John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
John Sirmond 1589 (?)-1649 John Bartlett
| 1 |
| If on my theme I rightly think, There are five reasons why men drink,— Good wine, a friend, because I ’m dry, Or lest I should be by and by, Or any other reason why. 1 |
| Causæ Bibendi. |
| Note 1. These lines are a translation of a Latin epigram (erroneously ascribed to Henry Aldrich in the “Biographia Britannica,” second edition, vol. i. p. 131), which Menage and De la Monnoye attribute to Père Sirmond: Si bene commemini, causæ sunt quinque bibendi: Hospitis adventus; præsens sitis atque futura; Et vini bonitas, et quælibet altera causa. Menagiana, vol. i. p. 172. [back] |