambs from the flock, and the year-old calves are removed from the stable still nursing. And they drink filtered wine, after which they are massaged with precious ointments; they abandon themselves to the comfort of their couches, while they suffer nothing over the ruin of Joseph”? And Isaiah, against whom has he turned his complaints? Is it not perhaps against those who rise up early in the morning in order to feast? And thus he exclaims, “Woe to those who rise up early in the morning and go in search of inebriating drinks, who hang around late in the evening until they are inflamed in their faces with wine; they drink the wine, accompanied by the lyre and harp, but they do not attend to the deeds of the Lord.” And when the priests of Bel were confounded by Daniel? Was it not perhaps when they left a trail through the ashes that their treachery was uncovered because they had gone to take the food and drinks meant for Daniel?
Verse 18. "And as soon as he had opened the door, the king looked upon the table and cried out with a great voice: 'Great art thou, O Bel, and there is no deceit with thee.'" The statement of Scripture in this passage, "He cried out with a great voice," may seem, because of its reference to an idolator ignorant of God, to refute the observation put forth a little previously, that the expression "great voice" is found only in connection with saints. This objection is easily solved by asserting that this particular story is not contained in the Hebrew of the Book of Daniel. If, however, anyone should be able to prove that it belongs in the canon, then we should be obliged to seek out some answer to this objection.
Christ has given to the martyred saints the power to defeat the inhuman plans of the tyrants. He has given to his soldiers all the necessary armor for this war, surrounding them from every side with “the shield of faith,” with the armor of love2 and a strong mind. He has provided their ramparts with “the sword of the Spirit,” with which they cut off the head of the adversary. He has devastated the foundations of the temples of the idols, crushing the carved images as if they were light powder. He overturns the temples and the altars of the impure sacrifices and the illicit libation offerings, condemning to the fire the hideous dress of their caretakers and driving away the demons of the effigy who have been deceiving them and leading them to Gehenna. Seeing these things, the glorious martyrs, energized from the power of Christ, have conceived a desire more burning than to suffer for the power of his name. With their own hands they have overturned the images, casting down to earth all these monstrosities. And anywhere they found an effigy, they shattered it, throwing it down into the mud for the ultimate shame and derision of those who venerated and adored it. And they said to the governors and the tyrants, “Here is what you adored,” things impotent, blind4 and immovable—these weak things that you honored. You, equipped of reason, venerate dumb things, you, whom God has honored with his own image, so that you would recognize his power and adore him with fear and trembling when you come to stand before him and come to understand who he is. He is in fact the God who is without beginning, strong, frightening and powerful, most glorious and invisible. Leaving the adoration of him who has made you, you adored the creation instead of the Creator. He made the sun in order to illumine the day, so that enjoying its light and the heat, you would always glorify your Creator. And so he has allowed you to enjoy it. Instead, like blind people, you abandoned the Creator, preferring to adore the creature. Similarly, the Creator created the moon for you in order to dissipate the shadow of the night; you, like fools, imagining that the moon has replaced God, adore it instead of him.
When they object by saying that the ascension of the Savior is impossible, it will be well for you to recall to your memory what I have said to you about the carrying away of Habakkuk: if it were possible for an angel to take Habakkuk away by the hair of his head and to transport him from one place to another, there is even all the more reason for it to be possible for the Lord of the prophets and the angels to go up on a cloud and to ascend by virtue of his own power and with more power from on high from the Mount of Olives to the sky.
How then, when you go to converse with others, is it that you move from charity and joy to exasperation and rancor, and reproach your neighbor instead of yourself and do not say, “I am the dishonorable one,” but even quite approve of yourself? Because, if the occasion arises, you say, “Speak, for I have spoken and will listen gladly.” Who believes that they listen to your words gladly? Are you Elijah the prophet? Accuse yourself, and know that all of this that happens to you does not happen without the will of God, whether it is in the matter of rest that you yield thanks or an affliction that requires patience. Where is the word in Scripture, “You endure it when someone hits you in the face,” and so on? For this is why we are far from God.Therefore, if you want to learn the way, it is this: to consider the one who persecutes you like the one who cares for you; the one who despises you like the one who praises you; the one who insults you like the one who honors you; and the one who plagues you like the one who provides you with rest. And whether if, by forgetfulness or deliberately, they do not treat you in the way to which you are accustomed, do not get upset but say instead: If God intended this, they would have come. And when they do come, you receive them with a joyful face, rejoicing and thinking: the Lord has had mercy on me although I was unworthy; like Daniel, when the Lord went to visit him, he said only this: “You have remembered, Lord,” judging himself unworthy.
[AD 373] Athanasius of Alexandria on Daniel 14:5