Or a man may abstain from one
pleasure, just to be able to enjoy another all the more; as some
great gamblers drink nothing but water, in order to keep their heads
clear for cheating. All these are poor reasons; some of them base,
some of them wicked reasons for abstaining from anything. Therefore,
abstinence is not a good thing in itself; for if a thing is good in
itself, it can never be wrong. Love is good in itself, and,
therefore, you cannot love anyone for a bad reason. Justice is good
in itself, pity is good in itself, and, therefore, you can never be
wrong in being just or pitiful.
But abstinence is not a good thing in itself. If it were, we should
all be bound to abstain always from everything pleasant, and make
ourselves as miserable and uncomfortable as possible, as some
superstitious persons used to do in old times. Abstinence is only
good when it is used for a good reason. If a man abstains from
pleasure himself, to save up for his children; if he abstains from
over eating and over drinking, to keep his mind clear and quiet; if
he abstains from sleep and ease, in order to have time to see his
business properly done; if he abstains from spending money on
himself, in order to spend it for others; if he abstains from any
habit, however harmless or pleasant, because he finds it lead him
towards what is wrong, and put him into temptation; then he does
right; then he is doing God's work; then he may expect God's
blessing; then he is trying to do what we all prayed God to help us
to do, when we said, "Give us grace to use such abstinence;" then he
is doing, more or less, what St.
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