How to Drink: A Classical Guide to the Art of Imbibing

317 Pages·2020·0.916 MB·English

by  Vincent Obsopoeus, Michael Fontaine

HOW TO DRINK
Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers
How to Drink: A Classical Guide to the Art of Imbibing
by Vincent Obsopoeus
How to Be a Bad Emperor: An Ancient Guide
to Truly Terrible Leaders by Suetonius
How to Be a Leader: An Ancient Guide
to Wise Leadership by Plutarch
How to Think about God: An Ancient Guide for Believers
and Nonbelievers by Marcus Tullius Cicero
How to Keep Your Cool: An Ancient Guide
to Anger Management by Seneca
How to Think about War: An Ancient Guide
to Foreign Policy by Thucydides
How to Be Free: An Ancient Guide to the Stoic Life by Epictetus
How to Be a Friend: An Ancient Guide
to True Friendship by Marcus Tullius Cicero
How to Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life by Seneca
How to Win an Argument: An Ancient Guide
to the Art of Persuasion by Marcus Tullius Cicero
How to Grow Old: Ancient Wisdom
for the Second Half of Life by Marcus Tullius Cicero
How to Run a Country: An Ancient Guide
for Modern Leaders by Marcus Tullius Cicero
How to Win an Election: An Ancient Guide
for Modern Politicians by Quintus Tullius Cicero
HOW TO DRINK
A Classical Guide to the Art of Imbibing
Vincent Obsopoeus
Edited, translated, and introduced
by Michael Fontaine
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON AND OXFORD
Copyright © 2020 by Princeton University Press
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Published by Princeton University Press
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All Rights Reserved
ISBN 9780691192147
ISBN (e- book) 9780691200842
British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available
Editorial: Rob Tempio and Matt Rohal
Production Editorial: Sara Lerner
Text and Jacket Design: Pamela Schnitter
Production: Erin Suydam
Publicity: Jodi Price and Amy Stewart
Jacket Credit: Michelangelo, Bacchus with Pan. Museo del Bargello,
Florence, Italy. Photo credit: Pictures Now / Alamy Stock Photo
This book has been composed in Stempel Garamond
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of America
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
For Alyssa, Justine, Ming- Yi, Dan, and Gene
mecvm et AVERNA petistis ibiqve FALERNA bibistis

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
A Note on the Notes xxvii
A Quick Start Guide
to The Art of Drinking xxix
THE ART OF DRINKING
Book 1. The Art of Drinking, Sustainably
and with Discrimination 5
Book 2. Excessive Drinking,
What It Looks Like 95
Book 3. How to Win at
Drinking Games 193
Appendix 273
Notes 275
Bibliography 283

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The life of the mind isn’t sustainable
over the long haul if it doesn’t get rest
at regular intervals. (1.219– 20)
This was a fun book, and I owe many people drinks
for bringing it to life: Rob Tempio for taking it on,
Justine Vanden Heuvel and Ming- Yi Chou for
teaching me about wine, the friends who drank it
with me, and the team at FLX Fitclub who helped
me sweat it all back out. Lucy Plowe painted the
beautiful illustration of Greek and Roman wine
vessels, Julia Hejduk and Sophia Evans clarified
the translation, and Kim Hastings stabilized it. I
thank them all for their generosity. In recent years,
George Thomas, who writes under the pen name
Quintus Curtius, has quietly set an impressive new
standard of translation to live up to. I hope he finds
this one worthy, and I thank him for advice and
encouragement.
I would also like to acknowledge my parents in
a special way. Growing up outside New Orleans,
ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I imbibed their NOLAn philosophy, a Mardi
Gras view of life that celebrates Comus and curses
Momus. Twenty- five years later, the puritanism of
wider America still feels alien to me. For that bet-
ter sense of balance, I thank them.
The Finger Lakes AVA
Ithaca, New York
x