- HUMAN beings are social animals. But just as important, we are socially constrained as well.
We can probably thank the latter trait for keeping our fledgling species alive at the dawn of man. Five core social instincts, I have argued, gave structure and strength to our primeval herds. They kept us safely codependent with our fellow clan members, assigned us a rank in the pecking order, made sure we all did our chores, discouraged us from offending others, and removed us from this social coil when we became a drag on shared resources.
Not strictly relevant, but here is a quote from a fantastic 19th-century book about opium addiction: Drinking certainly has its dangers, but I've always found that a night of drinking is one of the fastest ways to bond with a stranger, or even to become friends with an enemy.True it is that even wine, up to a certain point and with certain men, rather tends to exalt and to steady the intellect; I myself, who have never been a great wine-drinker, used to find that half-a-dozen glasses of wine advantageously affected the faculties—brightened and intensified the consciousness, and gave to the mind a feeling of being “ponderibus librata suis;” and certainly it is most absurdly said, in popular language, of any man that he is disguised in liquor; for, on the contrary, most men are disguised by sobriety, and it is when they are drinking [...] that men [...] display themselves in their true complexion of character, which surely is not disguising themselves.
- Thomas de Quincey, 'Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'.
I read an article along these lines years ago. I want to believe this. I can't remember where the article was from, but it included a fragment of a poem, I think from Egypt. In any event, the fragment as best they could translate it read something along the lines of, " . . . you make me happy, even without beer." It seems rather boorish, but considering what a precious and highly significant commodity beer was (providing nourishment, microbe and parasite free water, as well as the pleasure one gets from alcohol) that's quite a statement. I leave you with a translation of The Hymn to Ninkasi (goddess of brewing and beer).