From Anacreon, ii. Drinking; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“The black earth drinks, in turn
The trees drink up the earth.
The sea the torrents drinks, the sun the sea,
And the moon drinks the sun.
Why, comrades, do ye flout me,
If I, too, wish to drink?”
Variant: Fruitful earth drinks up the rain, Trees from earth drink that again; The sea too drinks the air, the sun Drinks the sea, and him the moon. Is it reason, then, do ye think, That I should thirst when all else drink?
Source: Odes, 21.
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Anacreon 12
Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and hymns -570–-485 BCRelated quotes
“All earth’s full rivers can not fill
The sea that drinking thirsteth still.”
By the Sea; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919); Old and New, Volume 5 (1872), p. 169.
"Magnus and Morna", in Thirty Years, Poems New and Old (1880)
“Drink to me. Drink to my health. You know I can't drink any more.”
Quoted in: Scott Slater, Alec Solomita (1980), Exits: stories of dying moments & parting words. p. 8.
Slater & Solomita (1980) explained:
"It was a spirited dinner and Picasso a cheerful, genial host. After the meal, while pouring wine into a friend's glass, Picasso said, Drink to me. Drink to my health. You know I can't drink any more. A little later, about 11:30 P.M., he left his guests, saying, And now I must go back to work. He was up painting until 3:00 A.M. That morning Picasso woke at 11:30, unable to move. By 11:40 he was dead..".
1970s
“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”
The Cup, Act i, Scene 3, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
“First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.”
Variant: First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.
“Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become.”
E. Payne, trans. (1974) Vol. 1, p. 347
Parerga and Paralipomena (1851), Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life