Hermann Hesse

'Very well and what can you give? What have you learned that you can give?'

'I can think, I can wait, I can fast.'

'Is that all?'

'I think that is all.'

'And of what use are they? For example, fasting, what good is that?'

'It is of great value, sir. If a man has nothing to eat, fasting is the most intelligent thing he can do. If, for instance, Siddhartha had not learned how to fast, he would have had to seek some kind of work today, either with you, or elsewhere, for hunger would have driven him. But as it is, Siddhartha can wait calmly. He is not impatient, he is not in need, he can ward off hunger for a long time and laugh at it. Therefore, fasting is useful, sir.'