Not given to wine, not violent, not greedy of dishonest gain; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
All Commentaries on 1 Timothy 3:3 Go To 1 Timothy 3
Jerome
AD 420
Let your breath never smell of wine, lest the philosopher’s words be said to you, “Instead of offering me a kiss, you are giving me a taste of wine.” Priests given to wine are both condemned by the apostle and forbidden by the old law…. Whatever intoxicates and disturbs the balance of the mind, avoid as you would wine. I do not say that we are to condemn what is a creature of God. The Lord himself was called a “winebibber,” and wine in moderation was allowed to Timothy because of his weak stomach. I only require that drinkers should observe that limit which their age, their health or their constitution requires.
