(3) A third general significance of the word ' see ' is that of an ethical warning in the sense of the English phrase 'take heed.' For example, in Mt 24^ we read, ' See that ye be not troubled ' ; and in Mk 8'^ two words are combined in the warning, ' Take heed (dpare), beware (;3X^7rere) of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod.'
When combined with a preposition (et's), the verb /SX^TTco signifies 'regard,' in the sense of 'pay obsequious attention to,' as in Mt22^® ; and, tinally, the word is used of God Himself in His vision of the hearts of men, as in Mt 6®, which reads, ' Thy Father which seeth in secret shall recompense thee.'
As a general result of the examination of the above passages, it will be noticed that in Jn. the word ' see ' has a special significance. It is, indeed, one of the words that form a leading conception in his writing. Just as the idea of life arises out of the miracle of the feeding of tlie multitude, so does that of light sjiring from the miracle of the healing of the man blind from his birth. In Jn.'s spiritual vocabulary, Christ Himself is the light of the world ; and the illumination of the souls of men and the blessing of the gospel can be spoken of in terms of light and its enjoyment as suitably as in terms of life and its possession. Thus the miracles of giving sight to the blind become peculiarly significant ; but we need not, therefore, assume that, though they are in this way acted parables, the narratives of such miracles are not to be regarded as of any historical value, but as mere pictorial representations of the spiritual truths they are meant to convey.
Literature. — The Comm. on the various passagres, esp. the Expos. Gr. Test., and Westcott's St. John; Jiilicher, Gleichnis-
reden Jesu, pp. 121-149 ; Bugge, Die Haupt-Paraheln Jesu, vol. i. pp. 1-89; Expositor, 6th ser. vol. i. [1900] p. 231 ff.; Fiebig, Altjiid. Gleichnisse und die Gleichnisse Jesu ; Phillips Brooks, Mystery of Iniquity (1893), 208.
G. CURRIE MARTD»f.
SELF-ASSERTION.— See Character of Christ and Claims of Christ in vol. i., and art. Re- nunciation above.
SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS.— See Consciousness.
SELF-CONTROL.— The Scripture term for self- control is iyKpdreia, which with its cognates occurs several times in the NT ; but in the Gospels only the privative dKpacria is found, with the rendering 'excess' (Mt 23^'). The English word is not used in AV, and in RV is confined to the margin, with the single exception of 2 Ti 3^. It denotes (see Chrysostom, Horn. Tit 1^ rbv Trddovs Kparovvra) the exercise of dominion by man over the constituents of character within, as well as over external in- fluences that would tend to baftle or frustrate him. It may be distinguished from self-denial as dis- cipline is from destruction, the one making the self the centre of purpose and ett'ort, the other aiming at its extinction or suppression. The one reduces the self, or certain of its elements, to zero ; the other directs and uses it, turning all its powers into the channel of some activity, vieM'ed as ad- vantageous or benign. Mastery within the living organism of man is the principal suggestion of both ; but self-denial gives greater prominence to the possible inherence of evil and to the ascetic processes by which it must be purged, whilst self- control implies rather freedom and strenuousness, and involves no depressing view of man or of life (see art. Self-denial). More particularly, self- control means the control of the temperament, the instincts, emotions, and will, both in themselves and against the various appeals that are made to them in daily life, with a view to the accomplish- ment of some purpose or the maintenance of some phase of character. In the Gospels it is exhibited in the Man Jesus Christ in a perfect degree, and by Him commended to His disciples, together with the secret of its attainment and retention.
1. Self-control on the part of Christ.— (1) It is rather doubtful whether, in the current, though vague, sense of the word, temperament can be pre- dicated of Christ. Strictly the word denotes a certain general characteristic of a man's temper and moods, by which his progress in intelligence and morality is in various ways promoted or hindered. It means tlie set of tlie inner life towards some specific ex- pression or action, and implies both a disproportion in the constituents of character and a consequent degree of imperfection and disapproval. From a very early time the typical temperaments have been classed as four — sanouine, sentimental or melancholic, choleric, and pmegmatic ; and in each of them is found in varying measure a surplus of some quality which, by reason of its excess, spoils the proportion, and makes self-control under cer- tain conditions specially difficult. As the humanity of Christ is perfect, and in Him all the virtues meet and harmonize, an excess in any direction is out of the question. He had moods of unbounded hope (Jn 12^^), of depression and shrinking (Mt 26^8, Jn 1227), of indignant anger (Mt 23i3-3S), of equanimity and comparative insensibility to pass- ing impressions (Lk 13^^, Jn 19") ; but there was no such long-continued pre-eminence of one good quality over another as would allow the placing of Him, in regard to temperament, in any of the ordinary categories. If He is to be placed at all, a new class must be formed, and He may be re- garded as the type of the religious temperament (Lk 2^", Jn 6^8), with the right principles of self-control