Nolen Elam's Blog

Tithing, what is it? by Miles J. Stanford

2008-09-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

Tithing, what is it?

http://withchrist.org/tithing.htm

by Miles J. Stanford

JEWISH

The second year after their exodus from Egypt, God introduced the law of tithing into the economy of Israel. It was included with other laws connected with Israel's worship via the Tabernacle.

The chief purpose of the tithe was to provide for the Levitical service of the Tabernacle. "Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation" (Numbers 18:21).

The Levites, in turn, were to give a tithe of their income, to provide for the high priest. "Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering [best tenth] unto the Lord of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the Lord's heave offering to Aaron, the priest" (Numbers 18:28).

The tithe consisted of the products of the land, the trees, and the flocks. "All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord. And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever, passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord" (Leviticus 27:30, 32).

The law of tithing continued up to the Cross. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law" (Matthew 23:23). "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus to himself, God ... I give tithes of all I possess" (Luke 18:11,12).

The only ones ever authorized to receive tithes were the Levites. Ever since the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., it has been impossible to keep the tithing law. Today, Orthodox Jews do not tithe. No one is qualified to receive tithes now that the priesthood and temple are gone.

CHRISTIAN

What of the Christian's giving? Most [erroneously] consider the Old Testament tithe as a "guideline." But the New Testament lays down no specifics whatsoever as to giving. The believer is under no external law for any part of his new life.

As in every other aspect of his life, the believer is motivated and guided in his giving by the indwelling Holy Spirit. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2).

Our giving is to be governed by grace; it is a gift of the Spirit. "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given us ... he that giveth, let him do it with liberality" (Romans 12:6,8).

"Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace [of giving] also" (2 Corinthians 8:7).

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Life, and we belong to Him -- all that we are, and all that He has entrusted to us. Not even our human concern and emotions are to motivate and govern our giving.

By His Spirit, the Lord Jesus is to direct our entire life, including our giving. It is to be the "love of Christ that constraineth us" (2 Corinthians 5:14). It is to be the Lord Jesus reaching out and meeting the needs of others through us -- His love alone is the governing principle. "Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not [His] love, it profiteth me nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:3).

Spirit-directed giving requires spiritual growth. The privilege of sharing, and the responsibility of proper giving, is best carried out on a personal, individual basis. Know to whom you are giving, why, when, and how much.

In giving to a specific ministry, for instance, it is essential to find out about the work, and those who carry it out. Develop a personal relationship where possible.

If God has established a ministry and is pleased with the fruit of it, He will move upon the hearts and minds of His people to provide for that work without any pleading, subtle or otherwise, for money. He will cause and enable His people to give specifically and spontaneously.

Instead of heeding the pleas of men for support and dutifully or emotionally contributing out of necessity, we are to listen to the "still, small voice" from within. We are to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, and follow where He directs -- and He it is who has promised to care for His needy sheep.

In reliance upon and obedience to Him, we will know how to give; not in response to a plea, but by means of the Spirit's direction in our minds and hearts. "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these brethren, ye have done it unto Me" (Matthew 25:40).

"But this I say, He who soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he who soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work -- as it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; He hath given to the poor; His righteousness remaineth forever" (2 Corinthians 9:7-9).

Because of Me, by John Nelson Darby

2008-07-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

The following paper was found in R. N. Darby's Bible.

Because of Me, by John Nelson Darby

Our God says in 1 Kings 12:24: It is because of ME that this happened.

The disappointments of this life are in reality Proof of My Love. I have today a message for you, My child; I will tell you this, so that the mounting storm clouds have a golden edge and the thorns, on which you have to step, lose their sting. The message is encapsulated in a tiny sentence, but let it sink into the depth of your hearts! May it be a cushion on which your tired head can rest! It is: "Because of ME this happened.

	• Have you never realized that every event in your life also becomes Mine? He who touches you, touches the apple of my eye (Zechariah 2:8). Because you are precious and valuable in My eyes, I have a special interest in your growing up. If you face temptation and enemies confront you, know this: "It is because of ME, that this happened." I am the God of circumstances. It is no accident that you are in the place where you are. Rather, I have chosen this place for you.
	• Did you not ask for humility? You see, I have placed you where you can learn this lesson. Through people and things in your environment My will becomes effective. Do you have money problems? Are you not able to manage with what you have? "Because of ME this happened." It is I who owns the heavens and the earth. I want you to ask all things from Me and be totally dependent on Me. My wealth is without boundaries (Philippians 4:19). Take Me by My word, so that it must not be said of you, that you did not trust your God in this matter.
	• Are you experiencing the darkness of grieving? "Because of Me this happened." I, Jesus, know what that means. I am 'the man of sorrows acquainted with grief' (Isaiah 53:3). I took away all human crutches, so that you would turn to Me and find eternal comfort (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).
	• Have certain friends disappointed you? Maybe even one, in whom you confided? "Because of Me this happened." I permitted this disappointment, so that you may learn, that I, Jesus, am your best friend. I support you and fight for you. I want to be your trusted friend.
	• Did someone create a public lie about you? Do not pay attention and seek closer fellowship with ME, under MY wings, far away from verbal fights. When you suffer injustice, I will "let your righteousness appear as light and your right shall be as the noon" (Psalm 37:6).
	• Have your plans been destroyed? Are you depressed and disappointed? "It is because of ME that this thing happened." Did you make plans and asked Me to bless them? It is I who makes plans for you. "This matter is too difficult for you, you cannot execute it by yourself" (Exodus 18:18). You are only a tool used by Me carrying out My plan.
	• Did you fervently wish to do something great for ME? And now you find yourself lying on a sickbed? "It is because of ME that this happened." It was impossible for Me to get your attention while you poured yourself out in never ceasing action. I still want to teach you some of my deepest lessons. Only he who has learned to wait patiently can serve Me. My best coworkers are often they who cannot join in active service, but learned to use the weapon of prayer.
	• Have you suddenly been called upon to do a difficult task of great responsibility? Walk ahead courageously, count on Me. I placed you in this responsible position, that you may know, that "Jehovah, your God, will bless you in everything you do" (Deuteronomy 15:18).

Today I give into your hand a vessel of holy oil. Make free use of it, My child, so that you in every circumstance of your life's path pour this oil of trust in Me and comfort from Me on every word which causes you pain, every circumstance which demands your patience, every situation which reveals your weakness. Do not forget, your difficult times are God's opportunities. The sting will diminish according to that measure in which you recognize Me in all things. "Concentrate your heart on all words, which I declare to you today ... it is your life" (Deuteronomy 32:46-47).

John Nelson Darby As Unknown and Well Known Departed to be with Christ April 29, 1882 Age 81

2 Corinthians 5:21

Lord, Let Me Wait For Thee Alone; My Life Be Only This: To Serve Thee Here On Earth Unknown, Then Share Thy Heavenly Bliss. JND

My collection of cigar quotes

2008-07-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

In the autumn of 1874, speaking from his pulpit in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, England, Pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892), a British Reformed Baptist preacher commonly known as C.H. Spurgeon, and the "prince of preachers," proclaimed: "I intend to smoke a good cigar to the glory of God before I go to bed to-night." He concluded, "I wish to say that I'm not ashamed of anything whatever that I do, and I don't feel that smoking makes me ashamed, and therefore I mean to smoke to the glory of God."

Later, in a letter to the Editor of the Daily Telegraph, Spurgeon further expounded upon his previous statements from the pulpit:

"The expression 'smoking to the glory of God' standing alone has an ill sound, and I do not justify it; but in the sense in which I employed it I still stand to it. No Christian should do anything in which he cannot glorify God; and this may be done, according to Scripture, in eating and drinking and the common actions of life.

"When I have found intense pain relieved, a weary brain soothed, and calm, refreshing sleep obtained by a cigar, I have felt grateful to God, and have blessed His name; this is what I meant, and by no means did I use sacred words triflingly.

"If through smoking I had wasted an hour of my time -- if I had stinted my gifts to the poor -- if I had rendered my mind less vigorous -- I trust I should see my fault and turn from it; but he who charges me with these things shall have no answer but my forgiveness."

For more on C.H. Spurgeon's love of fine cigars, visit http://www.spurgeon.org/misc/cigars.htm

Perhaps the most famous cigar quote of all time comes from King Edward VII (1841-1910), King of the United Kingdom (1901-1910). During the reign of his mother, Queen Victoria, smoking was frowned upon and not allowed at court. That changed when Edward VII became King at the beginning of the 20th Century, and, after dinner, he pronounced, "Gentlemen, you may smoke."

"A fine cigar is the essence of life. The tobacco plant comes from the earth, from which we ourselves were created. Like ourselves, each leaf grows and is nurtured individually, acquiring its own characteristics, and is then graded, sorted, and matured according to their special abilities. As tobacco comes to its graduation in the making of cigars, as with the making of adults, some is left on the cutting room table and become ordinary, run-of-the-mill products. Some graduate into leadership and areas of responsibility, but a few achieve greatness, and even a touch of immortality." -- From the writings of the legendary Prince Sined Yar Maharg of fabled Xanadu.

"There are five things, above all else, that make life worth living: a good relationship with God, a good woman, good health, good friends, and a good cigar." -- From the writings of Prince Sined Yar Maharg.

"While smoking a cigar, we are in the presence of eternity. The tobacco reminds us of the earth, from which it and we came. As with ourselves, the life of some cigars are short, while others last a while longer, but in the end all are consumed. But the smoke, ah, the smoke! The smoke drifts gently heavenward on its quest to combine with the great eternal oneness." -- From the writings of Prince Sined Yar Maharg.

"A fine cigar is like a fine woman. They come in all shapes and sizes. Treat them tenderly and lovingly. Caress their skin, admire their beauty, fondle them with reverence. Bring them slowly to your lips, enjoy their flavor, their aroma. Contemplate their essence, their dependability, and forgive them their weaknesses -- if there be any. Revel in the rituals, their simplicity and their enduring meanings. Do these things, my son, and the blessings of life shall always be upon you." -- From the writings of Prince Sined Yar Maharg.

"Happiness is a good martini, a good meal, a good cigar and a good woman ... or a bad woman, depending on how much happiness you can stand." -- George Burns.

"I smoke ten to fifteen cigars a day. At my age I have to hold on to something." -- George Burns (01/20/1896-03/09/1996) -- he smoked as many as ten cigars a day until his death shortly after his 100th birthday ... he died of natural causes.

"If I paid $10 for a cigar, first I'd make love to it, then I'd smoke it." -- George Burns.

"If I had taken my doctor's advice and quit smoking when he advised me to, I wouldn't have lived to go to his funeral." -- George Burns.

"When they saw me walking down the street smoking a cigar, they'd say, 'Hey, that 14-year-old kid may be going places.' Of course it's also a good prop on the stage ... When you can't think of what you're supposed to say next, you can puff on your cigar until you think of your next line." -- George Burns.

"I use the cigar for timing purposes. If I tell a joke, I smoke as long as they laugh and when they stop laughing I take the cigar out of my mouth and start my next joke." -- George Burns.

"I'm at the age now where just putting my cigar in its holder is a thrill." -- George Burns.

"Given the choice between a woman and a cigar, I will always choose the cigar." -- Groucho Marx.

"A woman is an occasional pleasure, but a cigar is always a smoke." -- Groucho Marx.

"If smoking is not allowed in heaven, I shall not go." -- Mark Twain.

"Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man's enjoyment of his cigar." -- Mark Twain.

"I have made it a rule never to smoke more than one cigar at a time. I have no other restriction as regards smoking." -- Mark Twain.

"I smoke in moderation. Only one cigar at a time." -- Mark Twain.

"I pledged myself to smoke but one cigar a day. I kept the cigar waiting until bedtime, then I had a luxurious time with it. But desire persecuted me every day and all day long. I found myself hunting for larger cigars...within the month my cigar had grown to such proportions I could have used it as a crutch." -- Mark Twain, discussing his attempt to cut back on his cigar consumption.

"I ordinarily smoke fifteen cigars during my five hours' labours, and if my interest reaches the enthusiastic point, I smoke more. I smoke with all my might, and allow no intervals." -- Mark Twain.

"I drink a great deal. I sleep a little, and I smoke cigar after cigar. That is why I am in two-hundred-percent form." -- Winston Churchill.

"My boy! Smoking is one of the greatest and cheapest enjoyments in life, and if you decide in advance not to smoke, I can only feel sorry for you." -- Sigmund Freud (to his young nephew, Harry, after he declined a cigar).

"Cigars served me for precisely fifty years as protection and a weapon in the combat of life ... I owe to the cigar a great intensification of my capacity to work and a facilitation of my self-control." -- Sigmund Freud.

"Smoking is indispensable if one has nothing to kiss." -- Sigmund Freud.

"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." -- Sigmund Freud.

"Ah, if only I had brought a cigar with me! This would have established my identity." -- Charles Dickens.

"There's peace in Larranaga,
there's calm in Henry Clay,
And a woman is only a woman,
but a good cigar is a smoke."
-- Rudyard Kipling, The Betrothed, 1899.

"Darling, you must choose between me and your cigars."
-- Rudyard Kipling, The Betrothed, 1899.

"For undemocratic reasons and for motives not of State, They arrive at their conclusions -- largely inarticulate. Being void of self-expression they confide their views to none; But sometimes in a smoking room, one learns why things were done." -- Rudyard Kipling, The Puzzler.

"Light me another Cuban." -- Rudyard Kipling, Departmental Ditties.

"A woman is just a script, but a cigar is a motion picture." -- Samuel Fuller, Movie Director parodying Kipling.

"If your wife doesn't like the aroma of your cigar, change your wife." -- Zino Davidoff.

"Would you want to drink a good wine with a straw?" --Zino Davidoff, in reference to using cigar holders.

"A cigar ought not to be smoked solely with the mouth, but with the hand, the eyes, and with the spirit." --Zino Davidoff.

"The best cigar in the world is the one you prefer to smoke on special occasions, enabling you to relax and enjoy that which gives you maximum pleasure." -- Zino Davidoff.

"After a truly good meal, an outstanding cigar is still the most satisfying after-dinner activity that doesn't involve two human beings." -- Brad Shaw, Radio Announcer.

"Pull out a Montecristo at a dinner party and the political liberal turns into the nicotine facist." --Martyn Harris, British journalist, Daily Telegraph 01/20/1989.

"But when I don't smoke I scarcely feel as if I'm living. I don't feel as if I'm living unless I'm killing myself." -- Russell Hoban, The Turtle Diary, 1975.

"The Germans are the most philosophical people in the world, and the greatest smokers: now I trace their philosophy to their smoking...Smoking has a sedative effect upon the nerves, and enables a man to bear the sorrows of his life (of which everyone has his share) not only decently, but dignifiedly." -- George Burrow, Lavengro, 1851.

"There's nothing quite like tobacco: it's the passion of decent folk, and whoever lives without tobacco doesn't deserve to live." -- Moliere Don Juan, 1665.

"There are men here and there to whom the whole of life is like an after-dinner hour with a cigar: easy, pleasant, empty, perhaps enlivened by some fable of strife to be forgotten before the end is told -- even if there happens to be any end to it." -- Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim, 1900.

"A cigar has '... a fire at one end and a fool at the other.'" -- Horace Greely, New York Tribune.

"Women are jealous of cigars... they regard them as a strong rival." -- William Makepeace Thackeray, English author.

"If a woman knows a man's preferences, including his preference in cigars, and if a man knows what a woman likes, they will be suitably armed to face one another." -- Colette, French author.

"If the birth of a genius resembles that of an idiot, the end of a Havana Corona resembles that of a 5-cent cigar." -- Sasha Guitry, French actor.

"Do not ask me to describe the charms of reverie, or the contemplative ecstasy into which the smoke of our cigar plunges us." -- Jules Sandea, French novelist.

"A good cigar is as great a comfort to a man as a good cry to a woman." -- E.G. Bulwer-Lytton Darnley, 1845.

"Earth ne'er did breed such a jovial weed." -- Barten Holyday, Technogamia, 1618.

"He walked on sucking his cigar, and apparently in as abstracted a mood as Mr. Cargill himself." -- Sir Walter Scott.

"What this country needs is a good five-cent cigar." --Thomas Marshall, Vice President of The United States, as spoken to the U.S. Senate in 1919.

"You kissed my trembling hand and on my finger you slipped an eighteen-carat cigar band." -- Lyric from the song "You'll be Reminded of Me" in the movie Vivacious Lady.

"Cigar smoking actively encouraged." -- Sign in a London restaurant.

"Remember, commander, no cigars before launch." -- Doctor's orders to an astronaut at Cape Canaveral.

"Cigars after dinner are delightful, smoking before breakfast is unnatural." -- Bernard Shaw.

"I do not seek for fame
A general with a scar;
A private let me be,
So I have my cigar ...
Some sigh for this or that,
My wishes don't go far;
The world may wag at will,
So I have my cigar."
-- Thomas Hood, English poet.

"Lastly (and this is, perhaps, the golden rule), no woman should marry a man who does not smoke." -- Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque, 1881.

"Lady Bracknell: Do you smoke?
Earnest: Well, yes, I must admit I smoke.
Lady Bracknell: I am glad to hear it. A man should
always have an occupation of some kind."
-- Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest.

"In the future all men will be able to smoke Havanas." -- Herr Doktor Schutte, an early Marxist.

"Here, have a cigar. Light it up and be somebody." -- From the film Pete Kelly's Blues.

"By the cigars they smoke, and the composers they love, ye shall know the texture of men's souls." -- John Galsworthy.

"Now here's Bud Scott and his old guitar, always smoking his big cigar." -- Louis Armstrong, introducing one of his jazz pals.

"Cognac and cigars ... it's like finding the perfect woman. When you've got her, why go chasing after another?" -- Michael Nouri, Actor.

"There was a young man of Herne Bay who was making some fireworks one day: but he dropped his cigar in the gunpowder jar. There was a young man of Herne Bay." -- Ogden Nash.

"The Christians met on the way many people who were going to their towns, women and men, with a firebrand in the hand, and certain weeds whose smoke they inhale which are dry weeds stuffed into a certain dry leaf in the form of a muset made of paper, like the ones the children make on the day of the Holy Ghost; and burning a part of it, from the other part they suck or absorb or admit the smoke with breathing." -- Christopher Columbus, from his Navigation diary.

"A good Cuban cigar closes the door to the vulgarities of the world." -- Franz Liszt, Composer.

"The most futile and disastrous day seems well spent when it is reviewed through the blue, fragrant smoke of a Havana Cigar." -- Evelen Waugh, English writer.

"There are two things a man never forgets: his first love and his first cigar." -- John Bain, cigar lover.

"That's close, but no cigar." -- Common carnival barker's quip.

"Tobacco is a dirty weed, I like it It satisfies no normal need, I like it It makes you thin, it makes you lean, It takes the hair right off your bean It's the worst damn stuff I've ever seen I like it." -- Graham L. Hemminger, Penn State Froth, 1915.

"They had no good cigars there, my lord; and I left the place in disgust." -- Alfred Lord Tennyson, returning from Venice.

"The cigar is the perfect complement to an elegant lifestyle." -- George Sand, Pioneer Feminist.

"Any cigar smoker is friend, because I know how he feels." -- Alfred de Musset, George Sand's lover.

"...the eternal attributes of prestige, success, and savoir faire." -- Italo Calvino, novelist describing the cigar.

"Cigarettes are for chain-smoking, cigars must be smoked one at a time, peaceably, with all the leisure in the world. Cigarettes are of the instant, cigars are for eternity." -- G. Cabera Infante, Cuban novelist.

"This blessed gift of smoking!" -- H.G. Wells, The Invisible Man, 1897.

"A handmade cigar is a rebellion against frenzy and insanity; it means supporting contemplation over rash impulse, and represents a civilized revolution." -- Steve Worthington, San Francisco Financier.

"The cigar is a great resource. It is necessary to have traveled for a long time on a ship to understand that at least the cigar affords you the pleasure of smoking. It raises your spirits. Are you troubled by something? The cigar dissolves it. Are you subject to aches and pains (or bad temper)? The cigar will change your disposition. Are you harassed by unpleasant thoughts? Smoking a cigar puts one in a frame of mind to dispense with these. Do you ever feel a little faint from hunger? A cigar satisfies the yearning. If you are obsessed by sad thoughts, a cigar will take your mind off of them. Finally, don't you sometimes have some unpleasant remembrance or consoling thought? A cigar will reinforce this. Sometimes they die out, and happy are those who do not need to relight too quickly. I hardly need to say anything more about the cigar, to which I dedicate this little eulogy for past services rendered." -- The Duc de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, 1794.

"That's why I write in so many cigar-smoking heroes and villians who chomp their cigars." -- Orson Welles, who made "cigar" movies to garner free cigars.

"The only way to break a bad habit was to replace it with a better habit." -- Jack Nicholson, explaining why he switched from cigarettes to cigars.

"I started smoking these little Italian cigars just so there was some of that smell in the air." -- Francis Ford Coppola.

"To fully appreciate fine cigars, it's important to recognize the various types of cigars. There are two basic categories of cigar. The lit and unlit." -- P. Martin Shoemaker, Jeff MacNelly, From the comic strip Shoe.

"'Dear Mr. Shoemaker: I'd like to enjoy cigar smoking on a regular basis but I find that they burn my tongue. What can I do? Next time try putting the other end in your mouth." -- From the comic strip Shoe.

"On a cold winter morning a cigar fortifies the soul." -- Stendhal.

"A cigar numbs sorrow and fills the solitary hours with a million gracious images." -- George Sand, 1867.

"I promised myself that if I ever I had some money that I would savor a cigar each day after lunch and dinner. This is the only resolution of my youth that I have kept, and the only realized ambition which has not brought disillusion." -- Somerset Maugham, The Summing Up.

"The true smoker abstains from imitating Vesuvius." -- August Barthelemy, author.

"Two cigars on top of each other reveal an obsession or a brutality of the soul." -- Eugene Marsan, Le Cigare.

"There is nothing more agreeable than having a place where one can throw on the floor as many cigar butts as one pleases without the subconscious fear of a maid who is waiting like a sentinel to place an ashtray where the ashes are going to fall." -- Fidel Castro.

"I am done - pay the bills and get me a cigar." -- William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair.

"What is the difference between a $10 and a $2 cigar? Eight bucks." -- Lew Rothman, founder of JRcigars.com, world's largest online cigar store.

"There's something about smoking a cigar that feels like a celebration. It's like a fine wine. There's a quality, a workmanship, a passion that goes into the smoking of a fine cigar." -- Demi Moore, actress and cigar smoker.

"Every cigar goes up in smoke." -- Brazilian proverb.

"Where there's a good smoke there's a cigar smoker." -- Cuban proverb.

"As you approach thirty, you have a thirty ring gauge; as you approach fifty, you have a fifty ring gauge." -- Cuban proverb.

"He who has money smokes cigars, but he who has no money smokes paper." -- Spanish proverb.

"Allah made tobacco grow to put a smile on the faces of men." -- Turkish proverb.

"Cigar smoking knows no politics. It's about the pursuit of pleasure, taste, and aroma." -- Anonymous.

"A good cigar is like tasting a good wine: you smell it, you taste it, you look at it, you feel it -- you can even hear it. It satisfies all the senses." -- Anonymous.

"To smoke is human; to smoke cigars is divine." -- Unknown.

"Blessed be the man who invented smoking, the soother and comforter of a troubled spirit, allayer of angry passions, a comfort under loss of breakfast, and to the roamer of desolate places, the solitary wayfarer through life, serving for wife, children, and friends." -- Unknown Englishman.

"A fine cigar is just like a woman. If you don't light it up just right and suck on it with a certain frequency, it will go out on you." -- Unknown.

"I've never met someone with a lit cigar in-hand and two in-pocket that I would not call friend." -- Unknown.

In Wreathes of Smoke
by Frank Newton Holman

In wreathes of smoke, blown waywardwise,
Faces of olden days uprise,
And in his dreamer's reverie
They haunt the smoker's brain, and he
Breathes for the past regretful sighs.

Mem'ries of maids with azure eyes,
In dewy dells 'neath June's soft skies,
Faces that more he'll only see
In wreaths of smoke.

Ebeu, eheu! How fast time flies--
How youth-time passion droops and dies,
And all the countless visions flee!
How worn would all those faces be,
Were they not swaithed in soft disguise
In wreaths of smoke!