He is a drunkard who takes more than three glasses though he be not drunk.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
I told you, sir, they were red-hot with drinking; so full of valor that they smote the air, for breathing in their faces, beat the ground for kissing of their feet.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains! That we should with joy, pleasance, revel, and applause transform ourselves into beasts!
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American Author, Journalist, Short Story Writer
It is immoral to get drunk because the headache comes after the drinking, but if the headache came first and the drunkenness afterwards, it would be moral to get drunk.
—Samuel Butler
You can’t be a Real Country unless you have a BEER and an airline—it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a BEER.
—Frank Zappa (1940–93) American Rock Guitarist, Singer, Composer
I never drink water. I’m afraid it will become habit-forming.
—W. C. Fields (1880–1946) American Comedian, Actor, Writer
Alcohol is necessary for a man so that he can have a good opinion of himself, undisturbed be the facts.
—Finley Peter Dunne (1867–1936) American Author, Writer, Humorist
One drink is too many for me and a thousand not enough.
—Brendan Behan (1923–64) Irish Poet, Novelist, Playwright
Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Old wine and friends improve with age.
—Italian Proverb
A prohibitionist is the sort of man one couldn’t care to drink with, even if he drank.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
There are some sluggish men who are improved by drinking; as there are fruits that are not good until they are rotten.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Candy, is dandy, but Liquor, is quicker.
—Ogden Nash (1902–71) American Writer of Sophisticated Light Verse
Better belly burst than good liquor be lost.
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Irish Satirist
One reason I don’t drink is that I want to know when I am having a good time.
—Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor (1879–1964) British Politician, Socialite
I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
When I drink, I think; and when I think, I drink.
—Francois Rabelais (1494–1553) French Humanist, Satirist
Sometimes too much drink is barely enough.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
This is the great fault of wine; it first trips up the feet: it is a cunning wrestler.
—Plautus (Titus Maccius Plautus) (c.250–184 BCE) Roman Comic Playwright
They who drink beer will think beer.
—Washington Irving (1783–1859) American Essayist, Biographer, Historian
What whiskey will not cure, there is no cure for.
—Irish Proverb
Some men are like musical glasses; to produce their finest tones you must keep them wet.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) English Poet, Literary Critic, Philosopher
The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober.
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) Irish Poet, Dramatist
Prohibition may be a disputed theory, but none can say that it doesn’t hold water.
—Thomas Masson (1866–1934) American Journalist, Humorist, Author
Alcohol is barren. The words a man speaks in the night of drunkenness fade like the darkness itself at the coming of day.
—Marguerite Duras (1914–96) French Novelist, Playwright
Bring in the bottled lightning, a clean tumbler, and a corkscrew.
—Charles Dickens (1812–70) English Novelist
I like whiskey. I always did, and that is why I never drink it.
—Robert E. Lee (1807–70) Confederate General during American Civil War
Other countries drink to get drunk, and this is accepted by everyone; in France, drunkenness is a consequence, never an intention. A drink is felt as the spinning out of a pleasure, not as the necessary cause of an effect which is sought: wine is not only a philter, it is also the leisurely act of drinking.
—Roland Barthes (1915–80) French Writer, Critic, Teacher
Wine hath drowned more men than the sea.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
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