CHAPTER II. VERSE 23. Which things have indeed a show of wisdom. This text has sometimes been oddly quoted against the practice of abstinence from alcoholic liquors, to which it has no relation whatever. An enlightened Temperance man does not abstain from wine, 'the mocker,' because he believes it is a good creature, which will strenghten the body, but because he knows it is a bad article, that will weaken and deprave it. It is a physiological truth, that to weaken the body is to weaken the brain, the organ of the mind, and thereby to increase the power of many morbid and depraved feelings. On the other hand, to keep the body pure, as commanded in the sequel (chap. iii. 4, 5), is the rational method of aiding the suppression of 'shameful appetites and unnatural desires.' Hence the propriety of not looking, with desire, upon the wine which is red,' 'lest thine eyes look upon strange women, and thine heart dictate perverse things.' Christianity, far from discarding either the wisdom of the past, or the science of the present, should collect and concentrate around its own lofty principles of action the light of all ages, to induce at once a broader and a truer mode of individual and social life. Hence alone can the Christian be 'thoroughly furnished unto all good works.' THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST PAUL TO THE CHAPTER V. VERSE 6-9. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to 9 wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. V. 6. LET US WATCH] Greegorōmen, let us be wakeful'; in apposition to the 'let us not sleep' of the preceding clause. AND BE SOBER] Kai neephōmen, 'let us be abstinent.' V. 7. AND THEY THAT BE DRUNKEN ARE DRUNKEN IN THE NIGHT] Kai oi methuskomenoi nuktos methuousin, and those that are making themselves drunk, drink deep in the night.' A partial reform had been effected since the days of Isaiah, when men rose up early in the morning to follow strong drink. V. 8. BUT LET US, WHO ARE OF THE DAY, BE SOBER] Heemeis de heemeras ontes neephōmen, but let us who are of the day be abstinent.' Day and night, light and darkness, have been immemorial symbols of truth and error, holiness and sin. In speaking of the coming of 'the day of Christ'—the day of revelation and destiny-the apostle reminds the Thessalonians (ver. 4) that they were not 'in darkness'—in a state of depravity,-so that that day should overtake them as a thief.' [Some MSS. read hōs kleptas, 'as thieves,' instead of hōs kleptees, 'as a thief.'] As children of the day, then, it was fitting that they should not sleep, as others did, who were children of the night-i. e. that they should not be in a state of insensibility and moral unpreparedness for the advent of the 'great day of the Lord'; rather that they should be ever 'wakeful' and 'sober,' free from all intoxicating influences and delusions. The use of the word neephōmen seems to have suggested to St Paul another descriptive metaphor—that of drinkers carousing, which in his age was wholly carried on in the night season, except by the outrageously intemperate. As those who sleep are insensible of what is passing and impending, so sinners are insensible of approaching judgment—this is one comparison. But also, as lovers of strong drink fill themselves in the night, so do sinners fill and intoxicate themselves with delusive pleasures-those of drink among the rest,-in contrast to whom the Christian, 'who is of the day,' is both wakeful and abstinent, even as those who in the day time go about their business and keep themselves free from inebriating drinks in order that they may be able to discharge their duties aright. That the apostle wishes neephōmen to be taken literally as well as spiritually may be inferred from the well-known connection of sobriety with wakefulness, both of the senses and of the mind; as if he had said, The children of the day are to be wakeful; and in order that they may be wakeful, let them also be sober.' The influence of even small portions of alcoholic liquor in producing drowsiness is well known, and not a few persons who do not always abstain, yet abstain during the day in order that they may be the better qualified for the business of life. The military metaphor which the apostle proceeds to introduce-'putting on the breastplate of righteousness'—supports the view that he uses neephō in its primary sense, for the Roman soldier on duty was bound over to the most stringent sobriety, and no other drink but posca, an acidulous liquor, was supplied to him. Xenophon, in his Cyropædia (vii. 5), represents Cyrus the Great as addressing his chiefs, and reminding them that their soldiers were all wakeful and sober (egrecgoratas apantas kai neephontas), while many of the Babylonians were asleep, and many of them drunken (methuousi). Plutarch says of Epaminondas, that on one occasion he went the round of the defences and walls, telling the men not to sleep nor to drink (agrupnein kai neephein), so that the others might have license to sleep and to sot (methuein).' To the Christian soldier, physical sobriety is as needful as to the literal warrior when on service, nor can he wisely dispense with the one infallible security of that state-abstinence from all that can intoxicate. CRITICAL REMARKS ON NEEPHO,' ETC. 1. Since this Greek word and its derivatives henceforth occur repeatedly in the Apostolic epistles, we will here cite the whole of the eleven passages, with the renderings of the A. V., and then proceed to consider their meaning. 1 Cor. xv. 34. Ekneepsate dikaiōs, 'awake to righteousness.' 1 Thess. v. 6. Greegorōmen, 'let us watch,' kai neephōmen, and be sober.' I Thess. v. 8. Heemeis neephōmen, let us be sober.' 1 Tim. iii. 2. (Of a bishop,) let him be neephaleon, 'vigilant,' sophrona, 'sober.' 1 Tim. iii. 11. (Of deacons' wives,) let them be neephaleous, 'sober.' 2 Tim. ii. 26. Ananeepsōsin, they may recover themselves.' 2 Tim. iv. 5. Su de neephe, but watch thou,' in pasi, 'in all things.' Titus ii. 2. (Of aged men,) neephalious, 'sober. 1 Pet. 1. 13. Neephontes, 'be sober.' 1 Pet. iv. 7. Sophroneesate oun, 'be ye therefore sober,' kai neepsate, ‘and watch,' eis tas proseuchas, 'unto prayers.' 1 Fet. v. 8. Neepsate, 'be sober,' greegoreesate, 'be vigilant.' In the Lxx. version of the Old Testament neither the verb neepho nor the adjective neephalios occurs, except in combination in the following places : = Gen. ix. 24. And Noah exeneepse, became sober' awoke, apo tou oinou (autou), from his wine.' 1 Sam. xxv. 37. Nabal exeneepsen, 'became sober'=awoke, apo tou oinou, 'from the wine.' The Hebrew reads, 'in the going out of the wine from Nabal.' Joel i. 5. Ekneepsate, 'become sober' awake. Hab. ii. 1. Ekneepson, 'awake!' Hab. ii. 7. Ekneepsousin, ‘shall awake.' Ekneepsin occurs in Lament. ii. 8 and (in some MSS.) in iii. 48. In Homer, neither neephō nor any of its derivatives or combinations occur, to our knowledge. 2. That the original signification of neepho implies abstinence from intoxicating liquors, may be safely inferred (1) from its etymon, or derivation, and from the definitions of lexicographers; (2) from its use by ancient authors; (3) from its use in connection with ana and ek, to denote the entire cessation of the vinous influence, and the restoration of the body to its normal and naturally abstinent condition; (4) from its figurative employment to denote perfect and natural watchfulness of mind, only possible when one abstains from narcotics. (1) No derivation of neepho is given in the great works of Pollux, Suidas, Scapula, Stephanus, or in several of the principal modern lexicons. But Apollonius and Hesychius refer it to neipho➡niphō, ‘to snow,' which would give neepho the sense of 'to be cold,' i.e. exempt from the heating or exciting influence of wine. Scheidius refers it to a supposed nubō, 'to cover' =numphō; whence numphee, 'a veiled maiden,' or a protected woman a bride. Springing from such a root, neepho would imply 'to protect one's self' from danger by avoiding the intoxicating cup. Schleusner, however, who is followed by some other lexicographers, derives it from nee, 'not,' and pino (= piò or poō), 'to drink'; a derivation far preferable to those above named. F. Valpy, M. A., Cantab., has suggested another derivation, which comes to the same sense:-"Possibly from nee and heepha (perfect of apto, to set on fire'), 'not to inflame.'"-('Fundamental Words of the Greek Language,' 1826.) Passing from derivation to definition, Pollux, in his 'Onomasticon,' vi. 26, has, “For they say that neephaliuein is to sacrifice neephalia, which is to offer wineless sacrifices (thusiais aoinois); those of a different kind being described as oinospondous (connected with libations of wine)." Hesychius defines neephalioi as neephontes, mee pepōkotes, 'those who abstain, who have not been drinking.' He defines neephalismenon as hudati ouk oinō heegnismenon, 'consecrated with water, and not with wine.' Suidas describes neephalio thusiai as 'sacrifices in which wine is not presented, but water mixed with honey.' In Stephanus's Thesaurus the ncephalios is said to be ho apechōn oinon, 'he who abstains from wine'; and neephalia xula are 'pieces of wood which were burnt in wineless sacrifices.' Schleusner thus defines neepho:Sobrius sum, abstineo ab omni aut immoderato vini et omnis potus inebriantis usu, 'I am sober, I abstain from all, or from an immoderate use of, wine and every inebriating drink.' Excluding the words aut immoderato, this definition would form a very appropriate Temperance declaration. Schrevelius (Dr Major's ed., 1844) gives neepso, to be sober, abstain, be vigilant.' Bretschneider defines neepho, 'sobrius sum, vino abstineo' (I am sober, I abstain from wine); and neephalios 'sobrius, vino abstinens (sober, abstaining from wine). In the Greek Dictionary of Byzantius, published at Athens in 1839, neephalios is defined ho mee pinōn oinon, enkratees, 'one who does not drink wine, an encratite. Neephalia is defined as 'sacrificial oblations without wine.' And in the Greek-French Lexicon of the same author, neephaliotees is explained by abstinence de vin, sobriété, ‘abstinence from wine, sobriety.' Liddell and Scott's Lexicon defines neephō, 'to be sober, to live soberly, especially to drink no wine'; Maltby's, 'sobrius sum, to abstain from wine'; Dunbar's, 'to abstain from wine'; Donnegan's, 'to live abstemiously, to abstain from wine'; Robinson's New Testament Lexicon, 'to be sober, temperate, abstinent, especially in respect to wine.' Under abstemius,' Younge's English and Greek Lexicon gives 'neephōn, without wine, aoinos, neephalios'; and under without wine,' both aoinos (wine-less) and neephalios are given as equivalents. (2) The reader will now be prepared for illustrative citations from Greek and Jewish writers. Eschylus, in his 'Eumenides,' v. 108, refers to choas 'aoinous, neephalia meiligmata, 'wineless oblations, abstemious gratifications.' Paley, in his Notes on Æschylus, remarks, The reason, probably, was that wine infuriates, and leads to the commission of those very crimes which arouse the dread goddesses.' Sophocles, in his 'Edipus at Colonos' (v. 101), describes Edipus as stating to the Eumenides that he had come to them neephōn, aoinois, 'I abstemious, to you wineless,' where the force of neephōn cannot be mistaken. And because their sacrifices must be neephalioi, the chorus informs him that he must propitiate those awful powers by oblations of honey and water; adding (v. 481), mee de prospherein metnu, be sure not to offer to them inebriating drink.' Aristophanes (Lysist. line 1228) introduces an Athenian lover of drink as saying, 'When we (Athenians) drink not (neephontes), we are not in a healthy state,' i. e. are good for nothing; a character and sentiment which have their parallels in many modern tap-rooms. Herodotus (book i. s. 133) states concerning the Persians, that they review, when free from drink (neephousi), what they have decided when in liquor; and, similarly, that what they have decided when not drinking (neephontes), they review when in their cups. Plato, in his Philebus' (61), has the following striking passage :-" And now to us, as it were to butlers, stand two founts; the one of pleasure, and a person might guess it to be of honey; but that of the intellect, hard and healthful, he might guess to be sober and wineless (neephontikeen kai aoinon).” In his ‘Laws' (b. vi. 733) he remarks, "It is easy to understand that a city ought not to be mixed like a cup in which the maddened wine (mainomenos oinos) effervesces when poured forth; but like one that, being subject to the abstemious other deity (hupo tou neephontos heterou theou), produces a good and moderate drink, after a beautiful commingling." He here represents Bacchus as combined with another deity, which he calls neephōn theos, an abstemious god; and Longinus remarks that this 'other deity' is nothing else than Water, which it was the custom to mix with wine. In his 'Banquet,' Plato represents Alcibiades as reproaching the guests, "You seem to me to be not-drinking (neephein to be teetotalizing): this must not be allowed; but you must drink, for so you have agreed, and I will elect myself the chairman of the banquet until you have drunk enough." In his Epistles (vii. 330) Plato refers to the lover of wisdom as making use of that food for the day which may "make him specially quick to learn and of good memory, and able to reason in himself by being an abstainer (neephonta)." Burgess' translation renders neephonta here, ‘abstaining from wine.' Plutarch (Conviv. Quest. iv. 2) states that the Greeks offer sacrifices which are abstemious (neephalia), and with oblations of honey, in distinction from others where the honey is accompanied with wine. Elsewhere (De San. Præcep.) he remarks that "we often present to Bacchus himself abstemious oblations (neephalia), being very properly not habituated always to seek unmixed wine." In his Life of Romulus' he mentions a goddess called Rumalia, the protectress of children, to whom sober sacrifices (neephalia) were made, and on whose altars libations of milk were poured out. More interesting, however, than all the rest, and more apt and conclusive, is the use of neephō and its derivatives by two of St Paul's Jewish contemporaries-Josephus and Philo. Josephus employs the word ་ "Among the Greeks," says Athenæus, "those who sacrifice to the Sun make their libations of honey, as they never bring wine to the altars of the gods, saying it is proper that the god who keeps the whole universe in order, regulating everything, and always going round and superintending the whole, should in no manner be connected with drunkenness" (lib. xv. c. 48). |