Saturday, May 03, 2008

Either drink or leave

I came across this proverb today while doing research: ἣ πῖθι ἢ ἄπιθι. It comes from Cicero's Tusculanae Quaestiones, 5.41, where he attempts a Latin equivalent, aut bibat aut abeat, with rather good results. I think it means something like "shit or get off the pot", but directed at party goers. Without cultural context it sounds a lot like ancient peer pressure.