The Sacred Conspiracy. The Internal Papers of the Secret Society of Acéphale and Lectures to the College of Sociology

This book collects together, for the first time in any language, a representative selection of texts by Georges Bataille, and the writers associated with him, in the years leading up to the Second World War. At a pivotal moment of history when an enormous catastrophe was obviously inevitable, Bataille confronted the most intractable problems of human existence head-on. How to live an integrated existence in a ruthless, absurd and indifferent universe? How to oppose repressive social structures given the failure of the democracies, the political left, and with the rise of the Nazi ideology? The texts in this book comprise lectures given to the "College of Sociology" by Bataille, Roger Caillois and Michel Leiris, and a large cache of the internal papers of the secret society of Acéphale founded by Bataille in 1937. The College of Sociology was a semi-public reading and discussion group attended by the cream of Parisian intelligentsia in the ominous atmosphere of the oncoming war. Bataille and Caillois produced some of their greatest texts for these sessions. Acéphale was its "dark", occulted side, a genuine secret society that conducted torch-lit rituals in a forest at night intended to confront death itself. Until the remarkable discovery a few years ago of its internal papers — which include theoretical texts, meditations, minutes of meetings, rules and interdictions and even a membership list — almost nothing was known of its activities. This book reveals the history of one of the strangest associations in "literary", or any other history. In these texts the narrative of a desperate adventure unfolds, of a wholly unreasonable quest: "What we are starting is a war." Bataille risked all in this undertaking, and death was not absent from it; with a few fellow travellers he undertook what he later described as a "journey out of this world". Georges Bataille ; Edited And Introduced By Marina Galletti And Alastair Brotchie ; Translations By Natasha Lehrer, John Harman, Meyer Barash ; With Additional Texts By Roger Caillois, Pierre Klossowski, Michel Leiris ; And By Georges Ambrosino, Pierre Andler, Michel Carrouges, Jacques Chavy, Jean Dautry, Henri Dubief, Henri Dussat, Imre Kelemen, Jean Rollin, Patrick Waldberg ; And With Drawings By André Masson. The Texts Published Here Comprise Lectures Given To The College Of Sociology By Bataille, Caillois And Michel Leiris, Essays From The Acéphale Journal And A Large Cache Of The Internal Papers From The Secret Society. A Desperate Narrative Unfolds, And Bataille Risked All In This Wholly Unreasonable Quest. With A Few Fellow Travellers, He Undertook What He Later Described As A Journey Out Of This World. -- Page 4 Of Cover. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 474-478). Translated From The French. THE 8 CONSPIRACY 9 CONTENTS 11 I 12 II 12 III 12 VII 15 PREFACE 18 UN CADåVRE 94 CHRONOLOGY 112 GEORGES BATAILLE 133 ACÉPHALE 133 SET ABLAZE 133 HERACLITUS 136 CHRONOLOGY 150 COMMENTARIES 154 DIONYSUS 190 Dionysian Virtues 196 Dionysian Virtues ® 198 CHRONOLOGY 224 COMMENTARIES 226 TEXTS 234 CHRONOLOGY 254 COMMENTARIES 260 CHRONOLOGY 316 COMMENTARIES 318 CHRONOLOGY 354 COLLÉGE DE SOCIOLOGIE 354 COMMENTARIES 360 TEXTS 372 COMMENTARIES 422 I 434 II 436 THE PRACTICE OF JOY IN THE FACE OF DEATH 440