Choose a topic from Part 2B:
1. Sobriety consists in the reasonable and temperate useof intoxicating drink. We call a man sober (in describing hishabitual conduct) when he either drinks no intoxicants, or drinksthem in such moderation that his faculties are never disordered bythem. The word sober, and hence the word sobriety, derivesfrom a word meaning measure, and therefore suggests thetrue meaning of the term: measure or moderation in drinking.
2. Sobriety is usually regarded as a special partof the virtue of temperance, and hence a special virtue.
3. No food or drink is, in itself, unlawful. Scripturesays (Matt. 15:11): "That which goeth into the mouth doth notdefile a man." Yet the drinking of intoxicants can be bad forseveral accidental reasons. Drinking becomes an evil: (a) when theperson who drinks is abnormally susceptible to the influence ofalcohol; (b) when a person has pledged his word not to drink; (c)when a person drinks too much; (d) when scandal (that is, badexample) is given by drinking.
4. Sobriety is a good and necessary virtue in all, and itis especially requisite for (a) the young, who readily give way toexcess in pleasures, and who develop habits quickly; (b) women,whose natural refinement is quickly debased and made disgusting byintoxication; (c) teachers and pastors and parents, and all whoinstruct others, and all whose dignity or office demands a devoutand attentive mind and the example of sober conduct.
"God speaks to us without ceasing by his good inspirations."
The Cure D'Ars
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"What good does it do to speak learnedly about the Trinity if, lacking humility, you displease the Trinity? Indeed it is not learning that makes a man holy and just, but a virtuous life makes him pleasing to God. "
Thomas á Kempis
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"If, devout soul, it is your will to please God and live a life of serenity in this world, unite yourself always and in all things to the divine will. Reflect that all the sins of your past wicked life happened because you wandered from the path of God's will. For the future, embrace God's good pleasure and say to him in every happening: "Yea, Father, for so it hath seemed good in thy sight." "
St Alphonsus de Liguori
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