2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.



Ver. 2. That the old men be sober, &c.] Not as it is said of the Flemings, that quo magis senescunt eo magis stultescunt, the elder the more foolish. (Erasm. in Moriae Encom.) Solomon and Asa were so. And the heathen sages wisely warn us, that old age is to be feared, as that which comes not alone, but brings with it many diseases both of body and mind. Saepe fit ut Satan, quem iuvenero capere non potuit, annosum fallat et capiat, said Bucholcerus. Many that have held out well in youth, have failed and been shamefully foiled in old age.