Athanasius of Alexandria, on 1Tim 4:6

“These things proposing to the brethren, thou shalt be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished up in the words of faith, and of the good doctrine which thou hast attained unto.”

“Virtues and vices are the food of the soul, which can feed on either one, turning to whichever one it wants to. If it is bent toward moral excellence, it will be fed by virtue—by righteousness, temperance, meekness, endurance. In other words, it's just as St. Paul says, "being nourished by the word of truth." That's the way it was with our Lord, who said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me."”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.