Which diarist made a New Year's resolution to abstain from plays and wine in 1662?

On Tuesday 31st December 1661, Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary "I have newly taken a solemn oath about abstaining from plays and wine, which I am resolved to keep according to the letter of the oath which I keep by me." Yet, by the end of 1662, he was enjoying "five or six glasses of wine, which liberty I now take till I begin my oath again" (30th December 1662). Pepys often made resolutions to abstain from drinking, but rarely kept them for long. On this occasion, he broke his resolution before the end of January 1662 ‘upon necessity, being ill for want of it’.

In 1662, Pepys saw two plays in one day, thus breaking his resolution of abstaining from plays. In his diary, Pepys tried to absolve himself from this transgression by claiming going to the Drury Lane Theatre did not count, because it did not exist when he made the oath on 31st December 1661.

Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) was an English administrator at the Admiralty and a Member of Parliament who remains famous for his diary. As well as recording new year's resolutions, Pepys kept a faithful account of life in London following the restoration of the English throne in 1660 until the end of the decade. Notable events witnessed by Pepys include the Great Plague of London (1665), the Second Dutch War (1665-1667) and the Great Fire of London (1666).