“the only way to tolerate the thought of her mother sleeping with that man was to get drunk-very drunk.”

“He made her drunk, this man made her drunk; and every time his eyes flashed into hers she could not breathe.”

“Whisky, I find, helps clarity of thought. And reduces pain. It has the additional virtue of making you drunk or, if taken in sufficient quantity, very drunk.”

“In order not to feel time's horrid fardel bruise your shoulders, grinding you into the earth, get drunk and stay that way. On what? On wine, poetry, virtue, whatever. But get drunk!”

“Man, being reasonable, must get drunk; the best of life is but intoxication.”

“And yes. They did become very drunk, the three of them.And you're not supposed to be drunk when you get involved in matters such as this: Big Matters, Matters of an Apocalyptic Nature. You're supposed to be coldly sober. And you just can't be coldly sober when you're drunk.”