My friend Jim had once suggested he might stop by with his wife whenever they happened to be in the area. Some time after that, he apologized for not having done so, saying that he still intended to, but adding “It’s just that…you don’t drink beer.” I snorted to myself, thinking that it seemed a little sad that some people just can’t comfortably socialize without alcohol being involved, but a passage from Bettany Hughes’ The Hemlock Cup reminded me of another possible reason:

One street proverb from the period should have sounded a warning bell in Socrates’ ears: “I hate a drinking companion with a memory.”