“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.”

“Be Drunken, Always. That is the point; nothing else matters. If you would not feel the horrible burden of Time weigh you down and crush you to the earth, be drunken continually.Drunken with what? With wine, with poetry or with virtue, as you please. But be drunken.And if sometimes, on the steps of a palace, or on the green grass in a ditch, or in the dreary solitude of your own room, you should awaken and find the drunkenness half or entirely gone, ask of the wind, of the wave, of the star, of the bird, of the clock, of all that flies, of all that speaks, ask what hour it is; and wind, wave, star, bird, or clock will answer you: "It is the hour to be drunken! Be Drunken, if you would not be the martyred slaves of Time; be drunken continually! With wine, with poetry or with virtue, as you please.”

“Be always drunken.Nothing else matters:that is the only question.If you would not feelthe horrible burden of Timeweighing on your shouldersand 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 awakenand 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!”

“It is the hour to be drunken! To escape being the martyred slaves of time, be ceaselessly drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue, as you wish.”

“Charles Baudelaire: Get DrunkOne should always be drunk. That's all that matters; that's our one imperative need. So as not to feel Time's horrible burden that breaks your shoulders and bows you down, you must get drunk without ceasing.But what with? With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you choose. But get drunk.And if, at some time, on the steps of a palace, in the green grass of a ditch, in the bleak solitude of your room, you are waking up when drunkenness has already abated, ask the wind, the wave, a star, the clock, all that which flees, all that which groans, all that which rolls, all that which sings, all that which speaks, ask them what time it is; and the wind, the wave, the star, the bird, the clock will reply: 'It is time to get drunk! So that you may not be the martyred slaves of Time, get drunk; get drunk, and never pause for rest! With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you choose!'-- Charles Baudelaire, tr. Michael Hamburger”

“In order not to feel time's horrid fardel bruise your shoulders, grinding you into the earth, get drunk and stay that way. On what? On wine, poetry, virtue, whatever. But get drunk!”