Letter 11040: Great infirmity constrains us, dearest brother, from which if we were free, we should seem justly blamable. But since, while we are in this fragile body, we cannot subsist but by subservience to its weaknesses, we ought not to blush for what necessity imposes on us. And so, since physicians all say that to those who suffer from eruption of blood...
Gregory to Marinianus, Bishop of Ravenna.
Great infirmity constrains us, dearest brother, and if we were free from it, we could rightly be called to account. But since, while we remain in this fragile body, we cannot survive without yielding to its weaknesses, we need not be ashamed of what necessity imposes on us.
Since the physicians all say that fasting is harmful to those who suffer from bleeding, I urge your Brotherhood by this letter: remembering what you have been accustomed to endure from illness, do not by any means impose the strain of fasting on yourself. However, if by God's mercy you know yourself to be sufficiently recovered and strong enough, I permit you to fast once or twice a week.
But above all, take care that you do not expose yourself to any feeling of irritation, lest the illness -- which is believed to be lighter now and in remission -- should return more heavily through aggravation.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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