Sobriety

Sobriety consists in the reasonable and temperate use of intoxicating drink. We call a man sober (in describing his habitual conduct) when he either drinks no intoxicants, or drinks them in such moderation that his faculties are never disordered by them. The word sober, and hence the word sobriety, derives from a word meaning measure, and therefore suggests the true meaning of the term: measure or moderation in drinking.

Sobriety is usually regarded as a special part of the virtue of temperance, and hence a special virtue.

No food or drink is, in itself, unlawful. Scripture says (Matt. 15:11): “That which goeth into the mouth doth notdefile a man.” Yet the drinking of intoxicants can be bad for several accidental reasons. Drinking becomes an evil: (a) when the person who drinks is abnormally susceptible to the influence of alcohol; (b) when a person has pledged his word not to drink; (c)when a person drinks too much; (d) when scandal (that is, bad example) is given by drinking.

Sobriety is a good and necessary virtue in all, and itis especially requisite for (a) the young, who readily give way to excess in pleasures, and who develop habits quickly; (b) women,whose natural refinement is quickly debased and made disgusting by intoxication; (c) teachers and pastors and parents, and all who instruct others, and all whose dignity or office demands a devout and attentive mind and the example of sober conduct.