Latin Quotes Worth Knowing: De Bibendo

While we of course suggest moderate enjoyment of the fruit of the vine, on the occasion of New Year's Eve, I figured I would explore some of the quotes worth knowing about the subject of drinking.

The first go to classic is, of course:

nunc est bibendum.
Now is the time for drinking.
(Horace, Ode 1.37)

Now, that's not a literal translation, which would be, rending the gerundive construction, "Now it must be drunk (presumably "by us").

Another well-known favorite that must be included in this collection is:

in vino veritas
In wine (is) truth.
(ancient, but recorded in Erasmus Adagia 1.7.17)

The idea here is that people will say speak the truth, even inadvertantly, while drugged with something. Like when Walt White mentioned his second cell phone while going under anesthesia in Breaking Bad.

Yet another quote worth mentioning also comes from Horace:

Prisco si credis, Maecenas docte, Cratino,
nulla placere diu nec uiuere carmina possunt
quae scribuntur aquae potoribus;

If, O learned Maecenas, you believe Priscus Cratinus, 
no poems can please for a long time or live
which are written by those drinking water;
(Horace, Epistulae 1.19.1-3)

The point here is that alcohol can somehow inspire a level of writing unattainable to the sober mind. Similarly, a quote mis-attributed to Hemingway enjoins:

Write drunk. Edit sober.

Finally, though not Latin but quite pertinent, let us close with the wise words of Ben Sirach:

Wine is very life to man, if taken in moderation.
What is life to one who is without wine?
It has been created to make people happy.
(Sirach 31:27-28)

Don't forget, however, to read past that part about how too much drinking causes problems. Be safe out there, people. Happy New Year!