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Sirach, 31. At a banquet of wine do not rebuke your neighbor, and do not despise him in his cheerfulness.

Basil. For just as water is an enemy to fire, so an excess of wine extinguishes sober reasoning.

The best measure of the use of wine, is the body's need.

Drunkenness does not receive the Lord. It drives away the Holy Spirit. For smoke drives away bees; and carousing drives away spiritual gifts.

The Theologian's. And the poor, thus; but we shall recline splendidly splendid, on a high and lofty couch, and with superfluous and untouched covers. And for them there is much satiety even of water; but for us, the wine bowls even to drunkenness; or rather, even beyond drunkenness for the more dissolute; and one of the wines we shall send away, and another we shall select as fragrant; and about this we shall philosophize; and a loss, if one of the local, and some renowned foreign wine is not present, like a tyrant. For we must be delicate and more extravagant than necessary; as if ashamed, if we are not considered wicked and slaves to the belly, and to the things under the belly.

Chrysostom. For those who live in drunkenness and licentiousness, the day is turned into the darkness of night; not because the sun is extinguished, but because their mind is darkened by drunkenness.

Evagrius'. Wine strengthens the body; but the word of God, the soul.

Plutarch. The world is destroyed by fire and water, but the wealth of the intemperate, by lust and drunkenness.

Diogenes. At a certain symposium, when much wine was given to him, he poured it out. And when some blamed him, "For if," he said, "I drink it, not only is it lost, but it destroys me as well."

Menander. Insolence and wine are accustomed to reveal to friends the characters of friends. Much unmixed wine forces one to think little. For it is not the quantity of the drink, if one considers, that causes drunken misbehavior, but the nature of the drinker. It is a difficult thing when someone talks more than he drinks, perceiving nothing, but pretending.

Pythagoras. He used to say, that drunkenness is a rehearsal for madness.

Cleostratus. Cleostratus to the one who said to him, "Are you not ashamed of being drunk?" he said, "And are you not ashamed of admonishing a drunk man?"

Epictetus'. The cicadas are musical; but the snails, voiceless. And the ones rejoice when moistened, the others when warmed. Then, the dew calls forth the ones; and at this they emerge. And again, the peaking sun arouses the others, and in it they sing. (885) Therefore, if you wish to be a musical and harmonious man, when your soul is bedewed by wine at drinking parties, then do not let it, as it goes forth, be defiled; but when it is fired by reason in assemblies, then bid it to prophesy and sing the oracles of justice.

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Σιράχ, λα´. Ἐν συμποσίῳ οἴνου μή ἔλεγχε τόν πλησίον, καί μή ἐξουδενώσῃς αὐτόν ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ αὐτοῦ.

Βασιλ. Ὥσπερ γάρ ὕδωρ πολέμιόν ἐστι πυρί, οὕτως ἀμετρία οἴνου λογισμόν κατασβέννυσι σώφρονα.

Μέτρον ἄριστον τῆς τοῦ οἴνου χρήσεως, ἡ χρεία τοῦ σώματος.

Μέθη, Κύριον οὐχ ὑποδέχεται. Πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἀποδιώκει. Καπνός μέν γάρ, φυγαδεύει μελίσσας· χαρίσματα δέ πνευματικά ἀποδιώκει κραιπάλη.

Θεολόγου. Καί οἱ μέν πένητες, οὕτως· ἡμεῖς δέ ἀνακεισόμεθα λαμπροί λαμπρῶς, ἐπί στιβάδος ὑψηλῆς τε καί μετεώρου, καί τῶν περιττῶν καί ἀψαύστων ἐπιβλημάτων. Καί τοῖς μέν πολύς κόρος καί ὕδατος· ἡμῖν δέ καί μέχρι μέθης οἱ τοῦ οἴνου κρατῆρες· μᾶλλον δέ καί ὑπέρ μέθην τοῖς ἀκολαστοτέροις· καί τόν μέν ἀποπεμψόμεθα τῶν οἴνων, τόν δέ ἐκκρινοῦμεν ὡς ἀνθοσμίαν· περί δέ τοῦ φιλοσοφήσομεν· ζημίαν δέ, εἰ μή προσέσται τῶν ἐγχωρίῳ, καί τῶν ὀμαζομένων ξένων τις, ὥσπερ τύραννος. ∆εῖ γάρ ἡμᾶς ἀβρούς καί τῆς χρείας περιττοτέρους εἶναι· ὥσπερ αἰσχυνομένους, εἰ μή κακοί νομιζόμεθα καί δοῦλοι γαστρός, καί τῶν ὑπό γαστέρα.

Χρυσόστ. Τοῖς ἐν μέθῃ καί ἀκολασίᾳ βιοῦσιν, ἡ ἡμέρα πρός τό τῆς νυκτός μεταστρέφεται σκότος· οὐ τοῦ ἡλίου σβεννυμένου, ἀλλά τῆς ἐκείνων διανοίας σκοτιζομένης τῇ μέθῃ.

Εὐαγρίου. Ῥώννυσι μέν οἶνος σῶμα· τήν δέ ψυχήν λόγος Θεοῦ.

Πλουτάρχ. Φθείρεται μέν κόσμος πυρί καί ὕδατ ὁ δέ τῶν ἀκολάστων πλοῦτος, ἔρωτι καί μέθῃ.

∆ιογέν. Ἐν συμποσίῳ τινί, πολλού αὐτῷ οἴνου διδομένου, τοῦτο ἐξέχεεν· ἐπεί δέ τινες αὐτόν ἐμέμφοντο, Ἐάν γάρ αὐτόν, ἔφη, ἐκπίω, οὐ μόνον αὐτός ἀπόλλυται, ἀλλά κἀμέ προσαπόλλυσιν.

Μενάνδρ. Ὕβρις καί οἶνος ἀποκαλύπτειν εἰώθασιν φίλοις τά ἤθη τῶν φίλων. Ὁ πολύς ἄκρατος, ὀλίγ᾿ ἀναγκάζει φρονεῖν· Οὐ γάρ τό πλῆθος, ἄν σκοπῇ τις, τοῦ πότου Ποιεῖ παροινεῖν, τοῦ πιόντος δ᾿ ἡ φύσις. Χαλεπόν ὅταν τις ὧν πίνῃ πλέον λαλῇ, Μηδέν κατιδών, ἀλλά προσποιούμενος.

Πυθαγ. Οὗτος ἔλεγε, Τήν μέθην, μανίας εἶναι μελέτην.

Κλεόστρατ. Κλεόστρατος πρός τόν εἰπόντα αὐτῷ, Οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ μεθύων, ἔφη, Σύ δέ οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ μεθύοντα νουθετῶν;

Ἐπικτήτου. Οἱ τέττιγες μουσικοί · οἱ δέ κοχλίαι, ἄφωνοι· χαίρουσι δέ, οἱ μέν ὑγραινόμενοι· οἱ δέ ἀλεαινώμενοι. Ἔπειτα προκαλεῖται, τούς μέν, ἡ δρόσος· καί ἐπί ταύτῃ ἐκδύνουσι· τούς δ᾿ αὖ διεγείρει ἀκμάζων ὁ ἥλιος, καί ἐν αὐτῷ ᾅδουσι. (885) Τοιγαροῦν, εἰ βούλει μουσικός καί εὐάρμοστος ὑπάρχειν ἀνήρ, ἡνίκα μέν ἐν τοῖς πότοις ὑπό τοῦ οἴνου δροσισθῇ ἡ ψυχή, τότε αὐτήν μή ἔα προϊοῦσαν μολύνεσθαι· ἀλλ᾿ ἡνίκα ἐν τοῖς συνεδρίοις ὑπό τοῦ λόγου διαπυρωθῇ, τότε θεσπίζειν καί ᾅδειν τά τῆ δικαιοσύνης κέλευε λόγια.