"The last words of Anton Chekhov before he died were what? You remember? He said, 'Ich sterbe,' that is, 'I'm dying .' And later he added, 'Pour me some champagne.' And only then did he die. ...And Friedrich Schiller not only couldn't die, he couldn't live, without champagne. Do you know how he wrote? He'd put his feet in an icy bath, pour out the champagne, and write. He'd go through one glassful — and a whole act of a of a tragedy would be ready. He'd go through five glasses and a whole tragedy in five acts would be ready."