The Ecstatic Swoon

8 prismatic 2 5/9/2025, 6:52:12 AM aeon.co ↗

Comments (2)

bsenftner · 23h ago
The endless manipulation of art as a vehicle to tell people how their mind works through completely unrelated metaphors.
Xmd5a · 22h ago
>completely unrelated metaphors

An oxymoron.

    De toute façon                                         Anyway
    Les guides c'est encombrant                            Guidebooks are cumbersome
    Les romans trop longs                                  Novels are too long
    J'prends la fuite                                      I make a run for it
    Je ne suivrais pas le sens                             I won’t follow the direction
    De la visite                                           Of the tour
    [...]
    
    À chaque tour de rue je suis éblouie                   At every street corner, I’m dazzled
    J'ai pris le train de nuit je n'ai pas beaucoup dormi  I took the night train, didn’t sleep much
    Les sens en éveil                                      My senses are heightened
    Mes sens se réveillent                                 My senses awaken
    Accélèrent et s'amplifient                             They speed up and intensify
    [...]
    
    Et j'ai la tête qui tourne                             And my head is spinning
    La beauté m'entoure                                    Beauty surrounds me
    Puis soudain elle m’envahit                            Then suddenly it overwhelms me
    Florence en Italie                                     Florence, Italy
    Et j'ai la tête qui tourne                             And my head is spinning
    La beauté m'entoure                                    Beauty surrounds me
    Ne m'aidez pas si je m’évanouis                        Don’t help me if I faint
    Florence en Italie                                     Florence in Italy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BIpHulB1X8

Edit: the parallels abound. From the article:

    And I walked in constant fear of falling to the ground.
    Without a local guide or a moment’s hesitation, Beyle made his way to the Basilica di Santa Croce.
    My soul, affected by the very notion of being in Florence