I would not put a thief in my mouth to steal my brains.
-- Charles Portis. True Grit (novel, 1968),
chapter 3, Mattie Ross refusing Rooster Cogburn's offer of a drink of
whiskey.
But I had not the strength nor the inclination to bandy words with a
drunkard. What have you done when you have bested a fool?
-- Charles Portis. True Grit (novel, 1968),
chapter 6, thoughts of Mattie Ross.