A Kingly Mortification

Et abiit rex in domum suam, et dormivit incoenatus... Quanta regis benevolentia, ut cibum nec die nec nocte caperet; somnum oculis non concederet: sed cum perielitante propheta ipse penderet affectu. Si autem rex nesciens Deum, hoc facit pro altero, quem vult de discrimine liberari: quanto magis nos pro peccatis propriis inedia et vigiliis debemus Deum ad clementiam flectere. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentaria in Daniel, Caput VI Source:  Migne PL 25.526a

And the king went away to his house, and slept without eating... 1 How great was the benevolence of the king, that he did not take food day or night, nor gave sleep to his eyes, but was oppressed while the Prophet was endangered. If even a king ignorant of God did this for another, for one whom he wished to be freed from peril, how much more should we fast for our own sins and take to vigils for God, that He be merciful to us. Saint Jerome, from the Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 6 1 Dan 6.8