Tertullian · a new plain-English translation from the original language
Another custom has now taken hold: those who are fasting, after finishing their prayer with the brethren, omit the kiss of peace, that seal set upon prayer. But when is peace more fittingly exchanged with the brethren than when prayer rises the more commendably from our shared work, so that they too may share in what we have done, by having contributed their own peace to a brother's business? What kind of prayer is whole when severed from the holy kiss? What duty done for the Lord does peace hinder? What sort of sacrifice is it that one leaves without peace? Whatever the reasoning behind it, it will never outweigh the observance of the precept that bids us keep our fasts hidden; for by abstaining from the kiss we are already recognized as fasting. But if there is some reason for it, so that you not become liable under this precept, you can, if need be, put off the exchange of peace at home, among those from whom concealing the fast entirely is not possible. Wherever else you can hide what you are doing, though, you should remember the precept; that way you will satisfy both the discipline abroad and the custom at home. So too on Easter Day, when the observance of the fast is shared and, so to speak, public, we rightly set the kiss aside, with no concern about hiding what we are doing along with everyone else.