Provided We Have the Intoxication (French Edition): From Alcohol to Ecstasy: A Global Journey Through the Arts and Letters

"Provided We Have Intoxication: From Alcohol to Ecstasy, a Global Journey Through Arts and Letters", written by Alain Rey and beautifully illustrated by Lassaad Métoui, is a unique work that immerses the reader in the cultural, symbolic, and artistic meanders of intoxication.

The Alchemy of Alcohol and Its Ancestral Symbolism

Since Antiquity, the effects of ethyl alcohol on the human brain have fascinated and intrigued. From the vine to grains, these plants transformed into spirits have become sources of life and powerful metaphors. Intoxication, a relative of madness, transgression, and dreams, transcends the barriers of reason and opens the doors of imagination.

In Ancient Greece, the god Dionysus symbolizes this transformation, celebrated in festive processions mixing sensuality, exaltation, and chaos. Among the Romans, Bacchus takes over, embodying the duality between pleasure and danger.

A Universal Symbolism

Intoxication has traversed the ages, from the troubled innocence of Noah to the ecstatic poetry of Rimbaud. While Plato associates intoxication with the philosophical banquet, Rabelais makes it a symbol of popular wisdom. Yet, contradictions remain: at times sacred, at times condemned, intoxication oscillates between devotion and contempt.

Spartan educators use it as a counter-example for their young students, while poets and thinkers of all eras magnify it as a source of divine inspiration.

Immaterial Intoxications

Intoxication is not only linked to alcohol. Love, passion, mystical faith, and even knowledge are forms of immaterial intoxications. These states of exaltation transcend matter to reach the absolute. Rimbaud, with his famous "disordering of all the senses," embodies this absolute quest for creative and poetic ecstasy.

A Journey Through Arts and Letters

From Matisse to Hiroshige, from Baudelaire to Hâfiz, from Proust to Kerouac, this work travels through continents and eras, revealing how intoxication has influenced the greatest artists, writers, and thinkers. Each page is an immersion into an era, a culture, and a unique vision of intoxication.

A Timeless Reflection

More than a simple celebration of alcohol, "Provided We Have Intoxication" is a deep reflection on how altered states of consciousness influence artistic creation, philosophical thought, and even social structure.

This book is a celebration, but also a warning, an invitation to understand intoxication in all its forms, without judgment but with lucidity.

Product Features

• Format: Paperback
• EAN13: 9782221190296
• ISBN: 978-2-221-19029-6
• Publisher: Robert Laffont
• Publication Date: 11/05/2015
• Number of Pages: 350
• Dimensions: 28.1 x 19.8 x 3.1 cm
• Weight: 1328 g
• Language: French