Sober, temperate, continent, unimpassioned can mean having or manifesting self-control or the mastery of one’s emotions, passions, or appetites.
Sober basically describes moderation in the use of food and drink and often specifically implies freedom from intoxication; this implication is often found with another (as of habitual abstinence from intoxicating liquors or merely of not being drunk at the time in question).
In more general application sober implies a cool head, composure especially under strain or excitement, and freedom from passion, prejudice, fear, or any unreasonable excess.
Temperate (see also MODERATE 1 ) implies control over the expression of one’s feelings, passions, appetites, or desires or the restrained exercise of one’s rights, powers, or privileges, with the result that one never exceeds the bounds of what is right or proper.
Continent (compare continence under TEMPERANCE ) carries a stronger implication of deliberate restraint placed upon oneself, upon one’s feelings seeking expression, or upon one’s desires, especially sexual desires, seeking satisfaction.
Unimpassioned so stresses the absence of heat, ardor, or fervor that it often connotes lack of feeling and, therefore, coldness, stiffness, or hardness of heart, but it often implies a subduing of feeling or passion by rationality.