Drunken Quote by Charles Baudelaire
““Be always drunken. Nothing else matters: that is the only question. If you would not feel the horrible burden of Time weighing on your shoulders and crushing you to the earth, be drunken continually. Drunken with what? With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you will. But be drunken. And if sometimes, on the stairs of a palace, or on the green side of a ditch, or in the dreary solitude of your own room, you should awaken and the drunkenness be half or wholly slipped away from you, ask of the wind, or of the wave, or of the star, or of the bird, or of the clock, of whatever flies, or sighs, or rocks, or sings, or speaks, ask what hour it is; and the wind, wave, star, bird, clock will answer you: "It is the hour to be drunken!””
About This Quote
Source Poem: “Be Drunken” from Les Fleurs du Mal, 1857
Embrace an ecstatic, all‑absorbing state—through wine, art, or virtue—to escape the crushing weight of time.
In simple terms: Escape time’s burden by losing yourself in passion.
Key Takeaway
Seek constant immersion in what lifts you.
Themes
escape
art
philosophy
time
mindfulness
Mood
introspective
melancholic
liberating
Type
poetic
philosophical
existential
When to use this quote
- creative work
- solitary reflection
- stress relief
- spiritual practice
Key Concepts
Existentialism
hedonism
transcendence
Questions to Reflect On
- What does “drunkenness” mean for you today?
- How can you balance immersion with practical duties?
A Different Perspective
The pursuit may lead to avoidance of responsibility or reality.
