“To err is human; to forgive, divine” is from Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Criticism (1711) . “To eat is human; to drink wine divine” is a food parody that was printed in Punch (London, UK) in February 1894. “to drink beer is human, to drink wine is divine - statement shirt at Barcino” was posted on Twitter on December 3, 2010. “To drink is human, to drink wine… divine” was posted on Twitter on June 23, 2013.
“To eat is human; to digest, divine” is a related saying.
Wiktionary: to err is human
Etymology
From Latin errāre hūmānum est.
Proverb
to err is human
1. Everyone makes mistakes.
Usage notes
The phrase is often used as a part of a longer phrase in English, “to err is human; to forgive, divine” (Alexander Pope, “Essay on Criticism”).
Google Books
3 February 1894, Punch, or the London Charivari, pg. 59, col. 2:
To eat is human, to drink wine divine.
Twitter
pink shrink
@pinkshrinkmd
to drink beer is human, to drink wine is divine - statement shirt at Barcino
6:04 AM - 3 Dec 2010
Twitter
David
@dmpmogi
Replying to @kuyamanzano
@kuyamanzano “To drink beer is human. To drink wine, Divine” enjoy! In vino veritas
8:15 AM - 9 Jun 2013
Twitter
Ken @ alawine 🍷
@alawine
To drink is human, to drink wine… divine.
9:00 PM - 24 Jun 2013
Twitter
The Wine Bar
@WineBarJax
“To drink is human; to drink wine is divine!”
4:10 PM - 16 Aug 2014
The Wine Bar (Jacksonville Beach, FL)
TO DRINK IS HUMAN;
TO DRINK WINE IS DIVINE.
(This page is from March 16, 2016.—ed.)
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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