# I Found It! (Abraham Lincoln Alcohol Quote) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 10, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244 "2022-02-10T20:15:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/1 "2022-02-10T20:15:18Z")
_I’m sorry. I was so happy and excited, I had to share this with someone. I have been literally looking for this quote in my private files for years. And I’ve got it!_ _It really does express the way I feel about alcohol, BTW. Growing up in a Catholic family, it wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad. It was just a part of life. And, like pornography, some people can handle it. And sadly some people can’t._ _Here:_ "When all such of us as have now reached the years of maturity first opened our eyes upon the stage of existence, we found intoxicating liquor recognized by everybody, used by everybody, repudiated by nobody "It commonly entered into the first draught of the infant and the last of the dying man. “It is true that even then it was known and acknowledged that many were greatly injured by it; but none seemed to think the injury arose from the use of a bad thing, but from the abuse of a very good thing.” ―ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 1842. _Thank you all for your time and indulgence 🙂 ._ ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/2 "2022-02-10T21:34:49Z")
Or, as it’s been less eloquently but more succinctly put: “To alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems!” –HOMER SIMPSON, 1997. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/3 "2022-02-10T21:40:33Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > It is true that even then it was known and acknowledged that many were greatly injured by it; but none seemed to think the injury arose from the use of a bad thing, but from the abuse of a very good thing. From [Lincoln’s address to the Springfield Washington Temperance Society](http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/temperance.htm) on February 22, 1842. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/4 "2022-02-10T21:46:00Z")
It has been postulated that without alcohol, the human race would have died out centuries ago. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/5 "2022-02-10T21:51:51Z")
As Benjamin Franklin put it, “Wine is a constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy.” ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/6 "2022-02-10T22:06:49Z")
I like one President’s quote. I can’t remember who said it or the exact quote, but it went something like: “I don’t understand teetotalers. They wake up in the morning and that’s it! That’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/7 "2022-02-10T22:20:11Z")
Not actually from Franklin, but based on some of the other verified quotes from him, he’d probably agree with the sentiment. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/8 "2022-02-11T00:53:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Not actually from Franklin, but based on some of the other verified quotes from him, he’d probably agree with the sentiment. There is a saying about beer that is commonly misattributed to Franklin. But in a letter he wrote to his friend André Morellet he said, in part: > [@](#): > > On parle de la conversion de l’eau en vin, à la nôce de Cana comme d’un miracle. Mais cette conversion est faite tous les jours par la bonté de Dieu, sous nos yeux. Voilà l’eau qui tombe des cieux sur nos vignobles, et alors elle entre dans les racines des vignes pour-être changée en vin. Preuve constante que Dieu nous aime, et qu’il aime à nous voir heureux. Or in English: > [@](#): > > We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana, as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, and which incorporates itself with the grapes to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy! [https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/06/24/beer-wine/](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/06/24/beer-wine/) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/9 "2022-02-11T05:36:19Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I like one President’s quote. I can’t remember who said it or the exact quote, but it went something like: “I don’t understand teetotalers. They wake up in the morning and that’s it! That’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.” I don’t know if that originated from a president. I’ve often read it from people who feel the need to justify using drugs. It’s a sentiment I loathe, even as a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/10 "2022-02-11T05:56:27Z")
I believe that it might be from Robert Byrne - a humorous quote collector - rather than from one of the famous persons in his books, but I recall from one of his works: Can a man live without his liquor? That depends on the liver. (Or something to that effect) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/11 "2022-02-11T08:09:19Z")
I don’t know who cares, or where he got it, but my Daddy always said: _Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker_ 🤭 ---
**Author:** ![SailorHG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SailorHG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SailorHG)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/12 "2022-02-11T08:28:42Z")
One source was the original Willy Wonka movie: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oVBIp3q3cms/maxresdefault.jpg "Candy Is Dandy But Liquor Is Quicker!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVBIp3q3cms) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/13 "2022-02-11T15:42:48Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I don’t know who cares, or where he got it, but my Daddy always said: _Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker_ My dad’s was: Liquor in the front, poker in the rear. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/14 "2022-02-11T16:21:49Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > > [@Grrr](#): > > > > I like one President’s quote. I can’t remember who said it or the exact quote, but it went something like: “I don’t understand teetotalers. They wake up in the morning and that’s it! That’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.” > > I don’t know if that originated from a president. I’ve often read it from people who feel the need to justify using drugs. It’s a sentiment I loathe, even as a joke. I think that’s also been misattributed to Churchill. But then, I think every quote about the joys of drinking has been misattributed to Churchill at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/15 "2022-02-11T16:26:41Z")
Yeah, that’s probably where I got that from. I read the quote so long ago the memory is kind of vague. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/16 "2022-02-11T16:30:15Z")
“You can’t believe everything you read on the internet.” – Abraham Lincoln. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/17 "2022-02-11T16:34:24Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I don’t know who cares, or where he got it, but my Daddy always said: _Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker_ I may be misunderstanding the meaning of this quote (I’ve heard it before, so I am slow…), but the fastest I’ve ever become tipsy was in breathing in the vapors from a cup of steaming-hot sake. It is instantaneous. > [@solost](#): > > But then, I think every quote about the joys of drinking has been misattributed to Churchill at some point. Almost as if people are conflating Churchill and W. C. Fields…? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/18 "2022-02-11T16:38:40Z")
When it comes to political alcohol-related quotes, my favorite is Noah S. Sweat’s “If By Whiskey” speech, read here by John Grisham: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LO6gYUDPTZI/hqdefault.jpg "John Grisham - The Whisky Speach") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO6gYUDPTZI) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/19 "2022-02-11T16:39:23Z")
IIRC, “candy is dandy” was Ogden Nash, forgotten and replaced by Calvin Trillin; who will also be forgotten and replaced. Gelette Burgess also figures in there somewhere, but we forget. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244/20 "2022-02-11T18:13:51Z")
The poem is part of a series called Random Reflections. “On Ice-breaking” was run in _The New Yorker_ magazine on August 8, 1930. Candy Is dandy But liquor Is quicker. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-it-abraham-lincoln-alcohol-quote/959244.md?page=2)