Chapter V.
Noah, who was intoxicated, is excused because of his ignorance; and the evils that arose from the use of wine, as well as the benefits from abstaining from it, are explained with examples from both sides.
Noah was naked when he became intoxicated, and his sons' piety covered him. But he was naked out of ignorance, not intemperance; for wine was still unknown. In the beginning of the human race, drunkenness was not yet known. Noah himself was the first to plant a vineyard: nature gave the vine, but he was unaware of its power. Therefore, he did not spare the wine from its creator. Is it any wonder that when the Lord himself praised his creatures, Noah was amazed? Therefore, when the creature, more powerful than usual, disturbed the elderly man's unfamiliar limbs, he was pleased with the gift and became intoxicated with a new potion. 'Those who ride horses have fallen asleep', he said (Psalm LXXV, 7). The righteous man succumbs to the pleasures of the body and falls asleep. But the drunkenness of the other persuades us to be sober (Distichs and Chapters on the Same Topic, § Sed illius). For Noah was once intoxicated. However, when he recognized the evil of drunkenness, he tempered his discovery as a remedy and did not pour it out as a vice. And the Apostle also says: Use a little wine for the sake of your frequent infirmities (I Tim. 5:23).
11. Freedom remained intact before wine was discovered, no one knew to demand the services of servitude from a companion of their own nature. There would be no slavery today if there had been no drunkenness. The envy of fraternal precedence had indeed already crept in, but the reverence for paternal piety still remained. Piety is injured while drunkenness is laughed at. Therefore, wine harms not only those who are tempted by it, but also those whose eyes are exposed to the intoxicated limbs of drunkards. From here irreverent laughter is born, from here desire is inflamed; so much so that drunkenness disturbs those whose eyes and minds it has intoxicated, more than those whose bodies it has laid low.
12. We also read (Dist. and cap. iisdem, § Legimus) that the daughters of Lot inebriated their father on that mountain (Gen. XIX, 33 et seq.), to which they had fled in fear of the fires of Sodom, and they dwelt in a cave. Drunkenness agrees with and promotes iniquity, and age, sex, solitude, place, the hiding places of wild animals, are more suited to it than to human dwellings. Therefore, drunkenness was the origin of incest, and the offspring of a most wicked mother were even more wicked.
13. But Abraham did not serve wine at his feast: instead, he sacrificed a calf and also offered butter and milk to the angelic guests. He recognized the Lord of heaven as the creator of the world, but he could not offer wine. However, it was right that there was no opportunity for sin where there was forgiveness of sins.
Finally, John announced about him, neither eating bread, nor drinking wine. For whoever announces about Christ, they must excel in avoiding every incentive to vices. Therefore, intoxication triumphed over the holy Noah, or even the nephew of Abraham, Lot, of whom one survived the flood while fasting, the other, the fire.
Moreover, we have learned that Moses tempered the bitterness of the waters for the thirsty people, not wine. The rock spewed forth water, and with an abundance of wine it was able to not be lacking. Ultimately, God said: 'Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink' (Exodus XVII, 6). He did not say: 'Wine will come out to the people'. For it would have been dangerous to provide wine to the people, which even the strongest would scarcely be able to bear.