Norman Douglas, un cosmopolita tra Epicureismo e Orfismo

The deepest spirit of Norman Douglas’s pursuit of pleasure can be interpreted as a
form of Dionysian intoxication. In this context, wine becomes a fundamental ingredient
of aphrodisiac intoxication, capable of freeing the deep eros that animated the
writer. This version of eros drew on both Orphic cultures and Epicureism, as part of
the rediscovery of pre-Christian antiquity. By turning to religions that set a low value
on rationality, Douglas believed he might find a more liberated lifestyle, an ambition
that at first was dreamed of and then in many ways realized.