Adam's ale
Adam's ale (also referred to as Adam's wine, especially in Scotland; sometimes simply called Adam) is a colloquial allusion meaning water. It alludes to the idea that the biblical Adam had only water to drink. This inference gained popularity around the beginning of the 19th-century temperance movement.
Definition and origin
"Adam's ale" means unadulterated water,[1] based on the presumption that the biblical first man Adam had only water to drink in the Garden of Eden.[2] Common variations are "Adam's wine" in Scotland,[3] and sometimes simply "Adam".[4] The phrase is an allusion,[5] colloquialism,[4] epithet,[2] and idiom.[1] In common use until the mid- to late 20th century, usage of the phrase has declined.[6] The earliest known printed occurrence of "Adam's ale" is attributed to William Prynne's The Soveraigne Power of Parliaments and Kingdomes, which was first printed in 1643.[6][7]
Use in the temperance movement
The term "Adam's Ale" gained popularity during the emergence of the temperance movement in the 1830s.[8] Water is provided by nature and was therefore presumably the only drink available to the first man in the Garden of Eden;[2] hence it was considered pure by the movement.[9] During the proceedings of the World's Temperance Convention held in London in the year 1846, the Rev. Dr. S. H. Cox, hailing from Brooklyn, New York, said during his speech:
[W]hat hurt will it do me to drink of this water?' Our father Adam had nothing better for his wedding-day, and before the earth was cursed, or sin had entered it, Paradise produced nothing better than this pure element. It was the drink of Adam and Eve when the morning stars sang together, and when the sons of God shouted for joy.[9]
Philip Freneau wrote a poem that was an aid to the early teetotalism movement.[10][11] Freneau (an American) was captured in 1780 by the British while on a voyage in the West Indies during the American War for Independence.[11] After his release he wrote the poem called "The [Terra Cotta] Jug of Rum", criticizing alcoholic beverages.[11] An excerpt from this literature shows a poetic use of "Adam's ale":[12][13]
"A spring that never yet grew stale——
Such virtue lies in—Adam's ale!"
Later on Freneau used the phrase in a second poem concerning a legislative act prohibiting the use of spirituous liquors by prisoners in certain jails of the United States.[13]
See also
- Noah's wine, a contrasting term that refers to alcoholic beverages
- Eve, the biblical first woman
References
- ^ a b Panda, Maheswar (1999). "8 Use of Idioms and Phrases". The Sterling Book of Words & Their Usages. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 130. ISBN 978-81-207-2006-0.
- ^ a b c The Facts On File Dictionary of Classical and Biblical Allusions. New York: Facts on File Inc. 2003. p. 7, Adam's ale. ISBN 0-8160-4868-1.
- ^ Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (1894). The Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Wordsworth Editions Ltd. p. 13. ISBN 1-84022-310-3.
- ^ a b Farmer, John S. (1891). Slang and its Analogues. p. 20, Adam's ale. ISBN 978-1440072468.
- ^ Jeffrey, David Lyle (1992). "Adam's ale". A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 21. ISBN 0-8028-3634-8.
- ^ a b Martin, Gary. "Adam's ale". The Phrase Finder. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
- ^ Single occurrence dictionary definition sources for "Adam's ale":
- Adam's Ale [Def. 1]. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
- Prynne, William (1643). The Soveraigne Power of Parliaments and Kingdomes. p. 32. ISBN 978-1130166835.
- ^ Single occurrence sources for "Adam's Ale" in relation to the temperance movement:
- Epochs And Episodes Of History. Ward, Lock, & Co. 1882. p. 673–674 Adam's Ale and Noah's Wine. ISBN 978-1172715954.
- Union, American Temperance (January 1837). "Total abstinence from all that intoxicates". Journal of the American Temperance Union: 91, 96, 124, 151. ISBN 978-1274383778.
- ^ a b Beggs, Thomas (1846). The Proceedings of the World's Temperance Convention, 1846: Held in London, Aug, 4th and Four. p. 31. Print.
- ^ Union, American Temperance (January 1837). Journal of the American Temperance Union Volume 4 Issue 6. p. 96, Early Te-totalism. ISBN 978-1274383778.
- ^ a b c Lees Dr. F. R. (1884). "6 National Intemperance and Remedy". The Science Temperance Text-Book. The National Temperance Publication Depot. pp. 199–200. ISBN 978-1293389225.
- ^ Single occurrence sources for The [Terra Cotta] Jug of Rum poem:
- Freneau, Philip Morin (1809). Poems written and published during the American Revolutionary War. Press of Lydia R. Bailey. p. 102–103, Poems on Several Occasions. ISBN 978-5518915145.
- Fairfield, Sumner Lincoln (March 1833). "American Poetry. Freneau's Poetical Works". The North American Magazine. 1 (12). C. Sherman & Co.: 288–290. ISBN 978-1154128178.
- ^ a b Pattee, Fred Lewis (1907). The Poems of Philip Freneau – Volume III. The New Era Printing Company. pp. 67, 126, On a Legislative Act. ISBN 978-1512047042.
External links
- The dictionary definition of Adam's ale at Wiktionary
- Quotations related to Adam's ale at Wikiquote
- Works related to Adam's ale at Wikisource
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- Aclima
- Luluwa
- Seth
- Awan
- Azura
- Jumella
- Adam–God doctrine
- Adam and Eve in Mormonism
- Adam in Islam
- Adam in rabbinic literature
- Al-A'raf
- Book of Moses
- Endowment
- Manu (Hinduism)
- Mashya and Mashyana
- Serpent seed
- Tree of Jiva and Atman
- Tree of life (Quran)
- Our Lady of Endor Coven
- Mama's Affair (1921)
- Good Morning, Eve! (1934)
- The Broken Jug (1937)
- The Original Sin (1948)
- The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960)
- El pecado de Adán y Eva (1969)
- La Biblia en pasta (1984)
- The Annunciation (1984)
- Second Time Lucky (1984)
- Adipapam (1988)
- Adam (1992)
- Babs (2000)
- The Last Eve (2005)
- Year One (2009)
- The Tragedy of Man (2011)
- Adam and Dog (2011)
- Tropico (2013)
- Le Jeu d'Adam (12th century)
- The Broken Jug (1808)
- The Tragedy of Man (1861)
- The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972)
- The Apple Tree (1966)
- Dude (1972)
- Up from Paradise (1973)
- Children of Eden (1991)
- The Creation (1798)
- La mort d'Adam (1809)
- Ève (1875)
- Genesis Suite (1945)
- Lilith (2001)
- Apocalypse of Adam
- Book of Moses
- Book of Abraham
- Books of Adam
- Book of the Penitence of Adam
- Cave of Treasures
- "El amigo de Él y Ella"
- Genesis A and Genesis B
- Harrowing of Hell
- Life of Adam and Eve
- Testament of Adam
- Testimony of Truth (3rd century)
- Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan (6th century)
- "Old Saxon Genesis" (9th century)
- "Adam lay ybounden" (15th century)
- Paradise Lost (1667)
- Le Dernier Homme (1805)
- Extracts from Adam's Diary (1904)
- Eve's Diary (1905)
- The Book of Genesis (2009)
- The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve (2017)
- Bernward Doors (1015)
- Tapestry of Creation (11th century)
- Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1425)
- Vienna Diptych (15th century)
- The Last Judgment (1482)
- The Garden of Earthly Delights (1504)
- Adam and Eve (1507)
- The Creation of Adam (1512)
- The Haywain Triptych (1516)
- Eve, the Serpent and Death (1510s or 1520s)
- Adam and Eve (1528)
- Adam and Eve (1550)
- The Fall of Man (1550)
- Adam and Eve (c. 1550)
- The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (1617)
- The Fall of Man (1628)
- Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (c. 1650)
- The Four Seasons (1660s)
- The Koren Picture-Bible (1692–1696)
- Paradise Lost (19th century)
- Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1828)
- The First Mourning (1888)
- Adam and Eve (1905)
- Adam and Eve (1909)
- Eve (1931)
- Adam and Eve (1932)
- The Serpent Chooses Adam and Eve (1958)
- "Dese Bones G'wine Rise Again"
- "Adam-ondi-Ahman" (1835)
- "Forbidden Fruit" (1915)
- "The Garden of Eden" (1956)
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (1968)
- "Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance" (1970)
- "Man Gave Names to All the Animals" (1979)
- The Cainian Chronicle (1996)
- Visions of Eden (2006)
- Snakes for the Divine (2010)
- Doraemon: Nobita's Diary on the Creation of the World
- Island of Love
- The Visitors
- "Adam & Eve" (1992)
- "Probe 7, Over and Out" (1963)
- "Simpsons Bible Stories"
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela"
- "Daesong Heavy Industries II: Return to Innocence"
- "Holly Bibble"
- Demon: The Fallen (2002)