Whoever gulps down wine as a horse gulps down water is called a Scythian.
—Athenaeus, c. 230Quotes
Sobriety diminishes, discriminates, and says no; drunkenness expands, unites, and says yes.
—William James, 1902To live on a day-to-day basis is insufficient for human beings; we need to transcend, transport, escape; we need meaning, understanding, and explanation.
—Oliver Sacks, 2012Modern life is often a mechanical oppression, and liquor is the only mechanical relief.
—Ernest Hemingway, 1935There are two things that will be believed of any man whatsoever, and one of them is that he has taken to drink.
—Booth Tarkington, 1914Abstainer, n. A weak man who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure.
—Ambrose Bierce, 1906There was a great deal of drinking among us but little drunkenness. We all seemed to feel that Prohibition was a personal affront and that we had a moral duty to undermine it.
—Elizabeth Anderson, 1969My advice to people today is as follows: if you take the game of life seriously, if you take your nervous system seriously, if you take your sense organs seriously, if you take the energy process seriously, you must turn on, tune in, and drop out.
—Timothy Leary, 1966Drinking with women is as unnatural as scolding with ’em.
—William Wycherley, 1675If you were to ask me if I’d ever had the bad luck to miss my daily cocktail, I’d have to say that I doubt it; where certain things are concerned, I plan ahead.
—Luis Buñuel, 1983Give me chastity and continence, but not just now.
—Saint Augustine, 397That which the sober man keeps in his breast, the drunken man lets out at the lips. Astute people, when they want to ascertain a man’s true character, make him drunk.
—Martin Luther, 1569Alcohol is the monarch of liquids.
—Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, 1825