two out of death, sex and jewels.
[In The Sunday Times, 1994, on his principles for a successful museum show]
Sir Roy Strong, English art historian (1935–)
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Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue — to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak.
Socrates, Greek philosopher (470–399 BC)
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There are two possible situations — one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it — you will regret both.
Either/Or (1843)
Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (1813–1855)
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Don’t speak unless you can improve on the silence.
Spanish proverb
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The shrimp that falls asleep is carried away by the current.
Spanish proverb
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Straightforwardness without civility is like a surgeon’s knife, effective but unpleasant. Candour with courtesy is helpful and admirable.
Sri Yukteswar Giri, Indian guru (1855–1936)
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Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow.
Swedish proverb
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Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death and sweet as love.
Turkish proverb
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Your head is not only for putting a hat on.
Ukrainian proverb
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Think like a wise man but express yourself like the common people.
WB Yeats, Irish poet (1865–1939)
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Be nice to people on your way up because you’ll meet ’em on your way down.
Wilson Mizner, American playwright (1876–1933)
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Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.
Sir Winston Churchill, prime minister of the UK, historian and Nobel Prize winner (1874–1965)
Time for a little something.
Winnie the Pooh (1926)
AA Milne, English writer (1882–1956)
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In the spring a livelier iris changes on the burnished dove; In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.
Locksley Hall (1842)
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, English poet (1809–1892)
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My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.
Errol Flynn, Australian-born actor (1909–1959)
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There is no love sincerer than the love of food.
Man and Superman (1903)
George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright (1856–1950)
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People say I wasted my money. I say 90 per cent went on women, fast cars and booze. The rest I wasted.
George Best, Northern Irish professional footballer (1946–2005)
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Three glasses of wine drive away the evil spirits, but with the fourth they return.
German proverb
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If all be true that I do think,
There are five reasons we should drink:
Good wine — a friend — or being dry —
Or lest we should be by and by —
Or any other reason why.
Five Reasons for Drinking (1689)
Henry Aldrich, English philosopher and composer (1647–1710)
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We drink one another’s healths, and spoil our own.
Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1886)
Jerome K Jerome, English writer (1859–1927)
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No pleasure is worth giving up for the sake of two more years in a geriatric home in Weston-super-Mare.
The Times (1994)
[Attr.]
Kingsley Amis, English writer and critic (1922–1995)
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Wine may well be considered the most healthful and most hygienic of beverages.
Études sur le vin (1866)
Louis Pasteur, French biologist and chemist (1822–1895)
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One reason why I don’t drink is because I wish to know when I am having a good time.
Christian Herald (1960)
Nancy Astor, American-born politician and socialite (1879–1964)
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Strange to see how a good dinner and feasting reconciles everybody.
Diary (1660)
Samuel Pepys, English diarist, naval administrator and politician (1633–1703)
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Hath wine an oblivious power? Can it pluck out the sting from the brain? The draught might beguile for an hour, But still leaves behind it the pain.
Anonymous
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A well-balanced person has a drink in each hand.
Gullible’s Travels (1982)
Sir Billy Connolly, Scottish comedian (1942–)
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Too much and too little wine. Give him none, he cannot find truth; give him too much, the same.
Pensées (1670)
Blaise Pascal, French mathematician and physicist (1623–1662)
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There are two things that will be believed of any man whatsoever, and one of them is that he has taken to drink.
Penrod (1914)
Booth Tarkington, American writer and dramatist (1869–1946)
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I only take a drink on two occasions –