Mojo, The Bard, & Me

The second property of your excellent sherris is, the warming of the blood; which, before cold and settled, left the liver white and pale, which is the badge of pusillanimity and cowardice; but the sherris warms it, and makes it course from the inwards to the parts extreme: it illumineth the face, which , as a beacon, gives warning to all the rest of this little kingdom, man, to arm; and then the vital commoners and inland petty spirits muster me all their captain, the heart, who, great and puft up with this retinue, doth any deed of courage: and this valour comes of sherris.                                             

-Sir John Falstaff

King Henry The Fourth Part II          Act IV, scene iii, line 107

I have heard liquor referred to as ‘liquid courage,’ and that seems to be nothing more than a paraphrasing of these lines from Sir John Falstaff. His treatise on drinking is a pretty good read, which is why I gave you a fairly large segment of it here. Sir John ends his ode to sack (remember, ‘sack’ is sherry) with the following claim:

If I had a thousand sons, the first humane principle I would teach them should be,--to forswear thin potations, and to addict themselves to sack. 

Much as I enjoyed the soliloquy, I can't say that I buy into this closing sentiment. Sorry, Sir John.

 

Okay, so it might look like my little friend here is enjoying a blue footed boobie with me, but I'm pretty sure that his was a non-alcoholic version. Yes, I'm pretty sure, Sir John, but I guess you can take some solace since I can't say that I'm positive about that.