---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Drunkenness is temporary suicide."
description: "\"Drunkenness is temporary suicide.\" — Bertrand Russell"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/bertrand-russell-69_drunkenness_drunkenness-is-temporary-suicide-1295163_1295163.jpg"
---

#  Drunkenness is temporary suicide.

![“Drunkenness is temporary suicide.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/bertrand-russell-69_drunkenness_drunkenness-is-temporary-suicide-1295163_1295163.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/bertrand-russell-69_drunkenness_drunkenness-is-temporary-suicide-1295163_1295163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/bertrand-russell-69_drunkenness_drunkenness-is-temporary-suicide-1295163_1295163.jpg)

> “Drunkenness is temporary suicide.”

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Excessive drinking mirrors self‑destructive behavior, offering fleeting escape but lasting harm.

**In simple terms:** Drinking can be self‑destruction.

Key Takeaway

Avoid harmful habits.

Themes

self‑destruction health addiction

Mood

somber reflective

Type

cautionary philosophical

When to use this quote

- party scenes
- stress coping
- loneliness
- celebrations

Key Concepts

psychology temporary escape

Questions to Reflect On

- What underlying pain drives your drinking?
- How can you find healthier relief?

A Different Perspective

It may be a symptom of deeper issues.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Drunkenness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunkenness/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/)

## Related quotes

> [Drunkenness is temporary suicide: the happiness that it brings is merely negative, a momentary cessation of unhappiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/drunkenness-is-temporary-suicide-the-happiness-that-it-brings-is/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Drunkeness is temporary suicide: the happiness that it brings is merely negative, a momentary cessation of unhappiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/drunkeness-is-temporary-suicide-the-happiness-that-it-brings-is/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [“To cheat fate, Victor signed a three-year contract at a big industrial site two thousand miles away. He reckoned that in three years they’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludmilla-petrushevskaya/to-cheat-fate-victor-signed-a-three-year-contract-at-a-big-industrial/)

[Ludmilla Petrushevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludmilla-petrushevskaya/)

> [I used often to go to America during Prohibition, and there was far more drunkenness there then than before; the prohibition of pornography has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-used-often-to-go-to-america-during-prohibition-and-there-was-far/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [To commit suicide is easy. To live without a god is more difficult. The drunkenness of triumph is greater than the drunkenness of sacrifice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/to-commit-suicide-is-easy-to-live-without-a-god-is-more-difficult-the/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [“You Are My Drunkenness You are my drunkenness... I did not sober up, as if I can do that; I don't want to anyway.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naz-m-hikmet/you-are-my-drunkenness-you-are-my-drunkenness-i-did-not-sober-up-as/)

[Nazim Hikmet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naz-m-hikmet/)

> [When my pals in high school were starting to drink, it always looked unappealing to me. I would be at a big party and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/when-my-pals-in-high-school-were-starting-to-drink-it-always-looked/)

[Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/)

> [The secret of drunkenness is, that it insulates us in thought, whilst it unites us in feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-secret-of-drunkenness-is-that-it-insulates-us-in-thought-whilst/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Drunkenness is the very sepulcher Of man's wit and his discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/drunkenness-is-the-very-sepulcher-of-man-s-wit-and-his-discretion/)

[Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/)

> [Very early in my childhood I associated poverty, toil, unemployment, drunkenness, cruelty, quarreling, fighting, debts, jail with large families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/very-early-in-my-childhood-i-associated-poverty-toil-unemployment/)

[Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/)

> [Drunkenness is an immoderate affection and use of drink. That I call immoderation that is besides or beyond that order of good things for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-taylor/drunkenness-is-an-immoderate-affection-and-use-of-drink-that-i-call/)

[Jeremy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-taylor/)

> [Drunkenness does not create vice; it merely brings it into view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/drunkenness-does-not-create-vice-it-merely-brings-it-into-view/)

[Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/)

> [For although Claudius had been accused of gambling and drunkenness, not only were no worse sins laid to his charge, but he had successfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-although-claudius-had-been-accused-of-gambling-and-drunkenness/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The weather had freshened almost to coldness, for the wind was coming more easterly, from the chilly currents between Tristan and the Cape; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/the-weather-had-freshened-almost-to-coldness-for-the-wind-was-coming/)

[Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/)

> [All excess is ill; but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/all-excess-is-ill-but-drunkenness-is-of-the-worst-sort-it-spoils/)

[William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/)

## More by Bertrand Russell

> [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [All movements go too far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/all-movements-go-too-far/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [“Such, in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief. Amid such a world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/such-in-outline-but-even-more-purposeless-more-void-of-meaning-is-the/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Dr. Arnold . . . the admired reformer of public schools, came across some cranks who thought it a mistake to flog boys. Anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/dr-arnold-the-admired-reformer-of-public-schools-came-across-some/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Of all evils of war the greatest is the purely spiritual evil: the hatred, the injustice, the repudiation of truth, the artificial conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/of-all-evils-of-war-the-greatest-is-the-purely-spiritual-evil-the/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/aristotle-maintained-that-women-have-fewer-teeth-than-men-although-he/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-an-opinion-contrary-to-your-own-makes-you-angry-that-is-a-sign/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [I cannot escape from the conclusion that the great ages of progress have depended upon a small number of individuals of transcendent ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-cannot-escape-from-the-conclusion-that-the-great-ages-of-progress/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [I think it would be just to say the most essential characteristic of mind is memory, using this word in its broadest sense to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-think-it-would-be-just-to-say-the-most-essential-characteristic-of/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [The newspapers at one time said that I was dead but after carefully examining the evidence I came to the conclusion that this statement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-newspapers-at-one-time-said-that-i-was-dead-but-after-carefully/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [“Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic, because in arithmetic there is knowledge, but in theology there is only opinion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/persecution-is-used-in-theology-not-in-arithmetic-because-in/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [“Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/many-orthodox-people-speak-as-though-it-were-the-business-of-sceptics/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [There is no greater reason for children to honour parents than for parents to honour children except, that while the children are young, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-no-greater-reason-for-children-to-honour-parents-than-for/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

[Explore all 1,620 Bertrand Russell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

## More Drunkenness quotes

> [All excess is ill; but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/all-excess-is-ill-but-drunkenness-is-of-the-worst-sort-it-spoils/)

[William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/)

> [Very early in my childhood I associated poverty, toil, unemployment, drunkenness, cruelty, quarreling, fighting, debts, jail with large families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/very-early-in-my-childhood-i-associated-poverty-toil-unemployment/)

[Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/)

> [“You Are My Drunkenness You are my drunkenness... I did not sober up, as if I can do that; I don't want to anyway.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naz-m-hikmet/you-are-my-drunkenness-you-are-my-drunkenness-i-did-not-sober-up-as/)

[Nazim Hikmet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naz-m-hikmet/)

> [“The weather had freshened almost to coldness, for the wind was coming more easterly, from the chilly currents between Tristan and the Cape; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/the-weather-had-freshened-almost-to-coldness-for-the-wind-was-coming/)

[Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/)

> [For although Claudius had been accused of gambling and drunkenness, not only were no worse sins laid to his charge, but he had successfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-although-claudius-had-been-accused-of-gambling-and-drunkenness/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Drunkenness does not create vice; it merely brings it into view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/drunkenness-does-not-create-vice-it-merely-brings-it-into-view/)

[Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/)

> [Drunkenness is an immoderate affection and use of drink. That I call immoderation that is besides or beyond that order of good things for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-taylor/drunkenness-is-an-immoderate-affection-and-use-of-drink-that-i-call/)

[Jeremy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-taylor/)

> [Drunkeness is temporary suicide: the happiness that it brings is merely negative, a momentary cessation of unhappiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/drunkeness-is-temporary-suicide-the-happiness-that-it-brings-is/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Drunkenness is the very sepulcher Of man's wit and his discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/drunkenness-is-the-very-sepulcher-of-man-s-wit-and-his-discretion/)

[Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/)

> [The secret of drunkenness is, that it insulates us in thought, whilst it unites us in feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-secret-of-drunkenness-is-that-it-insulates-us-in-thought-whilst/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [When my pals in high school were starting to drink, it always looked unappealing to me. I would be at a big party and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/when-my-pals-in-high-school-were-starting-to-drink-it-always-looked/)

[Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/)

> [ \[Retirement\] is a dangerous experiment, and generally ends in either drunkenness or hypochrondriacism. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/retirement-is-a-dangerous-experiment-and-generally-ends-in-either/)

[Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/)

> [Before the Roman came to Rye or out to severn strode, / The rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/before-the-roman-came-to-rye-or-out-to-severn-strode-the-rolling/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [By all means, there should be no children when either mother or father suffers from such diseases as tuberculosis, gonorrhea, syphilis, cancer, epilepsy, insanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/by-all-means-there-should-be-no-children-when-either-mother-or-father/)

[Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/)

> [Drunkenness doesn't create vices, but it brings them to the fore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/drunkenness-doesn-t-create-vices-but-it-brings-them-to-the-fore/)

[Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/)

[Browse all 288 Drunkenness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunkenness/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Drunkenness is temporary suicide.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Bertrand Russell"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/drunkenness-is-temporary-suicide/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Drunkenness"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/drunkenness-is-temporary-suicide/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/bertrand-russell-69_drunkenness_drunkenness-is-temporary-suicide-1295163_1295163.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/bertrand-russell-69_drunkenness_drunkenness-is-temporary-suicide-1295163_1295163.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/bertrand-russell-69_drunkenness_drunkenness-is-temporary-suicide-1295163_1295163.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Drunkenness is temporary suicide.” — Bertrand Russell",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Bertrand Russell",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Drunkenness is temporary suicide.",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/drunkenness-is-temporary-suicide/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/drunkenness-is-temporary-suicide/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
