A man who exposes himself when he is intoxicated has not the art of getting drunk.
—Samuel Johnson, 1779Quotes
Sobriety diminishes, discriminates, and says no; drunkenness expands, unites, and says yes.
—William James, 1902As he brews, so shall he drink.
—Ben Jonson, 1598Drinking with women is as unnatural as scolding with ’em.
—William Wycherley, 1675Alcohol is the monarch of liquids.
—Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, 1825As far as I can see, the history of experimental art in the twentieth century is intimately bound up with the experience of intoxification.
—Will Self, 1994Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need—a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.
—Jerome K. Jerome, 1889Drunkenness is the very sepulcher / Of man’s wit and his discretion.
—Geoffrey Chaucer, c. 1390Whoever gulps down wine as a horse gulps down water is called a Scythian.
—Athenaeus, c. 230The pleasure we hold in esteem for the course of our lives ought to have a greater share of our time dedicated to it; we should refuse no occasion nor omit any opportunity of drinking, and always have it in our minds.
—Michel de Montaigne, 1580If 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, 1983Sex and drugs and rock and roll.
—Ian Dury, 1977I have sometimes thought that the laws ought not to punish those actions of evil which are committed when the senses are steeped in intoxication.
—Walt Whitman, 1842