Del vino e dell'hashish

by Charles Baudelaire

Among the earliest artistic accounts of the hallucinogenic experience in European literature, the four pieces in this volume document Gautier and Baudelaire’s own involvement in the Club of Assassins, who met under the auspices of Dr Moreau to investigate the psychological and mind-enhancing effects of hashish, wine, and opium. As well as providing an absorbing of nineteenth-century drug use, Hashish, Wine, Opium captures the spirit of French Romanticism, in its struggle to free the mind from the shackles of the humdrum and the conventional, and serves as a fascinating prologue to the psychedelic literature of the following centuries.

Genres: Poetry, France, Nonfiction, Essays, French Literature, Classics, Drugs

Paperback

First published January 1, 1851

About the author

Public condemned Les fleurs du mal (1857), obscene only volume of French writer, translator, and critic Charles Pierre Baudelaire; expanded in 1861, it exerted an enormous influence over later symbolist and modernist poets.

Reputation of Charles Pierre Baudelaire rests primarily on perhaps the most important literary art collection, published in Europe in the 19th century. Similarly, his early experiment Petits poèmes en prose (1868) ( Little Prose Poems ) most succeeded and innovated of the time.

From financial disaster to prosecution for blasphemy, drama and strife filled life of known Baudelaire with highly controversial and often dark tales of Edgar Allan Poe. Long after his death, his name represents depravity and vice. He seemingly speaks directly to the 20th century civilization.

Reviews

[Argos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Şarap üzerine bir güzelleme, esrar üzerine bir kötüleme, çok kısa bir deneme. C Baudelaire’nin ismi okutur, özel bir yanı olmada da.

[Steven Godin · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Since we have seen manifest itself in hashish intoxication a strange goodwill toward men, applied even to strangers, a species of philanthropy made rather of pity than of love (it is here that the first germ of the Satanic spirit which is to develop later in so extraordinary a manner shows itself), but which goes so far as to fear giving pain to any one, one may guess what may happen to the localised sentimentality applied to a beloved person who plays, or has played, an important part in the moral life of the reveller. Worship, adoration, prayer, dreams of happiness, dart forth and spring up with the ambitious energy and brilliance of a rocket. Like the powder and colouring−matter of the firework, they dazzle and vanish in the darkness. There is no sort of sentimental combination to which the subtle love of a hashish−slave may not lend itself. The desire to protect, a sentiment of ardent and devoted paternity, may mingle themselves with a guilty sensuality which hashish will always know how to excuse and to absolve. It goes further still. I suppose that, past errors having left bitter traces in the soul, a husband or a lover will contemplate with sadness in his normal state a past over−clouded with storm; these bitter fruits may, under hashish, change to sweet fruits"

[Bogdan Liviu · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The man who, after abandoning himself for a long time to opium or to hashish, has been able, weak as he has become by the habit of bondage, to find the energy necessary to shake off the chain, appears to me like an escaped prisoner. He inspires me with more admiration than does that prudent man who has never fallen, having always been careful to avoid the temptation. If you are one of these souls your innate love of form and colour will find from the beginning an immense banquet in the first development of your intoxication. Colours will take an unaccustomed energy and smite themselves within your brain with the intensity of triumph. Delicate, mediocre, or even bad as they may be, the paintings upon the ceilings will clothe themselves with a tremendous life. The coarsest papers which cover the walls of inns will open out like magnificent dioramas. Nymphs with dazzling flesh will look at you with great eyes deeper and more limpid than are the sky and sea. Characters of antiquity, draped in their priestly or soldierly costumes, will, by a single glance, exchange with you most solemn confidences. The snakiness of the lines is a definitely intelligible language where you read the sorrowing and the passion of their souls. Nevertheless a mysterious but only temporary state of the mind develops itself; the profoundness of life, hedged by its multiple problems, reveals itself entirely in the sight, however natural and trivial it may be, that one has under one's eyes; the first-come object becomes a speaking symbol. Fourier and Swedenborg, one with his analogies, the other with his correspondences, have incarnated themselves in all things vegetable and animal which fall under your glance, and instead of touching by voice they indoctrinate you by form and colour. The understanding of the allegory takes within you proportions unknown to yourself. We shall note in passing that allegory, that so spiritual type of art, which the clumsiness of its painters has accustomed us to despise, but which is realy one of the most primitive and natural forms of poetry, regains its divine right in the intelligence which is enlightened by intoxication. Then the hashish spreads itself over all life; as it were, the magic varnish. It colours it with solemn hues and lights up all its profundity; jagged landscapes, fugitive horizons, perspectives of towns whitened by the corpse-like lividity of storm or illumined by the gathered ardours of the sunset; abysses of space, allegorical of the abyss of time; the dance, the gesture or the speech of the actors, should you be in a theatre; the first-come phrase if your eyes fall upon a book; in a word, all things; the universality of beings stands up before you with a new glory unsuspected until then. The grammar, the dry grammar itself, becomes something like a book of "barbarous names of evocation." The words rise up again, clothed with flesh and bone; the noun, in its solid majesty; the adjective's transparent robe which clothes and colours it with a shining web; and the verb, archangel of motion which sets swinging the phrase. Music, that other language dear to the idle or the profound souls who seek repose by varying their work, speaks to you of yourself, and recites to you the poem of your life; it incarnates in you, and you swoon away in it. It speaks your passion, not only in a vague, ill-defined manner, as it does in your careless evenings at the opera, but in a substantial and positive manner, each movement of the rhythm marking a movement understood of your soul, each note transforming itself into Word, and the whole poem entering into your brain like a dictionary endowed with life."

[Hon Lady Selene · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Who has not known you, O deep joys of wine? Whoever has had some remorse to appease, a memory to evoke, a sorrow to drown, a castle to build in Spain, in fact all men have invoked you, mysterious god concealed in the tendrils of the vine.

Wine is like man himself: one never knows to what extent one may esteem or despise him, love or hate him, nor of what sublime actions or monstrous crimes he is capable. Let us not then be crueller towards wine than towards ourselves, let us treat him as an equal.

Sometimes I think I can hear wine speak (he speaks with his soul, the spiritual voice heard only by the spirit) and he says: “Man, my beloved, I would pour out for you, in spite of my prison of glass and fetters of cork, a song full of brotherhood, a song full of joy, light and hope. I am no ingrate; I know that I owe you my life. I know what it cost you in toil, your back under the burning sun. You gave me life and I shall reward you for it.

I am the soul of your country. I am half-lover, half-soldier.

I shall light up your aged wife’s eyes, the old companion of your everyday cares and your oldest hopes. I shall soften her glance and drop into the pupil of her eye the lightning-flash of her youth.

Our close reunion will create poetry. Between us we shall make a god.

This is what wine sang in its mysterious language."

[Caner Sahin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kısa bir deneme. Şarap ve esrar üzerine.

[Francisco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente ensaio sobre os «meios de multiplicação da individualidade», as «substâncias que exaltam a personalidade», os «paraísos artificiais».

«O homem que só bebe água tem algum segredo que pretende ocultar dos seus semelhantes.»

[Ahmet Toköz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kaderini bozup kendi yazgısını inşa etmek isteyen insanların varlığı önemlidir. Baudelaire’nin yinede bu kitapta kadınların zihninin karmaşık olanı algılayamayacağını bir kaç bölümde dile getirmiş olması bugün -kitap bugün de okunduğuna göre- kabul edilemez.

[raShit · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Şarapla, şiirle ya da erdemle; neyle isterseniz. Yeter ki sarhoş olun."

[Fríða Þorkelsdóttir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ég er aðallega mjög ringluð. Lýsingarnar á reynslu þeirra af neyslu kannabisefna eru eins og hið svæsnasta sýrutripp. Hvað voru þeir eiginlega að taka?

[Paul Gleason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baudelaire's investigation bears the stamp of his poetry. It's analytical and passionate at the same time, lending that eerie quality that only he seems capable of achieving.

Everything Baudelaire is on display here: his admiration for Poe, his engagement with what only cities can offer, the wandering spirit, the questioner, the passionate seeker of eternity, the poet.

After reading this text, I have a better understanding of what Rimbaud means by "assassins."

After reading this text, I understand why Baudelaire is the first modern.

I don't want to spoil your reading experience, but let's say he provides tremendous insight into wine and hash: two stimulants that lend themselves to the experience of the eternal. And, in my experience, he's dead right.

I love Baudelaire!

[Fostergrants · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was my introduction to Baudelaire. having been to paris three times i don't know why it never occured to me to pick this up. i loved his thoughts on the virtues of wine. the 2nd half of the book was his poem to hashish which is funny to me because it seemed to be more disjointed than the wine section...i wonder why? hahahaha. he did seem to have a love/hate relationship with the hashish part. this is a quick read and like i said earlier, has served as an appetite whetter for more of his writing. what i really enjoyed was the picture it painted of parisian society at a time when the "Orient" was still exotic and new and artists were still truly Bohemian.

[Andreea Drăghici · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Je ne comprends pas pourquoi l’homme rationnel et spirituel se sert de moyens artificiels pour arriver à la béatitude poétique, puisque l’enthousiasme et la volonté suffisent pour l’élever à une existence supra-naturelle. Les grands poètes, les philosophes, les prophètes sont des êtres qui, par le pur et libre exercice de la volonté, parviennent à un état où ils sont à la fois cause et effet, sujet et objet, magnétiseur et somnambule.'

[Suzanne Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this

[Umut Yavuz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baudelaire wrote about his personal experience and wiev about wine and weed... Very detailed and interesting informations..

[Liz Estrada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, a surprisingly good read. 4 stories about the benefits and downfalls of too much wine, hashish and opium very much a la Baudelaire. Definitely leads up to Huxley, Leary and other writers on the psychedelic experience.

[Kübra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sesli olarak dinledim. Dinlemesi cok keyifliydi. O zaman şerefe🍷

[Ivana R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

mi negro enumera las características buenas del hachís para luego decir y por eso es malo. su único argumento es q te elimina la voluntad y un estado no funciona con gente q no trabaja. comparto un poco. pero no todo en la vida es el trabajo... además vos mismo alabas el vino... tmb comparto un poco q con ponerte a pensar y sin necesidad de estupefacientes podés sacar lo mismo..
igual con esa descripción tan exacta de sus virtudes y efectos no me digas q no la probaste hermano. no me ABOGUES por la ilegalización sorete.

con su alabanza al vino discrepo por todo lo anterior. si el ropo te hace danio por tema voluntad y pq el mismo efecto lo podés tener sobrio entonces el vino tmb. y es mas justificable una ayuda artificial para exaltar aspecto filosófico-pensante q para 'exaltar la personalidad' y creer q tu vida es linda cuando No lo es y no te hace bien estar en ese delirio (la del basurero tambaleandose creyendose q es Napoleón mientras tiene los riñones destrozados es terrible)



top frases:

(artistas q no toman vino son) artistas q niegan los procedimientos tradicionales del arte

explicación de las cualidades musicales del vino por género musical y tipo de vino

UN HOMBRE Q BEBE SOLO AGUA TIENE ALGO Q OCULTAR A SUS SEMEJANTES

el hombre ruin se convierte en depravado, así como el bueno en excelente

[Chris Morton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lightweights.

[Anne-Sophie St-Onge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essai intéressant pour les fervents de la consommation

[Manuel Fontana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Después de leer Las flores del mal, este libro es como un epígrafe, pero mantiene la misma idea del poeta, de evadirse de la realidad hostil, con vino, con hachís o con poesía. Muy interesante.

[Zhuckinsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Даний нарис - один з трох есеїв, присвячених питанням впливу алкоголю та психотропів на свідомість, може служити гарною пропагандою утримання від вживання наркотичних речовин.

Бодлер був відомим дослідником впливу психотропів на свідомість людини і описував власні переживання та емоції у досить академічному та виваженому стилі.
Цікаво, що в певний момент життя, він призвичаївся до куріння опіуму, але знайшов сили покинути цю звичку.

[Angelique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baudelaire es uno de mis escritores predilectos. Un maestro, una influencia, un destino que siempre elijo, cuando necesito airear la mente y volver a mis origines, aquellos que poseen su propia mitología nostálgica. Del vino y el hachis es una investigación que, dentro de mi país, precede en su mayoría a las ediciones de Los paraísos Artificiales. Sin embargo, hace unos meses la editorial Alquimia saco el reducto de esta investigación en solitario, poniendo la traducción a cargo de una poeta que admiro muchísimo, María Negroni. Lo que no solo me entusiasmo, me enloqueció, sino que me hizo volver a leer tan maravilloso texto, esta vez, circundado por la voz de una poetisa inigualable, capaz de sostener la atmósfera que induce cada palabra y la tensión lírica, tan fundamentales en Baudelaire.
Suele cometerse un error singularmente paradójico con Baudelaire. Quien no lo ha leído, pero si escuchado sobre el, tiende a relacionarlo con el movimiento romántico. Error fatal, de cierta genealogía del equivoco que lo compara con autores como Nietzsche, cuando sus pseudo lectores se adscriben al nihilismo, con ignorancia entusiasta. Baudelaire intenta, mediante su escritura, derribar toda la mitología romántica. Y dos de sus textos son fundamentales para estos propósitos. Uno, consejos a jóvenes escritores, demuestra la necesidad del trabajo dentro de la tarea del escritor, y devela, tambien, otras costumbres ímprobas de ciertos contemporáneos ya dueños de cierta fama (es legendario el episodio que narra sobre Balzac). El otro es este opusculo. En el, demole la creencia de que ciertos estupefacientes poseen un carácter casi mágico, capaz de invocar a las musas fugaces de la intoxicación. Para el nada hay mas lejano que esto. No solo los estupefacientes no pueden despertar aquello que no existe ya dentro de uno, si no que dilatan las pasiones sin discriminacion alguna, volcando súbitamente a las almas pesarosas a la desesperacion, a las reconcosas a la ira, a las mediocres a la estupidez desmedida. Raramente reproducen las circunstancias propias de la creación artística, esto es, la introspección y la sinestesia. No son sino medios para develar lo oculto- siendo esto, en los mayores casos, algo que tiene razón de ser escondido. El verdadero artista no necesita otra droga que no sea la del trabajo. Corre peligros, corre riesgos, pero dentro del mundo individual que le abre su escritura.
Las descripciones, las mediaciones en las voces de testigos imaginarios, le dan al texto una fuerza tan poética como irónica. Tanto la confesión del burgués, como la del poeta o la dama nos remiten a la intención de baudelaire de reproducir ciertos registros, ciertas creencias, ciertas percepciones. Anuda la percepción de cada uno según una clase social, según una aptitud, según un oficio, lo cual reafirma el carácter indagatorio de la pesquisa, y le otorga un testimonio con el fin de justificarla.
Es un libro bellamente escrito, muy cuidado, en el que Baudelaire rechaza uno de las creencias que fundan al movimiento romántico, esto es, la espontaneidad y la luz que supuestamente otorgarían ciertas drogas. Puede ser leído como un manifiesto, un contraataque, y, en ciertos pasajes, una mínima apología, una miniatura de apología. En donde cede el poeta, nace el hombre.

[Dwhale · Rating 5 out of 5]

sayfa 14

Bazen şarabın konuştuğunu duyar gibi oluyorum; yalnızca ruhların duyup anlayabileceği bir sesle özünden şöyle diyor: “Ey insan, sevdiğim, camdan hapishaneme ve mantar sürgülerime rağmen sana kardeşlikle dolu bir şarkı, neşe, ışık ve umut dolu bir şarkı söylemek istiyorum. Nankör değilim ben; hayatımı sana borçlu olduğumu biliyorum. Sarf ettiğin onca emeği ve sırtındaki güneşin sıcaklığına ne zamandan beri dayandığını biliyorum. Madem hayatımı sen verdin bana, ben de seni ödüllendireceğim. Borcumu sonuna kadar ödeyeceğim; çünkü ben ağır işten sonra kurumuş bir boğazın dibine inince müthiş bir neşe duyarım. Namuslu bir adamın göğsünü, o hüzünlü ve vurdumduymaz mahzenlere tercih ederim. Orası, yazgımı can atarak yaşadığım sevinçli bir mezardır. İşçinin midesinde büyük bir kargaşa çıkarırım ve oradan, görünmez merdivenlerle beynine çıkıp olağanüstü dansımı yaparım.

…

Bitkisel bir hayat iksiri gibi göğsünün derinlerine damlayacağım. Zahmetle kazılmış toprağı bereketlendiren tohum olacağım. Birbirine karışan ruhlarımız şiiri doğuracak. Aramızda bir Tanrı yaratacağız ve kuşlar, kelebekler, örümcek ağlar, hoş kokular ve bütün kanatlı varlıklar gibi sonsuza uçacağız.”

İşte bu şarabın o gizemli diliyle söylediği şarkıdır. Kardeşlerinin acılarına duyarsız bencil kalbiyle bu şarkıyı hiç duymamış insana yazıklar olsun!
____________________________

Şarap ve esrar hikayeleri üzerinden insanın kendi ile yüzleşmesi; eleştiriler, haz ve etik...

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hesperus Press out of the UK has put together a nice little edition of two essays by Baudelaire. Lovely black and white cover. Hesperus puts out editions of shorter works by old, dead, authors. Check out their website. In part one Baudelaire discusses wine, its merits for achieving transcendence. In part two (the way longer part, by the way) Baudy lengthily discusses the effects of hashish, badly arguing against its merits relative to wine. Nothing really new here about either wine or hash, but fun nonetheless.

[Andres Redondo Peñaranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un librito que definitivamente hay que leerlo con una copa de vino en la mano y una pipa con hachís. Disfruté mucho la descripción del vino y me emocionó voluptuosamente. No puedo decir lo mismo de la parte del hachís, he ahí el porqué de mi calificación. Sin embargo un librito muy fácil de leer y de obligada referencia para nosotros, los que disfrutamos del buen vino.

[Jonah Dumile · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed his descriptions although they seemed rather bold at times. The same text is repeated with slight change throughout. It read a lot like a more intelligent refer madness that was pro-alcohol.

[Adrn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha resultado más encantadora, y mística la parte del hachís.
También me resultó un buen agregado la parte biográfica del comienzo.
Un libro breve pero que deja un buen sabor para continuar con "Los paraísos artificiales" de Baudelaire.

[Ogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Şarap insanlığın ürettikleri arasından yok olsaydı, sanıyorum ki gezegenin sağlığında ve aklında, şarabın sorumlu tutulduğu tüm aşırılık ve sapkınlıklar dan çok daha korkunç bir boşluk, yokluk ve eksiklik olurdu

[Mehrnaz]

The intoxication induced by hashish is peculiar in that it is not continuous: it takes you and leaves you, raises you to heaven and restores you to earth without a transition – not unlike the lucid moments in a fit of madness.

[Max]

Charming story, many to much 19th century.