The sterner Baptists, therefore, loudly pronounced him a false brother.
If the child keeps trying to pet the dog, a sterner warning, usually a growl, will ensue.
Throughout, Bilbo discovers what he's made of, and it's sterner stuff than what he had previously any inkling.
The tone of the passage when compared with the disciplinary methods of the synagogue indicates that its purpose was to introduce elements of reason and moral suasion in place of sterner methods.
Yet even in this sterner setting the figure portrayed is unmistakably the same.