LSD: My Problem Child: Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism, and Science

«In the future, I hope that LSD provides to the individual a new worldview, which is in harmony with nature and its laws.» — Hofmann, citado por el editor en una declaración posterior a su centenario, formula lo que espera del LSD: una visión del mundo en armonía con la naturaleza y sus leyes

«I am hopeful because I have the impression that more and more human individuals are becoming conscious, and that the creative spirit, which we call “God,” speaks to us through his creation—through the endlessness of the starry sky, through the beauty and wonder of the living individuals of the plant, the animal, and the human kingdoms.» — de dónde saca Hofmann esa esperanza: cada vez más individuos se vuelven conscientes, y el espíritu creador al que llama Dios habla por su creación —el cielo estrellado, lo vivo vegetal, animal y humano—; la cita viene de la nota del editor, no del cuerpo del libro

«We human beings are able to understand this message because we possess the divine gift of consciousness. This connects us to the universal mind and gives us divine creativity.» — la consciencia como don divino que conecta con la mente universal: para Hofmann es la facultad que permite entender ese mensaje, y de ahí la creatividad

«Any means that helps to expand our individual consciousness—by opening up and sharpening our inner and outer eyes, in order to understand the divine universal message—will help humanity to survive.» — el argumento con que Hofmann justifica los medios de expansión de la consciencia: abrir y afinar los ojos interiores y exteriores para entender el mensaje universal; lo pone como condición de supervivencia, no como recreo

«An understanding of the divine message—in its universal language—would bring an end to the war between the religions of the world.» — la consecuencia que Hofmann extrae de ese entendimiento, y el único punto en que toca la disputa entre religiones

«LOOKING BACK ON My LIFE, I presume that the constellation of stars—or that whatever could determine one’s fate in life— indicated good fortune when I saw the light of day on January 11, 1906 in Baden, Canton of Aargau.» — arranque de la autobiografía que Hofmann escribió para su funeral, traducida del alemán por Elisabeth Riccabona: lee su nacimiento bajo la constelación como buena fortuna, y lo dice en condicional

«My father, Adolf Hofmann, and my mother Elisabeth, born Schenk, met in Miinchenstein, near Basel, where my father worked as a locksmith for one of the subsidiaries of the mechanical engineering group Brown-Boveri.» — los nombres que Hofmann da de sus padres y el oficio del padre, cerrajero en una filial de Brown-Boveri

«My first childhood memory is an image of large red strawberries in the garden where my mother used to carry me around in her arms.» — el primer recuerdo que Hofmann consigna, y el tono con que lleva toda la autobiografía

«There is a comet in the sky. It was the Halley's Comet in 1910.» — el segundo recuerdo, que Hofmann fecha por el cometa Halley

«We were forced to move due to my father’s illness — he was suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis — which had deteriorated, and even the short way from Martinsberg Street to the factory had become too strenuous for him.» — la mudanza que Hofmann llama destierro del paraíso de la infancia, causada por la tuberculosis pulmonar del padre

«During these expeditions I experienced the magic and charm of the Jura landscape, which was in constant change with the seasons.» — las escapadas al bosque del Martinsberg desde el barrio fabril, y lo que Hofmann dice haber encontrado ahí

«It was there that, during enchanted moments, the wonder of creation revealed itself to me in the beauty of nature, and already then forged my view of the world in its basic features.» — la tesis que Hofmann pone en el origen de todo lo demás: en esos momentos encantados la maravilla de la creación se le reveló en la belleza de la naturaleza y ahí quedó forjada su visión del mundo

«My dear godfather Hans Kithni, founder of the Kihni machine factory in Allschwil, paid for the tuition fees at the Minerva private school in Zurich.» — quién le pagó la escuela que le abrió la universidad; el troceo imprime el apellido del padrino de dos maneras en el mismo renglón, *Kithni* y *Kihni*, donde el alemán pide Kühni

«Fascinated by the mysteries of the subject, I decided to study chemistry at the University of Zurich.» — el motivo con que Hofmann explica su elección de carrera

«At the age of 23 I had already finished my Chemistry studies, after only eight semesters and received my Ph.D.» — el dato de su doctorado, a los veintitrés años y en ocho semestres

«In May 1929, I started my professional life, joining the Basel-based Pharmaceutical-Chemical Department of Sandoz Laboratories, whose director was Professor Arthur Stoll.» — fecha de entrada a Sandoz y nombre de quien dirigía el departamento farmacéutico-químico de Basilea

«At the laboratories we were studying the properties of medicinal plants, the kind of work that entirely fulfilled my love of plants.» — Hofmann enlaza el trabajo de laboratorio con su afición de infancia por las plantas

«I found complete satisfaction in my work when isolating, elucidating the chemical structure, and synthesizing the active substances of medicinal plants.» — en qué cifra Hofmann la satisfacción del oficio: aislar, elucidar la estructura química y sintetizar los principios activos de las plantas medicinales

«Valuable drugs like Methergine, Dihydergot, and Hydergine derive from substances I produced during my studies.» — los fármacos que Hofmann declara derivados de sustancias suyas

«By research and chance I discovered the psychoactive agent, which became known worldwide as LSD.» — la fórmula con que Hofmann resume el hallazgo en su propio obituario: investigación y azar a la vez

«In my book titled, LSD: My Problem Child, 1 illustrated the history of LSD and its relation to the Mexican magic mushrooms.» — Hofmann remite a este mismo libro y dice de qué trata: la historia del LSD y su relación con los hongos mágicos mexicanos

«We met in 1934 while on skiing holidays in Arosa.» — cómo y cuándo dice Hofmann que conoció a Anita Guanella, su mujer durante setenta y dos años

«Only some of the many fond memories I have of that wonderful time, the middle of my life, I shall mention here: Our holidays in the Engadin valley, where Anita felt particularly happy as she originally came from the Canton of Graubtinden, the home of her parents. While hiking and mountaineering together we experienced the magic, grandeur and sublime beauty of this high mountain valley. One of the highlights was certainly our ascent to the Bernina peak.» — los recuerdos que Hofmann elige de la mitad de su vida: el valle de la Engadina, la montaña y la ascensión al Bernina; el troceo imprime el cantón como *Graubtinden* donde el alemán pide Graubünden

«I also very fondly remember the great trips to India, Thailand, and particularly the expedition to indigenous Indian areas in Mexico. These trips were part of my work and Anita used to always accompany me.» — Hofmann cuenta que los viajes a la India, Tailandia y la expedición a zonas indígenas de México eran parte de su trabajo y que su mujer siempre lo acompañaba

«I spent my time in the silence of my “hermitage,” writing literary works, publications and dissertations, partly associated with my former occupation, as well as writing down my personal understandings and thoughts on natural philosophy.» — en qué ocupó Hofmann el retiro de Rittimatte: obra literaria, publicaciones y la escritura de sus ideas de filosofía natural, que es la capa con que lee todo el libro

«It was also up at Rittimatte that my circle of life closed itself as I found the paradise of my childhood again, the same landscape as on Martinsberg, where I used to be blissful as a boy, the same meadows with the same flowers and the same view into the far distance.» — el cierre del círculo que Hofmann declara: encontrar de viejo el mismo paisaje del Martinsberg donde de niño tuvo las experiencias visionarias

«Paracelsus described nature and creation as a “book that was written by God’s finger”.» — Hofmann cierra su autobiografía citando a Paracelso: la naturaleza y la creación como libro escrito por el dedo de Dios

«During my life I was given this exhilarating and entirely comforting experience: The one who understands how to read this book, not only with regards to scientific research but with marveling and loving eyes, will find a deeper, wonderful reality revealing itself—a reality in which we are all secure and united for ever and ever.» — la experiencia que Hofmann dice haber recibido y la condición que le pone: leer ese libro no solo con investigación científica sino con ojos que se maravillan y aman; de ahí la realidad más honda en que dice que estamos todos seguros y unidos

«AT THE END OF THE LAST INTRODUCTION, written over 30 years ago, I expressed my hope that the problem child LSD might become a miracle child, if one could learn how to make use of its extraordinary psychic effects.» — Hofmann abre el prefacio de la edición nueva recordando lo que esperó treinta años antes: que el problem child se volviera miracle child si se aprendía a usar sus efectos psíquicos

«But LSD Is sTILL A PROBLEM CHILD.» — el veredicto con que Hofmann contesta a su propia esperanza treinta años después; el troceo imprime las versalitas como mayúsculas y minúsculas mezcladas

«After LSD had been used nearly exclusively in medicine and biological research for decades, it entered the drug scene in the sixties. It was for a time the number one drug in mass consumption, especially in the U.S., with all the problems associated with this.» — la cronología que Hofmann da: décadas de uso casi exclusivamente médico y de investigación biológica, y luego la escena de las drogas en los sesenta

«Following this, the health authorities imposed a draconian prohibition, which also banned the use of LSD and related substances in medical practice, psychiatry and psychology. This ban is still in place today.» — Hofmann llama draconiana a la prohibición y señala su alcance sobre la práctica médica, la psiquiatría y la psicología

«Although this is how the medical use of LSD came to a halt, the private use continues, with all the dangers and difficulties of a drug forced into illegality.» — la asimetría que Hofmann objeta: el uso médico se detuvo y el privado siguió, con los peligros de una droga empujada a la ilegalidad

«This is difficult to understand, because the documented experiences show that use in medical settings is safe, and that LSD can be beneficial as a supplemental medication in psychiatry.» — el argumento de Hofmann contra la negativa a liberar el LSD para uso médico, apoyado en la experiencia documentada

«The ban also looks questionable in another light, after components similar to LSD were found in sacred Mexican drugs that have been used medicinally for thousands of years.» — el segundo argumento de Hofmann: los componentes emparentados con el LSD hallados en drogas sagradas mexicanas usadas como medicina desde hace milenios

«It is no accident that it was LSD which brought these Mexican drugs into my laboratory for chemical analysis. It was the similarity in the psychological effects between these sacred plants and LSD which lead the anthropologists and botanists who had explored their use by the Mazatec in the mountains of southern Mexico to hand the chemical analysis to the same laboratory where LSD was discovered.» — Hofmann explica por qué los análisis de las plantas sagradas mazatecas acabaron en su laboratorio: la semejanza de efectos llevó a antropólogos y botánicos a mandarlos ahí

«The analysis gave the surprising result that the chemical structure of the components extracted from these plants was related closely to the structure of LSD.» — el resultado que Hofmann llama sorprendente y que enlaza las dos mitades del libro

«This resulted in the important finding that LSD belongs chemically, as well as in its psychological effects, to this group of sacred Mexican drugs. Thus the adventure of the discovery of LSD found a surprising continuation 15 years later, in the exciting discovery of ancient sacred drugs—the account of which covers a big part of this book.» — la tesis que Hofmann saca de ahí —el LSD pertenece químicamente y por sus efectos al grupo de las drogas sagradas mexicanas— y el plan del volumen: una continuación del descubrimiento quince años después

«THERE ARE EXPERIENCES that most of us are hesitant to speak about, because they do not conform to everyday reality and defy rational explanation. These are not particular external occurrences, but rather events of our inner lives, which are generally dismissed as figments of the imagination and barred from our memory.» — arranque de la introducción de Hofmann: hay experiencias de las que cuesta hablar porque no encajan en la realidad cotidiana y se descartan como imaginación

«Suddenly, the familiar view of our surroundings is transformed in a strange, delightful, or alarming way: it appears to us in a new light, takes on a special meaning. Such an experience can be as light and fleeting as a breath of air, or it can imprint itself deeply upon our minds.» — cómo describe Hofmann esas experiencias: el entorno familiar transformado, con una luz y un sentido nuevos, y con duración variable

«It happened on a May morning—I have forgotten the year—but I can still point to the exact spot where it occurred, on a forest path on Martinsberg above Baden, Switzerland.» — Hofmann sitúa el episodio que funda su visión del mundo en un camino del Martinsberg, sobre Baden, y declara que ha olvidado el año

«It shone with the most beautiful radiance, speaking to the heart, as though it wanted to encompass me in its majesty. I was filled with an indescribable sensation of joy, oneness, and blissful security.» — los términos con que Hofmann describe la experiencia: resplandor que habla al corazón, y sensación indescriptible de alegría, unidad y seguridad dichosa

«I have no idea how long I stood there spellbound. But I recall the anxious concern I felt as the radiance slowly dissolved and I hiked on: how could a vision that was so real and convincing,» — la abstención que Hofmann declara sobre la duración, y la inquietud que le siguió; la frase cierra en la plana siguiente preguntando cómo pudo acabar tan pronto

«And how could I tell anyone about it, as my overflowing joy compelled me to do, since I knew there were no words to describe what I had seen? It seemed strange that I, as a child, had seen something so marvelous, something that adults obviously did not perceive - for I had never heard them mention it.» — el problema que Hofmann pone desde el principio y que recorre el libro entero: no había palabras para decirlo, y los adultos no parecían percibirlo

«It was these experiences that shaped the main outlines of my worldview and convinced me of the existence of a miraculous, powerful, unfathomable reality that was hidden from everyday sight.» — la tesis fundacional de Hofmann: esas experiencias de infancia le formaron la visión del mundo y le convencieron de una realidad poderosa e insondable oculta a la vista cotidiana

«Because I wanted to gain insight into the structure and essence of matter, I became a research chemist. Intrigued by the plant world since early childhood, I chose to specialize in research on the constituents of medicinal plants.» — el motivo con que Hofmann explica su oficio: quería entender la estructura y la esencia de la materia, y se especializó en los principios de las plantas medicinales

«In the course of this career I was led to the psychoactive, hallucination-causing substances, which under certain conditions can evoke visionary states similar to the spontaneous experiences just described.» — el enlace que Hofmann traza entre la carrera y la infancia: las sustancias psicoactivas evocan, bajo ciertas condiciones, estados visionarios semejantes a los espontáneos

«aware of the great universal significance of visionary experience. It plays a dominant role, not only in mysticism and the history of religion, but also in the creative process in art, literature, and science.» — lo que Hofmann dice haber aprendido de la bibliografía de su oficio: la experiencia visionaria pesa no solo en la mística y la historia de las religiones sino en el proceso creador del arte, la literatura y la ciencia; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«More recent investigations have shown that many persons also have visionary experiences in daily life, though most of us fail to recognize their meaning and value. Mystical experiences, like those that marked my childhood, are apparently far from rare.» — Hofmann dice, con grado, que las experiencias místicas no son raras y que la mayoría no les reconoce sentido ni valor

«There is today a widespread striving for mystical experience, for visionary breakthroughs to a deeper, more comprehensive reality than that perceived by our rational, everyday consciousness. Efforts to transcend our materialistic worldview are being made in various ways, not only by the adherents of Eastern religious movements, but also by professional psychiatrists, who are adopting such profound spiritual experiences as a basic therapeutic principle.» — el diagnóstico de época de Hofmann: una busca extendida de experiencia mística, entre adeptos de movimientos religiosos orientales y también entre psiquiatras profesionales

«I share the belief of many of my contemporaries that the spiritual crisis pervading all spheres of Western industrial society can be remedied only by a change in our worldview. We shall have to shift from the materialistic, dualistic belief that people and their environment are separate, toward a new consciousness of an all-encompassing reality, which embraces the experiencing ego, a reality in which people feel their oneness with animate nature and all of creation.» — la tesis de Hofmann sobre la crisis espiritual de la sociedad industrial y el único remedio que le concede: pasar de la creencia materialista y dualista a una consciencia de realidad total que incluye al ego que la experimenta

«Foremost among such approaches are the various methods of meditation, either in a religious or a secular context, which aim to deepen the consciousness of reality by way of a total mystical experience.» — qué pone Hofmann en primer lugar entre las vías a ese cambio: los métodos de meditación, religiosos o seculares

«Another important, but still controversial, path to the same goal is the use of the consciousness-altering properties of hallucinogenic psychopharmaceuticals. LSD finds such an application in medicine, by helping patients in psychoanalysis» — la segunda vía, que Hofmann declara importante y a la vez controvertida; la frase sigue en la plana 42, donde acaba en la percepción del propio problema en su significado verdadero

«Deliberate provocation of mystical experience, particularly by LSD and related hallucinogens, in contrast to spontaneous visionary experiences, entails dangers that must not be underestimated. Practitioners must take into account the peculiar effects of these substances, namely their ability to influence our consciousness, the innermost essence of our being.» — el límite que Hofmann pone a su propia propuesta: provocar la experiencia mística deliberadamente entraña peligros que no deben subestimarse, porque estas sustancias tocan la consciencia, la esencia más íntima del ser

«The history of LSD to date amply demonstrates the catastrophic consequences that can ensue when its profound effect is misjudged and the substance is mistaken for a pleasure drug.» — de dónde saca Hofmann ese límite: la historia misma del LSD cuando se lo confunde con una droga de placer

«Special internal and external advance preparations are required; with them, an LSD experiment can become a meaningful experience.» — la condición que Hofmann pone para que el experimento tenga sentido: preparación previa interna y externa

«It is my desire in this book to give a comprehensive picture of LSD, its origin, its effects, and its dangers, in order to guard against increasing abuse of this extraordinary drug.» — el propósito declarado del libro por su autor: un cuadro completo del LSD, su origen, sus efectos y sus peligros, para precaver del abuso

«TIME AND AGAIN I hear or read that LSD was discovered by accident. This is only partly true. LSD came into being within a systematic research program,and the “accident” did not occur until much later: when LSD was already five years old, I happened to experience its unforeseeable effects in my own body—or rather, in my own mind.» — Hofmann objeta el relato del hallazgo por accidente: el LSD nació dentro de un programa sistemático y el accidente llegó cinco años después, cuando probó sus efectos en su propio cuerpo, o más bien en su propia mente

«Looking back over my professional career to trace the influential events and decisions that eventually steered my work toward the synthesis of LSD, I realize that the most decisive step was my choice of employment upon completion of my chemistry studies. If that decision had been different, then this substance, which has become known the world over, might never have been created.» — el paso que Hofmann considera decisivo en todo el asunto: la elección de empleo al acabar la carrera

«In the spring of 1929, on concluding my chemistry studies at the University of Zurich, I joined the Sandoz Company’s pharmaceutical-chemical research laboratory in Basel, as a co-worker with Professor Arthur Stoll, founder and director of» — la fecha y el sitio de entrada a Sandoz, como colaborador de Arthur Stoll; la frase termina en la plana siguiente nombrando el departamento farmacéutico

«I chose this position because it afforded me the opportunity to work on natural products, whereas two other job offers from chemical firms in Basel had involved work in the field of synthetic chemistry.» — el criterio con que Hofmann eligió entre tres ofertas: los productos naturales frente a la química sintética

«My doctoral work at Zurich under Professor Paul Karrer had already given me one chance to pursue my interest in plant and animal chemistry. Making use of the gastrointestinal juice of the vineyard snail, I accomplished the enzymatic degradation of chitin, the structural material of which the shells, wings, and claws of insects, crustaceans, and other lower animals are composed. I was able to derive the chemical structure of chitin from the cleavage product, a nitrogen-containing sugar, obtained by this degradation. Chitin turned out to be an analogue of cellulose, the structural material of plants.» — la tesis doctoral de Hofmann sobre la degradación enzimática de la quitina con jugo gastrointestinal del caracol de viña, y el resultado: la quitina como análogo de la celulosa

«This important result, obtained after only three months of research, led to a doctoral thesis rated “with distiction.”» — la calificación que Hofmann consigna de su tesis; el troceo imprime *distiction*

«The objective that Professor Stoll had set for his pharmaceutical-chemical research laboratories was to isolate the active principles (i.e., The effective constituents) of known medicinal plants to produce pure specimens of these substances.» — el objetivo que Hofmann adjudica al laboratorio de Arthur Stoll y que enmarca todo su trabajo: aislar los principios activos de plantas medicinales conocidas en forma pura

«This is particularly important in the case of medicinal plants whose active principles are unstable, or whose potency is subject to great variation, which makes an exact dosage difficult. But if the active principle is available in pure form, it becomes possible to manufacture a stable pharmaceutical preparation, exactly quantifiable by weight.» — la razón práctica que da Hofmann: con el principio activo puro se puede pesar la dosis de una planta inestable

«of recognized value such as the substances from foxglove (Digitalis), Mediterranean squill (Scilla maritima), and ergot of rye (Claviceps purpurea or Secale cornutum), which, owning to their instability and uncertain dosage, had been little used in medicine.» — las tres plantas que Stoll eligió según Hofmann —digital, escila marítima y cornezuelo de centeno—, poco usadas en medicina por inestables; el troceo imprime *owning to* donde el inglés pide owing to

«My main contribution to the Scilla research, in which I participated with enthusiasm, was to elucidate the chemical structure of the common nucleus of Scilla glycosides, showing on the one hand their differences from the Digitalis glycosides, and on the other hand their close structural relationship with the toxic principles isolated from skin glands of toads.» — lo que Hofmann declara como aportación propia a la investigación de la escila: el núcleo común de sus glicósidos y su parentesco estructural con los principios tóxicos de las glándulas cutáneas de los sapos

«Looking for a new field of research, I asked Professor Stoll to let me continue the investigations on the alkaloids of ergot, which he had begun in 1917 and which had led directly to the isolation of ergotamine in 1918.» — el giro de carrera que Hofmann fecha: pidió retomar los alcaloides del cornezuelo que Stoll había empezado en 1917

«Although ergotamine quickly took a significant place in therapeutics (under the trade name Gynergen) as a hemostatic remedy in obstetrics and as a medicament in the treatment of migraine, chemical research on ergot in the Sandoz laboratories was abandoned after the isolation of ergotamine and the determination of its empirical formula.» — Hofmann explica por qué el cornezuelo quedó abandonado en Sandoz pese al éxito terapéutico de la ergotamina como hemostático obstétrico y remedio de la migraña

«So I thought it was high time that Sandoz resumed chemical research on ergot alkaloids, unless we wanted to risk losing our leading role in a field of medicinal research that was already becoming so important.» — el argumento competitivo con que Hofmann dice haber pedido reabrir la línea

«Professor Stoll granted my request, with some misgivings: “I must warn you of the difficulties you face in working with ergot alkaloids. These are exceedingly sensitive, easily decomposed substances, less stable than any of the compounds you have investigated in the cardiac glycoside field. But you are welcome to try.”» — Hofmann cita textualmente la advertencia de Arthur Stoll sobre la fragilidad de los alcaloides del cornezuelo; la voz entre comillas es la de Stoll

«And so the switches were thrown, and I found myself engaged in a field of study that would become the main theme of my professional career.» — la figura ferroviaria con que Hofmann marca el cambio de vía de su carrera

«I have never forgotten the creative joy, the eager anticipation I felt in embarking on the study of ergot alkaloids, at that time a relatively uncharted field of research.» — el registro afectivo que Hofmann le pone al arranque de la investigación

«fungus (Claviceps purpurea) that grows parasitically on rye, and to a lesser extent, on other species of grain and on wild grasses. Kernels infested with this fungus develop into light-brown to violet-brown curved pegs (sclerotia) that push forth from the husk in place of normal grains. Ergot is described botanically as a sclerotium, the form that the ergot fungus takes in winter. Ergot of rye (Secale cornutum) is the variety used medicinally.» — la descripción botánica del cornezuelo que Hofmann da como fondo: esclerocio invernal del hongo sobre el centeno; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Ergot, more than any other drug, has a fascinating history, in the course of which its role and meaning have been reversed: once dreaded as a poison, in the course of time it has become a rich storehouse of valuable remedies.» — la tesis con que Hofmann encuadra la historia del cornezuelo: un papel invertido, de veneno temido a despensa de remedios; es la misma figura que aplicará al LSD

«Ergot first appeared on the stage of history in the early Middle Ages, as the cause of outbreaks of mass poisonings affecting thousands of people at a time. The illness, whose connection with ergot was for a long time obscure, appeared in two characteristic forms, one gangrenous (ergotismus gangraenosus) and the other convulsive (ergotismus convulsivus).» — cuándo y cómo entra el cornezuelo en la historia según Hofmann, con las dos formas del ergotismo, gangrenosa y convulsiva

«Popular names for ergotism—such as “mal des ardents,” “ignis sacer,” “heiliges Feuer,” or “St. Anthony’s fire’—refer to the gangrenous form of the disease. The patron saint of ergotism victims was St. Anthony, and it was primarily the Order of St. Anthony that treated these patients.» — los nombres populares del ergotismo que Hofmann recoge y el patrón de sus víctimas, san Antonio, cuya orden atendía a los enfermos

«With progress in agriculture, and since the realization, in the seventeenth century, that ergot-containing bread was the cause, the frequency and extent of ergotism epidemics diminished considerably.» — Hofmann data en el siglo XVII el reconocimiento de que el pan con cornezuelo era la causa, y le atribuye con la agricultura la caída de las epidemias

«[The mass poisoning in the southern French city of Pont-St. Esprit in the year 1951, which many writers have attributed to ergot-containing bread, actually had nothing to do with ergotism. It rather involved poisoning by an organic mercury compound that was utilized for disinfecting seed.]» — la negativa que Hofmann deja en nota entre corchetes: el envenenamiento masivo de Pont-Saint-Esprit de 1951, atribuido por muchos autores al pan con cornezuelo, no tuvo que ver con el ergotismo sino con un compuesto orgánico de mercurio para desinfectar semilla

«ecbolic (a medicament to precipitate childbirth), is found in the herbal of the Frankfurt city physician Adam Lonitzer (Lonicerus) in the year 1582.» — Hofmann fecha la primera mención del uso medicinal del cornezuelo en el herbario de Adam Lonitzer, médico de Fráncfort; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Although ergot, as Lonitzer stated, had been used since olden times by midwives, it was not until 1808 that this drug gained entry into academic medicine, on the strength of a work by the American physician John Stearns entitled Account of the Putvis Parturiens, a Remedy for Quickening Childbirth.» — Hofmann distingue el uso antiguo entre parteras, que atribuye a Lonitzer, de la entrada en la medicina académica en 1808 por el trabajo de John Stearns; el troceo imprime *Putvis* donde el latín pide Pulvis

«Practitioners became aware quite early of the great danger to the child, owing primarily to the uncertainty of dosage, which when too high led to uterine spasms.» — por qué se abandonó ese uso según Hofmann: el peligro para la criatura, por la incertidumbre de la dosis, que es el problema de fondo de todo el capítulo

«However, of all the researchers who assayed this problem during the first hundred years, not one succeeded in identifying the actual substances responsible for the therapeutic activity.» — el balance que Hofmann hace del primer siglo de intentos de aislar los principios activos

«In 1907, the Englishmen G. Barger and EF. H. Carr were the first to isolate an active alkaloidal preparation, which they named ergotoxine because it produced more of the toxic than therapeutic properties of ergot.» — Hofmann adjudica a Barger y Carr el primer preparado alcaloideo activo y explica el nombre ergotoxina; el troceo imprime la inicial del segundo como *EF.*

«Nevertheless, the pharmacologist H. H. Dale discovered that ergotoxine, besides the uterotonic effect, also had an antagonistic activity on adrenaline in the autonomic nervous system that could lead to the therapeutic use of ergot alkaloids.» — el hallazgo que Hofmann atribuye a H. H. Dale: además del efecto uterotónico, una actividad antagonista de la adrenalina en el sistema nervioso autónomo

«Institute of New York succeeded in isolating and characterizing the nucleus common to all ergot alkaloids. They named it lysergic acid.» — Hofmann adjudica a W. A. Jacobs y L. C. Craig, del Instituto Rockefeller, el aislamiento del núcleo común de todos los alcaloides del cornezuelo y el nombre de ácido lisérgico; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Then came a major development, both for chemistry and for medicine: the isolation of the specifically uterotonic, hemostatic principle of ergot, which was published simultaneously and quite independently by four institutions, including the Sandoz laboratories. The substance, an alkaloid of comparatively simple structure, was named ergobasine (syn. ergometrine, ergonovine) by A. Stoll and E. Burckhardt.» — el aislamiento de la ergobasina, publicado según Hofmann simultánea e independientemente por cuatro instituciones, y el nombre que le dieron Stoll y Burckhardt

«I set as my first goal the problem of preparing this alkaloid synthetically, through chemical linking of the two components of ergobasine, lysergic acid and propanolamine (see structural formulas in the appendix» — la meta con que Hofmann arranca el trabajo del que saldrá el LSD: sintetizar la ergobasina uniendo ácido lisérgico y propanolamina

«Since only ergotamine was available as a pure alkaloid, and was already being produced in kilogram quantities in the pharmaceutical production department, I chose this alkaloid as the starting material for my work.» — de dónde sacó Hofmann el ácido lisérgico de partida

«When I sent the internal requisition form to Professor Stoll for his countersignature, he appeared in my laboratory and reproved me: “If you want to work with ergot alkaloids, you will have to familiarize yourself with the techniques of microchemistry. I can’t have you consuming such a large amount of my expensive ergotamine for your experiments.”» — la segunda reprimenda de Arthur Stoll que Hofmann cita textualmente, sobre la microquímica y el gasto de ergotamina

«I decided to use this less expensive material for the preparation of lysergic acid. The alkaloid obtained from the production department had to be purified further before it would» — la decisión de economía que lleva a Hofmann al cornezuelo portugués y a la ergotoxina; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente

«Observations made during the purification process led me to think that ergotoxine could be a mixture of several alkaloids, rather than one homogeneous alkaloid.» — la sospecha que Hofmann dice haber formado ahí sobre la ergotoxina, y que anuncia como de secuelas de largo alcance

«We were very frugal. Individual laboratories were considered a rare extravagance. During the first six years of my employment with Sandoz, I shared a laboratory with two colleagues. We three chemists, plus an assistant each, worked in the same room on three different fields: Dr. Kreiss on cardiac glycosides; Dr. Wiedemann, who joined Sandoz around the same time as I, on the leaf pigment chlorophyll; and I ultimately on ergot alkaloids.» — las condiciones de trabajo que Hofmann describe en Sandoz: un laboratorio compartido por tres químicos; el troceo imprime aquí *Dr. Kreiss* donde la plana 47 escribe Dr. Walter Kreis

«When we requested that these hoods be equipped with ventilators, our chief refused on the ground that ventilation by gas flame had sufficed in Willstatter’s laboratory.» — la anécdota con que Hofmann muestra la autoridad del maestro sobre el jefe: la ventilación por llama de gas bastaba en el laboratorio de Willstätter; el troceo imprime el apellido sin diéresis

«During the last years of World War I, Professor Stoll had been an assistant in Berlin and Munich to the world-famous chemist and Nobel laureate Professor Richard Willstatter, and with him had conducted the fundamental investigations on chlorophyll and the assimilation of carbon dioxide.» — la filiación científica que Hofmann traza para Arthur Stoll: ayudante de Richard Willstätter en Berlín y Múnich, premio Nobel, en los trabajos sobre la clorofila

«The working techniques available to chemists in the field of organic chemistry at that time (the beginning of the thirties) were essentially the same as those employed by Justus von Liebig a hundred years earlier.» — la comparación con que Hofmann sitúa la técnica de los años treinta: la misma de Liebig un siglo antes

«B. Pregl, which made it possible to ascertain the elemental composition of a compound with only a few milligrams of specimen, whereas earlier a few centigrams were needed.» — Hofmann adjudica a B. Pregl el microanálisis como el avance más importante desde Liebig; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«For the investigations of Scilla glycosides and the first studies in the ergot field, I still used the old separation and purification techniques from Liebig’s day: fractional extraction, fractional precipitation, fractional crystallization, and the like.» — las técnicas con que Hofmann dice haber trabajado, todas heredadas del tiempo de Liebig

«In the technique known as Curtius’ Synthesis, I ultimately found a process that proved useful for combining lysergic acid with amines. With this method I produced a great number of lysergic acid compounds.» — el procedimiento que Hofmann dice haber encontrado para unir el ácido lisérgico con aminas, y que es la puerta de toda la serie

«By combining lysergic acid with the amino alcohol propanolamine, I obtained a compound that was identical to the natural ergot alkaloid ergobasine. With that, the first synthesis—that is, artificial production—of an ergot alkaloid was accomplished.» — la primera síntesis de un alcaloide del cornezuelo que Hofmann se adjudica: la ergobasina obtenida artificialmente

«Indeed, by substitution of the propanolamine contained in ergobasine with the amino alcohol butanolamine, an active principle was obtained that even surpassed the natural alkaloid in its therapeutic properties.» — cómo llegó Hofmann a la Metergina: sustituyendo la propanolamina de la ergobasina por butanolamina

«I further employed my synthetic procedure to produce new lysergic acid compounds for which uterotonic activity was not prominent, but from which, on the basis of their chemical structure, other types of interesting pharmacological properties could be expected.» — el criterio con que Hofmann siguió produciendo derivados del ácido lisérgico sin actividad uterotónica prominente

«In 1938, I produced the twenty-fifth substance in this series of lysergic acid derivatives: lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD-25 (Lyserg-saure-diathylamid) for laboratory usage.» — la fecha y el lugar de serie del LSD según su autor: 1938, la vigesimoquinta sustancia, de donde sale la abreviatura LSD-25

«I had planned the synthesis of this compound with the intention of obtaining a circulatory and respiratory stimulant (an analeptic). Such stimulating properties could be expected for lysergic acid diethylamide, because it shows similarity in chemical structure to the analeptic already known at that time, namely nicotinic acid diethylamide (Coramine).» — qué buscaba Hofmann al planear la síntesis: un analéptico, estimulante circulatorio y respiratorio, por su parecido con la dietilamida del ácido nicotínico

«During the testing of LSD-25 in the pharmacological department of Sandoz, whose director at the time was Professor Ernst Rothlin, a strong effect on the uterus was established. It amounted to some 70 percent of the activity of ergobasine. The research report also noted, in passing, that the experimental animals became restless during the narcosis.» — lo que dio la primera prueba farmacológica bajo Ernst Rothlin, y el detalle anotado de paso —los animales se inquietaban— que nadie siguió

«The new substance, however, aroused no special interest in our pharmacologists and physicians; testing was therefore discontinued.» — el desenlace de aquella primera prueba: sin interés para farmacólogos ni médicos de la casa

«For the next five years, nothing more was heard of the substance LSD-25.» — el intervalo de cinco años que Hofmann marca entre la síntesis y el hallazgo

«This doubt as to the homogeneity of ergotoxine was reinforced when in its hydrogenation two distinctly different hydrogenation products were obtained, whereas the homogeneous alkaloid ergotamine under the same condition yielded only a single hydrogenation product» — la prueba con que Hofmann dice haber reforzado su sospecha sobre la ergotoxina: dos productos de hidrogenación distintos donde la ergotamina daba uno solo

«Extended, systematic analytical investigations of the supposed ergotoxine mixture led ultimately to the separation of this alkaloidal preparation into three homogeneous components.» — el resultado de la separación que Hofmann declara: la ergotoxina era una mezcla de tres componentes

«The first I named ergocornine; and for the second, the last to be isolated, which had long remained hidden in the mother liquor, I chose the name ergokryptine (kryptos meaning hidden» — los nombres que Hofmann dice haber puesto, y la razón del segundo: se había quedado escondido en las aguas madres

«The three hydrogenated ergotoxine alkaloids that I produced in the course of these investigations, dihydroergocristine, dihydroergokryptine, and dihydroergocornine, displayed medicinally useful properties during testing by Professor Rothlin in the pharmacological department. From these three substances, the pharmaceutical preparation Hydergine was developed, a medicament for improvement of peripheral circulation and cerebral function in the control of geriatric disorders.» — el remedio que Hofmann adjudica a ese trabajo, la Hidergina, probada por Rothlin, para la circulación periférica y la función cerebral en geriatría

«While today research on important projects is almost exclusively carried out as teamwork, the investigations on ergot alkaloids described above were conducted by myself alone.» — la declaración con que Hofmann reclama para sí el trabajo entero sobre los alcaloides del cornezuelo, frente al trabajo en equipo de hoy

«The solution of the ergotoxine problem had led to fruitful results, described here only briefly, and had opened up further avenues of research. And yet I could not forget the relatively uninteresting LSD-25.» — el giro con que Hofmann introduce el hallazgo: pese al éxito de la otra línea, no podía olvidar el compuesto descartado

«A peculiar presentiment—the feeling that this substance could possess properties other than those established in the first investigations—induced me, five years after the first synthesis, to produce LSD-25 once again so that a sample could be given to the pharmacological department for further tests.» — la razón que Hofmann da para repetir la síntesis cinco años después, y la nombra presentimiento peculiar, no hipótesis

«This was quite unusual; experimental substances, as a rule, were definitely stricken from the research program if once found to be lacking in pharmacolegical interest.» — Hofmann subraya lo excepcional del gesto contra la norma del programa de investigación; el troceo imprime *pharmacolegical*

«Nevertheless, in the spring of 1943, I repeated the synthesis of LSD-25. As in the first synthesis, this involved the production of only a few centigrams of the compound.» — la fecha de la segunda síntesis, en la primavera de 1943, y la cantidad

«In the final step of the synthesis, during the purification and crystallization of lysergic acid diethylamide in the form of a tartrate (tartaric acid salt), I was interrupted in my work by unusual sensations. The following description of this incident comes from the report that I sent at the time to Professor Stoll:» — Hofmann presenta el pasaje siguiente como el informe que mandó entonces a Arthur Stoll, no como recuerdo posterior

«Last Friday, April 16,1943, I was forced to interrupt my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and proceed home, being affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicatedlike condition,characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After some two hours this condition faded away.» — el protocolo del 16 de abril de 1943 tal como Hofmann dice haberlo escrito a Stoll: interrupción del trabajo, inquietud, ligero mareo, y un flujo ininterrumpido de imágenes fantásticas con juego caleidoscópico de colores durante unas dos horas; el troceo imprime la fecha sin espacio, *April 16,1943*, junta *condition,characterized* y parte *intoxicated-like* a fin de renglón, de modo que la extracción la devuelve fundida

«This was, altogether, a remarkable experience—both in its sudden onset and its extraordinary course. It seemed to have resulted from some external toxic influence; I surmised a connection with the substance I had been working with at the time, lysergic acid diethylamide tartrate. But this led to another question: how had I managed to absorb this material?» — cómo razonó Hofmann sobre el episodio: influencia tóxica externa, sospecha sobre el tartrato de dietilamida del ácido lisérgico, y la pregunta por la vía de absorción

«Possibly a bit of the LSD solution had contacted my fingertips during crystallization, and a trace of the substance was absorbed through the skin. If LSD-25 had indeed been the cause of this bizarre experience, then it must be a substance of extraordinary potency. There seemed to be only one way of getting to the bottom of this. I decided on a self-experiment.» — la hipótesis que Hofmann propone —absorción por la piel de las yemas— y la conclusión que le sigue: si era eso, se trataba de una sustancia de potencia extraordinaria, y solo cabía el autoexperimento

«Exercising extreme caution, I began the planned series of experiments with the smallest quantity that could be expected to produce some effect, considering the activity of the ergot alkaloids known at the time: namely, 0.25 mg (mg = milligram =» — la dosis con que Hofmann arrancó la serie, elegida como la más pequeña que cabía esperar activa según lo conocido de los alcaloides del cornezuelo; la aclaración de unidades acaba en la plana siguiente

«Quoted below is the entry for this experiment in my laboratory journal of April 19, 1943.» — Hofmann fecha y nombra la fuente del protocolo que sigue: su propio diario de laboratorio

«4/19/43 16:20: 0.5 cc of 1/2 promil aqueous solution of diethylamide tartrate orally = 0.25 mg tartrate. Taken diluted with about 10 cc water. Tasteless. 17:00: Beginning dizziness, feeling of anxiety, visual distortions, symptoms of paralysis, desire to laugh. Supplement of 4/21: Home by bicycle. From 18:00- ca.20:00 most severe crisis. (See special report.» — el asiento del diario de laboratorio del 19 de abril de 1943, con la hora, la dosis, el sabor, el comienzo de los síntomas y la vuelta a casa en bicicleta anotada dos días después; la crisis más severa queda remitida a un informe aparte

«Here the notes in my laboratory journal cease. I was able to write the last words only with great effort.» — el límite del registro que Hofmann marca: a partir de ahí no pudo seguir escribiendo

«By now it was already clear to me that LSD had been the cause of the remarkable experience of the previous Friday, for the altered perceptions were of the same type as before, only much more intense.» — la inferencia que Hofmann dice haber hecho en pleno efecto, comparando con el viernes anterior

«We went by bicycle, no automobile being available because of wartime restrictions on their use.» — la razón de la bicicleta, que Hofmann da al pasar: las restricciones de guerra al uso del automóvil

«On the way home, my condition began to assume threatening forms. Everything in my field of vision wavered and was distorted as if seen in a curved mirror. I also had the sensation of being unable to move from the spot.» — lo que Hofmann reporta del trayecto: todo ondulaba y se deformaba como en un espejo curvo, y la sensación de no avanzar, que el ayudante desmintió después

«In spite of my delirious, bewildered condition, I had brief periods of clear and effective thinking—and chose milk as a nonspecific antidote for poisoning.» — el resto de lucidez que Hofmann consigna y la decisión práctica que tomó con él: la leche como antídoto inespecífico

«The lady next door, whom I scarcely recognized, brought me milk—in the course of the evening I drank more than two liters. She was no longer Mrs. R., but rather a malevolent, insidious witch with a colored mask.» — la transformación de la vecina que Hofmann reporta, y la cantidad de leche que dice haber bebido

«Even worse than these demonic transformations of the outer world were the alterations that I perceived in myself, in my inner being. Every exertion of my will, every attempt to put an end to the disintegration of the outer world and the dissolution of my ego, seemed to be wasted effort.» — dónde pone Hofmann lo peor de la crisis: no en la deformación del mundo exterior sino en la disolución del propio ego, contra la que la voluntad no podía nada

«A demon had invaded me, had taken possession of my body, mind, and soul. I jumped up and screamed, trying to free myself from him, but then sank down again and lay helpless on the sofa. The substance, with which I had wanted to experiment, had vanquished me. It was the demon that scornfully triumphed over my will.» — los términos con que Hofmann describe la crisis, en lenguaje de posesión: un demonio que se había adueñado de cuerpo, mente y alma y triunfaba sobre su voluntad

«I was seized by the dreadful fear of going insane. I was taken to another world, another place, another time. My body seemed to be without sensation, lifeless, strange. Was I dying? Was this the transition?» — las preguntas que Hofmann dice haberse hecho en el punto más hondo, entre el miedo a enloquecer y la sospecha de estar muriendo

«At times I believed myself to be outside my body, and then perceived clearly, as an outside observer, the complete tragedy of my situation.» — el desdoblamiento que Hofmann reporta: percibirse desde fuera como observador de su propia situación

«Would they ever understand that I had not experimented thoughtlessly, irresponsibly, but rather with the utmost caution, and that such a result was in no way foreseeable?» — la preocupación moral que Hofmann consigna en plena crisis, y que es la defensa de su método: extrema cautela y resultado imprevisible

«Another reflection took shape, an idea full of bitter irony: if I was now forced to leave this world prematurely, it was because of this lysergic acid diethylamide that I myself had brought forth» — la ironía que Hofmann dice haber pensado en la crisis: moriría por la misma dietilamida que él había traído al mundo; la frase cierra en la plana siguiente con las palabras *into the world*

«By the time the doctor arrived, the climax of my despondent condition had already passed. My laboratory assistant informed him about my self-experiment, as I myself was not yet able to formulate a coherent sentence. He shook his head in perplexity, after my attempts to describe the mortal danger that threatened my body. He could detect no abnormal symptoms other than extremely dilated pupils.» — lo que el médico de familia halló según Hofmann: ningún síntoma anormal salvo las pupilas muy dilatadas, frente al peligro mortal que el paciente describía

«Pulse, blood pressure, breathing were all normal. He saw no reason to prescribe any medication. Instead he conveyed me to my bed and stood watch over me.» — el resto de la exploración y la decisión del médico, que no recetó nada

«Slowly I came back from a weird, unfamiliar world to reassuring everyday reality. The horror softened and gave way to a feeling of good fortune and gratitude, the more normal perceptions and thoughts returned, and I became more confident that the danger of insanity was conclusively past.» — el giro de la crisis que Hofmann marca: del horror a un sentimiento de fortuna y gratitud

«Now, little by little I could begin to enjoy the unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind my closed eyes. Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images surged in on me, alternating, variegated, opening and then closing themselves in circles and spirals, exploding in colored fountains, rearranging and hybridizing themselves in constant flux.» — la descripción de la fase visual que Hofmann da una vez pasado el miedo: imágenes caleidoscópicas que se abren y cierran en círculos y espirales y estallan en fuentes de color

«It was particularly remarkable how every acoustic perception, such as the sound of a door handle or a passing automobile, became transformed into optical perceptions. Every sound generated a vividly changing image, with its own consistent form and color.» — la sinestesia que Hofmann destaca como lo más notable: cada sonido se volvía imagen con forma y color propios

«Exhausted, I then slept, to awake next morning refreshed, with a clear head, though still somewhat tired physically. A sensation of well-being and renewed life flowed through me. Breakfast tasted delicious and gave me extraordinary pleasure.» — el estado del día siguiente que Hofmann reporta, sin resaca y con sensación de vida renovada

«walked out into the garden, in which the sun shone now after a spring rain, everything glistened and sparkled in a fresh light. The world was as if newly created. All my senses vibrated in a condition of highest sensitivity, which persisted for the entire day.» — el efecto que Hofmann dice haber tenido al día siguiente en el jardín: el mundo como recién creado y los sentidos en sensibilidad máxima; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«This self-experiment showed that LSD-25 behaved as a psychoactive substance with extraordinary properties and potency. There was to my knowledge no other known substance that evoked such profound psychic effects in such extremely low doses, that caused such dramatic changes in human consciousness and our experience of the inner and outer world.» — la conclusión que Hofmann saca del autoexperimento: ninguna sustancia conocida daba efectos psíquicos tan hondos en dosis tan bajas

«What seemed even more significant was that I could remember the experience of LSD inebriation in every detail. This could only mean that the conscious recording function was not interrupted, even in the climax of the LSD experience, despite the profound breakdown of the normal worldview.» — el dato que Hofmann considera más significativo: la función consciente de registro no se interrumpió ni en el clímax, y por eso recordaba todo

«For the entire duration of the experiment, I had even been aware of participating in an experiment, but despite this recognition of my condition, I could not, with every exertion of my will, shake off the LSD world.» — la paradoja que Hofmann consigna: sabía que estaba en un experimento y aun así no podía salir del mundo del LSD por voluntad

«Everything was experienced as completely real, as alarming reality; alarming, because the picture of the other, familiar everyday reality was still fully preserved in the memory for comparison.» — por qué Hofmann llama alarmante a esa realidad: la otra, la cotidiana, seguía entera en la memoria para comparar

«Another surprising aspect of LSD was its ability to produce such a far-reaching, powerful state of inebriation without leaving a hangover.» — el rasgo farmacológico que Hofmann subraya frente a los embriagantes conocidos

«I was aware that LSD, a new active compound with such properties, would have to be of use in pharmacology, in neurology, and especially in psychiatry, and that it would attract the interest of concerned specialists. But at that time I had no inkling that the new substance would also come to be used beyond medical science, as an inebriant in the drug scene.» — lo que Hofmann dice haber previsto —el interés de la farmacología, la neurología y sobre todo la psiquiatría— y lo que declara no haber sospechado: el uso como embriagante fuera de la medicina

«demonic aspect, the last thing I could have expected was that this substance could ever find application as anything approaching a pleasure drug.» — el argumento con que Hofmann explica esa ceguera: su autoexperimento le había mostrado la cara terrorífica y demoníaca de la sustancia; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I failed, moreover, to recognize the meaningful connection between LSD inebriation and spontaneous visionary experience until much later, after further experiments, which were carried out with far lower doses and under different conditions.» — la segunda cosa que Hofmann declara no haber visto entonces: el enlace entre la embriaguez del LSD y la experiencia visionaria espontánea, que solo apareció con dosis mucho menores y otras condiciones

«The next day I wrote to Professor Stoll the abovementioned report about my extraordinary experience with LSD-25 and sent a copy to the director of the pharmacological department, Professor Rothlin.» — a quiénes mandó Hofmann el informe del experimento

«Instantly a telephone call came from the management; Professor Stoll asked: “Are you certain you made no mistake in the weighing? Is the stated dose really correct?”» — la pregunta que Hofmann pone en boca de Arthur Stoll al recibir el informe, y que Rothlin repitió

«Yet their doubts were justified to some extent, for until then no known substance had displayed even the slightest psychic effect in fraction-of-a-milligram doses. An active compound of such potency seemed almost unbelievable.» — Hofmann concede la razón de la duda: ninguna sustancia conocida daba efecto psíquico en dosis de fracción de miligramo

«Professor Rothlin himself and two of his colleagues were the first to repeat my experiment, with only one-third of the dose I had utilized. But even at that level, the effects were still extremely impressive, and quite fantastic. All doubts about the statements in my report were eliminated.» — la réplica del experimento que Hofmann adjudica a Rothlin y dos colegas, con un tercio de su dosis

«AETER THE DISCOVERY Of its extraordinary psychic effects, the substance LSD-25, which five years earlier had been excluded from further investigation after the first trials on animals, was again admitted into the series of experimental preparations.» — arranque del capítulo sobre los experimentos con animales: el compuesto excluido cinco años antes vuelve a la serie; el troceo imprime *AETER* donde el inglés pide After

«Most of the fundamental studies on animals were carried out by Dr. Aurelio Cerletti in the Sandoz pharmacological department, headed by Professor Rothlin.» — a quién adjudica Hofmann el grueso de los estudios fundamentales en animales

«Only the most important reports on animal experiments with LSD, and those intelligible to the layperson, will be reviewed here. It would greatly exceed the scope of this book if I attempted to mention all the results of several hundred pharmacological investigations, which have been conducted all over the world in connection with the fundamental work on LSD in the Sandoz laboratories.» — el recorte que Hofmann declara para este capítulo, y la escala del campo: varios centenares de investigaciones farmacológicas en el mundo

«Animal experiments reveal little about the mental alterations caused by LSD because psychic effects are scarcely determinable in lower animals, and even in the more highly developed, they can be established only to a limited extent.» — el límite de método que Hofmann pone al experimento animal: los efectos psíquicos apenas son determinables ahí

«LSD produces its effects above all in the sphere of the higher and highest psychic and intellectual functions. It is therefore understandable that specific reactions to LSD can be expected only in higher animals.» — dónde sitúa Hofmann el efecto del LSD: en las funciones psíquicas e intelectuales más altas, de donde saca que solo los animales superiores darían reacciones específicas

«Subtle psychic changes cannot be established in animals because, even if they should be occurring, the animal could not give them expression. Thus, only relatively heavy psychic disturbances, expressing themselves in the altered behavior of research animals, become discernible.» — el argumento de fondo: el animal no puede expresar el cambio, así que solo se ve lo grueso; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«While the mouse under LSD shows only motor disturbances and alterations in licking behavior, in the cat we see, besides vegetative symptoms like bristling of the hair (piloerection) and salivation, indications that point to the existence of hallucinations. The animals stare anxiously in the air, and instead of attacking the mouse, the cat leaves it alone or will even stand in fear before the mouse.» — lo que Hofmann reporta del gato bajo LSD, y por qué lo lee como indicio de alucinación: no ataca al ratón y llega a temerle

«A caged community of chimpanzees reacts very sensitively if a member of the tribe has received LSD. Even though no changes appear in this single animal, the whole cage gets in an uproar because the LSD chimpanzee no longer observes the laws of its finely coordinated hierarchic tribal order.» — el experimento con chimpancés que Hofmann destaca: el animal tratado no cambia a la vista, y la jaula entera se altera porque deja de observar el orden jerárquico

«At very low optimum doses the webs were even better proportioned and more exactly built than normally; however, with higher doses, the webs were badly and rudimentarily made.» — lo que Hofmann consigna de las arañas, con la observación que cuesta encajar: en dosis óptimas muy bajas las telas salían mejor proporcionadas que de costumbre

«A standard for the toxicity of a substance is the LD50, or the median lethal dose, that is, the dose with which 50 percent of the treated animals die.» — la definición que Hofmann da del patrón de toxicidad con que trabaja el capítulo

«mouse amounts to 50-60 mg/kg IV (that is, 50 to 60 thousandths of a gram of LSD per kilogram of animal weight upon injection of an LSD solution into the veins). In the rat the LD50 drops to 16.5 mg/kg, and in rabbits to 0.3 mg/kg.» — las cifras de dosis letal media que Hofmann da para ratón, rata y conejo; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«One elephant given 0.297 g of LSD died after a few minutes. The weight of this animal was determined to be 5,000 kg, which corresponds to a lethal dose of 0.06 mg/kg» — el caso del elefante que Hofmann consigna con su peso y su dosis letal calculada

«Because this involves only a single case, this value cannot be generalized, but we can at least deduce from it that the largest land animal reacts proportionally very sensitively to LSD, since the lethal dose in elephants must be some 1,000 times lower than in the mouse.» — el grado que Hofmann le pone a ese dato: caso único, no generalizable, y aun así permite deducir la sensibilidad proporcional del animal terrestre mayor

«The minute doses that cause death in animal experiments may give the impression that LSD is a very toxic substance. However, if one compares the lethal dose in animals with the effective dose in human beings, which is 0.0003-0.001 mg/kg (0.0003 to 0.001 thousandths of a gram per kilogram of body weight), this shows an extraordinarily low toxicity for LSD.» — la comparación con que Hofmann enmienda la impresión de toxicidad: frente a la dosis eficaz en el ser humano, la toxicidad resulta extraordinariamente baja

«These comparisons of relative toxicity are, to be sure, only understandable as estimates of orders of magnitude, for the determination of the therapeutic index (that is, the ratio between the effective and the lethal dose) is only meaningful within a given species.» — el límite que Hofmann pone a su propia comparación: el índice terapéutico solo tiene sentido dentro de una misma especie

«Such a procedure is not possible in this case because the lethal dose of LSD for humans is not known. To my knowledge, there have not as yet occurred any casualties that are a direct consequence of LSD poisoning.» — la abstención que Hofmann declara: no se conoce la dosis letal para el ser humano, y hasta donde sabe no ha habido muertes por envenenamiento directo

«Numerous episodes of fatal consequences attributed to LSD ingestion have indeed been recorded, but these were accidents, even suicides, that may be attributed to the mentally disoriented condition of LSD intoxication.» — cómo lee Hofmann las muertes atribuidas al LSD: accidentes y suicidios imputables al estado de desorientación mental, no al veneno

«in the unpredictability of its psychic effects.» — dónde sitúa Hofmann el peligro real del LSD, y es la tesis del capítulo entero; la frase arranca en la plana anterior con las palabras *The danger of LSD lies not in its toxicity, but rather*

«Some years ago reports appeared in the scientific literature and also in the lay press, alleging that damage to chromosomes or the genetic material had been caused by LSD.» — Hofmann introduce la acusación de daño cromosómico que circuló en la prensa científica y en la general

«Subsequent comprehensive investigations of a large, statistically significant number of cases, however, showed that there was no connection between chromosome anomalies and LSD medication.» — lo que Hofmann opone a esa acusación: investigaciones posteriores sobre un número estadísticamente significativo que no hallaron conexión

«In animal experiments, it is indeed possible to induce fetal deformities through extremely high doses of LSD, which lie well above the doses used in human beings. But under these conditions, even harmless substances produce such damage.» — la concesión que Hofmann hace sobre las malformaciones fetales y el límite con que la acota: dosis muy por encima de las humanas, en las que también sustancias inocuas dañan

«If there had been any such connection, it would long since have attracted attention, for several million people by now have taken LSD.» — el argumento de escala con que Hofmann cierra el punto: varios millones de personas habían tomado LSD para entonces

«Experiments on mice with radioactively labeled LSD have established that intravenously injected LSD disappeared, down to a small vestige, very rapidly from the bloodstream and was distributed throughout the organism.» — lo que da el LSD marcado radiactivamente en ratones según Hofmann

«Unexpectedly, the lowest concentration is found in the brain. It is concentrated here in certain centers of the midbrain that play a role in the regulation of emotion.» — el hallazgo que Hofmann llama inesperado: la concentración más baja es la del cerebro, y ahí se localiza en centros del mesencéfalo ligados a la emoción

«The elimination of LSD is conducted for the most part (up to some 80 percent) through the intestine via liver and bile. Only one to 10 percent of the elimination product exists as unaltered LSD; the remainder is made up of various transformation products.» — la vía de eliminación que Hofmann describe, y la proporción que sale sin alterar

«As the psychic effects of LSD persist even after it can no longer be detected in the organism, we must assume that LSD is not active as such, but that it rather triggers certain biochemical, neurophysiological, and psychic mechanisms that provoke the inebriated condition and continue in the absence of the active principle.» — la inferencia que Hofmann saca de que el efecto dure más que la sustancia: el LSD no actuaría como tal sino disparando mecanismos que siguen sin él

«An especially interesting pharmacological property of LSD, discovered by J. H. Gaddum in England, is its serotonin-blocking effect.» — la propiedad que Hofmann adjudica a J. H. Gaddum en Inglaterra

«However, it was soon shown that even certain derivatives of LSD (compounds in which the chemical structure of LSD is slightly modified), that exhibit no hallucinogenic properties, inhibit the effects of serotonin just as strongly, or yet more strongly, than unaltered LSD.» — la objeción que Hofmann opone a explicar el efecto psíquico por el bloqueo de la serotonina: derivados sin propiedades alucinógenas lo bloquean igual o más

«As yet we do not know the biochemical mechanisms through which LSD exerts its psychic effects. Investigations of the interactions of LSD with brain factors like serotonin and dopamine, however, are examples of how LSD can serve as a tool in brain research, in the study of the biochemical processes that underlie the psychic functions.» — la abstención con que Hofmann cierra el capítulo, y el uso que en cambio le concede a la sustancia: herramienta para la investigación del cerebro

«WHEN A NEW TYPE of active compound is discovered in pharmaceutical-chemical research, whether by isolation from a plant drug or from animal organs, or through synthetic production as in the case of LSD, then the chemist attempts, through alterations in its molecular structure, to produce new compounds with similar, perhaps improved activity, or with other valuable active properties.» — Hofmann explica qué es una modificación química y por qué se hace, como marco del capítulo

«Of the approximately 20,000 new substances that are produced annually in the pharmaceutical-chemical research laboratories of the world, the overwhelming majority are modification products of proportionally few types of active compounds.» — la escala que Hofmann da de la producción anual de sustancias nuevas y su carácter derivado

«The discovery of a really new type of active substance - new with regard to chemical structure and pharmacological effect - is a rare stroke of luck.» — cómo califica Hofmann el hallazgo de un tipo de sustancia verdaderamente nuevo, que es el lugar donde él pone el suyo

«Working with Dr. Franz Troxler, I produced a great number of chemical modifications of LSD, and we attempted to gain further insights into the structure of lysergic acid, for which the American researchers had already proposed a structural formula.» — con quién trabajó Hofmann las modificaciones del LSD y qué buscaba además

«The investigations of the peptide alkaloids of ergot led to the complete structural formulas of these substances, which we published in 1951. Their correctness was confirmed through the total synthesis of ergotamine, which was realized ten years later in collaboration with two younger coworkers, Dr. Albert J. Frey and Dr. Hans Ott.» — las fórmulas que, según Hofmann, la síntesis total de la ergotamina vino a afianzar diez años después, con los nombres de los colaboradores

«Many LSD derivatives were produced, since 1945, in collaboration with Dr. Troxler, but none proved hallucinogenically more active than LSD. Indeed, the very closest relatives proved themselves essentially less active in this respect.» — el resultado que Hofmann declara del programa de modificación: ningún derivado resultó más alucinógeno que el LSD, y los más cercanos, bastante menos

«Besides LSD, which is more precisely designated as D-lysergic acid diethylamide, I have also produced and likewise tested in self-experiments the three other spatially different forms, namely D-isolysergic acid diethylamide (iso-LSD), L-lysergic acid diethylamide (L-LSD), and L-isolysergic acid diethylamide» — las cuatro formas espaciales de la molécula que Hofmann dice haber producido y probado, las tres restantes también en autoexperimentos

«The last three forms of LSD showed no psychic effects up to a dose of 0.5 mg, which corresponds to a 20-fold quantity of a still distinctly active LSD dose.» — el resultado de esos autoexperimentos: nada a veinte veces la dosis activa del LSD

«A substance very closely related to LSD, the monoethylamide of lysergic acid (LAE-23), in which an ethyl group is replaced by a hydrogen atom on the diethylamide residue of LSD, proved to be some ten times less psychoactive than LSD.» — la comparación de potencia que Hofmann da para la monoetilamida del ácido lisérgico

«characterized by a narcotic component. This narcotic effect is yet more pronounced in lysergic acid amide (LA-111), in which both ethyl groups of LSD are displaced by hydrogen atoms.» — la diferencia cualitativa que Hofmann señala, un componente narcótico más marcado en la amida del ácido lisérgico; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«These effects, which I established in comparative self-experiments with LA-I11 and LAE-32, were corroborated by subsequent clinical investigations.» — Hofmann declara el método con que fijó esas diferencias —autoexperimentos comparativos— y dice que las investigaciones clínicas posteriores lo afianzaron; el troceo imprime las siglas como *LA-I11* y *LAE-32* donde antes escribe LA-111 y LAE-23

«Fifteen years later we encountered lysergic acid amide, which had been produced synthetically for these investigations, as a naturally occurring active principle of the Mexican magic drug ololiuhqui.» — el enlace que Hofmann anuncia entre las dos mitades del libro: la amida sintetizada aquí reapareció como principio activo natural del ololiuhqui

«Certain results of the chemical modification of LSD proved valuable to medicinal research; LSD derivatives were found that were only weakly or not at all hallucinogenic, but instead exhibited other effects of LSD to an increased extent.» — el rendimiento médico que Hofmann adjudica al programa: derivados poco o nada alucinógenos con otros efectos aumentados

«As serotonin plays a role in allergic-inflammatory processes and also in the generation of migraine, a specific serotonin-blocking substance was of great significance to medicinal research. We therefore searched systematically for LSD derivatives without hallucinogenic effects, but with the highest possible activity as serotonin blockers.» — por qué Hofmann buscó bloqueadores de serotonina sin efecto alucinógeno: la serotonina interviene en lo alérgico-inflamatorio y en la migraña

«The most active entered the medicinal market as a medicament for the treatment of migraine, under the trademark “Deseril” or, in English-speaking countries, “Sansert.”» — el remedio contra la migraña que sale de esa línea, con sus dos nombres comerciales

«In 1949 we succeeded in correcting this formula and specifying the valid structure of this common» — lo que Hofmann adjudica a su equipo en 1949: enmendar la fórmula estructural propuesta por los investigadores estadounidenses y fijar la válida; la frase sigue en la plana 70 y acaba en *nucleus of all ergot alkaloids, including of course LSD*, y se corta aquí porque el folio de la plana entra a media frase

«SOON AFTER LSD was tried on animals, the first systematic investigation of the substance was carried out on human beings, at the psychiatric clinic of the University of Zurich.» — dónde sitúa Hofmann la primera investigación sistemática en seres humanos

«Werner A. Stoll, M.D. (a son of Professor Arthur Stoll), who led this research, published his results in 1947 in the Schweizer Archiv fur Neurologie und Psychiatrie, under the title “Lysergsaure-diathylamid, ein Phantastikum aus der Mutterkorngruppe” [Lysergic acid diethylamide, a phantasticum from the ergot group» — Hofmann nombra a Werner A. Stoll, hijo de Arthur Stoll, y da la referencia de 1947 con el título alemán que clasifica al LSD como *Phantastikum* del grupo del cornezuelo; el prólogo de Grof lo llama Walter A. Stoll y la divergencia queda sin arbitrar

«The dosages—substantially lower than in my first self-experiment with 0.25 mg LSD tartrate—amounted to only 0.02 to 0.13 mg.» — la comparación de dosis que Hofmann hace con su propio autoexperimento

«The emotional state during the LSD inebriation was here predominantly euphoric, whereas in my experiment the mood was marked by grave side effects resulting from overdosage and, of course, fear of the uncertain outcome.» — cómo explica Hofmann la diferencia de tono entre aquel ensayo, eufórico, y el suyo, marcado por la sobredosis y por el miedo al desenlace

«This fundamental publication, which gave a scientific description of all the basic features of LSD inebriation, classified the new active principle as a phantasticum.» — el nombre bajo el que aquel trabajo clasifica al principio activo, uno de los términos que el bloque psicodélico de la casa tiene pendientes

«However, the question of therapeutic application of LSD remained unanswered.» — lo que Hofmann señala que aquel primer trabajo dejó sin contestar

«On the other hand, the report emphasized the extraordinarily high activity of LSD, which corresponds to the activity of trace substances occurring in the organism that are considered to be responsible for certain mental disorders.» — la comparación que Hofmann destaca del informe: la actividad del LSD corresponde a la de sustancias traza del propio organismo que se tienen por responsables de ciertos trastornos mentales

«In his paper, W. A. Stoll also gave a detailed description of his own personal experiment with LSD. Since this was the first self-experiment published by a psychiatrist, and since it describes many characteristic features of LSD inebriation, it is interesting to quote extensively from the report. I warmly thank the author for kind permission to republish this extract.» — Hofmann declara la procedencia y el permiso del protocolo que sigue: el primer autoexperimento publicado por un psiquiatra

«At eight o'clock I took 60 mcg (0.06 milligrams) of LSD. Some 20 minutes later, the first symptoms appeared: heaviness in the limbs, slight atactic (i.e., confused, uncoordinated) symptoms. A subjectively very unpleasant phase of general malaise followed, in parallel with the drop in blood pressure registered by the examiners.» — arranque del protocolo de Werner A. Stoll que Hofmann reproduce: hora, dosis, y los primeros síntomas veinte minutos después

«Afterward the room was darkened (dark experiment); there followed an unprecedented experience of unimaginable intensity that kept increasing in strength. It was characterized by an unbelievable profusion of optical hallucinations that appeared and vanished with great speed, to make way for countless new images. I saw a profusion of circles, vortices, sparks, showers, crosses, and spirals in constant, racing flux.» — lo que Stoll reporta del experimento a oscuras: alucinaciones ópticas que aparecen y se van a gran velocidad, con círculos, vórtices, chispas, cruces y espirales

«The images appeared to stream in on me predominantly from the center of the visual field, or out of the lower left edge. When a picture appeared in the middle, the remaining field of vision was simultaneously filled up with a vast number of similar visions. All were colored: bright, luminous red, yellow, and green predominated.» — la geometría y el color que Stoll describe en esa fase; el troceo parte el renglón y deja *a vast number of* separado de *similar visions*

«I knew, in fact, that I could not retain, much less describe, more than a fraction of the pictures. I had to force myself to give a description. Terms such as “fireworks” or “kaleidoscopic” were poor and inadequate.» — el problema de lenguaje que Stoll consigna, el mismo que Hofmann plantea desde su introducción: fuegos artificiales o caleidoscópico le resultaban términos pobres

«At first, the hallucinations were elementary: rays, bundles of rays, rain, rings, vortices, loops, sprays, clouds, etc. Then more highly organized visions also appeared: arches, rows of arches, a sea of roofs, desert landscapes, terraces, flickering fire, starry skies of unbelievable splendor.» — la escala que Stoll traza en su protocolo, de alucinaciones elementales a visiones organizadas

«A landscape of skyscrapers, reminiscent of pictures of the entrance to New York harbor: house towers staggered behind and beside one another with innumerable rows of windows. Again the foundation was missing.» — una de las imágenes que Stoll anota, con el rasgo que se repite: la base ausente

«An evening sky of an unimaginable pale blue over the dark roofs of a Spanish city. I had a peculiar feeling of anticipation, was full of joy and decidedly ready for adventure. All at once the stars flared up, amassed, and turned to a dense rain of stars and sparks that streamed toward me. City and sky had disappeared.» — la escena de la ciudad española que Stoll describe y su disolución en lluvia de estrellas

«countless repetitions of the same elements: many sparks, many circles, many arches, many windows, many fires, etc. I never saw isolated images, but always duplications of the same image, endlessly repeated.» — el rasgo que Stoll llama significativo: nunca imágenes aisladas sino duplicaciones sin fin del mismo elemento; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I felt myself one with all romanticists and dreamers, thought of E. T. A. Hoffmann, saw the maelstrom of Poe (even though, at the time I had read Poe, his description seemed exaggerated). Often I seemed to stand at the pinnacle of artistic experience; I luxuriated in the colors of the altar of Isenheim, and knew the euphoria and exultation of an artistic vision.» — las referencias culturales que Stoll consigna en pleno efecto: E. T. A. Hoffmann, el maelstrom de Poe, el altar de Isenheim

«Then again, there were impressions of an extreme trashiness, both in their shapes and their color combinations. The most garish, cheap modern lamp ornaments and sofa pillows came into my mind.» — el reverso que Stoll anota y que contradice la idea de una estética siempre sublime

«With the increasingly frenzied pace, it became impossible to think a thought through to the end. I must have only started many sentences.» — lo que Stoll reporta del pensamiento acelerado y de su propio habla entrecortada

«When I tried to restrict myself to specific subjects, the experiment proved most unsuccessful. My mind would even focus, in a certain sense, on contrary images: skyscrapers instead of a» — el fracaso del control voluntario que Stoll consigna: la mente le daba imágenes contrarias a las pedidas; el renglón sigue con *mountain*

«My state of mind was consciously euphoric. I enjoyed the condition, was serene, and took a most active interest in the experience.» — el estado de ánimo que Stoll declara en la primera fase

«Often I had peculiar bodily sensations: I believed my hands to be attached to some distant body, but was not certain whether it was my own.» — la alteración del esquema corporal que Stoll reporta; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«In the landscape outside, well known to me, many things appeared to have changed. Besides the hallucinations, I could now see the real as well. Later this was no longer possible, although I remained aware that reality was otherwise.» — el punto en que Stoll deja de ver a la vez lo real y lo alucinado, y conserva sin embargo la consciencia de que la realidad era otra

«A barracks, and the garage standing before it to the left, suddenly changed to a landscape of ruins, shattered to pieces. I saw wall wreckage and projecting beams, inspired undoubtedly by the memory of the war events in this region.» — la transformación que Stoll atribuye al recuerdo de la guerra en esa región, y que él mismo explica por la memoria

«I saw an extremely opulent sculptural ornamentation in constant metamorphosis, in continuous flux. I was reminded of every possible foreign culture, saw Mexican, Indian motifs. Between a grating of small beams and tendrils appeared little caricatures, idols, masks, strangely mixed all of a sudden with childish drawings of people.» — las formas culturales que Stoll dice haber visto, mexicanas e indias entre ellas, en metamorfosis continua

«The euphoria had now vanished. I became depressed, especially during the second dark experiment, which followed. Whereas during the first dark experiment, the hallucinations had alternated with great rapidity in bright and luminous colors, now blue, violet, and dark green prevailed.» — el vuelco de ánimo que Stoll registra en el segundo experimento a oscuras, con su cambio de paleta

«I felt protected, enveloped by motherliness, was in peace. The hallucinations were no longer exciting, but instead mild and attenuated.» — el tono que Stoll describe en esa segunda fase, de vuelta a casa y de amparo materno

«But the depressed state of mind remained. I tried again and again to see bright and joyful images. But to no avail; only dark blue and green patterns emerged. I longed to imagine bright fire as in the first dark experiment. And I did see fires; however, they were sacrificial fires on the gloomy battlement of a citadel on a remote, autumnal heath.» — la prueba con que Stoll comprueba que no manda sobre el contenido: pedía imágenes alegres y le salían hogueras de sacrificio

«During the experiment I was very impressed that my state of mind and the type of hallucinations harmonized so consistently and uninterruptedly.» — la observación que Stoll subraya y que es la que más pesa para la tesis del set y el setting: ánimo y alucinación armonizaban sin interrupción

«During the second dark experiment I observed that random noises, and also noises intentionally produced by the supervisor of the experiment, provoked simultaneous changes in the optical impressions (synesthesia). In the same manner, pressure on the eyeball produced alterations of visual perceptions.» — la sinestesia y el efecto de la presión sobre el globo ocular que Stoll consigna

«Toward the end of the second dark experiment, I began to watch for sexual fantasies, which were, however, totally absent. In no way could I experience sexual desire.» — la negativa que Stoll ficha como dato: buscó fantasías sexuales y no hubo ninguna

«Once I seemed to myself like a shape from a surrealistic picture, whose limbs were not connected with the body, but were rather painted somewhere close by» — la imagen con que Stoll describe su propio cuerpo en la fase final del protocolo

«I was depressed and thought with interest of the possibility of suicide. With some terror I apprehended that such thoughts were remarkably familiar to me. It seemed» — lo que Stoll consigna sin adornos sobre la fase depresiva: pensó en el suicidio y le espantó que el pensamiento le resultara familiar; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente

«On the way home and in the evening I was again euphoric, brimming with the experiences of the morning. I had experienced unexpected, impressive things. It seemed to me that a great epoch of my life had been crowded into a few hours. I was tempted to repeat the experiment.» — el balance que Stoll hace la misma tarde: una gran época de su vida comprimida en unas horas, y la tentación de repetir

«The next day I was careless in my thinking and conduct, had great trouble concentrating, was apathetic... . The casual, slightly dream-like condition persisted into the afternoon. I had great trouble reporting in any organized way on a simple problem. I felt a growing general weariness, an increasing awareness that I had now returned to everyday reality.» — lo que Stoll reporta del día siguiente, contra la ausencia de resaca que Hofmann declara en su propio caso

«The second day after the experiment brought an irresolute state... Mild, but distinct depression was experienced during the following week, a feeling which of course could be related only indirectly to LSD.» — el cierre del protocolo de Stoll, con el grado que él mismo le pone a la depresión de la semana siguiente

«The picture of the activity of LSD obtained from these first investigations was not new to science. It largely matched the commonly held view of mescaline, an alkaloid that had been investigated as early as the turn of the century.» — Hofmann relativiza la novedad del cuadro clínico: coincidía en buena parte con lo sabido de la mescalina desde el cambio de siglo

«Mescaline is the psychoactive constituent of a Mexican cactus Lophophora williamsii (syn. Anhalonium lewinii). This cactus has been eaten by American Indians ever since pre-Columbian times, and is still used today as a sacred drug in religious ceremonies.» — lo que Hofmann consigna del peyote: comido por los indios americanos desde antes de la Conquista y aún usado como droga sagrada en ceremonias religiosas

«In his monograph Phantastica (Verlag Georg Stilke, Berlin, 1924), has amply described the history of this drug, called peyorl by the Aztecs.» — la frase queda sin sujeto en el troceo —la plana 81 nombra a Lewin como quien acuñó el término *phantasticum*—, y el nombre azteca sale impreso *peyorl* donde se espera peyotl; tramo con año entre paréntesis en la referencia editorial, releído entero en el crudo

«The alkaloid mescaline was isolated from the cactus by A. Heffter in 1896, and in 1919 its chemical structure was elucidated and it was produced synthetically by E. Spath.» — las dos fechas y los dos nombres que Hofmann da para la mescalina: aislamiento por Heffter en 1896 y síntesis por Späth en 1919; el troceo imprime el apellido sin diéresis

«was described by Lewin to become available as a pure substance, permitting the study of chemically induced changes of sensory perceptions, mental illusions (hallucinations), and alterations of consciousness.» — Hofmann adjudica a Lewin el término *phantasticum* y pone a la mescalina como el primero de esos compuestos disponible puro; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«With the discovery of LSD, hallucinogen research received a new impetus. The novelty of LSD as opposed to mescaline was its high activity, lying in a different order of magnitude.» — en qué cifra Hofmann la novedad del LSD frente a la mescalina: no de clase sino de orden de magnitud

«The active dose of mescaline, 0.2 to 0.5 g, is comparable to 0.00002 to 0.0001 g of LSD; in other words, LSD is some 5,000 to 10,000 times more active than mescaline.» — la proporción con que Hofmann la mide

«The substance also has qualitative significance: it manifests a high specificity, that is, an activity aimed specifically at the human psyche. It can be assumed, therefore, that LSD affects the highest control centers of the psychic and intellectual functions.» — la tesis cualitativa de Hofmann: una especificidad dirigida a la psique humana, de donde supone que el LSD toca los centros de control más altos

«The psychic effects of LSD, which are produced by such minimal quantities of material, are too meaningful and too multiform to be explained by toxic alterations of brain function.» — el argumento con que Hofmann objeta la lectura puramente tóxica del efecto

«If LSD acted only through a toxic effect on the brain, then LSD experiences would be entirely psychopathological in meaning, without any psychological or psychiatric interest.» — la consecuencia que Hofmann extrae de esa lectura, y que rechaza por lo que implicaría

«The nature of LSD’s activity could lead to numerous possibilities of medicinal-psychiatric uses, as W. A. Stoll’s groundbreaking studies had already shown. Sandoz therefore made the new active substance available to research institutes and physicians as an experimental drug, giving it the trade name Delysid (D-Lysergsaure-diathylamid) which I had proposed.» — Hofmann declara que el nombre comercial Delysid fue propuesta suya, y que Sandoz puso la sustancia a disposición de institutos y médicos como droga experimental; el impreso parte *ground-breaking* a fin de renglón y la extracción lo devuelve fundido

«The administration of very small doses of Delysid (1/2-2 meg/kg body weight) results in transitory disturbances of affect, hallucinations, depersonalization, reliving of repressed memories, and mild neurovegetative symptoms. The effect sets in after 30 to 90 minutes and generally lasts 5 to 12 hours. However, intermittent disturbances of affect may occasionally persist for several days.» — lo que declara el prospecto impreso de Sandoz que Hofmann reproduce entero: efectos, latencia y duración, con la advertencia de que la alteración afectiva puede durar días

«a) Analytical psychotherapy, to elicit release of repressed material and provide mental relaxation, particularly in anxiety states and obsessional neuroses.» — la primera indicación del prospecto de Sandoz: psicoterapia analítica para estados de angustia y neurosis obsesivas

«b) Experimental studies on the nature of psychoses: By taking Delysid himself, the psychiatrist is able to gain an insight into the world of ideas and sensations of mental patients. Delysid can also be used to induce model psychoses of short duration in normal subjects, thus facilitating studies on the pathogenesis of mental disease.» — la segunda indicación del prospecto, con la instrucción dirigida al propio psiquiatra: tomándolo él mismo, entra en el mundo de ideas y sensaciones de sus pacientes; el rótulo *b)* es el que imprime el prospecto

«Pathological mental conditions may be intensified by Delysid. Particular caution is necessary in subjects with a suicidal tendency and in those cases where a psychotic development appears imminent. The psycho-affective liability and the tendency to commit impulsive acts may occasionally last for some days.» — las precauciones que imprime el prospecto de Sandoz, con la mención expresa de la tendencia suicida

«Delysid should only be administered under strict medical supervision. The supervision should not be discontinued until the effects of the drug have completely worn off.» — la condición de supervisión médica que el prospecto fija, y que es el punto que Hofmann invocará contra el uso masivo

«The mental effects of Delysid can be rapidly reversed by the im. administration of 50 mg. chlorpromazine.» — el antídoto que declara el prospecto de Sandoz, cuyo pie remite la bibliografía a petición y va firmado por la casa de Basilea

«In LSD inebriation the accustomed worldview undergoes a deep-seated transformation and disintegration. Connected with this is a loosening or even suspension of the I-you barrier.» — la primera base psicoterapéutica que Hofmann enuncia: disolución de la visión del mundo habitual y aflojamiento de la barrera yo-tú

«Patients who are bogged down in an egocentric problem cycle can thereby be helped to release themselves from their fixation and isolation. The result can be an improved rapport with the doctor and a greater susceptibility to psychotherapeutic influence.» — el rendimiento clínico que Hofmann le atribuye a ese aflojamiento

«Another significant, psychotherapeutically valuable characteristic of LSD inebriation is the tendency of long forgotten or suppressed contents of experience to appear again in consciousness.» — la segunda base: el retorno a la consciencia de contenidos olvidados o reprimidos

«This does not involve an ordinary recollection, but rather a true reliving; not a reminiscence, but rather a reviviscence, as the French psychiatrist Jean Delay has formulated it.» — la distinción que Hofmann toma del psiquiatra francés Jean Delay: no reminiscencia sino reviviscencia

«LSD does not act as a true medicament; rather it plays the role of a drug aid in the context of psychoanalytic and psychotherapeutic treatment and serves to channel the treatment more effectively and to shorten its duration.» — el estatuto que Hofmann le da al LSD en clínica: no medicamento verdadero sino auxiliar del tratamiento psicoanalítico

«In one procedure, which was developed in European clinics and given the name psycholytic therapy, moderately strong doses of LSD are administered in several successive sessions at regular intervals. Subsequently the LSD experiences are worked out in group discussions, and in expression therapy by drawing and painting.» — la primera de las dos escuelas que Hofmann distingue, la terapia psicolítica europea, con dosis moderadas en sesiones sucesivas

«The term psycholytic therapy was coined by Ronald A. Sandison, an English therapist of Jungian Orientation and a pioneer of clinical LSD research. The root -lysis or -lytic signifies the dissolution of tension or conflicts in the human psyche.» — Hofmann atribuye el término *psycholytic* a Ronald A. Sandison, terapeuta inglés de orientación junguiana, y explica la raíz; es uno de los nombres del bloque psicodélico que la casa tiene pendiente

«In a second procedure, which is the favored treatment in the United States, a single, very high LSD dose (0.3 to 0.6 mg) is administered after correspondingly intensive psychological preparation of the patients. This method, described as psychedelic therapy, attempts to induce a mystical-religious experience through the shock effects of LSD.» — la segunda escuela, la estadounidense: una sola dosis muy alta tras preparación intensiva, que busca inducir una experiencia mística y religiosa

«The term psychedelic, which can be translated as “mindmanifesting” or “mind-expanding,” was introduced by Humphry Osmond, a pioneer of LSD research in the United States.» — Hofmann atribuye el término *psychedelic* a Humphry Osmond y da sus dos traducciones; es el nombre que la casa tiene pendiente de decidir para el bloque, y el impreso escribe *mind-manifesting* con guion, partido aquí a fin de renglón

«Whereas tranquilizers tend to cover up the patient's problems and conflicts, reducing their apparent gravity and importance, LSD makes them more exposed and more intensely experienced.» — la oposición con que Hofmann distingue el LSD de los tranquilizantes: estos tapan el problema y aquel lo expone

«The suitability and success of LSD in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy are still a subject of controversy in professional circles.» — la controversia que Hofmann declara abierta, sin cerrarla

«The same could be said, however, of other procedures employed in psychiatry such as electroshock, insulin therapy, or psychosurgery, procedures that entail, moreover, a far greater risk than the use of LSD, which under suitable conditions can be» — el contraargumento de Hofmann: el electrochoque, la insulinoterapia y la psicocirugía entrañan mucho más riesgo; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente con las palabras *considered practically safe*

«To some psychiatrists, however, this reduction of the therapy’s duration is a disadvantage. They are of the opinion that this precipitation leaves the patient insufficient time for psychotherapeutic working-through. The therapeutic effect, they believe, persists for a shorter time than when there is a gradual treatment, including a slow process of becoming conscious of the traumatic experiences.» — la objeción ajena que Hofmann consigna sin desactivar: acortar el tratamiento deja al paciente sin tiempo de elaboración

«Psycholytic and especially psychedelic therapy require thorough preparation of the patient for the LSD experience, to avoid his or her being frightened by the unusual and the unfamiliar. Only then is a positive interpretation of the experience possible.» — la condición que Hofmann pone a las dos escuelas: preparación a fondo del paciente, sin la cual no hay interpretación positiva posible

«The following pioneers in use of LSD as a drug aid in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy deserve to be named in the front rank: A. K. Busch and W. C. Johnson, S. Cohen and, H. A. Abramson, H. Osmond, and A. Hoffer in the United States; R. A. Sandison in England; W. Frederking and H. Leuner in Germany; and G. Roubicek and S. Grof in Czechoslovakia.» — la lista de pioneros que Hofmann pone en primera fila, con Grof y Roubicek en Checoslovaquia, Sandison en Inglaterra y Osmond y Hoffer entre los estadounidenses

«In the early days of LSD research, it was often claimed that LSD inebriation has something to do with a type of “model psychosis.”» — Hofmann introduce el término *model psychosis* como afirmación de aquella época, no como suya

«This idea was dismissed, however, because extended comparative investigations showed that there were essential differences between the manifestations of psychosis and the LSD experience.» — lo que Hofmann opone a esa identificación: investigaciones comparadas mostraron diferencias esenciales

«With the LSD model, nevertheless, it is possible to study deviations from the normal psychic and mental condition, and to observe the biochemical and electrophysiological alterations associated with them. Perhaps we shall thereby gain new insights into the nature of psychoses.» — lo que Hofmann sí le concede al modelo, y con qué grado: quizá se ganen nuevas luces sobre la naturaleza de las psicosis

«LSD represents a substance that certainly does not occur in the human organism, but whose existence and activity let it seem possible that abnormal metabolic products could exist, that even in trace quantities could produce mental disturbances.» — el razonamiento por analogía con que Hofmann sostiene la hipótesis bioquímica de ciertos trastornos mentales, y el límite que le pone: el LSD no está en el organismo humano

«One medicinal use of LSD that touches on fundamental ethical questions is its administration to the dying.» — Hofmann marca como cuestión ética de fondo el uso del LSD con moribundos, que es el que la nota del editor enlaza con el estudio suizo de Gasser

«This practice arose from observations in American clinics that especially severe painful conditions of cancer patients, which no longer respond to conventional pain-relieving medication, could be alleviated or completely abolished by LSD.» — de dónde salió esa práctica según Hofmann: dolores de enfermos de cáncer que no cedían a la analgesia convencional

«Of course, this does not involve an analgesic effect in the true sense. The diminution of pain sensitivity may rather occur because patients under the influence of LSD are psychologically so dissociated from their bodies that physical pain no longer penetrates their consciousness.» — la explicación que Hofmann propone, y que acota de entrada: no es analgesia sino disociación psicológica respecto del propio cuerpo

«In many cases it has proved beneficial for either a member of the clergy or a psychotherapist to guide the patient's thoughts in a religious direction.» — la práctica que Hofmann consigna como beneficiosa: un clérigo o un psicoterapeuta que oriente el pensamiento del moribundo en dirección religiosa

«Numerous case histories tell of patients who gained meaningful insights about life and death on their deathbeds as, freed from pain in LSD ecstasy and reconciled to their fate, they faced their earthly demise fearlessly and in peace.» — lo que Hofmann reporta de esas historias clínicas, con el vocabulario del éxtasis y la reconciliación con el propio destino

«The hitherto existing knowledge about the administration of LSD to the terminally ill has been summarized and published by S. Grof and J. Halifax in their book The Human Encounter with Death (E. P. Dutton, New York, 1977). The authors, together with E. Kast, S. Cohen, and W. A. Pahnke, are among the pioneers of this application of LSD.» — la referencia con que Hofmann remite el asunto a Stanislav Grof y Joan Halifax y nombra a los pioneros; tramo con año entre paréntesis en la referencia editorial, releído entero en el crudo

«This book offers a critical evaluation of the LSD experience from the viewpoint of Freud and Jung, as well as of existential analysis.» — lo que Hofmann dice del libro de Grof que cierra el capítulo: una evaluación crítica desde Freud, Jung y el análisis existencial

«In this respect, self-examination by psychiatrists, as W. A. Stoll has pointed out, can be most useful.» — el argumento con que Hofmann, apoyándose en W. A. Stoll, defiende el autoexperimento del propio psiquiatra

«doctors with direct insight, based on first-hand experience into the strange world of LSD inebriation, and make it possible for them truly to understand these phenomena in their patients, to interpret them properly, and to take full advantage of them.» — para qué sirve ese autoexperimento según Hofmann: entender de veras el fenómeno en los pacientes e interpretarlo bien; el tramo se corta aquí porque el límite de chunk parte la plana a media frase, que arranca en *They provide the*

«DurInG the first years after its discovery, LSD brought me the same happiness and gratification that any pharmaceutical chemist would feel on learning that a substance he or she produced might possibly develop into a valuable medicament. For the creation of new remedies is the goal of a pharmaceutical chemist’s research activity; therein lies the meaning of his or her work.» — cómo describe Hofmann su relación con el hallazgo en los primeros años, y qué pone como fin del oficio de químico farmacéutico

«This joy at having fathered LSD was tarnished after more than ten years of uninterrupted scientific research and medicinal use when LSD was swept up in the huge wave of an inebriant mania that began to spread over the Western world, above all the United States, at the end of the 1950s.» — el punto en que, según Hofmann, la alegría se enturbia: la ola de manía embriagante que empezó a fines de los cincuenta

«The more its use as an inebriant was disseminated, bringing an upsurge in the number of untoward incidents caused by careless, medically unsupervised use, the more LSD became a problem child for me and for the Sandoz firm.» — Hofmann fija ahí el origen del título del libro: el uso descuidado y sin supervisión médica es lo que vuelve problem child a la sustancia

«It was obvious that a substance with such fantastic effects on mental perception and on the experience of the outer and inner world would also arouse interest outside medical science, but I had not expected that LSD, with its unfathomably uncanny, profound effects, so unlike the character of a recreational drug, would ever find worldwide use as an inebriant.» — la previsión que Hofmann declara haber tenido y la que no: esperaba interés fuera de la medicina, no un uso mundial como embriagante

«After the scientific publications around the turn of the century on mescaline—which, as already mentioned, evokes psychic effects quite like those of LsD—the use of this compound remained confined to medicine and to experiments within artistic and literary circles. I had expected the same fate for LSD.» — la analogía con la mescalina que Hofmann usó para prever, y que falló: aquella quedó confinada a la medicina y a los círculos artísticos y literarios

«LSD sessions had reportedly provoked extraordinary aesthetic experiences and granted new insights into the essence of the creative process.» — lo que Hofmann reporta de los primeros autoexperimentos no médicos, con el grado que les pone

«A particular type of art developed that has become known as psychedelic art. It comprises creations produced under the influenced of LSD and other psychedelic drugs, whereby the drugs acted as stimulus and source of inspiration.» — la definición que Hofmann da del arte psicodélico y del papel de la droga en él

«Works of psychedelic art are not created while the drug is in effect, but only afterward, the artist being inspired by these experiences. As long as the inebriated condition lasts, creative activity is impeded, if not completely halted. The influx of images is too great and is increasing too rapidly to be portrayed and fashioned. An overwhelming vision paralyzes activity.» — la precisión que Hofmann impone contra la idea corriente: la obra se hace después, porque durante el efecto la afluencia de imágenes paraliza la actividad creadora

«Artistic productions arising directly from LSD inebriation, therefore, are mostly rudimentary in character and deserve consideration not because of their artistic merit, but because they are a type of psychoprogram, which offers insight into the deepest mental structures of the artist, activated and made conscious by LSD.» — qué valor le concede Hofmann a lo producido en pleno efecto: no artístico sino de psicoprograma, que deja ver las estructuras mentales más hondas del artista

«This was demonstrated later in a large-scale experiment by the Munich psychiatrist Richard P. Hartmann, in which thirty famous painters took part.» — el experimento que Hofmann adjudica al psiquiatra muniqués Richard P. Hartmann con treinta pintores célebres

«LSD experiments also gave new impetus to exploration into the essence of religious and mystical experience. Religious scholars and philosophers discussed the question whether the religious and mystical experiences often discovered in LSD sessions were genuine, that is, comparable to spontaneous mysticoreligious enlightenment.» — la pregunta que Hofmann consigna como abierta entre estudiosos de la religión y filósofos, y que es el nudo del libro: si la experiencia mística de la sesión es genuina

«The rapid rise of drug use, which had its beginning in this country about twenty years ago, was not, however, a consequence of the discovery of LSD, as superficial observers often declared. Rather it had deep-seated sociological causes: materialism, alienation from nature through industrialization and increasing urbanization, lack of satisfaction in professional employment in a mechanized, lifeless working world, ennui and purposelessness in a wealthy, saturated society, and lack of a religious, nurturing, and meaningful philosophical foundation of life.» — la objeción de Hofmann contra quienes culpan al LSD del auge de las drogas, y las causas sociológicas que pone en su lugar: materialismo, alienación de la naturaleza, trabajo mecanizado, hastío en una sociedad saciada y falta de un fundamento religioso y filosófico de la vida

«The existence of LSD was even regarded by the drug enthusiasts as a predestined coincidence—it had to be discovered precisely at this time in order to bring help to people suffering under the modern conditions.» — la lectura que Hofmann adjudica a los entusiastas de la droga y no suscribe: una coincidencia predestinada

«These are the same factors that have led to the origin and growth of the hippie movement that developed simultaneously with the LSD wave. The two cannot be dissociated.» — el enlace que Hofmann traza entre el movimiento hippie y la ola del LSD, y la pregunta que deja abierta sobre cuál impulsó a cuál

«drug scene was introduced and expedited by publications on sensational LSD experiments that, although they were carried out in psychiatric clinics and universities, were not then reported in scientific journals, but rather in magazines and daily papers, greatly elaborated.» — a qué atribuye Hofmann el paso del LSD de la clínica a la escena de las drogas: experimentos publicados en revistas y diarios, no en la prensa científica; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Sidney Katz, for example, participated in an LSD experiment in the Saskatchewan Hospital in Canada under the supervision of noted psychiatrists; his experiences, however, were not published in a medical journal. Instead, he described them in an article entitled “My Twelve Hours as a Madman” in his magazine MacLean’s (“Canada’s National Magazine’), colorfully illustrated in fanciful fullness of detail.» — el primer caso que Hofmann documenta, con el título del artículo de Sidney Katz en MacLean's

«Of the numerous publications of this type that have made effective lay propaganda for LSD, it is sufficient to cite just one more example: a large-scale, illustrated article in Look magazine of September 1959. Entitled “The Curious Story Behind the New Cary Grant,”» — el segundo caso que Hofmann destaca, el artículo de Look sobre Cary Grant, al que atribuye una contribución enorme a la difusión del consumo

«He informed the Look reporter that he had sought inner peace his whole life long, but yoga, hypnosis, and mysticism had not helped him. Only the treatment with LSD had made a new, self-strengthened man out of him, so that after three frustrating marriages he now believed himself really able to love and make a woman happy.» — lo que Hofmann reporta de las declaraciones de Cary Grant al reportero: yoga, hipnosis y misticismo no le habían servido, y el tratamiento con LSD sí

«The evolution of LSD from remedy to inebriating drug was, however, primarily promoted by the activities of Dr. Timothy Leary and Dr. Richard Alpert of Harvard University.» — a quiénes adjudica Hofmann el impulso principal de esa evolución

«Constance A. Newland described in intimate detail how she had been cured of frigidity. After such avowals, one can easily imagine that many people would want to try the wondrous medicine for themselves. The mistaken opinion created by such reports—that it would be sufficient simply to take LSD in order to accomplish such miraculous effects and transformations in oneself—soon led to broad diffusion of self-experimentation with the new drug.» — el mecanismo de difusión que Hofmann describe a partir de los superventas: la opinión equivocada de que bastaba tomar LSD para obrar esos prodigios

«Objective, informative books about LSD and its problems also appeared, such as the excellent work by the psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Cohen, The Beyond Within (Atheneum, New York, 1967), in which the dangers of careless use are clearly exposed. This had, however, no power to put a stop to the LSD epidemic.» — la asimetría que Hofmann consigna: los libros informados, como el de Sidney Cohen, no pudieron con la epidemia; tramo con año entre paréntesis en la referencia editorial, releído entero en el crudo

«As LSD experiments were often carried out in ignorance of the uncanny, unforeseeable, profound effects, and without medical supervision, they frequently came to a bad end. With increasing LSD consumption in the drug scene, there came an increase in “horror trips’—LSD experiments that led to disoriented conditions and panic, often resulting in accidents and even crime.» — la condición que Hofmann pone en el centro de los malos desenlaces —ignorancia y falta de supervisión médica— y el término con que nombra el resultado

«Moreover, the last of the Sandoz patents for the production of LSD expired in 1963, removing a further hindrance to illegal manufacture of the drug.» — la segunda causa que Hofmann da, y su fecha: la caducidad de la última patente de Sandoz en 1963

«The rise of LSD in the drug scene caused our firm a nonproductive, laborious burden. National control laboratories and health authorities requested statements from us about chemical and pharmacological properties, stability and toxicity of LSD, and analytical methods for its detection in confiscated drug samples, as well as in the human body, in blood and urine.» — la carga administrativa que Hofmann describe para Sandoz: informes para laboratorios de control y autoridades sanitarias

«Thus it happened one day that Professor Stoll, managing director of the firm at the time, said to me reproachfully: “I would rather you had not discovered LSD.”» — el reproche que Hofmann pone en boca de Arthur Stoll, entonces director gerente de la firma

«At that time, I was now and again assailed by doubts whether the valuable pharmacological and psychic effects of LSD might be outweighed by its dangers and by possible injuries due to misuse. Would LSD become a blessing for humanity, or a curse? This I often asked myself when I thought about my problem child.» — la duda que Hofmann declara haber tenido y que no resuelve ahí: si el LSD sería bendición o maldición para la humanidad

«My other preparations, Methergine, Dihydroergotamine, and Hydergine, caused me no such problems and difficulties. They were not problem children; lacking extravagant properties leading to misuse, they have developed in a satisfying manner into therapeutically valuable medicines.» — el contraste con que Hofmann acota qué hace problemático a un producto: los otros carecían de propiedades extravagantes que invitaran al abuso

«The publicity about LSD attained its high point in the years 1964 to 1966, not only with regard to enthusiastic claims about the wondrous effects of LSD by drug fanatics and hippies, but also to reports of accidents, mental breakdowns, criminal acts, murders, and suicide under the influence of LSD. A veritable LSD hysteria reigned.» — los años que Hofmann fija como cumbre de la publicidad y las dos caras que la componían

«In view of this situation, the management of Sandoz was forced to make a public statement on the LSD problem and to publish accounts of the corresponding measures that had been taken. The pertinent letter, dated 23 August 1965, by Dr. A. Cerletti, at the time director of the Pharmaceutical Department of Sandoz, is reproduced below:» — Hofmann declara la procedencia y la fecha del documento que reproduce a continuación: la carta de A. Cerletti, director del departamento farmacéutico

«The rapid rise of nonmedicinal LSD consumption at the beginning of the 1960s was also partly attributable to the fact that the drug laws then current in most countries did not include LSD.» — la causa legal que Hofmann añade al auge del consumo no médico: las leyes de drogas de entonces no incluían el LSD, y por eso los usuarios pasaron de los narcóticos proscritos a esta sustancia todavía legal, como dice la plana siguiente

«In the case of LSD, however, it soon became clear that, despite the outstanding properties of this compound, or rather because of the very nature of these qualities, even though LSD was fully protected by SANDOZ-owned patents since the time of its first synthesis in 1938, the usual means of practical exploitation could not be envisaged.» — lo que declara Sandoz en esa carta sobre la imposibilidad de explotar comercialmente el producto por la naturaleza misma de sus propiedades, y la fecha que da para la primera síntesis, 1938

«By exercising this kind of “nobile officium” in accordance with the highest standards of medical ethics with all kinds of self-imposed precautions and restrictions, it was possible for many years to avoid the danger of abuse (i.e., use by people neither competent nor qualified), which is always inherent in a compound with exceptional CNS activity.» — la fórmula con que Sandoz califica su propia conducta en esa carta, y la definición de abuso que maneja: uso por gente ni competente ni cualificada

«In spite of all our precautions, cases of LSD abuse have occurred from time to time in varying circumstances completely beyond the control of SANDOZ. Very recently this danger has increased considerably and in some parts of the world has reached the scale of a serious threat to public health.» — lo que la carta de Sandoz concede: casos de abuso fuera de su control y, últimamente, escala de amenaza grave para la salud pública

«This state of affairs has now reached a critical point for the following reasons: (1) A worldwide spread of misconceptions of LSD has been caused by an increasing amount of publicity aimed at provoking an active interest in laypeople by means of sensational stories and statements; (2) In most countries no adequate legislation exists to control and regulate the production and distribution of substances like LSD; (3) The problem of availability of LSD, once limited on technical grounds, has fundamentally changed with the advent of mass production of lysergic acid by fermentation procedures. Since the last patent on LSD expired in 1963, it is not surprising to find that an increasing number of dealers in fine chemicals are offering LSD from unknown sources at the high price known to be paid by LSD fanatics.» — las tres razones que Sandoz enumera en la carta —la publicidad sensacionalista, la falta de legislación y la producción masiva de ácido lisérgico por fermentación tras caducar la patente en 1963—; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo

«management of SANDOZ has decided to stop immediately all further production and distribution of LSD. The same policy will apply to all derivatives or analogues of LSD with hallucinogenic properties as well as to Psilocybin, Psilocin, and their hallucinogenic congeners.» — la decisión que cierra la carta: detener de inmediato toda producción y distribución de LSD, sus derivados alucinógenos, la psilocibina y la psilocina; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«For a while the distribution of LSD and psilocybin was stopped completely by Sandoz. Most countries had subsequently proclaimed strict regulations concerning possession, distribution, and use of hallucinogens, so that physicians, psychiatric clinics, and research institutes, if they could produce a special permit to work with these substances from the respective national health authorities, could again be supplied with LSD and psilocybin.» — lo que Hofmann cuenta que pasó después de esa carta: reglamentación estricta y suministro solo con permiso especial de las autoridades sanitarias

«All these legislative and official precautions, however, had little influence on LSD consumption in the drug scene, yet on the other hand hindered and continue to hinder medicinal-psychiatric use and LSD research in biology and neurology, because many researchers dread the red tape that is connected with the procurement of a license for the use of LSD.» — la asimetría que Hofmann objeta en las medidas: poco efecto en la escena de las drogas y mucho estorbo a la investigación, por el papeleo de la licencia

«The bad reputation of LSD—its depiction as an “insanity drug” and a “satanic invention”—constitutes a further reason why many doctors shunned use of LSD in their psychiatric practice.» — los dos motes que Hofmann recoge como causa de que muchos médicos rehuyeran la sustancia

«In the course of recent years the uproar of publicity about LSD has quieted, and the consumption of LSD as an inebriant has also diminished, as far as that can be concluded from the rare reports about accidents and other regrettable occurrences following LSD ingestion.» — el estado de cosas que Hofmann describe al escribir, y la fuente indirecta de la que lo infiere

«It may be that the decrease of LSD accidents, however, is not simply due to a decline in LSD consumption. Possibly the recreational users, with time, have become more aware of the particular effects and dangers of LSD and more cautious in their use of this drug.» — la explicación alternativa que Hofmann propone con grado: no menos consumo sino usuarios más advertidos

«in the Western world, above all in the United States, to be the number-one inebriant, has relinquished this leading role to other inebriants such as hashish and the habituating, even physically destructive drugs like heroin and amphetamine.» — el relevo que Hofmann registra: el LSD cede el primer puesto al hachís y a las drogas de hábito; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«While professional use of LSD in psychiatry entails hardly any risk, the ingestion of this substance outside of medical practice, without medical supervision, is subject to multifarious dangers. These dangers reside, on the one hand, in external circumstances connected with illegal drug use and, on the other hand, in the peculiarity of LSD’s psychic effects.» — la distinción con que Hofmann abre el apartado de peligros: el riesgo no está en la sustancia sino en el uso sin supervisión, y tiene dos fuentes

«The advocates of uncontrolled, free use of LSD and other hallucinogens base their attitude on two claims: (1) this type of drug produces no addiction, and (2) until now no danger to health from moderate use of hallucinogens has been demonstrated. Both are true.» — Hofmann enuncia los dos argumentos de quienes defienden el uso libre y los concede expresamente antes de objetar

«Genuine addiction, characterized by the fact that psychic and often severe physical disturbances appear on withdrawal of the drug, has not been observed, even in cases in which LSD was taken often and over a long period of time.» — la negativa que Hofmann ficha como dato: no se ha observado adicción verdadera ni con uso frecuente y prolongado

«Like the other hallucinogens, however, LSD is dangerous in an entirely different sense. While the psychic and physical dangers of the addicting narcotics, the opiates, amphetamines, and so forth, appear only with chronic use, the possible danger of LSD exists in every single experiment.» — dónde sitúa Hofmann el peligro propio del LSD, y en qué se distingue del de los narcóticos: no en el uso crónico sino en cada experimento

«More than twenty years have elapsed since the discovery by Albert Hofmann of LSD 25 in the SANDOZ Laboratories. Whereas the fundamental importance of this discovery may be assessed by its impact on the development of modern psychiatric research, it must be recognized that» — arranque de la carta de A. Cerletti del 23 de agosto de 1965 que Hofmann reproduce, donde la firma mide el hallazgo por su efecto sobre la investigación psiquiátrica moderna; el límite de chunk parte la plana y la frase sigue en *it placed a heavy burden of responsibility on SANDOZ*

«It was therefore decided to make LSD available free of charge to qualified experimental and clinical investigators all over the world. This broad research approach was assisted by the provision of any necessary technical aid and in many» — la política que Sandoz declara en esa carta: distribución gratuita a investigadores cualificados de todo el mundo con apoyo técnico; la frase acaba en la plana 96 con *instances also by financial support*

«disoriented states can appear during any LSD inebriation. It is true that through careful preparation of the experiment and the experimenter such episodes can largely be avoided, but they cannot be excluded with certainty. LSD crises resemble psychotic attacks with a manic or depressive character.» — el límite que Hofmann pone a toda preparación: la crisis puede evitarse en gran medida pero no excluirse con certeza; la frase arranca en la plana 98

«In the manic, hyperactive condition, the feeling of omnipotence or invulnerability can lead to serious casualties. Such accidents have occurred when inebriated persons confused in this way—believing themselves to be invulnerable—walked in front of a moving automobile or jumped out a window in the belief that they were able to fly.» — los accidentes que Hofmann adjudica a la fase maníaca y al sentimiento de invulnerabilidad

«This type of LSD casualty, however, is not so common as one might be led to think on the basis of reports that were sensationally exaggerated by the mass media. Nevertheless, such reports must serve as serious warnings.» — el doble grado que Hofmann le pone al asunto: ni tan frecuente como la prensa sensacionalista sugiere, ni desdeñable como aviso

«On the other hand, a report that made the rounds worldwide, in 1966, about an alleged murder committed under the influence on LSD, cannot be true.» — la negativa que Hofmann ficha sobre el presunto asesinato cometido bajo LSD que circuló por el mundo en 1966

«But an LSD inebriation, even with the highest doses, lasts no longer than twelve hours, and repeated ingestion leads to tolerance, which means that extra doses are ineffective. Besides, LSD inebriation is characterized by the fact that the person remembers exactly what he or she has experienced.» — los tres argumentos farmacológicos con que Hofmann sostiene esa negativa: duración máxima de doce horas, tolerancia por ingestión repetida y memoria exacta de lo vivido

«Presumably the defendant in this case expected leniency for extenuating circumstances, owing to unsoundness of mind.» — la explicación que Hofmann propone para la declaración del acusado, y la da como presunción

«The danger of a psychotic reaction is especially great if LSD is given to someone without his or her knowledge.» — la condición que Hofmann señala como la más peligrosa de todas: administrar la sustancia sin que el sujeto lo sepa

«wanted to swim across Lake Zurich during the winter at -20°C (-4°F) and had to be prevented by force.» — el episodio de la clínica psiquiátrica de Zúrich que Hofmann cuenta como ejemplo de broma peligrosa; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«There is a different danger when the LSD-induced disorientation exhibits a depressive rather than manic character. In the course of such an LSD experiment, frightening visions, death agony, or the fear of becoming insane can lead to a threatening psychic breakdown or even to suicide. Here the LSD trip becomes a “horror trip.”» — el otro polo del riesgo según Hofmann, con visiones aterradoras, agonía y miedo a enloquecer, y el término con que se nombra

«The demise of a Dr. Olson, who had been given LSD without his knowledge in the course of U.S. Army drug experiments, and who then committed suicide by jumping from a window, caused a particular sensation. His family could not understand how this quiet, well-adjusted man could have been driven to this deed. Not until fifteen years later, when the secret documents about the experiments were published, did they learn the true circumstances, whereupon the president of the United States publicly apologized to the dependents.» — el caso que Hofmann consigna de los experimentos del Ejército estadounidense, con el suicidio, los quince años de secreto y la disculpa pública del presidente

«The conditions for the positive outcome of an LSD experiment, with little possibility of a psychotic derailment, reside on the one hand in the individual and on the other hand in the external milieu of the experiment. The internal, personal factors are called set, the external conditions setting.» — la pareja de términos que organiza toda la doctrina práctica de Hofmann: los factores internos son el *set* y las condiciones externas el *setting*

«The beauty of a living room or of an outdoor location is perceived with particular force because of the highly stimulated sense organs during LSD inebriation, and such an amenity has a substantial influence on the course of the experiment. The persons present, their appearance, their traits, are also part of the setting that determines the experience. The acoustic milieu is equally significant. Even harmless noises can turn to torment, and conversely lovely music can develop into a euphoric experience.» — qué cuenta como *setting* para Hofmann: el lugar, las personas presentes y el medio acústico

«Just as meaningful as the external milieu of the LSD experience, if not even more important, is the mental condition of the experimenters, their current state of mind, their attitude to the drug experience, and their expectations associated with it. Even unconscious feelings of happiness or fear can have an effect.» — qué cuenta como *set*: estado de ánimo, actitud ante la experiencia y expectativas, incluidas las inconscientes

«LSD tends to intensify the actual psychic state. A feeling of happiness can be heightened to bliss, a depression can deepen to despair.» — la ley que Hofmann enuncia sobre el efecto y de la que saca todas sus advertencias

«LSD is thus the most inappropriate means imaginable for curing a depressive state. It is dangerous to take LSD in a disturbed, unhappy frame of mind, or in a state of fear. The probability that the experiment will end in a psychic breakdown is then quite high.» — la consecuencia práctica que Hofmann extrae, y que acota su propia propuesta terapéutica

«Among persons with unstable personality structures, tending to psychotic reactions, LSD experimentation ought to be completely avoided. Here an LSD shock, by releasing a latent psychosis, can produce a lasting mental injury.» — la contraindicación que Hofmann declara sin grados para estructuras de personalidad inestables

«Even the medicinal use of LSD in youths under eighteen years of age, in the scope of psychoanalytic or psychotherapeutic treatment, is discouraged in professional circles, correctly so in my opinion.» — la postura de los círculos profesionales sobre los menores de dieciocho años, que Hofmann suscribe declarándolo como opinión propia

«Juveniles for the most part still lack a secure, solid relationship to reality. Such a relationship is needed before the dramatic experience of new dimensions of reality can be meaningfully integrated into the worldview.» — la razón que Hofmann da, y que vale como condición general de su método: hace falta una relación firme con la realidad para integrar la experiencia de sus dimensiones nuevas

«Because of the freshness of sensory perception in youth and the still-unlimited capacity for experience, spontaneous visionary experiences occur much more frequently than in later life. For this reason as well, psychostimulating agents should not be used by juveniles.» — el segundo argumento de Hofmann sobre los jóvenes: en ellos la experiencia visionaria espontánea es mucho más frecuente que después

«Even in healthy, adult persons, even with adherence to all of the preparatory and protective measures discussed, an LSD experiment can fail, causing psychotic reactions. Medical supervision is therefore earnestly to be recommended, even for nonmedicinal LSD experiments.» — la recomendación que Hofmann hace extensiva incluso a los experimentos no médicos, porque ninguna preparación garantiza el resultado

«The presence of a familiar person, who can request medical help in the event of an emergency, is also an indispensable psychological assurance. Although the LSD inebriation is characterized mostly by an immersion in the individual inner world, a deep need for human contact sometimes arises, especially in depressive phases.» — la última condición que Hofmann pone, y la razón: pese al ensimismamiento, a veces surge una necesidad honda de contacto humano

«Nonmedicinal LSD consumption can bring dangers of an entirely different type than hitherto discussed: for most of the LSD offered in the drug scene is of unknown origin.» — el peligro de otro orden que Hofmann añade: el origen desconocido de lo que se vende

«LSD preparations from the black market are unreliable when it comes to both quality and dosage. They rarely contain the declared quantity, but mostly have less LSD, often none at all, and sometimes even too much. In many cases other drugs or even poisonous substances are sold as LSD.» — lo que Hofmann reporta del mercado negro, y que dice haber medido en su propio laboratorio

«The unreliability in the strength of LSD preparations on the illicit drug market can lead to dangerous overdosage. Overdoses have often proved to be the cause of failed LSD experiments that led to severe psychic and physical breakdowns. Reports of alleged fatal LSD poisoning, however, have yet to be confirmed. Close scrutiny of such cases invariably established other causative factors.» — lo que Hofmann adjudica a la sobredosis en los experimentos fallidos, y la negativa que mantiene: dice que los presuntos envenenamientos mortales por LSD siguen sin darse por ciertos

«The following case, which took place in 1970, is cited as an example of the possible dangers of black market LSD. We received for investigation from the police a drug powder distributed as LSD. It came from a young man who was admitted to the hospital in critical condition and whose friend had also ingested this preparation and died as a result. Analysis showed that the powder contained no LSD, but rather the very poisonous alkaloid strychnine.» — el caso que Hofmann documenta desde su propio laboratorio: el polvo vendido como LSD que mató a un joven contenía estricnina y nada de LSD

«LSD is very sensitive to air and light. It is oxidatively destroyed by the oxygen in the air and is transformed into an inactive substance under the influence of light.» — la inestabilidad química que Hofmann pone como segunda explicación del mercado negro, junto a la falsificación deliberada

«Claims that LSD may easily be prepared, or that every chemistry student in a half-decent laboratory is capable of producing it, are untrue.» — la negativa con que Hofmann objeta el lugar común sobre la facilidad de fabricarlo

«With these detailed procedures in hand, chemists would be able to carry out the synthesis, provided they had pure lysergic acid at their disposal; its possession today, however, is subject to the same strict regulations as LSD.» — la acotación que Hofmann hace a su propia negativa: los procedimientos están publicados, pero el ácido lisérgico puro está hoy tan regulado como el LSD

«Only in completely oxygen-free ampules protected from light is LSD absolutely stable. Such ampules, containing 100 mcg (= 0.1 mg) LSD-tartrate (tartaric acid salt of LSD) in 1 cc of aqueous solution, were produced for biological research and medicinal use by the Sandoz firm.» — la única forma en que el LSD es del todo estable según Hofmann, y el formato en que Sandoz lo produjo

«But LSD preparations often found on the black market—LSD that has been applied in solution onto sugar cubes or blotting paper—decompose in the course of weeks or a few months.» — lo que Hofmann dice que le pasa al LSD aplicado sobre terrones de azúcar o papel secante

«Here the tenet of Paracelsus holds good: the dose determines whether a substance acts as a remedy or as a poison.» — Hofmann invoca a Paracelso por segunda vez en el libro, ahora por la doctrina de la dosis, para cerrar el apartado del mercado negro

«On the occasion of a vacation in Mexico in the year 1960, Leary had eaten the legendary “sacred mushrooms,” which he had purchased from a shaman. During the mushroom inebriation he entered into a state of mystico-religious ecstasy, which he described as the deepest religious experience of his life.» — lo que Hofmann reporta del episodio que cambió a Timothy Leary: hongos sagrados comprados a un chamán en México y un éxtasis místico-religioso que Leary declaró la experiencia religiosa más honda de su vida

«From then on, Dr. Leary, who at the time was a lecturer in psychology at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dedicated himself totally to research on the effects and possibilities of the use of psychedelic drugs.» — el giro de carrera de Leary según Hofmann, y su puesto en aquel momento

«The reintegration of convicts into society, the production of mystico-religious experiences in theologians and members of the clergy, and the furtherance of creativity in artists and writers with the help of LSD and psilocybin were tested with scientific methodology.» — los tres proyectos de Harvard que Hofmann enumera, uno de ellos la producción de experiencias místico-religiosas en teólogos y clérigos

«Even persons like Aldous Huxley, Arthur Koestler, and Allen Ginsberg participated in these investigations.» — los nombres que Hofmann da entre los participantes de aquellas investigaciones

«Particular consideration was given to the question, to what degree mental preparation and expectation of the subjects, along with the external milieu of the experiment, are able to influence the course and character of states of psychedelic inebriation.» — la pregunta que Hofmann destaca de aquel programa, y que es la del set y el setting

«In January 1963, Dr. Leary sent me a detailed report of these studies, in which he enthusiastically imparted the positive results obtained and gave expression to his beliefs in the advantages and very promising possibilities of such use of these active compounds.» — el contacto epistolar que Hofmann fecha y describe, con el entusiasmo que le atribuye a Leary

«At the same time, the Sandoz firm received an inquiry about the supply of 100g LSD and 25 kg psilocybin, signed by Dr. Timothy Leary, from the Harvard University Department of Social Relations.» — el pedido que Hofmann documenta, con las cantidades exactas

«The requirement for such an enormous quantity (the stated amounts correspond to 1 million doses of LSD and 2.5 million doses of psilocybin) was based on the planned extension of investigations to tissue, organ, and animal studies.» — la escala del pedido que Hofmann calcula en dosis, y la justificación que Leary daba

«We made the supply of these substances contingent upon the production of an import license on behalf of the USS. health authorities. Immediately we received the order for the stated quantities of LSD and psilocybin, along with a check for $10,000 as deposit but without the required import license.» — la condición que Sandoz puso y lo que llegó en su lugar, según el relato de Hofmann

«Dr. Leary signed for this order, but no longer as lecturer at Harvard University, rather as president of an organization he had recently founded, the International Federation for Internal Freedom» — el cambio de firma que Hofmann señala en el pedido, de la universidad a una organización recién fundada por Leary

«Leary and Alpert, we canceled our offer upon return of the deposit. Shortly thereafter, Leary and Alpert were discharged from the teaching staff of Harvard University because the investigations, at first conducted in an academic milieu, had lost their scientific character. The experiments had turned into LSD parties.» — el desenlace que Hofmann da: Sandoz canceló la oferta al saber que la universidad no aprobaba el proyecto, y Leary y Alpert fueron separados de la docencia; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Leary’s doctrine—that LSD not only served to find the divine and to discover the self, but indeed was the most potent aphrodisiac yet discovered—surely contributed quite decisively to the rapid propagation of LSD consumption among the younger generation.» — a qué atribuye Hofmann el grueso de la propagación entre los jóvenes: la doctrina de Leary sobre el LSD como afrodisíaco además de vía a lo divino y al sí mismo

«Later, in an interview with the monthly magazine Playboy, Leary said that the intensification of sexual experience and the potentiation of sexual ecstasy by LSD was one of the chief reasons for the LSD boom.» — lo que Hofmann reporta que Leary declaró a Playboy sobre las causas del auge

«After his expulsion from Harvard University, Leary was completely transformed from a psychology lecturer pursuing research, into the messiah of the psychedelic movement.» — los términos con que Hofmann describe el cambio de papel de Leary

«I received a personal invitation from Dr. Leary to participate in a top-level planning session on psychedelic drugs, scheduled to take place there in August 1963.» — la invitación que Hofmann dice haber recibido al centro de Zihuatanejo

«Unfortunately, professional obligations kept me at that moment from flying to Mexico to get a picture at first hand of the controversial enterprise.» — la razón que Hofmann da para no haber ido, y el interés que declara: ver por sí mismo un centro sobre el que corrían informes contradictorios

«Leary, however, who had now become not only the messiah but also the martyr of the psychedelic movement, soon received help from the young New York millionaire William Hitchcock, who made a manorial house on his large estate in Millbrook, New York, available to Leary as new home and headquarters.» — el amparo que Hofmann adjudica al millonario William Hitchcock tras la expulsión de México

«On a trip to India in 1965 Leary was converted to Hinduism. In the following year he founded a religious community, the League for Spiritual Discovery, whose initials give the abbreviation “LSD.”» — la conversión y la comunidad religiosa que Hofmann consigna, con el juego de siglas de la League for Spiritual Discovery

«Leary’s proclamation to youth, condensed in his famous slogan “Turn on, tune in, drop out!”, became a central dogma of the hippie movement. Leary is one of the founding fathers of the hippie cult.» — el lema que Hofmann da por dogma central del movimiento hippie, y el papel que adjudica a Leary en su fundación

«The last of these three precepts, “drop out,” was the challenge to escape from bourgeois life, to turn one’s back on society, to give up school, studies, and employment, and to dedicate oneself wholly to the true inner universe, the study of one’s own nervous system, after one has turned on with LSD. This challenge above all went beyond the psychological and religious domain to assume social and political significance.» — cómo lee Hofmann el tercero de los preceptos: un desafío a abandonar escuela, estudios y empleo que salta de lo psicológico y religioso a lo social y político

«The high sentences—ten years’ imprisonment each for convictions in Texas and California concerning possession of LSD and marijuana, and conviction (later overturned) with a sentence of thirty years’ imprisonment for marijuana smuggling—show that the punishment of these offenses was only a pretext: the real aim was to put under lock and key the seducer and instigator of youth, who could not otherwise be prosecuted.» — la lectura que Hofmann hace de las penas impuestas a Leary: el castigo de esos delitos como pretexto

«September 1970, Leary managed to escape from the California prison in San Luis Obispo. On a detour from Algeria, where he made contact with Eldridge Cleaver, a leader of the Black Panther movement living there in exile, Leary came to Switzerland and there petitioned for political asylum.» — la fuga de Leary y su llegada a Suiza según Hofmann, con la escala argelina y el contacto con Eldridge Cleaver; la fecha arranca en la plana anterior

«On 3 September 1971, I met Dr. Leary in the railway station snack bar in Lausanne. The greeting was cordial, a symbol of our fateful relationship through LSD.» — la fecha y el lugar del encuentro, y la fórmula con que Hofmann lo interpreta, que esta edición recoge en un pie de lámina

«This gave Leary somewhat the mark of a tennis champion rather than that of a former Harvard lecturer.» — el retrato con que Hofmann describe a Leary en persona

«We traveled by automobile to Buchillons, where in the arbor of the restaurant A la Grande Foret, over a meal of fish and a glass of white wine, the dialogue between the father and the apostle of LSD finally began.» — la escena del encuentro, y los dos papeles con que Hofmann la nombra: el padre y el apóstol del LSD

«My most serious remonstrance to Leary, however, concerned the propagation of LSD use among juveniles.» — la objeción principal que Hofmann declara haberle hecho a Leary

«Leary did not attempt to refute my opinions about the particular dangers of LSD for youth. He maintained, however, that I was unjustified in reproaching him for the seduction of immature persons to drug consumption, because teenagers in the United States, with regard to information and life experience, were comparable to adult Europeans.» — la respuesta que Hofmann adjudica a Leary: no negó el peligro para los jóvenes, y objetó que los adolescentes estadounidenses eran comparables a europeos adultos

«Maturity, with satiation and intellectual stagnation, would be reached very early in the United States. For that reason,» — el resto del argumento de Leary según Hofmann; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente, donde Leary tiene la experiencia por significativa y enriquecedora incluso en gente muy joven

«In this conversation, I further objected to the great publicity that Leary sought for his LSD and psilocybin investigations, since he had invited reporters from daily papers and magazines» — la segunda objeción de Hofmann a Leary, sobre la publicidad que buscó para sus investigaciones; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente

«Leary defended this publicity program because he felt it had been his fateful historic role to make LSD known worldwide. The overwhelmingly positive effects of such dissemination, above all among America’s younger generation, would make any trifling injuries, any regrettable accidents as a result of improper use of LSD, unimportant in comparison, a small price to pay.» — la defensa que Hofmann adjudica a Leary: un papel histórico fatídico, y los accidentes como precio pequeño frente al efecto positivo de la difusión

«During this conversation, I ascertained that one did Leary an injustice by indiscriminately describing him as a drug apostle. He made a sharp distinction between psychedelic drugs—LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, hashish—of whose salutary effects he was persuaded, and the addicting narcotics morphine, heroin, etc., against whose use he repeatedly cautioned.» — la enmienda que Hofmann hace al mote de apóstol de las drogas: Leary distinguía tajantemente los psicodélicos de los narcóticos que crean hábito, y avisaba contra estos

«My impression of Dr. Leary in this personal meeting was that of a charming personage, convinced of his mission, who defended his opinions with humor yet uncompromisingly; a man who truly soared high in the clouds pervaded by beliefs in the wondrous effects of psychedelic drugs and the optimism resulting therefrom, and thus a man who tended to underrate or completely overlook practical difficulties, unpleasant facts, and dangers.» — el retrato de carácter con que Hofmann cierra el encuentro, con su reserva dentro: un hombre convencido de su misión que por optimismo desatendía las dificultades y los peligros

«During his Swiss sojourn, I met Leary by chance once more, in February 1972, in Basel, on the occasion of a visit by Michael Horowitz, curator of the Fitz Hugh Ludlow Memorial Library in San Francisco, a library specializing in drug literature.» — el segundo encuentro que Hofmann fecha, y la biblioteca de literatura sobre drogas que nombra

«Leary appeared fidgety and detached, probably owing to a momentary indisposition, so that our discussions were less productive this time. That was my last meeting with Dr. Leary.» — cómo cierra Hofmann el trato personal con Leary, con el grado que le pone a la causa

«At the airport in Kabul he was apprehended by agents of the American secret service and brought back to the San Luis Obispo prison in California.» — el final de la fuga que Hofmann consigna

«I learned from his friends that he was now occupied with psychological problems of space travel and with the exploration of cosmic relationships between the human nervous system and interstellar space—that is, with problems whose study would bring him no further difficulties on the part of governmental authorities.» — el último dato que Hofmann da sobre Leary, con una reserva irónica sobre la elección del tema

«Thus the Islamic scholar Dr. Rudolf Gelpke entitled his accounts of self-experiments with LSD and psilocybin, which appeared in the publication Antaios, for January 1962» — Hofmann declara la procedencia de los protocolos que reproduce enseguida y el oficio de su autor, el islamólogo Rudolf Gelpke

«LSD trips and the space flights of the astronauts are comparable in many respects. Both enterprises require very careful preparations, as far as measures for safety as well as objectives are concerned, in order to minimize dangers and to derive the most valuable results possible.» — la analogía con que Hofmann encuadra estos relatos, y lo que de ella extrae: preparación cuidadosa en seguridad y en objetivos

«The astronauts cannot remain in space nor the LSD experimenters in transcendental spheres, they have to return to earth and everyday reality, where» — el límite que Hofmann pone a la analogía, y que es el punto de su doctrina: hay que volver, y lo vivido se evalúa aquí; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente

«Without exception, this selection involves only reports by persons who have tried LSD not simply out of curiosity or as a sophisticated pleasure drug, but who rather experimented with it in the quest for expanded possibilities of experience of the inner and outer world; who attempted, with the help of this drug key, to unlock new “doors of perception” (William Blake); or, to continue with the comparison chosen by Rudolf Gelpke, who employed LSD to surmount the force of gravity of space and time in the accustomed worldview, in order to arrive thereby at new outlooks and understandings in the “universe of the soul.”» — el criterio con que Hofmann eligió los protocolos que publica —no curiosidad ni placer sino busca de posibilidades de experiencia— y las dos fórmulas que le sirven: las puertas de la percepción de William Blake y el universo del alma de Gelpke

«After I had ingested this dose, which could be considered average, I conversed very animatedly with a professional colleague until approximately 14:00 hours. Following this, I proceeded alone to the Werthmuller bookstore where the drug now began to act most unmistakably. I discerned, above all, that the subjects of the books in which I rummaged peacefully in the back of the shop were indifferent to me, whereas random details of my surroundings suddenly stood out strongly, and somehow appeared to be “meaningful.”» — arranque del primer protocolo de Rudolf Gelpke que Hofmann reproduce, fechado el 23 de junio de 1961 con 0,075 mg: lo que Gelpke reporta del comienzo es una redistribución del interés, con los detalles azarosos del entorno vueltos significativos

«I listened to the conversation (even to myself» — la distancia que Gelpke describe respecto de su propia habla; el renglón sigue en la plana siguiente con la fórmula *as from far away*

«The things that were discussed (the conversation dealt with Persian stories that I had translated) “belonged to another world”: a world about which I could indeed express myself (I had, after all, recently still inhabited it myself and remembered the “rules of the game”!), but to which I no longer possessed any emotional connection.» — lo que Gelpke reporta de su propio mundo profesional bajo el efecto: podía hablar de él y recordaba sus reglas de juego, y ya no le quedaba conexión afectiva

«I had no “visions,” saw and heard everything as usual, and yet everything was also altered in an indescribable way; “imperceptible glassy walls” everywhere.» — la negativa que Gelpke consigna y que objeta la idea corriente del efecto: ninguna visión, todo como siempre y a la vez alterado

«It especially struck me that I seemed to lose control over my facial musculature—I was convinced that my face was grown stiff, completely expressionless, empty, slack and masklike.» — la pérdida del control sobre la musculatura facial que Gelpke reporta

«I remember that my own hands somehow were in my way: I put them in my pockets, let them dangle, entwined them behind my back...as some burdensome objects, which must be dragged around with us and which no one knows quite how to stow away.» — la extrañeza del propio cuerpo que Gelpke describe, con la imagen de los objetos incómodos que hay que cargar

«In no way had I had the feeling of being inebriated. What I experienced was rather a gradual mental extinction.» — cómo nombra Gelpke lo que le pasó, contra el término de embriaguez

«It was not at all frightening; but I can imagine that in the transition to certain mental disturbances— naturally dispersed over a greater interval—a very similar process happens: as long as the recollection of the former individual existence in the human world is still present, the patient who has become unconnected can still (to some extent) find his way about in the world: later, however, when the memories fade and ultimately die out, he completely loses this ability.» — la analogía que Gelpke propone, y la acota con *I can imagine*: el paso a ciertos trastornos mentales seguiría un proceso parecido, ligado a la pérdida del recuerdo de la existencia anterior

«I sat down, with a view out of a window, and was at once enraptured: the window was opened wide, the diaphanous gossamer curtains, on the other hand, were drawn, and now a mild wind from the outside played with these veils and with the silhouettes of potted plants and leafy tendrils on the sill behind, which the sunlight delineated on the curtains breathing in the breeze.» — la escena de la ventana con que Gelpke marca el vuelco del protocolo

«I knew what “it” was, but T sought after the name for it, after the formula, after the “magic word” that I knew and already I had it: Totentanz, the dance of the dead» — el nombre que Gelpke dice haber buscado y hallado para lo que veía; el troceo imprime la *T* mayúscula donde el inglés pide I

«But then a great cheerfulness infiltrated me, and I heard the music of silence, and even my soul danced with the redeemed shadows to the whistle of the wind.» — el giro de tono en el protocolo de Gelpke, del miedo a la alegría

«Yes, I understood: this is the curtain, and this curtain itself IS the secret, the “ultimate” that it concealed. Why, therefore, tear it up? He who does that only tears up himself. Because “there behind,” behind the curtain, is “nothing.”» — la tesis con que cierra el protocolo de Gelpke, y que es la formulación más fuerte del libro sobre el velo: el velo mismo es el secreto, y rasgarlo es rasgarse uno

«Beginning of the effect already after about 30 minutes with strong inner agitation, trembling hands, skin chills, taste of metal on the palate.» — arranque del segundo protocolo de Gelpke, del 15 de abril de 1961 con 0,150 mg, con los síntomas corporales cronometrados

«10:20: I lack the words to describe my current condition. It is as if an “other” complete stranger were seizing possession of me bit by bit. Have greatest trouble writing (“inhibited” or” uninhibited”?—I don't know!). This sinister process of an advancing self-estrangement aroused in me the feeling of powerlessness, of being helplessly delivered up.» — la extrañeza de sí que Gelpke describe como un otro que va tomando posesión, y el sentimiento de impotencia que le sigue

«A sky as heavy as lead appeared to press down on everything; I felt my ego compressed in itself, and I felt like a withered dwarf» — las imágenes de la fase opresiva en el protocolo de Gelpke

«I was dejected, and my self seemed so repulsive and hateful to me that I had not dared (and on this day even had actually repeatedly desperately avoided) to look in a mirror or in the face of another person.» — la aversión a sí mismo que Gelpke consigna, hasta evitar el espejo y la cara ajena

«perceived, deep within its stubborn oppressive weight, how it held my limbs surrounded with a hundred polyp arms—yes, I actually experienced this in a mysterious rhythm; electrified contacts, as of a real, indeed imperceptible, but sinister omniscient being, which I addressed with a loud voice, reviled, bid, and challenged to open combat.» — la figura del pólipo que da título al protocolo de Gelpke, y el combate que dice haberle propuesto en voz alta; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«“It is only the projection of evil in your self,” another voice assured me. “It is your soul monster!” This perception was like a flashing sword. It passed through me with redeeming sharpness.» — la voz que Gelpke reporta y la interpretación que le da el vuelco: el monstruo como proyección del mal propio

«wanted to become a storm, a lake, an ocean, with millions and millions of drops—and on all of these drops, on every single one of them, the light danced» — la imagen con que se resuelve el segundo protocolo de Gelpke; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Both the estrangement from the environment and the estrangement from the individual body, experienced in both of the preceding experiments described by Gelpke—as well as the feeling of an alien being, a demon, seizing possession of oneself—are features of LSD inebriation that, in spite of all the other diversity and variability of the experience, are cited in most research reports.» — lo que Hofmann extrae como rasgos comunes de los dos protocolos de Gelpke y de la mayoría de los informes: extrañamiento del entorno y del cuerpo, y la sensación de un ser ajeno que toma posesión

«I have already described the possession by the LSD demon as an uncanny experience in my first planned self-experiment. Anxiety and terror then affected me especially strongly, because at that time I had no way of knowing that the demon would again release his victim.» — Hofmann enlaza esos rasgos con su propio autoexperimento, y explica por qué en él el terror fue mayor: no sabía aún que el demonio suelta a su víctima

«The adventures described in the following report, by a painter, belong to a completely different type of LSD experience.» — Hofmann presenta el relato siguiente y lo distingue de los anteriores

«This artist visited me in order to obtain my opinion about how the experience under LSD should be understood and interpreted. He feared that the profound transformation of his personal life, which had resulted from his experiment with LSD, could rest on a mere delusion.» — de dónde salió el relato del pintor y qué buscaba su autor: una opinión sobre cómo entender la experiencia, temiendo que su cambio de vida descansara en un espejismo

«My explanation—that LSD, as a biochemical agent, only triggered his visions but had not created them and that these visions rather originated from his own soul—gave him confidence in the meaning of his transformation.» — la respuesta que Hofmann dice haberle dado, y que es su tesis sobre lo que hace la sustancia: agente bioquímico que dispara las visiones sin crearlas, porque vienen del alma del propio sujeto

«Despite the sorrowful consequences that I had experienced previously, as a result of erotic escapades, despite the pain and the disappointments that I inflicted on those who loved me and had believed in me, I was drawn again with irresistible power to this adventure, to Eva, to her youth. I was under the spell of this girl.» — arranque del relato del pintor, en su propia voz, sobre la aventura que precede al experimento

«I had indeed long ago done away with God and the Devil. They were for me only human inventions, which came to be utilized by a skeptical, unscrupulous minority, in order to suppress and exploit a believing, naive majority.» — la posición declarada del pintor antes de la sesión, que es la que el relato verá cambiar: Dios y el Diablo como invenciones humanas al servicio de una minoría sin escrúpulos

«I also perceived the institution of marriage as a social lie. The marriage of my parents and marriages of my acquaintances seemed to confirm that sufficiently for me. Couples remained together because it was more convenient; they were accustomed to it, and “yes, if it weren't for the children...” Under the pretense of a good marriage, each tormented the other emotionally, to the point of rashes and stomach ulcers, or each went his own way.» — la segunda posición declarada del pintor, con los ejemplos de que la saca

«Everything in me rebelled against the thought of having to love only one and the same woman a life long. I frankly perceived that as repugnant and unnatural. Thus stood my inner disposition on that portentous summer evening at the mountain lake.» — cómo cierra el pintor el cuadro de su disposición interior antes del experimento

«At seven o’clock in the evening both of us took a moderately strong dose of LSD, some 0.1 milligrams.» — la hora y la dosis que el pintor consigna, y el único dato de protocolo del relato

«We felt strange and distant and had the feeling that they would notice something in us.» — el primer signo social del efecto en el relato del pintor

«As I switched on the light, the granite staircase, leading from the shore road to the house, appeared to flame up from step to step. Eva quivered all at once, frightened. “Hellish” went through my mind, and all of a sudden horror passed through my limbs, and I knew: now it's going to turn out badly.» — el punto en que el relato del pintor vuelca hacia el terror, con la palabra que le vino a la cabeza

«Scarcely were we in our room, when Eva threw herself on the bed and looked at me with wide eyes. It was not in the least possible to think of love. I sat down on the edge of the bed and held both of Eva's hands. Then came the terror. We sank into a deep, indescribable horror, which neither of us understood.» — el comienzo de la crisis en el relato del pintor, y la primera consecuencia: el propósito erótico que motivaba el viaje resulta impensable

«There was no way out. Outside was only gloomy night and the deep, black lake. In the public house all the lights were extinguished; the people had probably gone to sleep. What would they have said if they could see us now? Possibly they would summon the police, and then everything would become still much worse. A drug scandal — intolerable agonizing thoughts.» — el miedo social que el pintor consigna dentro de la crisis, que es el que trae la ilegalidad: el escándalo y la policía

«You must protect Eva, you must bring her through until morning, then the effects will discontinue, I said to myself. Then again, however, I plunged into nameless horror. There was no more time or reason; it seemed as if this condition would never end.» — el único asidero que el pintor dice haber tenido, y la pérdida del tiempo y de la razón

«The objects in the room were animated to caricatures; everything on all sides sneered scornfully. I saw Eva's yellow-black striped shoes, which I had found so stimulating, appearing as two large, evil wasps crawling on the floor. The water piping above the washbasin changed to a dragon head, whose eyes, the two water taps, observed me malevolently.» — las metamorfosis de los objetos que el pintor describe, con el detalle de los zapatos que antes le parecían estimulantes

«My first name, George, came into my mind, and all at once I felt like Knight George, who must fight for Eva.» — el nombre propio que el pintor convierte en figura dentro de la crisis, el caballero Jorge

«This is hell, I thought. There is indeed no Devil and no demons, and yet they were perceptible in us, filled up the room, and tormented us with unimaginable terror. Imagination, or not? Hallucinations, projections? Insignificant questions when confronted with the reality of fear that was fixed in our bodies and shook us: the fear alone, it existed.» — la formulación más aguda del relato del pintor: sin creer en el Diablo ni en los demonios, los percibía; y la pregunta por la alucinación le resulta insignificante ante el miedo fijado en el cuerpo

«Some passages from Huxley's book THE Doors OF PERCEPTION came to me and brought me brief comfort.» — el libro al que el pintor dice haberse agarrado en la crisis; el troceo imprime el título en versalitas partidas

«She wore a fine golden chain around her neck with the medallion of the Virgin Mary. It was a gift from her younger brother. I noticed how a benevolent, comforting radiation, which was connected with pure love, emanated from this necklace.» — el primer signo benévolo que el pintor reporta, y su soporte material: el medallón de la Virgen que era regalo del hermano de Eva

«There, in the midst of this agony, I perceived the ringing of cowbells from afar as a wonderful, promising music. Yet soon it became silent again, and renewed fear and dread once again set in. As a drowning man hopes for a rescuing plank, so I wished that the cows would yet again want to draw near the house.» — el otro asidero del pintor, con la comparación del náufrago que espera una tabla

«Morning finally dawned. With great relief I noticed how the chinks in the window shutters lit up. Now I could leave Eva to herself; she had quieted down. Exhausted, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Shocked and deeply sad, I still sat on the edge of the bed. Gone was my pride and self-assurance; all that remained of me was a small heap of misery.» — el estado en que el pintor dice haber quedado al amanecer, con el orgullo y la seguridad perdidos

«I examined myself in the mirror and started: I had become ten years older in the course of the night.» — lo que el pintor dice haber visto en el espejo

«All at once the light seemed to become brighter, and in the plastic cords it began to sparkle and to twinkle; it glowed like diamonds and gems of all colors, and an overwhelming feeling of happiness welled up in me.» — el vuelco final del relato del pintor, que arranca de la pantalla de plástico de la lámpara

«It was comparable to the interior of an immense Gothic church nave, with infinitely many columns and Gothic arches. These consisted, however, not of stone, but rather of crystal. Bluish, yellowish, milky, and clearly transparent crystal columns surrounded me like trees in an open forest. Their points and arches became lost in dizzying heights.» — la arquitectura de cristal que el pintor describe en la visión final, que repite la catedral gótica del protocolo de Stoll

«wonderful, gentle voice spoke to me out of the light. I did not hear it with my external ear, but rather perceived it, as if it were clear thoughts that arise in one.» — cómo describe el pintor el modo de esa voz, que no oye con el oído externo; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I realized that in the horror of the passing night I had experienced my own individual condition: selfishness. My egotism had kept me separated from mankind and had led me to inner isolation.» — la interpretación que el pintor da del terror de la noche: había experimentado su propia condición, el egoísmo, y el aislamiento interior al que lo llevó

«Hell, therefore, had signified that: egotism and lovelessness.» — la definición de infierno que el pintor saca de su propia crisis, y que es la clave de su relato

«Amid flowing tears, I was enlightened with the knowledge that true love means surrender of selfishness and that it is not desires but rather selfless love that forms the bridge to the heart of our fellow man.» — lo que el pintor declara haber entendido: el amor verdadero como entrega del egoísmo, y no el deseo, como puente al corazón del prójimo

«I had experienced the grace of God. But how could it be possible that it was radiating toward me, particularly out of this cheap lampshade? Then the inner voice answered: God is in everything.» — la objeción que el propio pintor se pone —cómo puede la gracia venir de una pantalla barata— y la respuesta que dice haber recibido de la voz interior

«The experience at the mountain lake has given me the certainty that beyond the ephemeral, material world there also exists an imperishable, spiritual reality, which is our true home. I am now on my way home.» — la certeza con que el pintor cierra su relato: más allá del mundo material hay una realidad espiritual imperecedera que es su casa verdadera

«For Eva everything remained just a bad dream. We broke up a short time thereafter.» — el desenlace que el pintor consigna para la otra participante de la misma sesión, y que deja el caso sin armonizar: la misma noche fue para ella solo una pesadilla

«The following notes kept by a twenty-five-year-old advertising agent are contained in The LSD Story by John Cashman (Faweett Publications, Greenwich, CT, 1966). They were included in this selection of LSD reports, along with the preceding example, because the progression that they describe—from terrifying visions to extreme euphoria, a kind of death-rebirth cycle—is characteristic of many LSD experiments.» — Hofmann declara la procedencia del relato siguiente y por qué lo eligió: el paso de las visiones terroríficas a la euforia extrema, una suerte de ciclo de muerte y renacimiento; tramo con año entre paréntesis en la referencia editorial, releído entero en el crudo

«My first experience with LSD came at the home of a close friend who served as my guide. The surroundings were comfortably familiar and relaxing. I took two ampules (200 micrograms) of LSD mixed in half a glass of distilled water. The experience lasted for close to eleven hours, from eight o'clock on a Saturday evening until very nearly seven o'clock the next morning.» — arranque del relato del publicista de veinticinco años, con el guía, la dosis y la duración

«I have no firm point of comparison, but I am positive that no saint ever saw more glorious or joyously beautiful visions or experienced a more blissful state of transcendence.» — la comparación con que el publicista mide su experiencia, y el grado que le pone

«My powers to convey the miracles are shabby and far too inadequate to the task at hand. A sketch, and an artless one at that, must suffice where only the hand of a great master working from a complete palette could do justice to the subject.» — el mismo problema de lenguaje que atraviesa el libro, ahora en boca del publicista

«My superior smile at the fumbling, halting attempts of others in their attempts to explain the heavenly visions to me has been transformed into a knowing smile of a conspirator—the common experience requires no words.» — el cambio de actitud que el publicista consigna respecto de quienes antes le contaban lo mismo

«I think it was several minutes before I realized that the light was changing color kaleidoscopically with the different pitch of the musical sounds, bright reds and yellows in the high register, deep purple in the low.» — la sinestesia con que empieza el efecto en el relato del publicista, ligada a la radio

«Suddenly I was aware that the colors were the music. The discovery did not seem startling. Values, so cherished and guarded, were becoming unimportant.» — el punto en que la sinestesia deja de ser correspondencia y se vuelve identidad, y el efecto sobre los valores que el publicista dice tener en guardia

«I was reduced to uttering one-syllable words while polysyllabic impressions tumbled through my mind with the speed of light.» — el desfase entre pensamiento y habla que el publicista describe, y que Stoll reporta con otras palabras

«The dimensions of the room were changing, now sliding into a fluttering diamond shape, then straining into an oval shape as if someone were pumping air into the room, expanding it to the bursting point.» — la deformación del espacio en el relato del publicista

«The egg, large, pulsating, and a luminous green, was there before I actually saw it. I sensed it was there.» — la aparición que organiza la parte central del relato, y el modo en que el publicista dice haberla percibido antes de verla

«But even as I thought of this, the egg slowly dissolved and revealed a great multihued flower that was like no flower I have ever seen. Its incredibly exquisite petals opened on the room, spraying indescribable colors in every direction.» — la metamorfosis del huevo en flor, que es el eje de la secuencia

«The first tinge of apprehension came later when I saw the center of the flower slowly eating away at the petals, a black, shiny center that appeared to be formed by the backs of a» — el vuelco del relato del publicista, con el centro negro que devora los pétalos; la frase sigue con *thousand ants*

«Then in a flash of insight I realized to my horror that the black thing was actually devouring me. I was the flower and this foreign, creeping thing was eating me!» — el momento de identificación que dispara el terror: el sujeto se reconoce como la flor devorada

«I heard my guide say: “Easy now. Just go with it. Don't fight it. Go with it.”» — la instrucción del guía que el publicista cita textualmente, y que es la regla práctica de la escuela psicodélica: no resistir

«I felt myself dissolving into the terrifying apparition, my body melting in waves into the core of blackness, my mind stripped of ego and life and, yes even death. In one great crystal instant I realized that I was immortal.» — lo que el publicista declara haber sabido en la disolución del ego

«I asked the question: “Am I dead?” But the question had no meaning. Meaning was meaningless.» — la suspensión de la pregunta misma que el publicista consigna

«Suddenly there was white light and the shimmering beauty of unity. There was light everywhere, white light with a clarity beyond description. I was dead and I was born and the exultation was pure and holy.» — la fórmula de muerte y nacimiento con que el publicista describe el vuelco, en luz blanca

«I saw God and the devil and all the saints and I knew the truth.» — la declaración más fuerte del relato del publicista, y la que Hofmann publica sin comentario

«I knew and understood all there is to know and understand. I was immortal, wise beyond wisdom, and capable of love, of all loves. Every atom of my body and soul had seen and felt God.» — lo que el publicista reclama haber sabido en el punto alto, hasta el último átomo de cuerpo y alma

«There was no time, no place, no me. There was only cosmic harmony. It was all there in the white light. With every fiber of my being I knew it was so.» — la supresión de tiempo, lugar y yo que el publicista consigna, y la certeza con que la sostiene

«As the experience receded I longed to hold onto it and tenaciously fought against the encroachment of the realities of time and place. For me, the realities of our limited existence were no longer valid. I had seen the ultimate realities and there would be no others.» — la resistencia a volver que el publicista describe, y la jerarquía que le queda entre las dos realidades

«As I was slowly transported back to the tyranny of clocks and schedules and petty hatreds, I tried to talk of my trip, my enlightenment, the horrors, the beauty, all of it. I must have been babbling like an idiot.» — cómo describe el publicista el regreso y el intento de contarlo

«The preceding collection of reports on “travels in the universe of the soul,” even though they encompass such dissimilar experiences, are still not able to establish a complete picture of the broad spectrum of all possible reactions to LSD, which extends from the most sublime spiritual, religious, and mystical experiences, down to gross psychosomatic disturbances.» — el balance con que Hofmann cierra la colección de relatos, y el límite que le pone: ni siquiera juntos dan el cuadro completo del espectro

«Cases of LSD sessions have been described in which the stimulation of fantasy and of visionary experience, as expressed in the LSD reports assembled here, is completely absent, and the experimenter was for the whole time in a state of ghastly physical and mental discomfort, or even felt severely ill.» — el contrapeso que Hofmann añade a la selección que acaba de publicar: hay sesiones sin fantasía ni visión, de puro malestar

«the influence of LSD are also contradictory. Since stimulation of all sensory perception is an essential feature of LSD effects, the sensual orgy of sexual intercourse can undergo unimaginable enhancements.» — lo que Hofmann consigna sobre el efecto sexual, empezando por declarar contradictorios los informes; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Cases have also been described, however, in which LSD led not to the anticipated erotic paradise, but rather to a purgatory or even to the hell of frightful extinction of every perception and to a lifeless vacuum.» — el reverso que Hofmann pone al lado sin armonizar, contra la fama afrodisíaca que atribuye a Leary

«Such a variety and contradiction of reactions to a drug is found only in LSD and the related hallucinogens. The explanation for this lies in the complexity and variability of the conscious and subconscious minds of people, which LSD is able to penetrate and to bring to life as experienced reality.» — la explicación con que Hofmann cierra el capítulo, y que vuelve a poner la causa en el sujeto y no en la sustancia: la complejidad y variabilidad de la mente consciente y subconsciente

«LATE IN 1956 a notice in the daily paper caught my interest. Among some Indians in southern Mexico, American researchers had discovered mushrooms that were eaten in religious ceremonies and that produced an inebriated condition accompanied by hallucinations.» — cómo dice Hofmann que supo de los hongos mexicanos: una noticia de periódico a fines de 1956

«But there were no names and addresses in the short newspaper article, so that it was impossible to get further information. Nevertheless, the mysterious mushrooms, whose chemical investigation would be a tempting problem, stayed in my thoughts from then on.» — el obstáculo que Hofmann consigna y el interés que le quedó

«As it later turned out, LSD was the reason that these mushrooms found their way into my laboratory, without my assistance, at the beginning of the following year.» — el enlace que Hofmann declara entre sus dos hallazgos: el LSD trajo los hongos a su laboratorio sin que él los buscara

«For a long time the existence of these magic mushrooms had remained an enigma. The history of their rediscovery is presented at first hand in the magnificent two-volume standard work of ethnomycology, Mushrooms, Russia and History (Pantheon Books, New York, 1957), for the authors, the American researchers Valentina Pavlovna Wasson and her husband, R. Gordon Wasson, played a decisive role in this rediscovery. The following descriptions of the fascinating history of these mushrooms are taken from the Wassons’ book.» — Hofmann declara su fuente para toda la historia que sigue: el libro de Valentina Pavlovna Wasson y R. Gordon Wasson, y les adjudica un papel decisivo en el redescubrimiento; tramo con año entre paréntesis en la referencia editorial, releído entero en el crudo

«The first written evidence of the use of inebriating mushrooms on festival occasions, or in the course of religious ceremonies and magically oriented healing practices, is found among the Spanish chroniclers and naturalists of the sixteenth century, who entered the country soon after the conquest of Mexico by Hernan Cortes.» — dónde sitúa Hofmann el primer testimonio escrito del uso de hongos embriagantes

«The most important of these witnesses is the Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagun, who mentions the magic mushrooms and describes their effects and their use in several passages of his famous historical work, Historia General de tas Cosas de Nueva Espana, written between the years 1529 and 1590.» — el testigo que Hofmann pone por encima de los demás, con las fechas que da para su obra; el troceo imprime el título *Historia General de tas Cosas de Nueva Espana*

«Coming at the very first, at the time of feasting, they ate mushrooms when, as they said, it was the hour of the blowing of the flutes. Not yet did they partake of food; they drank only chocolate during the night.» — arranque del pasaje de Sahagún que Hofmann reproduce sobre la fiesta de los mercaderes, con la hora de las flautas

«slave owners. Some saw in a vision that they would commit adultery [and so] would have their heads bashed in, would be stoned to death... Some saw in a vision that they would perish in the water. Some saw in a vision that they would pass to tranquility in death.» — el catálogo de visiones que el pasaje de Sahagún enumera, todas de destino y ninguna de doctrina; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«In a publication from the same period, Diego Duran, a Dominican friar, reported that inebriating mushrooms were eaten at the great festivity on the occasion of the accession to the throne of Moctezuma II, the famed emperor of the Aztecs, in the year 1502.» — el segundo testimonio colonial que Hofmann trae, con su fecha: la entronización de Moctezuma II

«And what happened was that there had come to [the village] an Indian... and his name was Juan Chichiton... and he had brought the red-colored mushrooms that are gathered in the uplands, and with them he had committed a great idolatry... In the house where everyone had gathered on the occasion of a saint's feast... the teponastli [an Aztec percussion instrument] was playing and singing was going on the whole night through. After most of the night had passed, Juan Chichiton, who was the priest for that solumn rite, to all of those present at the fiesta gave the mushrooms to eat, after the manner of Communion, and gave them» — el pasaje de Jacinto de la Serna que Hofmann reproduce, donde el cronista describe el reparto de hongos a la manera de la Comunión y lo llama idolatría; el troceo imprime *solumn* donde el inglés pide solemn

«In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, these mushrooms were described as teonanactl, which can be translated as “sacred mushroom.”» — el nombre náhuatl y su traducción, que es uno de los términos de la deuda del bloque psicodélico; el troceo lo imprime aquí *teonanactl* y en el resto del capítulo *teonanacatl*

«stones have been found in El Salvador, Guatemala, and the contiguous mountainous districts of Mexico. These are stone sculptures in the form of pileate mushroom, on whose stem the face or the form of a god or an animal-like demon is carved. Most are about 30 cm high. The oldest examples, according to archaeologists, date back to before 500 B.C.» — las piedras-hongo que Hofmann describe como indicio precolombino, con su altura y su datación; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«R. G. Wasson argues, quite convincingly, that there is a connection between these mushroom stones and teonanacatl. If true, this means that the mushroom cult, the magico-medicinal and religious-ceremonial use of the magic mushrooms, is more than two thousand years old.» — la tesis que Hofmann adjudica a Wasson sobre el enlace entre las piedras-hongo y el teonanácatl, y la acota con un condicional

«To the Christian missionaries, the inebriating, vision- and hallucination-producing effects of these mushrooms seemed to be Devil's work. They therefore tried, with all the means in their power, to extirpate their use. But they succeeded only partially, for the Indians have continued secretly down to our time to utilize the mushroom teonanacatl, which was sacred to them.» — lo que Hofmann consigna de la persecución misionera y de su resultado parcial

«Strange to say, the reports in the old chronicles about the use of magic mushrooms remained unnoticed during the following centuries, probably because they were considered products of the imagination of a superstitious age.» — la explicación con que Hofmann da cuenta del olvido de los cronistas durante siglos, y la marca como probable

«All traces of the existence of “sacred mushrooms” were in danger of becoming obliterated once and for all, when, in 1915, an American botanist of repute, Dr. W. E. Safford, in an address before the Botanical Society in Washington and in a scientific publication, advanced the thesis that no such thing as magic mushrooms had ever existed at all: the Spanish chroniclers had taken the mescaline cactus for a mushroom!» — la tesis de W. E. Safford que Hofmann consigna: los hongos mágicos no habrían existido nunca y los cronistas habrían tomado el cacto de la mescalina por un hongo

«Even if false, this proposition of Safford’s served nevertheless to direct the attention of the scientific world to the riddle of the mysterious mushrooms.» — el efecto que Hofmann le concede a esa tesis pese a tenerla por falsa

«It was the Mexican physician Dr. Blas Pablo Reko who first openly disagreed with Safford’s interpretation and who found evidence that mushrooms were still employed in medicinalreligious ceremonies even in our time, in remote districts of the» — a quién adjudica Hofmann la primera objeción abierta a Safford; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente; el impreso parte *medicinal-religious* a fin de renglón y la extracción lo devuelve fundido

«But not until the years 1938 did the anthropologist Robert J. Weitlaner and Dr. Richard Evans Schultes, a botanist from Harvard University, find actual mushrooms in that region, which were used there for this ceremonial purpose» — los nombres y la fecha con que Hofmann data el hallazgo de hongos ceremoniales sobre el terreno; el troceo imprime 1938 también unas líneas después para la ceremonia de Johnson, con lo que las dos fechas quedan iguales en el impreso

«and only in 1938 could a group of young American anthropologists, under the direction of Jean Bassett Johnson, attend a secret nocturnal mushroom ceremony for the first time. This was in Huautla de Jimenez, the capital of the Mazatec country, in the State of Oaxaca.» — la primera ceremonia nocturna a la que asistieron extranjeros según Hofmann, en Huautla de Jiménez, capital de la región mazateca

«But these researchers were only spectators, they were not permitted to partake of the mushrooms.» — el límite que Hofmann marca a esa primera asistencia, y que hace de Wasson el primer blanco que los prueba

«Then exploration of the magic mushrooms was interrupted. World War II broke out. Schultes, at the behest of the American government, had to occupy himself with rubber production in the Amazon territory, and Johnson was killed after the Allied landing in North Africa.» — lo que interrumpió la investigación según Hofmann, con el destino de Schultes y la muerte de Johnson

«R. G. Wasson was a banker, vice-president of the J. P. Morgan Co. in New York. His wife, who died in 1958, was a pediatrician.» — los oficios que Hofmann atribuye al matrimonio Wasson, y la fecha de la muerte de ella

«They received especially valuable information from an American missionary who had been active there for many years, Eunice V. Pike, member of the Wycliffe Bible Translators.» — la informante que Hofmann nombra para los Wasson, misionera con conocimiento de la lengua nativa

«This showed that the belief in the “sacred mushrooms” was still prevalent in that region. However, the Indians kept their beliefs a secret from strangers. It took great tact and skill, therefore, to gain the confidence of the indigenous population and to receive insight into this secret domain.» — lo que Hofmann consigna del secreto indígena frente a los extraños, y que enmarca la pregunta sobre María Sabina; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«In the modern form of the mushroom cult, the old religious ideas and customs are mingled with Christian ideas and Christian terminology. Thus the mushrooms are often spoken of as the blood of Christ, because they will grow only where a drop of Christ’s blood has fallen on the earth. According to another notion, the mushrooms sprout where a drop of saliva from Christ’s mouth has moistened the ground, and it is therefore Jesus Christ himself who speaks through the mushrooms.» — el sincretismo que Hofmann describe: el hongo como sangre de Cristo o brote de su saliva, y Jesucristo hablando por él

«The mushroom ceremony follows the form of a consultation. The seeker of advice or a sick person or his or her family questions a “wise man” or a “wise woman,” asabio orsabia, also named curandero or curandera, in return for a modest payment.» — la forma que Hofmann le da a la ceremonia: una consulta con paga

«Curandero can best be translated into English as “healing priest,” for his function is that of a physician as well as that of a priest, both being found only rarely in these remote regions. In the Mazatec language the healing priest is called co-ta-ci-ne, which means “one who knows.”» — las dos traducciones que Hofmann propone para el oficio, y el término mazateco que recoge

«He eats the mushroom in the framework of a ceremony that always takes place at night. The other persons present at the ceremony may sometimes receive mushrooms as well, yet a much greater dose always goes to the curandero.» — el reparto de dosis que Hofmann describe en la ceremonia

«The performance is executed with the accompaniment of prayers and entreaties, while the mushrooms are incensed briefly over a basin, in which copal (an incense-like resin) is burned. In complete darkness, at times by candlelight, while the others present lie quietly on their straw mats, the curandero, kneeling or sitting, prays and sings before a type of altar bearing a crucifix, an image of a saint, or some other object of worship.» — el dispositivo ritual que Hofmann describe, con el copal, la oscuridad y el altar con crucifijo

«In the monotonous song of the curandero, the mushroom teonanacatl gives its answers to the questions posed. It says whether the diseased person will live or die, which herbs will effect the cure; it reveals who has killed a specific person, or who has stolen the horse; or it makes known how a distant relative fares, and so forth.» — quién habla en la ceremonia según la descripción de Hofmann: el hongo da sus respuestas en el canto monótono del curandero, y las preguntas son de enfermedad, de robo y de ausentes

«Through the mediation of Dr. Yves Dunant, at the time director of the Paris branch of Sandoz, an inquiry came to the pharmaceutical research management in Basel from Professor Roger Heim, director of the Laboratoire de Cryptogamie of the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, asking whether we were interested in carrying out the chemical investigation of the Mexican hallucinogenic mushrooms.» — la cadena de mediaciones que Hofmann documenta, con Roger Heim, director del Laboratoire de Cryptogamie del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de París, como quien pide el análisis químico

«The mushroom ceremony not only has the function of a consulation of the type described; for the Indians it also has a meaning in many respects similar to the Holy Communion for the believing Christian.» — la equivalencia que Hofmann propone para el sentido de la ceremonia entre los indígenas; el troceo imprime *consulation*

«From many utterances of the natives it could be inferred that they believe that God has given the Indians the sacred mushroom because they are poor and possess no doctors and medicines; and also, because they cannot read, in particular the Bible, God can therefore speak directly to them through the mushroom.» — la razón que Hofmann atribuye a los propios indígenas: sin médicos, sin medicinas y sin poder leer la Biblia, Dios les habla directamente por el hongo

«The missionary Eunice V. Pike even alluded to the difficulties that result from explaining the Christian message, the written word, to a people who believe they possess a means—the sacred mushrooms of course—to make God's will known to them in a direct, clear manner: yes, the mushrooms permit them to see into heaven and to establish communication with God himself.» — la dificultad que Hofmann recoge de Eunice V. Pike: predicar la palabra escrita a quienes ya tienen un medio directo de conocer la voluntad de Dios

«The Indians’ reverence for the sacred mushrooms is also evident in their belief that they can be eaten only by a “clean” person. “Clean” here means ceremonially clean, and that term among other things includes sexual abstinence at least four days before and after ingestion of the mushrooms.» — la condición de pureza ceremonial que Hofmann consigna, con la abstinencia sexual de cuatro días a cada lado

«With nonobservance of these commandments, the mushrooms can make the person who eats them insane, or can even kill.» — la sanción que la creencia asocia al incumplimiento de esas reglas, según el relato de Hofmann

«The Wassons had undertaken their first expedition to the Mazatec country in 1953, but not until 1955 did they succeed in overcoming the shyness and reserve of the Mazatec friends they had managed to make, to the point of being admitted as active participants in a mushroom ceremony.» — las dos fechas con que Hofmann mide la reserva mazateca: dos años entre la primera expedición y la admisión como participantes

«his companion, the photographer Allan Richardson, were given sacred mushrooms to eat at the end of June 1955, on the occasion of a nocturnal mushroom ceremony. They thereby became in all likelihood the first outsiders, the first whites, ever permitted to take teonanacatl.» — la fecha del primer consumo por extranjeros que Hofmann consigna, con el grado *in all likelihood*; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«In the second volume of Mushrooms, Russia and History, in enraptured words, Wasson describes how the mushroom seized possession of him completely, although he had tried to struggle against its effects, in order to be able to remain an objective observer.» — Hofmann remite al segundo tomo del libro de Wasson y señala lo que el propio Wasson declara: intentó resistir el efecto para seguir siendo observador objetivo y no pudo

«First he saw geometric, colored patterns, which then took on architectural characteristics. Next followed visions of splendid colonnades, palaces of supernatural harmony and magnificence embellished with precious gems, triumphal cars drawn by fabulous creatures as they are known only from mythology, and landscapes of fabulous luster.» — el contenido de la visión de Wasson según el resumen de Hofmann, con la misma arquitectura que aparece en los demás protocolos del libro

«Detached from the body, the spirit soared timelessly in a realm of fantasy among images of a higher reality and deeper meaning than those of the ordinary, everyday world. The essence of life, the ineffable, seemed to be on the verge of being unlocked, but the ultimate door failed to open.» — el límite que Hofmann marca en la experiencia de Wasson, y que es el que el libro repite: lo inefable al borde de abrirse y la puerta última que no se abre

«This experience was the final proof, for Wasson, that the magical powers attributed to the mushrooms actually existed and were not merely superstition.» — lo que Hofmann adjudica a Wasson como conclusión propia, y lo marca como suya

«Accompanying the Wassons on further expeditions into the Mazatec country, Heim conducted the botanical identification of the sacred mushrooms. He showed that they were gilled mushrooms from the family Strophariaceae, about a dozen different species not previously described scientifically, the greatest part belonging to the genus Psilocybe.» — lo que Hofmann adjudica a Roger Heim en la identificación botánica: una docena de especies no descritas antes, casi todas del género Psilocybe

«Chemical investigations ran parallel with these botanical studies on the magic mushrooms, with the goal of extracting the hallucinogenically active principle from the mushroom material and preparing it in chemically pure form. Such investigations were carried out at Professor Heim’s instigation in the chemical laboratory of the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, and work teams were occupied with this problem in the United States in the research laboratories of two large pharmaceutical companies: Merck, and Smith, Kline and French.» — quiénes trabajaron en paralelo el análisis químico según Hofmann, en París y en dos farmacéuticas estadounidenses

«As the chemical investigations in Paris and in the United States turned out to be ineffectual, Professor Heim addressed this matter to our firm, as mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, because he felt that our experimental experience with LSD, related to the magic mushrooms by similar activity, could be of use in the isolation attempts. Thus it was LSD that showed teonanacatl the way into our laboratory.» — por qué llegó el encargo a Basilea según Hofmann, y la fórmula con que cierra el enlace entre sus dos hallazgos

«However, nobody showed much eagerness to take on this problem because it was known that LSD and everything connected with it were scarcely popular subjects with the top management. Because the enthusiasm necessary for successful endeavors cannot be commanded, and because the enthusiasm was already present in me as far as this problem was concerned, I decided to conduct the investigation myself.» — la razón interna por la que Hofmann acabó haciéndolo él: nadie quería un asunto ligado al LSD, impopular con la dirección, y el entusiasmo no se manda

«Since there were no clues at all concerning the chemical properties of the active principle we sought, the isolation attempts had to be conducted on the basis of the effects of the extract fractions. But none of the various extracts showed an unequivocal effect, either in the mouse or the dog, which could have pointed to the presence of hallucinogenic principles.» — el problema de método que Hofmann describe: sin pistas químicas, el aislamiento dependía del efecto, y ninguna fracción lo mostraba en ratón ni en perro; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«That could only be determined by experimenting with this mushroom material on a human being. As in the case of LSD, I made this fundamental experiment myself, since it is not appropriate for researchers to ask anyone else to perform self-experiments that they require for their own investigations, especially if they entail, as in this case, a certain risk.» — el principio con que Hofmann justifica el autoexperimento, y que es su regla declarada: no le pide a nadie un experimento sobre sí que uno necesita para su propia investigación, y menos con riesgo

«In this experiment I ate 32 dried specimens of Psilocybe mexicana, which together weighed 2.4 g. This amount corresponded to an average dose, according to the reports of Wasson and Heim, as it is used by the curanderos.» — la dosis del autoexperimento con hongos, medida contra la de los curanderos según Wasson y Heim

«Thirty minutes after my taking the mushrooms, the exterior world began to undergo a strange transformation. Everything assumed a Mexican character.» — arranque del protocolo del autoexperimento con Psilocybe mexicana

«As I was perfectly well aware that my knowledge of the Mexican origin of the mushroom would lead me to imagine only Mexican scenery, I tried deliberately to look on my environment as I knew it normally. But all voluntary efforts to look at things in their customary forms and colors proved ineffective. Whether my eyes were closed or open, I saw only Mexican motifs and colors.» — la prueba de control que Hofmann se impone dentro del efecto, para descartar la sugestión, y su fracaso

«When the doctor supervising the experiment bent over me to check my blood pressure, he was transformed into an Aztec priest and I would not have been astonished if he had drawn an obsidian knife.» — la transformación del médico supervisor en sacerdote azteca que Hofmann consigna en su protocolo

«the situation, it amused me to see how the Germanic face of my colleague had acquired a purely Indian expression.» — la reserva humorística que Hofmann conserva dentro del efecto; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«At the peak of the intoxication, about 1 1/2 hours after ingestion of the mushrooms, the rush of interior pictures, mostly abstract motifs rapidly changing in shape and color, reached such an alarming degree that I feared that I would be torn into this whirlpool of form and color and would dissolve.» — el punto alto del protocolo de Hofmann con hongos, con el miedo a disolverse en el torbellino

«I felt my return to everyday reality to be a happy return from a strange, fantastic but quite real world to an old and familiar home.» — cómo describe Hofmann el regreso, y la jerarquía que deja: el mundo cotidiano como casa vieja y familiar, no como realidad superior

«This self-experiment showed once again that human beings react much more sensitively than animals to psychoactive substances.» — la conclusión metodológica que Hofmann saca: el ser humano reacciona mucho más sensiblemente que el animal a estas sustancias

«It was not inactivity of the mushroom material, but rather the deficient reaction capability of the research animals vis-a-vis such a type of active principle, that explained why our extracts had appeared inactive in the mouse and dog.» — la enmienda que Hofmann hace a su propia sospecha anterior sobre el material de Heim

«Because the assay on human subjects was the only test at our disposal for the detection of the active extract fractions, we had no other choice than to perform the testing on ourselves if we wanted to carry on the work and bring it to a successful conclusion.» — la consecuencia práctica de ese hallazgo, y la que convierte el autoexperimento en método de trabajo del laboratorio

«With the help of this reliable test on human subjects, the active principle could be isolated, concentrated, and transformed into a chemically pure state by means of the newest separation methods. Two new substances, which I named psilocybin and psilocin, were thereby obtained in the form of colorless crystals.» — el resultado del trabajo y los dos nombres que Hofmann declara haber puesto; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«These results were published in March 1958 in the journal Experientia, in collaboration with Professor Heim and with my colleagues Dr. A. Brack and Dr. H. Kobel, who had provided greater quantities of mushroom material for these investigations after they had essentially improved the laboratory cultivation of the mushrooms.» — la fecha y el sitio de la publicación, con los coautores que Hofmann nombra

«Psilocybin and psilocin belong, like LSD, to the indole compounds, the biologically important class of substances found in the plant and animal kingdoms. Particular chemical features common to both the mushroom substances and LSD show that psilocybin and psilocin are closely related to LSD, not only with regard to psychic effects but also to their chemical structures.» — el parentesco químico que Hofmann traza, y que es la tesis del capítulo: los hongos y el LSD son parientes por estructura y no solo por efecto

«Psilocybin is the phosphoric acid ester of psilocin and, as such, is the first and hitherto only phosphoric-acid-containing indole compound discovered in nature.» — la singularidad química que Hofmann adjudica a la psilocibina

«Psilocybin and psilocin possess a chemical structure very similar to the brain factor serotonin. As was already mentioned in the chapter on animal experiments and biological research, serotonin plays an important role in the chemistry of brain functions.» — el tercer parentesco que Hofmann traza, ahora con la serotonina del propio cerebro

«The average active dose of psilocybin or psilocin in human beings amounts to 10 mg (0.01 g); accordingly, these two substances are more than 100 times less active than LSD» — la proporción de potencia que Hofmann da entre los hongos y el LSD

«Moreover, the effects of the mushroom factors last only four to six hours, much shorter than the effects of LSD (eight to twelve hours» — la diferencia de duración que Hofmann da entre los hongos y el LSD

«Thus with the isolation and synthesis of the active principles, the demystification of the magic mushrooms was accomplished. The compounds whose wondrous effects led the Indians to believe for millennia that a god was residing in the mushrooms had their chemical structures elucidated and could be produced synthetically in flasks.» — la frase con que Hofmann nombra lo que su propio trabajo hizo con los hongos: desmitificación; y la pone junto a la creencia milenaria de que un dios residía en ellos

«Just what progress in scientific knowledge was accomplished by natural products research in this case? Essentially, when all is said and done, we can only say that the mystery of the wondrous effects of teonanacatl was reduced to the mystery of the effects of two crystalline substances—since these effects cannot be explained by science either, but can only be described.» — la pregunta que Hofmann se hace sobre el alcance de ese avance, y la respuesta que la acota: el misterio del teonanácatl quedó reducido al misterio de dos sustancias cristalinas, que la ciencia tampoco explica y solo describe

«The relationship between the psychic effects of psilocybin and those of LSD, their visionary hallucinatory character, is evident in the following report from Antaios, of a psilocybin experiment by Dr. Rudolf Gelpke. He has characterized his experiences with LSD and psilocybin, as already mentioned in a previous chapter, as “travels in the universe of the soul.”» — Hofmann presenta el protocolo de psilocibina de Rudolf Gelpke y repite la fórmula con que este nombró sus experiencias

«Although I had firmly resolved to make constant notes, it now seemed to me a complete waste of time, the motion of writing infinitely slow, the possibilities of verbal expression unspeakably paltry—measured by the flood of inner experience that inundated me and threatened to burst me. It seemed to me that 100 years would not be sufficient to describe the fullness of experience of a single minute.» — el problema del registro que Gelpke consigna en su protocolo de psilocibina: la escritura infinitamente lenta frente a la crecida interior

«At the beginning, optical impressions predominated: I saw with delight the boundless succession of rows of trees in the nearby forest. Then the tattered clouds in the sunny sky rapidly piled up with silent and breathtaking majesty to a superimposition of thousands of layers—heaven on» — las primeras imágenes del protocolo de Gelpke, con los cielos superpuestos; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente

«heaven—and I waited then expecting that up there in the next moment something completely powerful, unheard of, not yet existing, would appear or happen—would I behold a god? But only the expectation remained, the presentiment, this hovering, “on the threshold of the ultimate feeling.”» — la espera que Gelpke describe y que no se cumple: aguardaba ver a un dios y solo quedó la expectativa, en el umbral del sentimiento último; la frase arranca en la plana anterior, donde acaba en *heaven on*

«At the same time I was submerged within myself; it was an absolute climax: a sensation of bliss pervaded me, a contented happiness—I found myself behind my closed eyes in a cavity full of brick-red ornaments, and at the same time in the “center of the universe of consummate calm.” I knew everything was good—the cause and origins of everything was good.» — el punto alto del protocolo de Gelpke, con la certeza de que todo y su origen son buenos

«But at the same moment I also understood the suffering and the loathing, the depression and misunderstanding of ordinary life: there one is never “total,” but instead divided, cut in pieces, and split up into the tiny fragments of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, and years; there one is a slave of Moloch time, which devoured one piecemeal;» — lo que Gelpke dice haber entendido a la vez sobre la vida ordinaria: no se es total sino partido en fragmentos de tiempo, esclavo de un Moloc que devora a pedazos

«I understood. This inebriation was a space flight, not of the outer but rather of the inner man, and for a moment I experienced reality from a location that lies somewhere beyond the force of gravity of time.» — la fórmula con que Gelpke cierra el protocolo y que da nombre a la sección: un vuelo espacial del hombre interior, fuera de la gravedad del tiempo

«As I began again to feel this force of gravity, I was childish enough to want to postpone the return by taking a new dose of 6 mg psilocybin at 11:45, and once again 4 mg at 14:30. The effect was trifling, and in any case not worth mentioning.» — el intento de prolongar el efecto que Gelpke consigna, y su fracaso; el dato vale como observación sobre la tolerancia

«Nothing on this page is consciously fashioned. While I worked on it, the memory (of the experience under psilocybin) was again reality, and led me at every stroke. For that reason the picture is as many-layered as this memory, and the figure at the lower right is really the captive of its» — lo que Li Gelpke, artista, escribe sobre el dibujo que hizo durante el experimento: nada fue hecho conscientemente y el recuerdo la guiaba en cada trazo; la frase sigue con *dream*

«When books about Mexican art came into my hands three weeks later, I again found the motifs of my visions there with a sudden start» — el hallazgo posterior que Li Gelpke consigna: reconoció los motivos de sus visiones en libros de arte mexicano tres semanas después

«I have also mentioned the occurrence of Mexican motifs in psilocybin inebriation during my first self-experiment with dried Psilocybe mexicana mushrooms, as was described in the section on the chemical investigation of these mushrooms. The same phenomenon has also struck R. Gordon Wasson. Proceeding from such observations, he has advanced the conjecture that ancient Mexican art could have been influenced by visionary images, as they appear in mushroom inebriation.» — Hofmann junta su propio caso con el de Li Gelpke y adjudica a Wasson la conjetura de que el arte mexicano antiguo pudo estar influido por imágenes visionarias, marcándola como conjetura

«Ololiuhqui is the Aztec name for the seeds of certain climbing plants (Convolvulaceae) that, like the mescaline cactus peyotl and the teonanacatl mushrooms, were used in pre-Columbian times by the Aztecs and neighboring» — la definición que Hofmann da del ololiuhqui y su alineación con el peyotl y el teonanácatl; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente

«Ololiuhqui is still used even today by certain Indian tribes like the Zapotec, Chinantec, Mazatec, and Mixtec, who until a short time ago still led a geniunely isolated existence, little influenced by Christianity, in the remote mountains of southern Mexico.» — los pueblos que Hofmann nombra como usuarios actuales, con el grado que pone a su aislamiento; el troceo imprime *geniunely*

«An excellent study of the historical, ethnological, and botanical aspects of ololiuhqui was published in 1941 by Richard Evans Schultes, director of the Harvard Botanical Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is entitled “A Contribution to Our Knowledge of Rivea corymbosa, the Narcotic Ololiuqui of the Aztecs.”» — la fuente que Hofmann declara para toda la historia del ololiuhqui, el estudio de Richard Evans Schultes de 1941

«Thus the Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagun, in his already cited famous chronicle Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva Espana, writes about the wondrous effects of ololiuhqui: “There is an herb, called coatl xoxouhqui (green snake), which produces seeds that are called ololiuhqui. These seeds stupefy and deprive one of reason: they are taken as a potion.”» — el pasaje de Sahagún sobre el ololiuhqui que Hofmann reproduce, con el nombre náhuatl de la planta, serpiente verde

«We obtain further information about these seeds from the physician Francisco Hernandez, whom Philip II sent to Mexico from Spain, from 1570 to 1575, in order to study the medicaments of the natives. In the chapter “On Ololiuhqui” of his monumental work entitled Rerum Medicarum Novae Hispaniae Thesaurus seu Plantarum, Animalium Mineralium Mexicanorum Historia, published in Rome in 1651, he gives a detailed description and the first illustration of ololiuhqui.» — la segunda fuente colonial que Hofmann trae, Francisco Hernández, enviado por Felipe II, y la obra de 1651 que da la primera ilustración

«An extract from the Latin text accompanying the illustration reads in translation: “Ololiuhqui, which others call coaxihuitl or snake plant, is a climber with thin, green, heart-shaped leaves... The flowers are white, fairly large» — el pasaje de Hernández que Hofmann da en traducción inglesa, con la descripción botánica; la casa cita aquí la traducción del volumen y no el latín del facsímil

«When the priests of the Indians wanted to visit with the gods and obtain information from them, they ate of this plant in order to become inebriated. Thousands of fantastic images and demons then appeared to them» — lo que Hernández reporta del uso sacerdotal, en la traducción que da el volumen: comían la planta para visitar a los dioses y obtener respuestas, y se les aparecían millares de imágenes fantásticas y demonios; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Despite this comparatively good description, the botanical identification of ololiuhqui as seeds of Rivea corymbosa (L.) Hall. f. occasioned many discussions in specialist circles. Recently preference has been given to the synonym Turbina corymbosa (L.) Raf.» — la disputa botánica que Hofmann consigna sin cerrarla, con la preferencia reciente por el sinónimo

«When I decided in 1959 to attempt the isolation of the active principles of ololiuhqui, only a single report on chemical work with the seeds of Turbina corymbosa was available. It was the work of the pharmacologist C. G. Santesson of Stockholm, from the year 1937. Santesson, however, was not successful in isolating an active substance in pure form.» — el estado del asunto cuando Hofmann lo tomó: un solo trabajo químico previo, el de Santesson de 1937, sin resultado

«Contradictory findings had been published about the activity of theololiuhqui seeds. The psychiatrist H. Osmond conducted a self-experiment with the seeds of Turbina corymbosa in 1955. After the ingestion of 60 to 100 seeds, he entered into a state of apathy and emptiness, accompanied by enhanced visual sensitivity. After four hours, there followed a period of relaxation and well-being, lasting for a longer time. The results of V. J. Kinross-Wright, published in England in 1958, in which eight voluntary research subjects, who had taken up to 125 seeds, perceived no effects at all, contradicted this report.» — la contradicción que Hofmann pone sobre la mesa sin armonizarla: el autoexperimento de Osmond con efecto y los ocho sujetos de Kinross-Wright sin ninguno; el troceo imprime *theololiuhqui*

«Through the mediation of R. Gordon Wasson, I obtained two samples of ololiuhqui seeds. In his accompanying letter of 6 August 1959 from Mexico City, he wrote of them:» — de dónde le llegaron a Hofmann las semillas, y la fecha de la carta de Wasson que reproduce

«A small parcel of seeds that I take to be Rivea corymbosa, otherwise known as ololiuhqui well-known narcotic of the Aztecs, called in Huautla “la semilla de la» — arranque de la carta de Wasson que Hofmann reproduce, con el nombre que las semillas reciben en Huautla; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente con la palabra *Virgen*

«The first-named, round, light brown seeds from Huautla proved in the botanical determination to have been correctly identified as Rivea (Turbina) corymbosa, while the black, angular seeds from San Bartolo Yautepec were identified as Ipomoea violacea L.» — el resultado de la determinación botánica de las dos muestras que Wasson le mandó

«The Zapotec, besides the original ololiuhqui (that is, the seeds of Turbina corymbosa, which they call badoh), also utilize badoh negro, the seeds of Ipomoea violacea.» — la observación etnobotánica que Hofmann adjudica a T. MacDougall, con los dos nombres zapotecos

«We advanced the working hypothesis that the active principles of the ololiuhqui seeds could be representatives of the same class of chemical substances, the indole compounds, to» — la hipótesis de trabajo con que Hofmann arrancó el análisis del ololiuhqui; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente

«Considering the very great number of other groups of substances that, like the indoles, were under consideration as active principles of ololiuhqui, it was indeed extremely improbable that this assumption would prove true.» — el grado con que Hofmann califica su propia hipótesis antes de probarla: extremadamente improbable; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Their identification led to an astonishing result. What we found appeared at first scarcely believable. Only after repetition and the most careful scrutiny of the operations» — cómo describe Hofmann el hallazgo del ololiuhqui y la cautela con que lo comprobó

«the active principles from the ancient Mexican magic drug ololiuhqui proved to be identical with substances that were already present in my laboratory. They were identical with alkaloids that had been obtained in the course of the decades long investigations of ergot; partly isolated as such from ergot, partly obtained through chemical modification of ergot substances.» — el resultado central del capítulo: los principios activos del ololiuhqui resultaron idénticos a alcaloides que ya estaban en su laboratorio desde los trabajos con el cornezuelo

«Lysergic acid amide, lysergic acid hydroxyethylamide, and alkaloids closely related to them chemically were established as the main active principles of ololiuhqui.» — los principios que Hofmann declara haber fijado para el ololiuhqui

«Lysergic acid amide was described for the first time by the English chemists S. Smith and G. M. Timmis as a cleavage product of ergot alkaloids, and I had also produced this substance synthetically in the course of the investigations in which LSD originated. Certainly, nobody at the time could have suspected that this compound synthesized in the flask would be discovered twenty years later as a naturally occurring active principle of an ancient Mexican magic drug.» — la paradoja que Hofmann subraya: una sustancia que él mismo sintetizó en el matraz apareció veinte años después como principio natural de una droga mágica antigua

«After the discovery of the psychic effects of LSD, I had also tested lysergic acid amide in a self-experiment and established that it likewise evoked a dreamlike condition, but only with about a tenfold to twentyfold greater dose than LSD.» — el autoexperimento con amida del ácido lisérgico que Hofmann consigna, con su proporción de potencia respecto del LSD

«was characterized by a sensation of mental emptiness and the unreality and meaninglessness of the outer world, by enhanced sensitivity of hearing, and by a not unpleasant physical lassitude, which ultimately led to sleep. This picture of the effects of LA-1 1 1, as lysergic acid amide was called as a research preparation, was confirmed in a systematic investigation by the psychiatrist Dr. H. Solms.» — el cuadro de efectos que Hofmann describe para esa amida, que dice afianzado por una investigación sistemática de H. Solms; la frase arranca en la plana anterior y el troceo parte la sigla como *LA-1 1 1*

«When I presented the findings of our investigations on ololiuhqui at the Natural Products Congress of the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in Sydney, Australia, in the fall of 1960, my colleagues received my talk with skepticism.» — la recepción que Hofmann reporta de sus resultados sobre el ololiuhqui en el congreso de Sídney

«In the discussions following my lecture, some persons voiced the suspicion that the ololiuhqui extracts could well have been contaminated with traces of lysergic acid derivatives, with which so much work had been done in my laboratory.» — la sospecha concreta que Hofmann consigna de sus colegas: contaminación de los extractos con trazas de derivados del ácido lisérgico

«The occurrence in higher plants (i.e., in the morning glory family) of ergot alkaloids that hitherto had been known only as constituents of lower fungi, contradicted the experience that certain substances are typical of and restricted to respective plant families.» — la segunda razón de la duda que Hofmann expone, y que es de fondo: los alcaloides del cornezuelo solo se conocían en hongos inferiores

«Our results were confirmed, however, when different laboratories in the United States, Germany, and Holland subsequently verified our investigations on the ololiuhqui seeds.» — lo que Hofmann opone a esa duda: la verificación en laboratorios de Estados Unidos, Alemania y Holanda

«Nevertheless, the skepticism went so far that some persons even considered the possibility that the seeds could have been infected with alkaloid-producing fungi. That suspicion, however, was ruled out experimentally.» — hasta dónde llegó la duda según Hofmann, y cómo dice haberla despejado

«seed companies that their sale of seeds of Ipomoea violacea, the ornamental blue morning glory, had reached unusual proportions in recent times. They had heard that the great demand was connected with investigations of these seeds in our laboratory, about which they were eager to learn the details. It turned out that the new demand derived from hippie circles and other groups interested in hallucinogenic drugs. They believed they had found in the ololiuhqui seeds a substitute for LSD, which was becoming less and less accessible.» — la secuela inesperada que Hofmann cuenta: el auge de venta de semillas de campanilla entre círculos hippies que buscaban sustituto del LSD; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The ololiuhqui seeds, which are taken crushed with water or another mild beverage, taste very bad and are difficult for the stomach to digest.» — las razones prácticas con que Hofmann explica que aquel auge durara poco

«Moreover, the psychic effects of ololiuhqui, in fact, differ from those of LSD in that the euphoric and the hallucinogenic components are less pronounced, while a sensation of mental emptiness, often anxiety and depression, predominates. Furthermore, weariness and lassitude are hardly desirable effects as traits in an inebriant.» — la diferencia de efecto que Hofmann marca entre el ololiuhqui y el LSD, con el vacío mental, la angustia y la depresión por delante

«In my opinion, it would be worthwhile to clarify above all whether the strong narcotic, sedative effect of certain ololiuhqui constituents, or of chemical modifications of these, is medicinally useful.» — lo que Hofmann propone como línea abierta, y lo declara expresamente como opinión suya

«My studies in the field of hallucinogenic drugs reached a kind of logical conclusion with the investigations of ololiuhqui. They now formed a circle, one could almost say a magic circle: the starting point had been the synthesis of lysergic acid amides, among them the naturally occurring ergot alkaloid ergobasin.» — la figura con que Hofmann cierra su propio recorrido científico, y que da forma al libro entero: un círculo, casi un círculo mágico

«The hallucinogenic properties of LSD were the reason why the hallucinogenic magic mushroom teonanacatl found its way into my laboratory. The work with teonanacatl, from which psilocybin and psilocin were isolated, proceeded to the investigation of another Mexican magic drug, ololiuhqui, in which hallucinogenic principles in the form of lysergic acid amides were again encountered, including ergobasine—with which the magic circle closed.» — el recorrido completo de ese círculo tal como Hofmann lo traza, del LSD al teonanácatl y de ahí al ololiuhqui, con la ergobasina del comienzo al final

«R. Gordon Wasson, with whom I had maintained friendly relations since the investigations of the Mexican magic mushrooms, invited my wife and me to take part in an expedition to Mexico in the fall of 1962.» — la invitación de Wasson que abre la parte de viaje del libro

«Wasson had learned on his travels in the mountains of southern Mexico that the expressed juice of the leaves of a plant, which were called hojas de la Pastora or hojas de Maria Pastora, in Mazatec ska Pastora or ska Maria Pastora (leaves of the shepherdess or leaves of Mary the shepherdess), were used among the Mazatec in medico-religious practices, like the teonanacatl mushrooms and the ololiuhqui seeds.» — qué buscaba la expedición: la planta de las hojas de la Pastora, con sus nombres mazatecos y su traducción, usada en prácticas médico-religiosas

«The question now was to ascertain from what sort of plant the “leaves of Mary the shepherdess” derived, and then to identify this plant botanically. We also hoped, if at all possible, to gather sufficient plant material to conduct a chemical investigation on the hallucinogenic principles it contained.» — los dos objetivos que Hofmann declara para el viaje: identificar la planta y reunir material para el análisis químico

«On 26 September 1962, my wife and I accordingly flew to Mexico City, where we met Gordon Wasson. He had made all the necessary preparations for the expedition, so that in two days we had already set out on the next leg of the journey to» — la fecha de salida que Hofmann consigna; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente

«Mrs. Irmgard Weitlaner Johnson (widow of Jean B. Johnson, a pioneer of the ethnographic study of the Mexican magic mushrooms, killed in the Allied landing in North Africa) had joined us. Her father, Robert J. Weitlaner, had emigrated to Mexico from Austria and had likewise contributed toward the rediscovery of the mushroom cult.» — quién se unió a la expedición y qué la liga a la historia del capítulo: viuda de Johnson e hija de Weitlaner, los dos pioneros del redescubrimiento

«After a two-day journey in a spacious Land Rover, which took us over the plateau, along the snow-capped Popocatepetl, passing Puebla, down into the Valley of Orizaba with its magnificent tropical vegetation, then by ferry across the Popoloapan (Butterfly River), on through the former Aztec garrison Tuxtepec, we arrived at the starting point of our expedition, the Mazatec village of Jalapa de Diaz, lying on a hillside.» — la ruta que Hofmann describe hasta el punto de partida de la expedición

«Gordon showed him our credentials from the civil authorities and from the military governor of Oaxaca, which explained that we had come here to carry out scientific investigations.» — el aparato oficial con que la expedición se presenta ante el presidente municipal

«The president, who probably could not read at all, was visibly impressed by the largesized documents equipped with official seals.» — la observación con que Hofmann describe el efecto de esos papeles, y que muestra el desnivel en que la expedición trabaja; el impreso parte *large-sized* a fin de renglón y la extracción lo devuelve fundido

«The ruins of a large church from colonial times, which must have once been very beautiful, rose almost ghostlike in the direction of an ascending slope at the side of the village square.» — lo que Hofmann ve del pasado colonial en el pueblo mazateco

«We were fed by an old Mazatec woman, who directed a young cook and two helpers. She lived in one of the typical Mazatec huts. These are simply rectangular structures with thatched gabled roofs and walls of wooden poles joined together, windowless, the chinks between the wooden poles offering sufficient opportunity to look out. In the middle of the hut, on the stamped clay floor, was an elevated, open fireplace, built up out of dried clay or made of stones. The smoke escaped through large openings in the walls under the two ends of the roof. Bast mats that lay in a corner or along the walls served as beds.» — la descripción etnográfica que Hofmann hace de la choza mazateca, con su fogón abierto y sus esteras

«Next morning our troop formed for the ride through the Sierra Mazateca. Mules and guides were engaged from the horsekeeper of the village. Guadelupe, the Mazatec familiar with the route, took charge of guiding the lead animal.» — la formación de la partida para la travesía de la Sierra Mazateca, con el nombre del guía

«With surprising dexterity, they sought out the best spots along the almost impassable, partly rocky, partly marshy paths, which led through thickets and streams or onto precipitous slopes.» — la travesía a lomo de mula que Hofmann describe; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Our Indian guides had protected themselves from the cloudburst with gigantic, heart-shaped leaves that they nimbly chopped off at the edge of the path. Teodosio and Chico gave the impression of great, green hay ricks as they ran, covered with these leaves, beside their mules.» — el detalle que Hofmann consigna del saber práctico de los guías indígenas frente a los ponchos de hule de la expedición

«En route, among the shrubbery, I had delighted in the blue calyxes of the magic morning glory Ipomoea violacea, the mother plant of the ololiuhqui seeds. It grew wild there, whereas among us it is only found in the garden as an ornamental plant.» — el encuentro en el camino con la planta madre del ololiuhqui, que en Europa solo se ve de adorno

«In the evening by candlelight, Dona Donata, who besides Mazatec also spoke Spanish, told us about life in the village; one tragedy or another had already struck nearly every one of the seemingly peaceful huts that lay surrounded by this paradisiacal scenery.» — lo que Hofmann recoge de Doña Donata sobre la vida del pueblo, contra la estampa paradisíaca

«Because he exacted illegal taxes, he was afraid of being shot to death. Since no higher authority sees to justice in this remote region, people have recourse to self-defense of this type.» — la observación de Hofmann sobre la ausencia de autoridad superior en la región y lo que la suple

«Thanks to Dona Donata’s good connections, we received the first sample of the sought-after plant, some leaves of hojas de la Pastora, from an old woman. Since the flowers and roots were missing, however, this plant material was not suitable for botanical identification. Our efforts to obtain more precise information about the habitat of the plant and its use were also fruitless.» — el primer material que consigue la expedición y por qué no servía: sin flores ni raíces no había identificación botánica posible

«Here we were joined by Dona Herlinda Martinez Cid, a teacher from Huautla de Jimenez. She had ridden over on the invitation of Gordon Wasson, who had known her since his mushroom expeditions, and was to serve as our Mazatec and Spanish-speaking interpreter.» — quién se suma como intérprete mazateca y española, y de dónde viene la relación

«Moreover, she could help us, through her numerous relatives scattered in the region, to pave the way to contacts with curanderos and curanderas who used the hojas de la Pastora in their practice.» — la vía por la que la expedición llega a los curanderos: el parentesco de la intérprete

«The desired contact with persons skilled in medicine came about thanks to the kindred connections of Dona Herlinda, beginning with the curandero Don Sabino. But he refused, for» — la primera negativa que la expedición recibe, la del curandero Don Sabino; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente

«From an old curandera, a venerable woman in a strikingly magnificent Mazatec garment, with the lovely name Natividad Rosa, we received a whole bundle of flowering specimens of the sought-after plant, but even she could not be prevailed upon to perform a ceremony with the leaves for us.» — la segunda negativa, la de Natividad Rosa, que sí entrega la planta entera y no la ceremonia

«Her excuse was that she was too old for the hardship of the magical trip; she could never cover the long distance to certain places: a spring where the wise women gather their powers, a lake on which the sparrows sing, and where objects get their names.» — la razón que Natividad Rosa da y que Hofmann consigna en sus propios términos: el viaje mágico, la fuente donde las sabias toman sus poderes, y el lago donde los objetos reciben su nombre

«Nor would Natividad Rosa tell us where she had gathered the leaves. They grew in a very, very distant forest valley. Wherever she dug up a plant, she put a coffee bean in the earth as thanks to the gods.» — lo que Natividad Rosa guarda y lo que hace al recoger la planta: una reciprocidad con los dioses que Hofmann registra sin comentario

«We now possessed ample plants with flowers and roots, which were suitable for botanical identification. It was apparently a representative of the genus Salvia, a relative of the well-known meadow sage. The plants had blue flowers crowned with a white dome, which are arranged on a panicle 20 to 30 cm long, whose stem leaked blue.» — la identificación botánica preliminar que Hofmann hace sobre el terreno, con el género Salvia y la descripción de la flor

«Several days later, Natividad Rosa brought us a whole basket of leaves, for which she was paid fifty pesos. The business seemed to have been discussed, for two other women brought us further quantities of leaves.» — la entrada del dinero en el asunto que Hofmann consigna sin adornarla, con el precio pagado

«As it was known that the expressed juice of the leaves is drunk in the ceremony, and this must therefore contain the active principle, the fresh leaves were crushed on a stone plate, squeezed out in a cloth, the juice diluted with alcohol as a preservative, and decanted into flasks in order to be studied later in the laboratory in Basel.» — el procedimiento de campo con que Hofmann conserva el jugo para el análisis

«I was assisted in this work by an Indian girl, who was accustomed to dealing with the stone plate, the metate, on which the Indians since ancient times have ground their corn by hand.» — quién le ayudó en ese trabajo y con qué instrumento, el metate

«A confidante of Herlinda’s, who had produced this contact, led us after nightfall along a secret path to the hut of the curandera, lying solitary on the mountainside above the settlement. No one from the village was to see us or discover that we were received there.» — las condiciones de secreto en que la expedición llega por fin a una ceremonia; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«It was obviously considered a betrayal of sacred customs, worthy of punishment, to allow strangers, whites, to take part in this. That indeed had also been the real reason why the other healers whom we asked had refused to admit us to a leaf ceremony.» — la razón que Hofmann adjudica a las negativas anteriores, y que es el nudo moral del capítulo: admitir a extraños blancos se tenía por traición a la costumbre sagrada

«The curandera Consuela Garcia, a woman of some forty years, barefoot like all Indian women in this region, timidly admitted us to her hut and immediately closed up the doorway with a heavy bar.» — la entrada a la choza de la curandera Consuela García

«The curandera lit a candle on a table covered with some images of saints, along with a variety of rubbish.» — el altar tal como Hofmann lo describe, con un término suyo para lo que no reconoce

«In a bowl the curandera now kindled copal, an incense-like resin, which soon filled the whole hut with its aroma. Then the magic potion was ceremoniously prepared.» — el copal y la preparación del brebaje en la ceremonia de las hojas

«Since I was suffering from a severe stomach upset at the time, I could not join in. My wife substituted for me. The curandera laid out six pairs of leaves for herself. She apportioned the same number to Gordon. Anita received three pairs.» — quién bebe y quién no en la ceremonia: Hofmann queda fuera por una indisposición y su mujer ocupa su lugar, con Wasson

«Like the mushrooms, the leaves are always dosed in pairs, a practice that, of course, has a magical significance.» — la regla de dosificación por pares que Hofmann consigna, y a la que atribuye sentido mágico

«Consuela asked Anita and Gordon, before she handed them their cups, whether they believed in the truth and the holiness of the ceremony.» — la pregunta que la curandera hace antes de entregar la copa, y que condiciona el rito a la creencia; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«After some twenty minutes Anita whispered to me that she saw striking, brightly bordered images. Gordon also perceived the effect of the drug.» — lo que Hofmann observa desde fuera del efecto, como único no participante

«The voice of the curandera sounded from the darkness, half speaking, half singing. Herlinda translated: Did we believe in Christ’s blood and the holiness of the rites? After our “creemos” (“We believe”), the ceremonial performance continued.» — la segunda pregunta de fe, ahora por la sangre de Cristo, y la respuesta que la expedición da para que el rito siga; el sincretismo queda consignado en acto

«Thereupon the true consultation began. Consuela asked for our request. Gordon inquired after the health of his daughter, who immediately before his departure from New York had to be admitted prematurely to the hospital in expectation of a baby. He received the comforting information that mother and child were well.» — el contenido de la consulta que Hofmann consigna: Wasson pregunta por su hija y recibe respuesta tranquilizadora

«Participation in this ceremony was the climax of our expedition. It brought confirmation that the hojas de la Pastora were used by the Indians for the same purpose and in the same ceremonial milieu as teonanacatl, the sacred mushrooms.» — lo que Hofmann declara haber obtenido con la ceremonia: la constancia de que las hojas se usan con el mismo fin y en el mismo marco que los hongos

«The inebriated state that Gordon Wasson and my wife had experienced with the hojas had been shallow and only of short duration, yet it had exhibited a distinctly hallucinogenic character.» — el grado que Hofmann pone al efecto de las hojas según lo reportado por los dos que bebieron: somero y breve, y aun así claramente alucinógeno

«The house in which the historic session with Gordon Wasson had taken place had been burned, presumably by angered residents or an envious colleague, because she had divulged the secret of teonanacatl to strangers.» — lo que Hofmann consigna del precio que pagó María Sabina: la casa quemada, con el grado *presumably* sobre quién lo hizo; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The old curandera had an intelligent face, exceptionally changeable in expression. She was obviously impressed when it was explained that we had managed to confine the spirit of the mushrooms in pills, and she at once declared herself ready to “serve us” with these, that is, to grant us a consultation.» — cómo presenta Hofmann a María Sabina y el término con que ella nombra lo que hace, servir, no curar

«Its leader told us of the difficulties that the “coffee policy” had caused in the area at that time. The president of Huautla, in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional Indigenista had tried to eliminate middlemen in order to shape the coffee prices favorably for the producing Indians. His body was found, mutilated, the previous June.» — el dato político que Hofmann intercala sobre la región: el presidente de Huautla, que intentó quitar intermediarios en el precio del café, apareció mutilado

«I was reminded of the report from an ancient chronicle which described how chocotatl was drunk before the ingestion of teonanacatl.» — la continuidad que Hofmann reconoce entre la crónica antigua y lo que ve: el chocolate antes de los hongos

«I had explained to the curandera through Herlinda, who was again with the party as interpreter, that one pill contained the spirit of two pairs of mushrooms. (The pills contained 5.0 mg synthetic psilocybin apiece.» — la equivalencia que Hofmann fija entre pastilla y pares de hongos, y la dosis de cada pastilla

«When all was ready, Maria Sabina apportioned the pills in pairs among the grown-ups present. After solemn smoking, she herself took two pairs (corresponding to 20 mg psilocybin). She gave the same dose to Don Aurelio and her daughter Apolonia, who would also serve as curandera. Aurora received one pair, as did Gordon, while my wife and Irmgard got only one pill each.» — el reparto de dosis en la ceremonia, hecho por la curandera y no por el químico

«One of the children, a girl of about ten, under the guidance of Maria Sabina, had prepared for me the juice of five pairs of fresh leaves of hojas de la Pastora. I wanted to experience this drug that I had been unable to try in San Jose Tenango. The potion was said to be especially active when prepared by an innocent child.» — quién prepara las hojas para Hofmann y la razón que da el rito: el brebaje sería especialmente activo preparado por una criatura inocente

«Before a half hour had elapsed, the curandera murmured something; her daughter and Don Aurelio also became restless. Herlinda translated and explained to us what was wrong. Maria Sabina had said that the pills lacked the spirit of the mushrooms.» — la objeción que María Sabina pone a las pastillas, y que es el episodio central del encuentro entre las dos autoridades

«For us it was clear that absorption of the active principle from the pills, which must first dissolve in the stomach, occurs more slowly than from the mushrooms, in which some of the active principle already becomes absorbed through the mucous membranes during chewing.» — la explicación farmacológica que Hofmann se da a sí mismo para esa demora

«But how could we give a scientific explanation under such conditions? Rather than try to explain, we decided to act.» — la decisión práctica de Hofmann ante la imposibilidad de explicarse en ese marco, y que él mismo consigna como tal

«After about another quarter of an hour, the spirit of the pills did begin to yield its effects, which lasted until the crack of dawn.» — el desenlace de aquella dosis suplementaria, dicho en los términos del rito

«Blissful, yearning moans of Apolonia and Aurora, between singing and prayer, gave the impression that the religious experience of the young women in the drug inebriation was combined with sensual-sexual feelings.» — lo que Hofmann observa de las dos jóvenes, y lo da como impresión, no como hecho

«He received the same good information as from the curandera Consuela. Mother and child were in fact well when he returned home to New York. Obviously, however, this still represents no proof of the prophetic abilities of both curanderas.» — la abstención que Hofmann declara expresamente sobre el acierto de las dos curanderas: la noticia resultó cierta y eso no prueba nada

«Evidently as an effect of the hojas, I found myself for some time in a state of mental sensitivity and intense experience, which, however, was not accompanied by hallucinations.» — lo que Hofmann reporta de su propio efecto con las hojas, con el grado que le pone

«My wife was impressed by the vision of very distinct strange line patterns. She was astonished and perplexed, later, on discovering precisely the same images in the rich ornamentation over the altar in an old church near Puebla.» — la coincidencia que Hofmann consigna entre la visión de su mujer y la ornamentación de una iglesia colonial, sin adjudicarle causa

«These admirable churches offer great cultural and historical interest because the Indian artists and workmen who assisted in their construction smuggled in elements of Indian style.» — la observación de Hofmann sobre el arte colonial y lo que los artesanos indígenas metieron de contrabando en él

«Klaus Thomas, in his book Die kunstlich gesteuerte Seele [The artificially steered mind] (Ferdinand Enke Verlag, Stuttgart, 1970), writes about the possible influence of visions from psilocybin inebriation on Meso-American Indian art: “Surely a cultural/historical comparison of the old and new creations of Indian art ... must convince the unbiased spectator of the harmony with the images, forms and colors of a psilocybin inebriation.”» — la tesis que Hofmann cita de Klaus Thomas sobre la armonía entre el arte indígena y las imágenes de la embriaguez por psilocibina; tramo con año entre paréntesis en la referencia editorial, releído entero en el crudo

«The Mexican character of the visions seen in my first experience with dried Psilocybe mexicana mushrooms and the drawing of Li Gelpke after a psilocybin inebriation could also point to such an association.» — lo que Hofmann aporta a esa tesis desde su propio caso y el de Li Gelpke, con el grado que le pone: podría apuntar a esa asociación

«As we took leave of Maria Sabina and her clan at the crack of dawn, the curandera said that the pills had the same power as the mushrooms, that there was no difference. This was a confirmation from the most competent authority, that the synthetic psilocybin is identical with the natural product.» — el veredicto de María Sabina sobre las pastillas y el uso que Hofmann le da: lo llama confirmación desde la autoridad más competente de que lo sintético y lo natural son lo mismo

«As a parting gift I let Maria Sabina have a vial of psilocybin pills. She radiantly explained to our interpreter Herlinda that she could now give consultations even in the season when no mushrooms grow.» — qué hizo la curandera con el regalo, y la consecuencia práctica que ella misma señaló

«To her credit it can be said that she had thereby opened the door to the exploration of the Mexican mushroom cult in its present form, and to the scientific, botanical, and chemical investigation of the sacred mushrooms. Valuable active substances, psilocybin and psilocin, resulted.» — el primer platillo de la balanza que Hofmann arma para contestar su propia pregunta

«A day later we made our formal visit to the curandera Maria Sabina, a woman made famous by the Wassons’ publications.» — quién es María Sabina en el relato de Hofmann; la frase sigue diciendo que en su choza Wasson fue el primer blanco en probar los hongos sagrados, en una ceremonia nocturna del verano de 1955, y se corta aquí porque el límite de chunk parte la plana

«How should we judge the conduct of Maria Sabina, the fact that she allowed strangers, white people, access to the secret ceremony, and let them try the sacred mushroom?» — la pregunta moral que Hofmann se plantea y que da su forma al capítulo; el volumen la reimprime en el pie de la lámina de la plana 110, de modo que la búsqueda global la resuelve allí y este tramo se ancló en el cuerpo

«From another standpoint, the conduct of this curandera can be regarded as a profanation of a sacred custom—even as a betrayal. Some of her countrymen were of this opinion, which was expressed in acts of revenge, including the burning of her house.» — el otro platillo, que Hofmann consigna sin arbitrar: profanación de una costumbre sagrada, incluso traición, y la opinión de sus paisanos expresada en actos de venganza

«The publication about the magic mushrooms unleashed an invasion of hippies and drug seekers into the Mazatec country, many of whom behaved badly, some even criminally. Another undesirable consequence was the beginning of true tourism in Huautla de Jimenez, whereby the originality of the place was eradicated.» — las consecuencias que Hofmann adjudica a la publicación: la invasión de buscadores de droga y la llegada del turismo a Huautla

«Wherever researchers and scientists trace and elucidate the remains of ancient customs that are becoming rarer, their primitiveness is lost. This loss is only more or less counterbalanced when the outcome of the research represents a lasting cultural gain.» — la ley general que Hofmann enuncia sobre su propio oficio, y la única condición en que admite compensada la pérdida

«I had lost several kilograms in body weight, but was overwhelmingly compensated in enchanting experiences.» — el balance personal con que Hofmann cierra el viaje

«Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They found that this plant was a hitherto undescribed species of Salvia, which was named Salvia divinorum by these authors.» — el resultado botánico de la expedición: una especie de Salvia no descrita antes, bautizada por Epling y Játiva; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The chemical investigation of the juice of the magic sage in the laboratory in Basel was unsuccessful. The psychoactive principle of this drug seems to be a rather unstable substance, since the juice prepared in Mexico and preserved with alcohol proved in self-experiments to be no longer active.» — el fracaso químico que Hofmann declara sin rodeos, y la explicación que propone con grado: el principio parece inestable

«Where the chemical nature of the active principle is concerned, the problem of the magic plant ska Maria Pastora still awaits solution.» — la deuda abierta que Hofmann deja escrita sobre la ska María Pastora

«So far in this book I have mainly described my scientific work and matters relating to my professional activity. But this work, by its very nature, had repercussions on my own life and personality, not least because it brought me into contact with interesting and important contemporaries. I have already mentioned some of them—Timothy Leary, Rudolf Gelpke, Gordon Wasson.» — el corte que Hofmann marca a mitad del libro entre lo científico y lo personal, nombrando a quienes ya ha tratado

«Now, in the pages that follow, I would like to emerge from the natural scientist's reserve, in order to portray encounters which were personally meaningful to me and which helped me solve questions posed by the substances I had discovered.» — el propósito declarado de la segunda mitad del volumen: salir de la reserva del hombre de ciencia para contar encuentros que le ayudaron a contestar las preguntas que sus sustancias le plantearon

«Without this assistance, the ancient knowledge and experience that was concealed in these secret practices would possibly, even probably,» — el argumento con que Hofmann cierra el platillo favorable a María Sabina, con sus dos grados; el límite de chunk parte la plana y la frase acaba en *have disappeared without a trace, without having borne fruit, in the advancement of Western civilization*

«have disappeared without a trace, without having borne fruit, in the advancement of Western civilization.» — el remate de ese argumento, que es lo que Hofmann pone del lado de la curandera

«RADIANCE IS THE PERFECT TERM to express the influence that Ernst Juinger’s literary work and personality have had on me. In the light of his perspective, which stereoscopically comprises the surfaces and depths of things, the world I knew took on a new, translucent splendor.» — cómo nombra Hofmann la influencia de Ernst Jünger sobre él, y en qué la cifra; el troceo imprime el apellido *Juinger* y *Jiinger*

«Everywhere in his prose the miracle of creation became evident, in the precise description of the surfaces and, in translucence, of the depths; and the uniqueness and the imperishable in every human being was touched upon. No other writer has thus opened my eyes.» — lo que Hofmann dice haber encontrado en la prosa de Jünger, y que es la misma fórmula con que lee la naturaleza: el milagro de la creación en la superficie y, por transparencia, en las profundidades

«Drugs were also mentioned in Das Abenteuerliche Herz. Many years passed, however, before I myself began to be especially interested in this subject, after the discovery of the psychic effects of LSD.» — el orden que Hofmann fija entre las dos cosas: primero el escritor, mucho después el interés por las drogas

«As one richly endowed by you for years, I wished to send a jar of honey to you for your birthday. But I did not have this pleasure, because my export license has been refused in Bern. The gift was intended less as a greeting from a country in which milk and honey still flow, than as a reminiscence of the enchanting sentences in your book AUF DEN MARMORKLIPPEN (ON THE MARBLE CLIEES), where you speak of the “golden bees.”» — la primera carta de Hofmann a Jünger, del 29 de marzo de 1947, con el tarro de miel que la aduana no dejó salir y la referencia a las abejas de oro de Auf den Marmorklippen

«The book mentioned here had appeared in 1939, just shortly before the outbreak of World War II. Auf den Marmorklippen is not only a masterpiece of German prose, but also a work of great significance because in this book the characteristics of tyrants and the horror of war and nocturnal bombardment are described prophetically, in poetic vision.» — lo que Hofmann dice de ese libro de Jünger y de su carácter anticipatorio sobre los tiranos y el bombardeo nocturno

«together with both enclosures concerning your new phantasticum. It seems indeed that you have entered a field that contains so many tempting mysteries.» — la respuesta de Jünger del 3 de marzo de 1948, que llama *phantasticum* a la sustancia nueva y ve en ella un campo lleno de misterios tentadores; la carta arranca con una elisión que el impreso marca con puntos, y el tramo empieza en *together*

«As far as I am concerned, my practical studies in this field are far behind me. These are experiments in which one sooner or later embarks on truly dangerous paths, and may» — la reserva con que Jünger se distancia en esa carta de sus propios ensayos; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente diciendo que uno puede darse por afortunado si sale con un ojo morado

«What interested me above all was the relationship of these substances to productivity. It has been my experience, however, that creative achievement requires an alert consciousness, and that it diminishes under the spell of drugs.» — lo que Jünger declara haberle interesado y el resultado que reporta: el logro creador pide consciencia despierta y mengua bajo el hechizo de la droga

«On the other hand, conceptualization is important, and one gains insights under the influence of drugs that indeed are not possible otherwise.» — la concesión que Jünger hace en la misma carta, y que es la que Hofmann retomará: se ganan intuiciones que de otro modo no se tendrían

«For geographic description, on the other hand, one must be fully conscious. What productivity means to the artist, healing means to the physician. Accordingly, it also may suffice for him that he sometimes enters the regions through the tapestries that our senses have woven.» — la distinción de Jünger entre entrar en la región y describirla, y el uso que le concede al médico frente al artista

«Moreover, I seem to perceive in our time less of a taste for the phantastica than for the energetica—amphetamine, which has even been furnished to fliers and other soldiers by the armies, belongs to this group. Tea is in my opinion a phantasticum, coffee an energeticum—tea therefore possesses a disproportionately higher artistic rank.» — la oposición con que Jünger clasifica las sustancias de su tiempo, *phantastica* contra *energetica*, y el rango artístico que da al té sobre el café; el tramo trae la larga digresión de la aduana en el impreso

«I notice that coffee disrupts the delicate lattice of light and shadows, the fruitful doubts that emerge during the writing of a sentence. One exceeds his inhibitions. With tea, on the other hand, the thoughts climb genuinely upward.» — la observación de Jünger sobre lo que el café le hace a la escritura, frente al té

«So far as my “studies” are concerned, I had a manuscript on that topic, but have since burned it. My excursions terminated with hashish that led to very pleasant, but also to manic states, to Oriental tyranny» — lo que Jünger dice haber hecho con su manuscrito sobre el asunto, y dónde terminaron sus excursiones

«Among the trips in the geographical and metaphysical worlds, which I am attempting to describe there, are those of a purely sedentary man, who explores the archipelagos beyond the navigable seas, for which he uses drugs as a vehicle. I give extracts from his log book. Certainly, I cannot allow this Columbus of the inner globe to end well—he dies of a poisoning. Avis au lecteur.» — lo que Jünger anuncia a Hofmann sobre el personaje de su novela Heliopolis: un Colón del globo interior que usa las drogas como vehículo y a quien no puede dejar acabar bien

«In the figure of Antonio Peri, Jiinger depicted the mentioned drug researcher, who resided in the ancient city of Heliopolis.» — Hofmann identifica al personaje de la novela, y el pasaje que sigue es ficción de Jünger, no testimonio

«The great inspirers of the nineteenth century: De Quincey, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Poe, and Baudelaire. Yet there were also books from the ancient past: herbals, necromancy texts, and demonology of the middle-aged world. They included the names Albertus Magnus, Raimundus Lullus, and Agrippa of Nettesheym... Moreover, there was the great folio DE PRAEsTIGUS DAEMONUM by Wierus, and the very unique compilations of Medicus Weckerus, published in Basel in 1582» — la biblioteca que la novela de Jünger pone en manos del personaje, entre inspiradores del siglo XIX y herbarios, nigromancia y demonología antiguos; los nombres van tal cual los imprime el troceo, *DE PRAEsTIGUS DAEMONUM* incluido

«Among others was found a heavy old volume by the Heidelberg psychologists on the extract of mescal buttons, and a paper on the phantastica of ergot by Hofmann-Bottmingen» — el guiño que Hofmann señala en la novela de Jünger: entre los libros del personaje figura un trabajo sobre los *phantastica* del cornezuelo firmado con su nombre y el de su pueblo

«Two years later, at the beginning of February 1951, came the great adventure, an LSD trip with Ernst Jlinger. Since, up until that moment, there were only reports of LSD experiments in connection with psychiatric inquiries, this experiment especially interested me, because this was an opportunity to observe the effects of LSD on the artistic person, in a nonmedical milieu.» — la fecha del primer viaje compartido con Jünger y la razón de método que Hofmann le da: observar el efecto en una persona artística y fuera del marco médico

«That was still somewhat before Aldous Huxley, from the same perspective, began to experiment with mescaline, about which he then reported in his two books The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell.» — el orden cronológico que Hofmann fija respecto de los ensayos de Huxley con mescalina y de los dos libros que salieron de ellos

«Konzett, to participate. The trip took place at 10:00 in the morning, in the living room of our house in Bottmingen. Since the reaction of such a highly sensitive man as Ernst Junger was not foreseeable, a low dose was chosen for this first experiment as a precaution, only 0.05 mg. The experiment, then, did not lead into great depths.» — las condiciones del experimento con Jünger: médico presente, hora, casa particular y una dosis baja por precaución; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The beginning phase was characterized by the intensification of aesthetic experience. Red-violet roses were of unknown luminosity and radiated in portentous brightness. The concerto for flute and harp by Mozart was perceived in its celestial beauty as heavenly music. In mutual astonishment we contemplated the haze of smoke that ascended with the ease of thought from a Japanese incense stick.» — lo que Hofmann reporta de la primera fase: rosas, el concierto para flauta y arpa de Mozart y el humo del incienso

«Ernst Jiinger enjoyed the color display of Oriental images; I was on a trip among Berber tribes in North Africa, saw colored caravans and lush oases. Heribert Konzett, whose features seemed to me to be transfigured, Buddhalike, experienced a breath of timelessness, liberation from the past and the future, blessedness through being completely here and now.» — lo que cada uno de los tres experimentó según Hofmann, con el contenido distinto por persona y el mismo tono; el impreso parte *Buddha-like* a fin de renglón y la extracción lo devuelve fundido

«This trip was characterized by the mutuality and parallelism of our experiences, which were perceived as profoundly joyful. All three of us had drawn near the gate to an experience of mystical being; however, it did not open. The dose we had chosen was too low.» — el balance de Hofmann sobre aquel viaje, con la puerta de la experiencia mística cerca y cerrada, y la causa que le adjudica

«In misunderstanding this reason, Ernst Junger, who had earlier been thrust into deeper realms by a high dose of mescaline, remarked: “Compared with the tiger mescaline, your LSD, is, after all, only a house cat.”» — la fórmula con que Jünger comparó las dos sustancias, y que Hofmann atribuye a un malentendido sobre la dosis

«LSD, he revised this estimation.» — lo que Hofmann consigna sobre el juicio posterior de Jünger; la frase arranca en la plana anterior con *After later experiments with higher doses of*

«Jiinger has assimilated the mentioned spectacle of the incense stick into literature, in his story Besuch auf Gotenhotm [Visit to Godenholm], in which deeper experiences of drug inebriation also play a part:» — Hofmann señala dónde pasó la escena vivida a la obra de Jünger, y marca el pasaje siguiente como relato

«Schwarzenberg burned an incense stick, as he sometimes did, to clear the air. A blue plume ascended from the tip of the stick. Moltner looked at it first with astonishment, then with delight, as if a new power of the eyes had come to him.» — arranque del pasaje de Besuch auf Godenholm que Hofmann reproduce, donde la escena del incienso es ficción y no protocolo

«He said that all countries and unknown islands were woven into the tapestry. The drugs served him as keys to entry into the chambers and caves of this world. In the course of the years he had gained great knowledge, and he kept a log book of his excursions.» — el retrato del personaje Antonio Peri en la novela Heliopolis de Jünger, con las drogas como llaves de entrada a las cámaras del tapiz y el cuaderno de bitácora de sus excursiones; es texto de ficción que Hofmann reproduce, no testimonio

«Antonio tended to read there while the effect of the drug itself developed... He went on voyages of discovery in the universe of his brain» — el cierre del mismo pasaje de ficción, con la fórmula del viaje de descubrimiento por el universo del propio cerebro

«Here the laws no longer acted under the veil of appearance; matter was so delicate and weightless that it clearly reflected them. How simple and cogent everything was. The numbers, masses and weights stood out from matter. They cast off the raiments. No goddess could inform the initiates more boldly and freely. The pyramids with their weight did not reach up to this revelation. That was Pythagorean luster.» — el punto del pasaje de Besuch auf Godenholm que más se acerca a la tesis del libro: las leyes dejan de actuar bajo el velo de la apariencia porque la materia se vuelve lo bastante delicada para reflejarlas; es ficción de Jünger

«blue smoke, is typical of the beginning phase of LSD inebriation, before deeper alterations of conscious begin.» — la lectura que Hofmann hace de ese pasaje literario: la profundización estética es típica de la fase inicial; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Through the shared LSD experience, our relations had deepened. Drugs and problems connected with them constituted a major subject of our conversation and correspondence, without our having made further practical experiments in the meantime.» — lo que Hofmann declara del trato con Jünger tras el viaje compartido

«Ernst Jiinger thus let me have for my drug library the rare, valuable monograph of Dr. Ernst Freiherrn von Bibra, Die Narkotischen Genussmittel und der Mensch [Narcotic pleasure drugs and man] printed in Nuremburg in 1855.» — el libro que Jünger le regala para su biblioteca de drogas, con su fecha

«What von Bibra embraces under the designation “Narkotischen Genussmittel” are not only substances like opium and thorn apple, but also coffee, tobacco, khat, which do not fall under the present conception of narcotics, any more than do drugs such as coca, fly agaric, and hashish, which he also described.» — la amplitud del término que Hofmann señala en von Bibra: café, tabaco y khat junto al opio y el estramonio, fuera de la noción actual de narcótico

«The individual who has taken too much hashish, and then runs frantically about in the streets and attacks everyone who confronts him, sinks into insignificance beside the numbers of those who after mealtime pass calm and happy hours with a moderate dose; and the number of those who are able to overcome the heaviest exertions through coca, yes, who were possibly rescued from death by starvation through coca, by far exceed the few coqueros who have undermined their health by immoderate use.» — el argumento de proporción que Hofmann cita de von Bibra, escrito más de un siglo antes y que él da por vigente: el caso extremo es insignificante junto al número de los usos moderados

«same manner, only a misplaced hypocrisy can condemn the vinous cup of old father Noah, because individual drunkards do not know how to observe limit and moderation.» — el remate del pasaje de von Bibra, con la copa de Noé como caso de escuela; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Last week the first 200 grams of a new drug arrived, whose investigation I wish to take up. It involves the seeds of a mimosa (Piptadenia peregrina Benth.) that is used as a stimulating intoxicant by the Indians of the Orinoco.» — la carta de Hofmann a Jünger de septiembre de 1955, sobre las semillas de mimosa que empieza a investigar

«The seeds are ground, fermented, and then mixed with the powder of burned snail shells. This powder is sniffed by the Indians with the help of a hollow, forked bird bone,» — la preparación y el modo de uso que Hofmann describe en esa carta, con el remite a Humboldt

«The Otomacos sniffed the powder before they went to battle with the Caribes, for in earlier times there existed savage wars between these tribes... This drug robs them completely of reason, and they frantically seize their weapons. And if the women were not so adept at holding them back and binding them fast, they would daily cause horrible devastation. It is a terrible vice... Other benign and docile tribes that also sniff the yupa, do not get into such a fury as the Otomacos, who through self-injury with this agent made themselves completely cruel before combat, and marched into battle with savage fury.”» — el pasaje de la monografía de Gumilla que Hofmann copia en la carta, donde el jesuita describe el uso guerrero del yupa entre los otomacos y lo llama vicio terrible; la voz es la del cronista del siglo XVIII

«I am curious how niopo would act on people like us. Should a niopo session one day come to pass, then we should on no account send our wives away, as on that early spring» — el chiste con que Hofmann cierra la carta, remitiendo al viaje de febrero de 1951; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente

«Chemical analysis of this drug led to isolation of active principles that, like the ergot alkaloids and psilocybin, belong to the group of indole alkaloids, but which were already described in the technical literature, and were therefore not investigated further in the Sandoz laboratories.» — el resultado de aquel análisis y la razón por la que Sandoz no siguió

«The fantastic effects described above appeared to occur only with the particular manner of use as snuff powder, and also seemed to be related, in all probability, to the psychic structure of the Indian tribes concerned.» — la explicación que Hofmann propone para los efectos que cuenta el cronista, con el grado *in all probability*: el modo de uso y la estructura psíquica de los pueblos implicados

«On the other hand, I must admit that the fundamental question very much occupies me, whether the use of these types of drugs, namely of substances that so deeply affect our minds, could not indeed represent a forbidden transgression of limits.» — la duda de fondo que Hofmann plantea a Jünger en su carta del 16 de diciembre de 1961, y que es la pregunta moral del libro entero

«As long as any means or methods are used, which provide only an additional, newer aspect of reality, surely there is nothing to object to in such means; on the contrary, the experience and the knowledge of further facets of the reality only makes this reality ever more real to us.» — el criterio con que Hofmann distingue lo admisible: un medio que solo añade una faceta de la realidad no tiene nada de objetable

«The question exists, however, whether the deeply affecting drugs under discussion here will in fact only open an additional window for our» — la alternativa con que Hofmann plantea el problema, entre la ventana nueva y la alteración del espectador mismo; la frase sigue en la plana 191

«senses and perceptions, or whether the spectator himself, the core of his being, undergoes alterations. The latter would signify that something is altered that in my opinion should always remain intact.» — la segunda rama de esa alternativa y lo que Hofmann declara que debería quedar intacto, marcándolo como opinión suya; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«My concern is addressed to the question, whether the innermost core of our being is actually unimpeachable, and cannot become damaged by whatever happens in its material, physical-chemical, biological and psychic shells—or whether matter in the form of these drugs displays a potency that has the ability to attack the spiritual center of the personality, the self.» — la formulación más precisa de la pregunta de Hofmann: si el núcleo más íntimo del ser es inatacable, o si la materia en forma de droga puede atacar el centro espiritual de la persona

«The latter would have to be explained by the fact that the effect of magic drugs happens at the borderline where mind and matter merge—that these magic substances are themselves cracks in the infinite realm of matter, in which the depth of matter, its relationship with the mind, becomes particularly obvious.» — la tesis metafísica de Hofmann: las drogas mágicas actúan en la frontera donde mente y materia se juntan, y son ellas mismas grietas en el reino infinito de la materia

«This could be expressed by a modification of the familiar words of Goethe: “Were the eye not sunny, It could never behold the sun; If the power of the mind were not in matter, How could matter disturb the mind.”» — la cuarteta con que Hofmann reescribe a Goethe para decir su correspondencia entre mente y materia

«This would correspond to cracks which the radioactive substances constitute in the periodic system of the elements, where the transition of matter into energy becomes manifest. Indeed, one must ask whether the production of atomic energy likewise represents a transgression of forbidden limits.» — el paralelo que Hofmann traza entre su grieta y la radiactividad, y la pregunta que extiende a la energía atómica

«A further disquieting thought, which follows from the possibility of influencing the highest intellectual functions by traces of a substance, concerns free will.» — la segunda consecuencia que Hofmann extrae, y que toca el libre albedrío

«metabolism of the normal neurotransmitters, a compound like LSD or psilocybin is formed that can determine and alter the character of the individual, his worldview and his behavior. A trace of a substance, whose production or nonproduction we cannot control with our wills, has the power to shape our destiny.» — el argumento con que Hofmann sostiene esa inquietud: una traza de sustancia que no controlamos con la voluntad puede determinar el carácter, la visión del mundo y la conducta; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Such biochemical considerations could have led to the sentence that Gottfried Benn quoted in his essay “Provoziertes Leben” [Provoked life]: “God is a substance, a drug!”» — la frase que Hofmann trae por vía de Gottfried Benn y que deja sin suscribir ni rechazar

«On the other hand, it is well known that substances like adrenaline, for example, are formed or set free in our organism by thoughts and emotions, which for their part determine the functions of the nervous system. One may therefore suppose that our material organism is susceptible to and shaped by our mind, in the same way that our intellectual essence is shaped by our biochemistry.» — el contrapeso que Hofmann pone en la misma carta: el organismo material es moldeado por la mente tanto como la esencia intelectual por la bioquímica

«Which came first can indeed no better be determined than the question, whether the chicken came before the egg.» — la abstención con que Hofmann cierra esa simetría, y que es su posición declarada sobre la prioridad

«In spite of my uncertainty with regard to the fundamental dangers that could lie in the use of hallucinogenic substances, I have continued investigations on the active principles of the Mexican magic morning glories, of which I wrote you briefly once before.» — lo que Hofmann declara haber hecho pese a su incertidumbre, y que separa su duda moral de su conducta de investigador

«I have all along had a particular love for the morning glories. They were the first flowers that I grew myself in my little child's garden. Their blue and red cups belong to the first memories of my childhood.» — el enlace personal que Hofmann traza entre el ololiuhqui y su infancia

«Its fleeting splendor has given the Japanese imagination rich stimulus. Among others, Suzuki quotes a three- line poem of the poetess Chiyo (1702-75), who one morning went to fetch water from a neighbor's house, because... “My trough is captivated by a morning glory blossom, So I ask after water.”» — el poema de Chiyo que Hofmann toma de Suzuki para su carta; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The morning glory thus shows both possible ways of influencing the mind-body-essence of man: in Mexico it exerts its effects in a chemical way as a magic drug, while in Japan it acts from the spiritual side, through the beauty of its flower cups.» — la simetría con que Hofmann cierra la carta: la misma planta obra en México por vía química y en Japón por vía espiritual, por la belleza de su flor

«I have reflected on your central question, and may probably become occupied with it on the occasion of the revision of AN DER ZEITMAUER [At the wall of no time]. There I intimated that, in the field of physics as well as in the field of biology, we are beginning to develop procedures that are no longer to be understood as advances in the established sense, but that rather intervene in evolution and lead forth in the development of the species.» — la respuesta de Jünger del 17 de diciembre de 1961: los procedimientos de la física y la biología ya no son avances sino intervenciones en la evolución

«Certainly I turn the glove inside out, for I suppose that it is a new world age, which begins to act evolutionarily on the prototypes. Our science with its theories and discoveries is therefore not the cause, rather one of the consequences of evolution, among others. Animals, plants, the atmosphere and the surfaces of planets will be concerned simultaneously. We do not progress from point to point, rather we cross over a line.» — la inversión que Jünger propone en esa carta: la ciencia no es causa sino consecuencia de una nueva edad del mundo que actúa sobre los prototipos

«The risk that you indicated is well to be considered. However, it exists in every aspect of our existence. The common denominator appears now here, now there.» — cómo despacha Jünger el riesgo que Hofmann le plantea: existe en todo aspecto de la existencia

«Cracks are not merely points of discovery, but also points of destruction. Compared to the effects of radiation, those of the magical drugs are more genuine and much less rough. In classical manner they lead us beyond the humane.» — la enmienda de Jünger a la figura de la grieta: es también punto de destrucción, y las drogas mágicas llevan más allá de lo humano de modo más genuino que la radiación

«Gurdjieff has already seen that to some extent. Wine has already changed much, has brought new gods and a new humanity with it.» — los dos precedentes que Jünger nombra en esa carta, Gurdjieff y el vino, al que atribuye dioses nuevos y una humanidad nueva

«But wine is to the new substances as classical physics is to modern physics. These things should only be tried in small circles.» — la proporción con que Jünger mide las sustancias nuevas frente al vino, y la restricción que impone: círculos pequeños

«I cannot agree with the thoughts of Huxley, that possibilities for transcendence could here be given to the masses. Indeed, this does not involve comforting fictions, but rather realities, if we take the matter earnestly.» — la discrepancia declarada de Jünger con Huxley sobre dar la trascendencia a las masas, y la razón que da: no son ficciones consoladoras sino realidades

«It also transcends theology and belongs in the chapter of theogony, as it necessarily entails entry into a new house, in the astrological sense. At first, one can be satisfied with this insight, and should above all be cautious with the designations.» — dónde coloca Jünger el asunto —teogonía y no teología, con entrada en una casa nueva en sentido astrológico— y la cautela que pide sobre los nombres

«I did not know that it possesses specific powers; however, that is probably the case with every plant. We do not know the key to most.» — lo que Jünger extiende a toda planta a partir de la campanilla, con el grado que le pone

«Besides this, there must be a central viewpoint from which not only the chemistry, the structure, the color, but rather all attributes become significant» — el punto de vista central que Jünger postula, desde el que la química, la estructura y el color serían todos significativos a la vez

«One such experiment, which served as a comparison between LSD and psilocybin, took place in the spring of 1962.» — la fecha y el propósito del simposio de los hongos en casa de los Jünger

«The old chronicles described how the Aztecs drank chocolat] before they ate teonanacatl. Thus Mrs. Liselotte Jiinger likewide served us hot chocolate, to set the mood.» — la cita del rito antiguo que la anfitriona reproduce en el salón alemán; el troceo imprime *chocolat]* y *likewide*

«Ernst Junger wore a long, broad, dark blue striped kaftan-like garment that he had brought from Egypt; Heribert Konzett was resplendent in a brightly embroidered mandarin gown; Rudolf Gelpke and I had put on housecoats. The everyday reality should be laid aside, along with everyday clothing.» — el vestuario que Hofmann describe y la razón que le da: el *setting* construido a propósito, ropa incluida

«Shortly before sundown we took the drug, not the mushrooms, but rather their active principle, 20 mg psilocybin each. That corresponded to some two-thirds of the very strong dose that was taken by the curandera Maria Sabina in the form of Psilocybe mushrooms.» — la dosis del simposio, medida contra la que tomó María Sabina

«I had come with the hope that in the mushroom inebriation I could manage to allow certain images from euphoric moments of my childhood, which remained in my memory as blissful experiences, to come alive: a meadow covered with chrysanthemums lightly stirred by the early summer wind; the rosebush in the evening light after a rain storm; the blue irises hanging over the vineyard wall.» — lo que Hofmann esperaba del experimento: revivir las imágenes dichosas de su infancia, que son las que fundan su visión del mundo

«Instead of these bright images from my childhood home, strange scenery emerged, when the mushroom factor finally began to act. Half stupefied, I sank deeper, passed through totally deserted cities with a Mexican type of exotic, yet dead splendor.» — lo que le salió en su lugar, y que invierte la expectativa: ciudades desiertas de esplendor mexicano y muerto

«With the increasing depth of inebriation, everything became yet stranger. I even felt strange to myself. Weird, cold, foolish, deserted, in a dull light, were the places I traversed when I closed my eyes. Emptied of all meaning, the environment also seemed ghostlike to me whenever I opened my eyes and tried to cling to the outer world. The total emptiness threatened to drag me down into absolute nothingness.» — el fondo del mal viaje de Hofmann, con el vacío total amenazando arrastrarlo a la nada absoluta; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I remember how I seized Rudolf Gelpke’s arm as he passed by my chair, and held myself to him, in order not to sink into dark nothingness. Fear of death seized me, and illimitable longing to return to the living creation, to the reality of the world of men.» — el gesto de asirse a otro que Hofmann consigna, y el anhelo de volver a la creación viva

«For me this entry into the mushroom world had been a test, a confrontation with a dead world and with the void. The experiment had developed differently from what I had expected.» — cómo califica Hofmann su propia experiencia de aquella noche: una prueba y una confrontación con un mundo muerto y con el vacío

«Nevertheless, the encounter with the void can also be appraised as a gain. Then the existence of the creation appears so much more wondrous.» — lo que Hofmann saca en limpio del mal viaje, y que es su modo de no anular el dato: el encuentro con el vacío vale como ganancia porque vuelve más asombrosa la existencia de la creación

«As usual, a half hour or a little more passed in silence. Then came the first signs: the flowers on the table began to flare up and sent out flashes.» — arranque del relato que Jünger publicó de aquella misma noche en Annäherungen, y que corre en paralelo al de Hofmann

«By this time the mushroom began to act; the spring bouquet glowed darker. That was no natural light. The shadows stirred in the corners, as if they sought form.» — cómo describe Jünger el comienzo del efecto, con la luz que declara no natural

«Everything became skin and was touched, even the retina—there the contact was light. This light was multicolored; it arranged itself in strings, which gently» — la sinestesia táctil con que Jünger describe la entrada, donde hasta la retina es tocada; la frase sigue con *swung back and forth*

«Now came forms—historical collages, the vox humana, the call of the cuckoo. Was it the whore of Santa Lucia, who stuck her breasts out of the window? Then the play was ruined. Salome danced; the amber necklace emitted sparks and made the nipples erect. What would one not do for one's Johannes? [Translator’s note: “Johannes” here is slang for penis, as in English “Dick” or “Peter.”] Damned, that was a disgusting obscenity, which did not come from me, but was whispered through the curtain.» — el giro obsceno del relato de Jünger, que él atribuye a algo que no venía de él sino de detrás de la cortina; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I understood; it had been a first round, and it would soon start again. The time was not yet up. I had already seen the beloved little mother under other circumstances. But even excrement is earth, belongs like gold to transformed matter. One must come to terms with it, without getting too close.» — lo que Jünger extrae de su propia escena baja, con la fórmula alquímica de que hasta el excremento es tierra y materia transformada como el oro; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«These were the earthy mushrooms. More light was hidden in the dark grain that burst from the ear, more yet in the green juice of the succulents on the glowing slopes of Mexico» — la jerarquía que Jünger traza entre las sustancias, con los hongos como los terrosos y más luz en el cornezuelo y en el peyote

«The trip had run awry—possibly I should address the mushrooms once more. Yet indeed the whispering returned, the flashing and sparkling—the bait pulled the fish close behind itself. Once the motif is given, then it engraves itself, like on a roller each new beginning, each new revolution repeats the melody. The game did not get beyond this kind of dreariness.» — el balance de Jünger sobre su propia noche, con la imagen del rodillo que repite la melodía una vez dado el motivo

«I don’t know how often this was repeated, and prefer not to dwell upon it. Also, there are things which one would rather keep to oneself.» — la reserva declarada con que Jünger corta su propio relato, y que es un dato sobre los límites del testimonio

«The senses were still heightened and the Doors of Perception were opened. The light undulated from the red wine in the carafe; a froth surged at the brim. We listened to a flute concerto. It had not turned out better for the others: “How beautiful, to be back among men.” Thus Albert Hofmann.» — cómo cierra Jünger la escena de la cena, citando la frase de Hofmann sobre la alegría de volver entre los hombres

«A light dawned on the pharmacologist when he heard this: “Now I know why you were sitting in the armchair without your head” —I was astonished; I knew I wasn’t dreaming.» — el episodio que Jünger consigna entre los cuatro participantes, donde el farmacólogo dice haberlo visto sin cabeza

«I wonder whether I should not strike out this detail since it borders on the area of ghost stories.» — la duda con que el propio Jünger acota ese episodio, y que Hofmann publica tal cual

«The mushroom substance had carried all four of us off, not into luminous heights, rather into deeper regions. It seems that the psilocybin inebriation is more darkly colored in the majority of cases than the inebriation produced by LSD.» — la comparación que Hofmann saca del simposio entre psilocibina y LSD, con el grado que le pone

«The influence of these two active substances is sure to differ from one individual to another. Personally, for me, there was more light in the LSD experiments than in the experiments with the earthy mushroom, just as Ernst Jiinger remarks in the preceding report.» — el límite que Hofmann pone a esa comparación, y la declara como experiencia personal y coincidente con la de Jünger

«The next and last thrust into the inner universe together with Ernst Jiunger, this time again using LSD, led us very far from everyday consciousness. We came close to the ultimate door. Of course this door, according to Ernst Jiinger, will in fact only open for us in the great transition from life into the hereafter.» — lo que Hofmann adjudica a Jünger sobre la puerta última, que según él solo se abre en el tránsito de la vida al más allá

«This last joint experiment occurred in February 1970, again at the head forester’s house in Wilflingen. In this case there were only the two of us. Ernst Junger took 0.15 mg LSD, I took 0.10 mg.» — la fecha, el lugar y las dosis del último experimento conjunto

«Ernst Jiinger has published without commentary the log book, the notes he made during the experiment, in Approaches, in the section “Nochmals LSD” [LSD once again]. They are scanty and tell the reader little, just like my own records.» — el juicio de Hofmann sobre el valor documental de los dos registros de aquella sesión: escuetos y poco elocuentes

«When I wanted to describe the perplexing alterations of consciousness to Ernst Jiinger, no more than two or three words came out, for they sounded so false, so unable to express the experience; they seemed to originate from an infinitely distant world that had become strange; I abandoned the attempt, laughing hopelessly.» — el fracaso del lenguaje que Hofmann consigna otra vez, ahora entre dos personas en el mismo estado; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Obviously, Ernst Juinger had the same experience, yet we did not need speech; a glance sufficed for the deepest understanding.» — lo que Hofmann pone en lugar de la palabra en aquella sesión

«I could, however, put some scraps of sentences on paper, such as at the beginning: “Our boat tosses violently.”» — el primer apunte que Hofmann conservó de aquel día

«Toward the end, deep, comforting insight expressed: “Until now confirmed on my path.” This time LSD had led to a delightful encounter.» — el apunte con que cierra la sesión y el capítulo, y que es el juicio que Hofmann da sobre su propio camino

«The mescaline experiment was a visionary experience for Huxley. He saw objects in a new light; they disclosed their inherent, deep, timeless existence, which remains hidden from everyday sight.» — cómo resume Hofmann lo que Huxley reporta de la mescalina: los objetos revelan su existencia honda y sin tiempo

«These two books contained fundamental observations on the essence of visionary experience and about the significance of this manner of comprehending the world—in cultural history, in the creation of myths, in the origin of religions, and in the creative process out of which works of art arise.» — los campos en que Hofmann sitúa el alcance de esos dos libros de Huxley: historia cultural, creación de mitos, origen de las religiones y proceso creador

«Huxley saw the value of hallucinogenic drugs in that they give people who lack the gift of spontaneous visionary perception, belonging to mystics, saints, and great artists, the potential to experience this extraordinary state of consciousness, and thereby to attain insight into the spiritual world of these great creators.» — la tesis que Hofmann adjudica a Huxley: la sustancia da a quien no tiene el don de la visión espontánea el acceso al estado que místicos, santos y grandes artistas alcanzan solos

«For Huxley these drugs were keys capable of opening new doors of perception; chemical keys, in addition to other proven but laborious ” door openers” to the visionary world, like meditation, isolation, and fasting, or like certain yoga practices.» — la figura de la llave química que Hofmann atribuye a Huxley, puesta al lado de la meditación, el aislamiento, el ayuno y ciertas prácticas de yoga

«In The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell, Huxley's newly-published works, I found a meaningful exposition of the experience induced by hallucinogenic drugs, and I thereby gained a deepened insight into my own LSD experiments.» — lo que Hofmann declara deberle a esos libros para entender sus propios experimentos; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I was therefore delighted when I received a telephone call from Aldous Huxley in the laboratory one morning in August 1961. He was passing through Zurich with his wife. He invited me and my wife to lunch in the Hotel Sonnenberg.» — la fecha y la ocasión del primer encuentro con Huxley

«Huxley would have preferred not to designate these two substances and mescaline as “drugs,” because in English usage, as also, by the way, with Droge in German, that word has a pejorative connotation, and because it was important to differentiate the hallucinogens from the other drugs, even linguistically.» — la objeción terminológica que Hofmann adjudica a Huxley, y que toca de lleno la deuda de nombres del bloque psicodélico: *drug* y *Droge* llevan connotación peyorativa

«He believed in the great importance of agents producing visionary experience in the modern phase of human evolution.» — la tesis evolutiva que Hofmann atribuye a Huxley sobre estos agentes

«He considered experiments under laboratory conditions to be insignificant, since in the extraordinarily intensified susceptibility and sensitivity to external impressions, the surroundings are of decisive importance.» — la objeción de método que Huxley hace al laboratorio según Hofmann, y que coincide con la doctrina del *setting*

«He recommended to my wife, when we spoke of her native place in the mountains, that she take LSD in an alpine meadow and then look into the blue cup of a gentian flower, to behold the wonder of creation.» — la receta concreta que Hofmann reporta de Huxley, y que dice en una frase su idea del entorno debido

«In the following year, the newest and last book by Aldous Huxley appeared, the novel Island. This story, set on the utopian island Pala, is an attempt to blend the achievements of natural science and technical civilization with the wisdom of Eastern thought, to achieve a new culture in which rationalism and mysticism are fruitfully united.» — lo que Hofmann dice de la novela Island de Huxley y del programa que le atribuye: unir racionalismo y mística en una cultura nueva

«The moksha medicine, a magical drug prepared from a mushroon, plays a significant role in the life of the population of Pala (moksha is Sanskrit for “release,” “liberation”» — qué es la medicina moksha dentro de la novela y qué significa el término en sánscrito; el troceo imprime *mushroon*

«The drug could be used only in critical periods of life. The young people on Pala received it in initiation rites, it is dispensed to the protagonist of the novel during a life crisis, in the scope of a psychotherapeutic dialogue with a spiritual friend, and it helps the dying to relinquish the mortal body, in the transition to another existence.» — los tres usos que la novela de Huxley le da a esa droga —iniciación de los jóvenes, crisis vital y tránsito de los moribundos—, y que son los que Hofmann defiende en la vida real

«Now he sent me a copy of Island, inscribed “To Dr. Albert Hofmann the original discoverer of the moksha medicine, from Aldous Huxley.”» — la dedicatoria con que Huxley le mandó la novela, que lo nombra descubridor original de la medicina moksha

«Meister Eckhart wrote that “what is taken in by contemplation must be given out in love.” Essentially this is what must be developed—the art of giving out in love and intelligence what is taken in from vision and the experience of self-transcendence and solidarity with the Universe» — la fórmula de Meister Eckhart con que Huxley cierra su carta, y el arte que dice que hay que desarrollar: dar en amor e inteligencia lo que se recibe en la visión

«WAAS had been established in order to allow the most competent specialists to consider world problems in a forum free of ideological and religious restrictions and from an international viewpoint encompassing the whole world.» — qué es la academia en cuyas sesiones Hofmann y Huxley coincidieron

«The 1963 meeting of WAAS had dealt with the population explosion and the raw material reserves and food resources of the earth. The corresponding studies and proposals were collected in Volume II of WAAS under the title The Population Crisis and the Use of World Resources.» — el asunto de aquella reunión y el volumen en que quedaron sus estudios

«A decade before birth control, environmental protection, and the energy crisis became catchwords, these world problems were examined there from the most serious point of view, and proposals for their solution were made to governments and responsible organizations. The catastrophic events since that time in the aforementioned fields makes evident the tragic discrepancy between recognition, desire, and feasibility.» — el balance que Hofmann hace de aquellas propuestas, y el término con que nombra la distancia entre lo reconocido, lo querido y lo hacedero

«Aldous Huxley made the proposal, as a continuation and complement of the theme “World Resources” at the Stockholm convention, to address the problem “Human Resources,”» — la propuesta de Huxley en Estocolmo, que traslada la cuestión de los recursos del mundo a los del hombre

«A human race with more highly developed spiritual capacities, with expanded consciousness of the depth and the incomprehensible wonder of being, would also have greater understanding of and better consideration for the biological and material foundations of life on this earth.» — el argumento con que Hofmann enlaza la expansión de la consciencia con el cuidado de las bases materiales de la vida, y que es su propia tesis además de la de Huxley

«Above all, for Western people with their hypertrophied rationality, the development and expansion of a direct, emotional experience of reality, unobstructed by words and concepts, would be of evolutionary significance.» — el diagnóstico que Hofmann aplica al hombre occidental, y el remedio que propone: experiencia directa y emocional de la realidad, sin palabras ni conceptos de por medio

«Huxley considered psychedelic drugs to be one means to achieve education in this direction. The psychiatrist Dr. Humphry Osmond likewise participating in the congress, who had created the term psychedelic (mind-expanding), assisted him with a report about significant possibilities of the use of hallucinogens.» — el lugar acotado que Huxley da a estas sustancias en ese programa, con Humphry Osmond en el mismo congreso; Hofmann repite aquí la atribución del término *psychedelic*

«His physical appearance was already marked by a severe illness; his intellectual personage, however, still bore the undiminished signs of a comprehensive knowledge of the heights and depths of the inner and outer world of man, which he had displayed with so much genius, love, goodness, and humor in his literary work.» — el retrato con que Hofmann despide a Huxley en el último encuentro

«Aldous Huxley died on 22 November of the same year, on the same day President Kennedy was assassinated.» — la fecha de la muerte de Huxley y la coincidencia que Hofmann consigna

«From Laura Huxley I obtained a copy of her letter to Julian and Juliette Huxley, in which she reported to her brother- and sister-in-law about her husband's last day.» — la fuente que Hofmann declara para el relato de la muerte de Huxley

«The doctors had prepared her for a dramatic end, because the terminal phase of cancer of the throat, from which Aldous Huxley suffered, is usually accompanied by convulsions and choking fits. He died serenely and peacefully, however.» — lo que Laura Huxley reporta contra el pronóstico médico

«In the morning, when he was already so weak that he could no longer speak, he had written on a sheet of paper: “LSD—try it—intramuscular—100 meg.”» — la nota escrita que Huxley dejó ese día, tal como la imprime el troceo

«was meant by this, and ignoring the misgivings of the attending physician, she gave him, with her own hand, the desired injection—she let him have the moksha medicine.» — lo que hizo Laura Huxley con esa nota, y la fórmula con que Hofmann cierra el capítulo, tomada de la novela; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«have good hopes that this and similar work will result in the development of a real Natural History of visionary experience, in all its variations, determined by differences of physique, temperament and profession, and at the same time of a technique of Applied Mysticism—a technique for helping individuals to get the most out of their transcendental experience and to make use of the insights from the “OTHER» — la carta de Huxley del 29 de febrero de 1962, con los dos programas que propone: una historia natural de la experiencia visionaria y una técnica de mística aplicada; el troceo funde la elisión con el número y el tramo arranca tras el *..1* que imprime la plana

«My FRIENDSHIP WITH THE PHYSICIAN, psychiatrist, and writer Walter Vogt, M.D., is also among the personal contacts that I owe to LSD. As the following extract from our correspondence shows, it was less the medicinal aspects of LSD, important to the physician, than the consciousness-altering effects on the depth of the psyche, of interest to the writer, that constituted the theme of our correspondence.» — Hofmann declara qué pesa en esta correspondencia: no lo medicinal sino el efecto sobre la hondura de la psique, que es lo que interesa al escritor

«Possibly this little work will interest you. It was written in 1966 by an author who at that time still had not had any shred of experience with psychedelic substances and who read the reports about medicinal experiments with these drugs devoid of understanding. However, little has changed since, except that now the misgiving comes from the other side.» — lo que Walter Vogt dice de su propio libro en la carta del 22 de noviembre de 1970: lo escribió sin experiencia alguna de estas sustancias y leyendo los informes sin entenderlos

«I suppose that your discovery has caused a hiatus (not directly a Saul-to-Paul conversion as Roland Fischer says...) in my work (also a large word)—and indeed, that which I have written since has become rather realistic or at least less expressive.» — el efecto que Vogt adjudica al hallazgo de Hofmann sobre su propia obra, y que acota de inmediato: no una conversión de Saulo a Pablo; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«If the bird that alighted on my table was able to find its way to me, this is one more debt I owe to the magical effect of LSD. I could soon write a book about all of the results that derive from that experiment in 1943» — la respuesta de Hofmann del 28 de noviembre de 1970, con el juego sobre el título del libro de Vogt y la fórmula que anuncia este libro

«It seems to me that to hallucinate—to dream—to write—stands at all times in contrast to everyday consciousness, and their functions are complementary.» — la tesis que Vogt propone en su carta del 13 de marzo de 1971, y que declara válida solo para él: alucinar, soñar y escribir se oponen por igual a la consciencia cotidiana y se complementan con ella

«This could be different with others — it is also truly difficult to speak with others about such things, because people often speak altogether different languages» — la reserva con que Vogt acota esa tesis, y que vuelve sobre el problema del lenguaje que atraviesa el libro

«only joyous invention of the twentieth century» — la fórmula con que Vogt nombra el hallazgo de Hofmann dentro de su propio testamento; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«dr. walter vogts most recent testament 1969 I wish to have no special funeral only expensive and obscene orchids innumerable little birds with gay names no naked dancers but psychedelic garments loudspeaker in every corner and nothing but the latest beatles record [ABBEY ROAD] one hundred thousand million times and do what you like» — arranque del testamento de 1969 que Vogt dedica a Hofmann, con las orquídeas, los pájaros y las prendas psicodélicas en lugar de funeral; el impreso escribe el testamento entero en minúsculas, incluido el nombre del firmante

«nothing more than a popular Christ with a halo of genuine gold and a beloved mourning congregation that pumped themselves full with acid [acid = LSD] till they go to heaven [From ABBEY RoabD, side two] one two three four five six seven possibly we will encounter one another there most cordially dedicated to Dr. Albert Hofmann» — el cierre de ese testamento, con el Cristo popular y la congregación que se llena de ácido hasta subir al cielo; los corchetes con las glosas son del propio impreso

«Very remarkable dreams in recent times induce me to test a connection between the composition (chemical) of the evening meal and the quality of dreams. Yes, LSD is also something that one eats» — lo que Hofmann propone poner a prueba en su carta del 29 de marzo de 1971, y el giro con que lo enlaza con su asunto

«Saturday, thanks to one tablet of aspirin (on account of a headache or mild flu), I experienced a very comical flashback, like with mescaline (of which I have had only a little, exactly once» — el *flashback* que Vogt reporta en la carta del 5 de septiembre de 1971, disparado por una aspirina; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I have read a delightful essay by Wasson about mushrooms; he divides mankind into mycophobes and mycophiles» — la distinción de Wasson que Vogt recoge en esa carta

«Was it really an LSD trip?... It was a courageous deed, to choose such a notorious event as a drug experience as the theme of a sermon, even a lay sermon.» — la pregunta y el elogio con que Hofmann abre su carta del 19 de mayo de 1973 sobre el sermón laico de Vogt

«But the questions raised by hallucinogenic drugs do actually belong in the church—in a prominent place in the church, for they are sacred drugs (peyotl, teonanacatl, ololiuhqui, with which LSD is mostly closely related by chemical structure and activity» — la tesis más fuerte de Hofmann sobre el lugar del asunto: estas preguntas pertenecen a la iglesia, y en lugar destacado, porque se trata de drogas sagradas; nombra peyotl, teonanácatl y ololiuhqui

«I can fully agree with what you say in your introduction about the modern ecclesiastical religiosity: the three sanctioned states of consciousness (the waking condition of uninterrupted work and performance of duty, alcoholic intoxication, and sleep), the distinction between two phases of psychedelic inebriation (the first phase, the peak of the trip, in which the cosmic relationship is experienced, or the submersion into one’s own body, in which everything that is, is within; and the second phase, characterized as the phase of enhanced comprehension of symbols» — lo que Hofmann suscribe de Vogt: los tres estados de consciencia sancionados por la religiosidad eclesiástica moderna —vigilia de trabajo, embriaguez alcohólica y sueño— y las dos fases de la embriaguez psicodélica

«The most worthwhile spiritual benefit from LSD experiments was the experience of the inextricable intertwining of the physical and spiritual. “Christ in matter” (Teilhard de» — lo que Hofmann declara como su mayor ganancia espiritual de estos experimentos: el entrelazamiento inextricable de lo físico y lo espiritual, con la fórmula que toma de Teilhard de Chardin; la frase sigue con *Chardin*

«Did the insight first come to you also through your drug experiences, that we must descend “into the flesh, which we are,” in order to get new prophesies?» — la pregunta con que Hofmann somete esa tesis a Vogt, y que enuncia el descenso a la carne como condición de toda profecía nueva

«A criticism of your sermon: you allow the “deepest experience that there is’—“The kingdom of heaven is within you"—to be uttered by Timothy Leary. This sentence, quoted without the indication of its true source, could be interpreted as ignorance of one—or rather the principal— truth of Christian belief.» — la objeción que Hofmann le hace a Vogt: poner en boca de Timothy Leary el reino de los cielos dentro de uno, sin decir de dónde viene

«One of your statements deserves universal recognition: “There is no non-ecstatic religious experience.”» — la frase de Vogt que Hofmann destaca por encima de todo el sermón

«Of course it was LSD—only I did not want to write about it explicitly, I really do not know just why myself» — la respuesta de Vogt del 24 de mayo de 1973, que despeja la pregunta de Hofmann y deja su propio motivo sin explicar

«I must admit that the perception that we must descend “into the flesh, which we are” actually first came to me with LSD. | still ruminate on it, possibly it even came “too late” for me in fact, although more and more I advocate your opinion that LSD should be taboo for youth» — lo que Vogt concede a Hofmann sobre el descenso a la carne, y la opinión suya que dice compartir cada vez más sobre los jóvenes

«forbidden, that is the difference» — la distinción con que Vogt acota su acuerdo, entre tabú y prohibición; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The sentence that you like, “there is no nonecstatic religious experience,” was apparently not liked so much by others for example, by my (almost only) literary friend and minister-lyric poet Kurt Marti» — la recepción desigual que Vogt reporta de su propia frase, con el desacuerdo de su amigo pastor y poeta

«as a representation of the fundamental man-God relationship: man, who comes to God with his most difficult questions, which finally he must answer himself, because God is silent. He does not answer them with words.» — lo que Hofmann lee en la obra televisiva de Vogt sobre Pilatos, y que formula su propia teología: el hombre lleva a Dios sus preguntas más difíciles y ha de contestarlas él, porque Dios calla; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The answers are contained in the book of his creation (to which the questioning man himself belongs» — dónde pone Hofmann las respuestas, y es la misma figura de Paracelso con que cierra su autobiografía: el libro de la creación, al que pertenece el propio hombre que pregunta

«Leary in jail. Gelpke is dead. Treatment in the asylum... is this your psychedelic revolution? Had we taken seriously something with which one only ought to play or vice-versa» — el balance amargo con que Vogt cierra la correspondencia en mayo de 1974, y la pregunta que le deja a Hofmann sobre su revolución psicodélica

«Most of these visitors came from the United States and were young people, often in transit to the Far East in search of Eastern wisdom or of a guru;» — quiénes eran los visitantes que Hofmann recibió y qué buscaban en ruta hacia Oriente

«Once arrived in Europe, they wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to see the father of LSD, “the man who made the famous LSD bicycle trip.”» — el mote con que Hofmann dice que lo buscaban, y que fija el episodio de 1943 como leyenda

«But more serious concerns sometimes motivated a visit. There was the desire to report on personal LSD experiences and to debate the purport of their meaning, at the source, so to speak.» — el otro motivo que Hofmann reconoce en esas visitas: contar la propia experiencia y discutir su sentido en la fuente

«Whenever possible, I have welcomed such visitors or agreed to meet somewhere. This I considered to be an obligation connected with my role in the history of LSD, and I have tried to help by instructing and advising.» — el deber que Hofmann declara haber asumido por su papel en la historia del LSD; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«He stared at me, as if asking himself: can the man who has made something so weird as LSD really look so completely ordinary? With him, as with other similar visitors, I had the feeling that he hoped, in my presence, the LSD riddle would somehow solve itself.» — lo que Hofmann lee en la mirada de uno de sus visitantes, y la expectativa que le atribuye

«He thanked me for the creation of LSD, which had given his life another direction. He had been 100 percent a businessman, with a purely materialistic worldview. LSD had opened his eyes to the spiritual aspect of life. Now he possessed a sense for art, literature, and philosophy and was deeply concerned with religious and metaphysical questions.» — el caso del empresario de Toronto tal como Hofmann lo reporta: de una visión puramente materialista a la preocupación religiosa y metafísica

«A young woman sought me out to report on LSD experiences that had been of great significance to her inner development.» — la presentación del caso que Hofmann pone como el más favorable de todos

«For three years she took frequent LSD trips. They led to an astonishing intensification of her inner life. She began to seek after the deeper meaning of her existence, which eventually revealed itself to her. Then, recognizing that LSD had no further power to help her, without difficulty or exertion of will she was able to abandon the drug. Thereafter she was in a position to develop herself further without artificial means.» — el arco que Hofmann reporta de ese caso, con el abandono de la sustancia sin esfuerzo de voluntad una vez que dejó de servirle

«This young woman had decided to tell me her history because she supposed that I was often attacked by narrow-minded persons who saw only the damage that LSD sometimes caused among youths.» — el motivo que Hofmann adjudica a ese testimonio, y que le sirve para consignar los ataques que recibe

«A man complained about me, finding it disgraceful that I had spoken on the LSD problem in an interview published in the newspaper. In his opinion, I ought to denounce LSD as primarily the devil’s work and should publicly admit my guilt in the matter.» — la acusación concreta que Hofmann consigna sin contestarla ahí: que denunciara el LSD como obra del diablo y admitiera su culpa en público

«Persons in LSD delirium, whose condition could have given rise to such indignant condemnation, have never personally come into my sight. Such cases, attributable to LSD consumption under irresponsible circumstances, to overdosage, or to psychotic predisposition, always landed in the hospital or at the police station. Great publicity always came their way.» — la negativa que Hofmann ficha sobre su propia experiencia directa, y el sesgo que señala: esos casos acaban en el hospital o en la comisaría y ahí se hacen públicos

«Then she explained that she came on a great mission. She had to rescue her country, the United States; above all she had to direct the president (at the time L. B. Johnson) onto the correct path. This could be accomplished only by having him take LSD.» — la misión que la visitante llamada Joan le expone a Hofmann, y que él consigna como ejemplo de efecto trágico; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I don’t know whether my arguments, advanced with all consideration of her holy zeal, were able to convince her that her plan had no prospects of success on psychological, technical, internal, and external grounds.» — cómo dice Hofmann haber respondido a esa misión, con la abstención sobre el resultado

«The Zurich performance did not last long; within a few weeks I learned from my friend that Joan had suddenly disappeared. He received a greeting card from her three months later, from Israel. She had been committed to a psychiatric hospital there.» — el desenlace del caso de Joan, que Hofmann deja sin arbitrar; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Miss H. S., head secretary in a hospital, wrote to ask me for a personal interview. She came to tea. She explained her visit thus: in a report about an LSD experience, she had read the description of a condition she herself had experienced as a young girl, which still disturbed her today; possibly I could help her to understand this experience.» — el último caso del capítulo, y el único en que el LSD entra solo de modo indirecto: una mujer que reconoció su propia vivencia en el relato de un experimento ajeno

«As the mountains began to light up in a sea of rays, she was perfused by an unprecedented feeling of happiness, which persisted even after she joined the other participants of the trip at morning service in the chapel. During the Mass everything appeared to her in a supernatural luster, and the feeling of happiness intensified to such an extent that she had to cry loudly.» — la experiencia espontánea que esa mujer le cuenta a Hofmann, ocurrida ante el amanecer en la montaña y prolongada en la misa

«She was brought back to the hotel and treated as someone with a mental disorder.» — cómo trató su entorno aquella experiencia, que es el dato que Hofmann quiere hacer ver

«On the one hand, she feared this experience, which had been explained to her as a nervous breakdown; on the other hand, she longed for a repetition of the condition. Internally split, she had led an unstable life.» — el efecto que Hofmann adjudica a esa interpretación ajena sobre la vida entera de la mujer, partida entre el miedo y el anhelo de repetir

«It was no psychopathological event, no nervous breakdown that she had experienced at the time. What many people seek to attain with the help of LSD, the visionary experience of a deeper reality, had come to her as spontaneous grace.» — el veredicto de Hofmann sobre ese caso, y la equivalencia que enuncia: lo que muchos buscan con LSD le llegó a ella como gracia espontánea; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Huxley wrote that not only mystics and saints, but also many more ordinary people than one generally supposes, experience such blessed moments, but that most do not recognize their importance and, instead of regarding them as promising rays of hope, repress them, because they do not fit into everyday rationality.» — la tesis que Hofmann toma de La filosofía perenne de Huxley y que sostiene toda su lectura: mucha más gente de la que se supone tiene esos momentos y los reprime por no caber en la racionalidad cotidiana

«I AM OFTEN ASKED what has made the deepest impression upon me in my LSD experiments, and whether I have arrived at new understandings through these experiences.» — la pregunta con que Hofmann abre el capítulo final, que es el de su balance

«Of greatest significance to me has been the insight that I attained as a fundamental understanding from all of my LSD experiments: what one commonly takes as “the reality,” including the reality of one’s own individual person, by no means signifies something fixed, but rather something that is ambiguous—that there is not only one, but that there are many realities, each comprising also a different consciousness of the ego.» — la tesis central del libro según su propio autor: lo que se toma por la realidad, incluida la de la persona propia, no es algo fijo sino ambiguo, y hay muchas realidades, cada una con una consciencia distinta del yo

«ego experiencing it, which I had until then considered to be the only reality, dissolved, and an unfamiliar ego experienced another, unfamiliar reality. The problem concerning the innermost self also appeared, which, itself unmoved, was able to record these external and internal transformations.» — por qué fue tan conmovedor el primer experimento según Hofmann, y el problema que le abrió: un sí mismo más íntimo que, inmóvil, registraba las transformaciones; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Reality is inconceivable without an experiencing subject, without an ego. It is the product of the exterior world, of the sender and of a receiver, an ego in whose deepest self the emanations of the exterior world, registered by the antennae of the sense organs, become conscious. If one of the two is lacking, no reality happens, no radio music plays, the picture screen remains blank.» — la definición de realidad con que Hofmann trabaja todo el capítulo: producto de un emisor y un receptor, y sin uno de los dos no hay realidad

«If one continues with the conception of reality as a product of sender and receiver, then the entry of another reality under the influence of LSD may be explained by the fact that the brain, the seat of the receiver, becomes biochemically altered. The receiver is thereby tuned into another wavelength than that corresponding to normal, everyday reality.» — la explicación que Hofmann da del efecto en esos términos: el cerebro, sede del receptor, se altera bioquímicamente y queda sintonizado en otra longitud de onda

«These different realities, more correctly designated as different aspects of the reality, are not mutually exclusive but are complementary, and form together a portion of the all-encompassing, timeless, transcendental reality, in which even the unimpeachable core of self-consciousness, which has the power to record the different egos, is located.» — la corrección que Hofmann hace a su propia formulación —aspectos de la realidad y no realidades— y dónde sitúa el núcleo inatacable de la consciencia de sí: en la realidad trascendental que las abarca

«The true importance of LSD and related hallucinogens lies in their capacity to shift the wavelength setting of the receiving “self,” and thereby to evoke alterations in reality consciousness. This ability to allow different, new pictures of reality to arise, this truly cosmogonic power, makes the cultish worship of hallucinogenic plants as sacred drugs understandable.» — dónde cifra Hofmann la importancia verdadera de estas sustancias, y el puente que tiende desde ahí al culto de las plantas sagradas: una potencia que llama cosmogónica

«between everyday reality and the world picture experienced in LSD inebriation? Ego and the outer world are separated in the normal condition of consciousness, in everyday reality; one stands face-to-face with the outer world; it has become an object.» — la diferencia que Hofmann marca entre los dos estados, y que es la separación de yo y mundo; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«In the LSD state the boundaries between the experiencing self and the outer world more or less disappear, depending on the depth of the inebriation. Feedback between receiver and sender takes place. A portion of the self overflows into the outer world, into objects, which begin to live, to have another, a deeper meaning.» — qué pasa con esa frontera bajo el efecto según Hofmann, con la retroalimentación entre receptor y emisor

«This can be perceived as a blessed, or as a demonic transformation imbued with terror, proceeding to a loss of the trusted ego.» — los dos signos que Hofmann le concede al mismo fenómeno, sin quedarse con uno

«This experience of deep oneness with the exterior world can even intensify to a feeling of the self being one with the universe.» — hasta dónde llega esa unión según Hofmann

«This condition of cosmic consciousness, which under favorable conditions can be evoked by LSD or by another hallucinogen from the group of Mexican sacred drugs, is analogous to spontaneous religious enlightenment, with the unio mystica.» — la equivalencia que Hofmann declara, con su condición: bajo condiciones favorables, ese estado es análogo a la iluminación religiosa espontánea

«In both conditions, which often last only for a timeless moment, a reality is experienced that exposes a gleam of the transcendental reality, in which universe and self, sender and receiver, are one.» — qué dice Hofmann que se experimenta en los dos casos: un destello de la realidad trascendental en que universo y yo son uno

«Gottfried Benn, in his essay “Provoziertes Leben” [Provoked life] (in Ausdnckswelt, Limes Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1949), characterized the reality in which self and world are separated as “the schizoid catastrophe, the Western entelechy neurosis.”» — el diagnóstico de Gottfried Benn que Hofmann adopta como propio para la realidad escindida

«It analyzed matter, tested, sorted: weapons, object of exchange, ransom money. It clarified matter through isolation, reduced it to formulas, took pieces out of it, divided it up.» — el tratamiento de la materia que Benn describe en ese pasaje

«a state, a social organization, a public morality, for which life is economically usable life and which does not recognize the world of provoked life, cannot stop its destructive force.» — la consecuencia política que Benn extrae, y que Hofmann recoge: una organización para la que la vida es vida económicamente utilizable no puede frenar su propia fuerza destructiva

«As Gottfried Benn formulates it in these sentences, a concept of reality that separates self and the world has decisively determined the evolutionary course of European intellectual history.» — lo que Hofmann suscribe del diagnóstico de Benn sobre el curso de la historia intelectual europea

«Its wealth has been exploited in a manner that may be characterized as plundering, and the sublime accomplishment of technological civilization, the comfort of Western industrial society, stands face-to-face with a catastrophic destruction of the environment.» — el balance que Hofmann hace de esa herencia, con el término que elige para el aprovechamiento; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Even to the heart of matter, to the nucleus of the atom and its splitting, this objective intellect has progressed and has unleashed energies that threaten all life on our planet.» — hasta dónde llegó ese intelecto objetivo según Hofmann, que es el mismo paralelo de la grieta que propuso a Jünger

«A misuse of knowledge and understanding, the products of searching intelligence, could not have emerged from a consciousness of reality in which human beings are not separated from the environment but rather exist as part of living nature and the universe.» — la tesis correctiva de Hofmann: ese abuso no habría salido de una consciencia en que el hombre no está separado del entorno

«All attempts today to make amends for the damage through environmentally protective measures must remain only hopeless, superficial patchwork, if no curing of the “Western entelechy neurosis” ensues, as Benn has characterized the objective reality conception. Healing would mean existential experience of a deeper, self-encompassing reality.» — lo que Hofmann llama parche superficial y lo que pone como única curación: la experiencia existencial de una realidad más honda que abarca al propio yo

«The experience of such a comprehensive reality is impeded in an environment rendered dead by human hands, such as is present in our great cities and industrial districts. Here the contrast between self and outer world becomes especially evident.» — dónde dice Hofmann que esa experiencia queda estorbada: en el entorno muerto de las grandes ciudades y los distritos industriales

«There is less danger of a cleft reality experience arising in a natural environment. In field and forest, and in the animal world sheltered therein, indeed in every garden, a reality is perceptible that is infinitely more real, older, deeper, and more wondrous than everything made by people,» — el contrapunto que Hofmann propone, y que es su propia biografía hecha argumento: en el campo, el bosque y cualquier jardín se percibe una realidad más real, más vieja y más honda

«in the being of plants the same mysterious, inexhaustible, eternal life energy is evident that has also brought us forth and takes us back again into its womb, and in which we are sheltered and united with all living things.» — la energía vital que Hofmann dice ver en el ser de las plantas, y que lo devuelve a la experiencia de infancia con que abre el libro; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«We are not leading up to a sentimental enthusiasm for nature, to “back to nature” in Rousseau’s sense. That romantic movement, which sought the idyll in nature, can also be explained by a feeling of humankind’s separation from nature.» — la acotación con que Hofmann se deslinda del regreso a la naturaleza de Rousseau, y la razón: aquel romanticismo también nace del sentimiento de separación

«What is needed today is a fundamental re-experience of the oneness of all living things, a comprehensive reality consciousness that ever more infrequently develops spontaneously, the more the primordial flora and fauna of our mother earth must yield to a dead technological environment.» — lo que Hofmann propone en su lugar, y el motivo por el que dice que la vía espontánea se cierra

«The Greek genius tried the cure, by supplementing the multiformed and richly colored, sensual as well as deeply sorrowful Apollonian worldview created by the subject/object cleavage, with the Dionysian world of experience, in which this cleavage is abolished in ecstatic inebriation.» — el remedio que Hofmann adjudica al genio griego: completar el mundo apolíneo nacido de la escisión con el mundo dionisíaco, donde la escisión se anula

«Not only does the bond between man and man come to be forged once again by the magic of the Dionysian rite, but alienated, hostile, or subjugated nature again celebrates her reconciliation with her prodigal son, man.» — el remate del pasaje de Nietzsche, con la naturaleza reconciliada con su hijo pródigo; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The Mysteries of Eleusis, which were celebrated annually in the fall, over an interval of approximately 2,000 years, from about 1500 B.C. until the fourth century A.D., were intimately connected with the ceremonies and festivals in honor of the god Dionysus.» — la datación que Hofmann da a los misterios de Eleusis y su enlace con las fiestas de Dioniso

«These Mysteries were established by the goddess of agriculture, Demeter, as thanks for the recovery of her daughter Persephone, whom Hades, the god of the underworld, had abducted. A further thank offering was the ear of grain, which was presented by the two goddesses to Triptolemus, the first high priest of Eleusis. They taught him the cultivation of grain, which Triptolemus then disseminated over the whole globe.» — el mito de fundación de los misterios tal como Hofmann lo cuenta, con la espiga y la agricultura

«As punishment she had to return to the underworld for a part of the year. During this time, it was winter on the earth, the plants died and were withdrawn into the ground, to awaken to new life early in the year with Persephone’s journey to earth.» — la explicación estacional del mito que Hofmann consigna

«The myth of Demeter, Persephone, Hades, and the other gods, which was enacted as a drama, formed, however, only the external framework of events.» — la distinción que Hofmann marca entre el drama representado y lo que él tiene por el núcleo de los misterios

«The initiates were forbidden by penalty of death to divulge what they had learned, beheld, in the innermost, holiest chamber of the temple, the tetesterion (goal).» — el secreto de Eleusis y su sanción, con el nombre de la cámara tal como lo imprime el troceo

«It is, however, a fundamental distinction, whether one approaches the problem of» — la distinción de método con que Hofmann encuadra su último capítulo; el límite de chunk parte la plana y la frase sigue en *reality rationally, with the logical methods of philosophy, or if one obtrudes upon this problem emotionally, through an existential experience*

«It is either through the influence of narcotic potions, of which all primitive peoples and races speak in hymns,» — el pasaje de El nacimiento de la tragedia que Hofmann cita, con las dos vías que Nietzsche nombra para las agitaciones dionisíacas; el folio de la plana entra a media frase y el tramo se corta ahí, continuando en la 229

«The Hellenistic-European agonistic principle of victory through effort, cunning,» — arranque de lo que Benn adjudica a la formación de ese concepto de realidad, en el pasaje que Hofmann reproduce; el folio entra a media frase, que sigue en la plana 226 enumerando malicia, talento y fuerza, el darwinismo europeo y el superhombre

«malice, talent, force, and later, European Darwinism and “superman,” was instrumental in its formation. The ego emerged, dominated, fought; for this it needed instruments, material, power.» — la continuación de ese pasaje de Benn, con el yo que emerge, domina y combate, y por eso necesita instrumentos, material y poder; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Experience of the world as matter, as object, to which man stands opposed, has produced modern natural science and technology» — lo que Hofmann adjudica a esa escisión: la ciencia natural y la técnica modernas; el guion de *technology* parte el renglón y la frase sigue en la plana 227 llamándolas creaciones de la mente occidental que cambiaron el mundo

«Thus it is reported in a Homeric Hymn: “Blissful is he among men on Earth, who has beheld that! He who has not been initiated into the holy Mysteries, who has had no part therein, remains a corpse in gloomy darkness.”» — el primer testimonio antiguo que Hofmann trae sobre el valor de la visión de Eleusis

«Pindar speaks of the Eleusinian benediction with the following words: “Blissful is he, who after having beheld this enters on the way beneath the Earth. He knows the end of life as well as its divinely granted beginning.”» — el segundo testimonio, el de Píndaro, sobre lo que el iniciado sabe del fin y del principio de la vida

«Cicero, also a famous initiate, likewise put in first position the splendor that fell upon his life from Eleusis, when he said: “Not only have we received the reason there, that we may live in joy, but also, besides, that we may die with better hope.”» — el tercer testimonio, el de Cicerón, sobre lo que Eleusis dejaba para vivir y para morir

«How could the mythological representation of such an obvious occurrence, which runs its course annually before our eyes—the seed grain that is dropped into the earth, dies there, in order to allow a new plant, new life, to ascend into the light—prove to be such a deep, comforting experience as that attested by the cited reports?» — la pregunta con que Hofmann objeta que el mito agrario baste para explicar esos testimonios, y que es la que abre su hipótesis

«It is traditional knowledge that the initiates were furnished with a potion, the kykeon, for the final ceremony. It is also known that barley extract and mint were ingredients of the kykeon.» — lo que Hofmann da por sabido del kykeon antes de proponer nada

«Religious scholars and scholars of mythology, like Karl Kerenyi, from whose book on the Eleusinian Mysteries (Rhein-Verlag, Zurich, 1962) the preceding statements were taken, and with whom I was associated in relation to the research on this mysterious potion [In the English publication of Kerenyi’s book Eleusis (Schocken Books, New York, 1977) a reference is made to this collaboration.], are of the opinion that the kykeon was mixed with an hallucinogenic drug.» — la opinión que Hofmann adjudica a estudiosos de la religión y del mito, con Karl Kerényi nombrado y la colaboración de ambos declarada; tramo largo con años entre paréntesis en las referencias editoriales, releído entero en el crudo

«Jovanovich, New York, 1978) the possibility is discussed that the kykeon could have acted through an LSD-like preparation of ergot.» — la nota que remite a The Road to Eleusis, del que Hofmann es coautor con Wasson y Ruck, para la hipótesis de que el kykeon obrara por un preparado del cornezuelo semejante al LSD; la nota arranca en la plana anterior

«That would make understandable the ecstatic-visionary experience of the Demeter-Persephone myth, as a symbol of the cycle of life and death in both a comprehensive and timeless reality.» — lo que esa hipótesis explicaría según Hofmann, y lo dice en condicional

«When the Gothic king Alarich, coming from the north, invaded Greece in 396 A.D. and destroyed the sanctuary of Eleusis, it was not only the end of a religious center, but it also signified the decisive downfall of the ancient world.» — la fecha y el hecho con que Hofmann cierra la historia de Eleusis

«The cultural-historical meaning of the Eleusinian Mysteries, their influence on European intellectual history, can scarcely be overestimated. Here suffering humankind found a cure for its rational, objective, cleft intellect, in a mystical totality experience, that let it believe in immortality, in an everlasting existence.» — el peso que Hofmann atribuye a los misterios sobre la historia intelectual europea, y qué dice que curaban: el intelecto racional, objetivo y escindido

«This belief had survived in early Christianity, although with other symbols. It is found as a promise, even in particular passages of the Gospels, most clearly in the Gospel according to John, as in Chapter 14: 120. Jesus speaks to his disciples, as he takes leave of them:» — dónde dice Hofmann que sobrevivió esa creencia, y el pasaje del Evangelio de Juan que cita; el troceo imprime la referencia como *Chapter 14: 120*

«And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.» — el pasaje de Juan que Hofmann reproduce, con el Espíritu de verdad que el mundo no puede recibir porque no lo ve

«At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.» — el versículo que Hofmann pone como núcleo de su propia creencia

«This promise constitutes the heart of my Christian beliefs and my call to natural-scientific research: we will attain to» — la declaración de fe más explícita del libro, que Hofmann une a su llamado a la investigación científica; la frase acaba en la plana siguiente

«knowledge of the universe through the spirit of truth, and thereby to understanding of our being one with the deepest, most comprehensive reality, God.» — el remate de esa declaración: el conocimiento del universo por el espíritu de verdad y, con él, la comprensión de ser uno con la realidad más honda, Dios; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Ecclesiastical Christianity, determined by the duality of creator and creation, has, however, with its nature-alienated religiosity largely obliterated the Eleusinian-Dionysian legacy of antiquity.» — la objeción de Hofmann al cristianismo eclesiástico, y lo que le adjudica: haber borrado con su religiosidad ajena a la naturaleza la herencia eleusino-dionisíaca

«In the Christian sphere of belief, only special blessed men have attested to a timeless, comforting reality, experienced in a spontaneous vision, an experience to which in antiquity the elite of innumerable generations had access through the initiation at Eleusis.» — el contraste que Hofmann traza entre el acceso restringido del cristianismo y el de generaciones enteras en Eleusis

«The unio mystica of Catholic saints and the visions that the representatives of Christian mysticism—Jakob Boehme, Meister Eckhart, Angelus Silesius, Thomas Traherne, William Blake, and others—describe in their writings are obviously essentially related to the enlightenment that the initiates to the Eleusinian Mysteries experienced.» — la equivalencia que Hofmann declara entre la *unio mystica* de los santos católicos, las visiones de los místicos cristianos que nombra y la iluminación de los iniciados de Eleusis

«The fundamental importance of a mystical experience, for the recovery of people in Western industrial societies who are sickened by a one-sided, rational, materialistic worldview, is today given primary emphasis, not only by adherents to Eastern religious movements like Zen Buddhism, but also by leading representatives of academic psychiatry.» — quiénes sostienen hoy esa importancia según Hofmann: no solo adeptos de movimientos religiosos orientales como el zen sino también la psiquiatría académica

«of “metamedicine,” “metapsychology,” and “metapsychiatry” is beginning to call upon the metaphysical element in people, which manifests itself as an experience of a deeper, duality-surmounting reality, and to make this element a basic healing principle in therapeutic practice.» — los tres nombres nuevos que Hofmann registra —metamedicina, metapsicología y metapsiquiatría— y lo que les adjudica: apelar al elemento metafísico de la persona, que se manifiesta como experiencia de una realidad más honda que supera la dualidad, y volverlo principio curativo de la práctica terapéutica; el tramo arranca tras las palabras *Today a type*, porque el folio de la plana y una comilla suelta entran ahí a media frase

«but also wider circles of our society consider the overcoming of the dualistic, cleft worldview to be a prerequisite and basis for the recovery and spiritual renewal of occidental civilization and culture. This renewal could lead to the renunciation of the materialistic philosophy of life and the development of a new reality consciousness.» — el alcance que Hofmann le da a ese cambio, más allá de la medicina; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«As a path to the perception of a deeper, comprehensive reality, in which the experiencing individual is also sheltered, meditation, in its different forms, occupies a prominent place today.» — qué pone Hofmann en primer lugar entre las vías, y es la meditación, no la sustancia

«The essential difference between meditation and prayer in the usual sense, which is based upon the duality of creator-creation, is that meditation aspires to the abolishment of the I-you-barrier by a fusing of object and subject, of sender and receiver, of objective reality and self.» — la distinción que Hofmann hace entre meditación y oración: la primera busca abolir la barrera yo-tú fundiendo objeto y sujeto

«Objective reality, the worldview produced by the spirit of scientific inquiry, is the myth of our time. It has replaced the ecclesiastical-Christian and mythical-Apollonian worldview.» — la tesis con que Hofmann coloca la ciencia en el mismo plano que lo que sustituyó: la realidad objetiva como el mito de nuestro tiempo

«But this ever broadening factual knowledge, which constitutes objective reality, need not be a desecration. On the contrary, if it only advances deep enough, it inevitably leads to the inexplicable, primal ground of the universe: the wonder, the mystery of the divine—in the microcosm of the atom, in the macrocosm of the spiral nebula, in the seeds of plants, in the body and.soul of people.» — la acotación que Hofmann pone a esa tesis, y que salva a la ciencia: si el saber avanza lo bastante hondo lleva sin remedio al fundamento inexplicable, el misterio de lo divino

«Meditation begins at the limits of objective reality, at the farthest point yet reached by rational knowledge and perception. Meditation thus does not mean rejection of objective reality; on the contrary, it consists of a penetration to deeper dimensions of reality.» — dónde sitúa Hofmann el arranque de la meditación, y la negativa con que la defiende: no rechaza la realidad objetiva

«It is not escape into an imaginary dream world; rather it seeks after the comprehensive truth of objective reality, by simultaneous, stereoscopic contemplation of its surfaces and depths.» — la segunda negativa de Hofmann y la figura con que define la meditación, la misma contemplación estereoscópica que atribuye a la prosa de Jünger

«would make a daily habit of devoting an hour, or at least a few minutes, to meditation. As a result of the meditative penetration and broadening of the natural-scientific worldview, a new, deepened reality consciousness would have to evolve, which would increasingly become the property of all humankind.» — la propuesta práctica de Hofmann, que es de meditación diaria y no de sustancia; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«This could become the basis of a new religiosity, which would not be based on belief in the dogmas of various religions, but rather on perception through the “spirit of truth.” What is meant here is a perception, a reading and understanding of the text at first hand, “out of the book that God’s finger has written” (Paracelsus), out of the creation.» — en qué cifra Hofmann esa religiosidad nueva: no en los dogmas sino en la lectura de primera mano del libro que el dedo de Dios escribió, con la fórmula de Paracelso que también cierra su autobiografía

«It can also come about, however, as a sudden enlightenment, a visionary experience. It is then particularly profound, blessed, and meaningful.» — la otra vía que Hofmann reconoce, la iluminación súbita, y el valor que le da

«Such a mystical experience may nevertheless “not be induced even by decade-long meditation,” as Balthasar Staehelin writes. Also, it does not happen to everyone, although the capacity for mystical experience belongs to the essence of human spirituality» — el límite que Hofmann pone citando a Balthasar Staehelin: ni décadas de meditación la inducen, y no le ocurre a todos, aunque la capacidad pertenezca a la esencia de la espiritualidad humana

«Nevertheless, at Eleusis, the mystical vision, the healing, comforting experience, could be arranged in the prescribed place at the appointed time, for all of the multitudes who were initiated into the holy Mysteries. This could be accounted for by the fact that a hallucinogenic drug came into use; this, as already mentioned, is something that religious scholars believe.» — el argumento con que Hofmann vuelve a Eleusis: ahí la visión sí podía darse en el sitio y la hora previstos, y lo atribuye al uso de una droga alucinógena, adjudicando la opinión a los estudiosos

«The characteristic property of hallucinogens, to suspend the boundaries between the experiencing self and the outer world in an ecstatic, emotional experience, makes it possible with their help, and after suitable internal and external preparation, as it was accomplished in a perfect way at Eleusis, to evoke a mystical experience according to plan, so to speak.» — la tesis operativa de Hofmann, con sus dos condiciones: preparación interna y externa, como dice que se hacía en Eleusis

«Accordingly it seems feasible that in the future, with the help of LSD, the mystical vision, crowning meditation, could be made accessible to an increasing number of practitioners of meditation.» — la propuesta con que Hofmann cierra el libro, y el grado que le pone; la frase arranca en la plana anterior con *Meditation is a preparation for the same goal that was aspired to and was attained in the Eleusinian Mysteries*

«I SEE THE TRUE IMPORTANCE OF LSD in the possibitity of providing material aid to meditation aimed at the mystical experience of a deeper, comprehensive reality. Such a use accords entirely with the essence and working character of LSD as a sacred drug.» — la última frase del cuerpo del libro, donde Hofmann fija el uso que defiende: ayuda material a la meditación dirigida a la experiencia mística, que dice concorde con el carácter del LSD como droga sagrada; el troceo imprime *possibitity*

«THIS FOURTH ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDITION of Albert Hofmann’s LSD; My Problem Child is being published after Albert’s recent death. On April 29th, 2008, Albert Hofmann died at the age of 102.» — la nota del editor de MAPS que abre la cuarta edición inglesa la data después de la muerte de Hofmann y fija el día y la edad

«Anita Hofmann, Albert’s wife for over 72 years, died on December 20, 2007, at the age of 94.» — la misma nota consigna la muerte de Anita Hofmann cuatro meses antes que la de su marido, tras setenta y dos años de matrimonio

«Before he died, Albert was fortunate to have the time, the health and the peace of mind to write a summary of his life to be read at his funeral by his two surviving children, Andreas and Beatrix.» — el editor cuenta de dónde sale la autobiografía que abre el volumen: un resumen de su vida que Hofmann escribió para que sus dos hijos lo leyeran en su funeral

«Albert’s family has given us permission to publish a translation of that autobiography as the new introduction to this edition of LSD: My Problem Child.» — MAPS declara el permiso de la familia y el lugar que le da al texto, de introducción nueva a esta edición

«Shortly before Anita’s death, Swiss psychiatrist Dr. Peter Gasser obtained government approval for his MAPS-sponsored study of LSD-assisted psychotherapy in subjects with anxiety associated with end-of-life issues.» — la nota del editor nombra el estudio de Peter Gasser, aprobado por el gobierno suizo y patrocinado por MAPS, sobre psicoterapia asistida con LSD en pacientes con angustia ante la muerte

«Albert spoke about the renewal of LSD psychotherapy research as “the fulfillment of my heart’s desire.”» — el editor cita la fórmula con que Hofmann recibió esa reanudación

«Shortly before he died, Albert said that he’d continue to help support the renaissance in LSD psychotherapy research either from “this side or the other side.”» — según la nota del editor, Hofmann dijo poco antes de morir que seguiría apoyando ese renacimiento desde un lado o desde el otro

«The first LSD session in the Swiss study took place on Tuesday, May 13, 2008. This session is part of the first controlled, scientific study of the therapeutic potential of LSD in over 36 years.» — el editor fecha la primera sesión del estudio suizo y la presenta como el primer estudio científico controlado del potencial terapéutico del LSD en más de treinta y seis años

«Albert himself took LSD for the last time at age 97.» — el dato que la nota del editor deja como cierre

«THE USE OF PSYCHEDELIC SUBSTANCES can be traced back for millennia, to the dawn of human history. Since time immemorial, plant materials containing powerful consciousness-expanding compounds have been used in many different parts of the world to induce non-ordinary states of consciousness in various ritual and spiritual contexts. They have played an important role in shamanic practice, aboriginal healing ceremonies, rites of passage, mysteries of death and rebirth, and spiritual traditions.» — arranque del prólogo que Stanislav Grof escribió para esta edición: sitúa el uso de sustancias psicodélicas en el alba de la historia humana y lo reparte entre práctica chamánica, curación, ritos de paso, misterios de muerte y renacimiento y tradiciones espirituales

«The ancient and native cultures using psychedelic materials held them in great esteem and considered them to be sacraments, “flesh of the gods.”» — según Grof, esas culturas los tenían por sacramentos, con la fórmula carne de los dioses

«Human groups, which had at their disposal psychedelic plants, took advantage of their entheogenic effects (entheogenic means literally “awakening the divine within”) and made them the principal vehicle of their ritual and spiritual life.» — Grof introduce el término *entheogenic* y da su lectura literal, despertar lo divino adentro; es la voz del prologuista, no la de Hofmann

«Anthropological literature contains many reports indicating that native cultures use psychedelics to cultivate intuition and extrasensory perception for a variety of divinatory, as well as practical purposes, such as finding lost persons and objects,» — Grof remite a la literatura antropológica para el uso divinatorio y práctico; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente, donde nombra la información sobre personas lejanas y el rastreo de la caza

«In the history of Chinese medicine, reports about psychedelic substances can be traced back about 3,000 years. The legendary divine potion referred to as haoma in the ancient Persian Zend Avesta and as soma in the Indian Vedas was used by the Indo-Iranian tribes millenia ago.» — Grof alinea el haoma del Zend Avesta con el soma de los Vedas y les da milenios de antigüedad; el troceo imprime *millenia*

«The mystical states of consciousness induced by soma were very likely the principal source of the Vedic and Hindu religion.» — la tesis que Grof enuncia con grado —very likely— sobre el soma como fuente principal de la religión védica e hindú

«They represented an important sacrament for such diverse groups as the Indian Brahmans, certain orders of Sufis, ancient Scythians, and the Jamaican Rastafarians.» — el reparto que Grof hace de los preparados de cáñamo entre brahmanes, órdenes sufíes, escitas antiguos y rastafaris jamaiquinos

«Highly effective mind-altering plants were well known in several Pre-Columbian Indian cultures—among the Aztecs, Mayans, Olmecs, and Mazatecs.» — los pueblos precolombinos que Grof nombra para el uso ceremonial en Centroamérica

«The most famous of these are the Mexican cactus peyote (Anhalonium Lewinii), the sacred mushroom teonanacatl (Psilocybe mexicana) and ololiuhqui, or morning glory seeds (Rivea corymbosa).» — los tres nombres que Grof da con su binomio latino —peyote, teonanácatl y ololiuhqui—, que son los que el cuerpo del libro trabaja

«People from our culture, who see the use of psychedelic plants as something that is practiced in exotic and “primitive” cultures and is alien to our own tradition would be very surprised to find out that psychedelic substances very likely profoundly influenced the ancient Greek culture, generally considered the cradle of the European civilization.» — el giro del prólogo de Grof: lo que aquí se tiene por exótico y primitivo habría pesado, dice con grado, sobre la cultura griega

«Many giants of Greek culture, including Plato, Aristotle, Alkibiades, Pindaros, and others were initiates in the Mediterranean mysteries of death and rebirth held in the names of Demeter and Persephone, Dionysus, Attis, Adonis, Orpheus, and others.» — los nombres que Grof da como iniciados en los misterios mediterráneos de muerte y renacimiento

«According to a theory proposed by a research team that included Albert Hofmann himself, the sacred potion kykeon administered to thousands of initiates in the Eleusinian mysteries every five years for almost two millennia contained an ergot alkaloid similar to LSD.» — Grof atribuye a un equipo que incluía a Hofmann la tesis de que el kykeon de Eleusis llevaba un alcaloide del cornezuelo semejante al LSD; es la tesis de The Road to Eleusis, que el propio Hofmann retoma en el cuerpo

«The first psychedelic substance that was synthetized in a chemically pure form and systematically explored under laboratory conditions was mescaline, the active alkaloid from the peyote cactus.» — Grof pone la mescalina como primera de estas sustancias obtenida pura y estudiada en laboratorio; el troceo imprime *synthetized*

«Clinical experiments conducted with this substance in the first three decades of the twentieth century focused on the phenomenology of the mescaline experience and its interesting effects on artistic perception and creative expression. Surprisingly, they did not reveal its therapeutic, heuristic, and entheogenic potential.» — la objeción de Grof a los ensayos con mescalina de los tres primeros decenios del siglo: se quedaron en la fenomenología y en el efecto sobre la percepción artística, sin ver el potencial terapéutico ni entógeno

«After these pioneering clinical experiments with mescaline, very little research was done in this fascinating problem area until Albert Hofmann’s 1942 epoch-making serendipitous discovery of the psychedelic properties of LSD-25, or diethylamid of lysergic acid, a substance of extraordinary potency.» — Grof data en 1942 el descubrimiento serendípico de las propiedades psicodélicas del LSD-25, y el cuerpo del libro lo fecha en 1943; la divergencia se consigna sin armonizar

«Because of the incredible promises it held in many different fields of research, this new substance appeared to be Albert Hofmann’s “prodigious child.”» — la fórmula con que Grof le da la vuelta al título: por sus promesas, la sustancia parecía el hijo prodigioso de Hofmann

«The discovery of powerful psychedelic effects of miniscule dosages of LSD started what has been called a “golden era of psychopharmacology.”» — Grof llama era dorada de la psicofarmacología al periodo que arranca ahí; el troceo imprime *miniscule*

«During a relatively short period of time, the joint efforts of biochemists, pharmacologists, neurophysiologists, psychiatrists, and psychologists succeeded in laying the foundations of a new scientific discipline that can be referred to as “pharmacology of consciousness.”» — los oficios que Grof reúne en la fundación de lo que llama farmacología de la consciencia

«Following the discovery of the psychedelic effects of LSD-25, Albert Hofmann identified the active principles of the Mexican magic mushrooms (Psilocybe mexicana), psilocybin and psilocin, and that of ololiuhqui, or morning glory seeds (Rivea corymbosa), which turned out to be lysergic acid amide, closely related to LSD» — Grof enumera lo que Hofmann identificó después: psilocibina y psilocina de los hongos mexicanos, y la amida del ácido lisérgico del ololiuhqui; el troceo corta la cifra final del renglón, que la plana siguiente recoge como *2;*

«The armamentarium of psychedelic substances was further enriched by psychoactive derivatives of tryptamine—DMT (dimethyl-tryptamine, DET (diethyl-tryptamine), and DPT (dipropyltryptamine)—synthetized and studied by the Budapest group of chemists, headed by Steven Szara» — los derivados de la triptamina que Grof adjudica al grupo de químicos de Budapest encabezado por Steven Szara

«After the publication of the first clinical paper on LSD by Walter A. Stoll in the late 1940s, in which the author described the effects of this extraordinary substance in a group of volunteers and psychiatric patients and mentioned its possible therapeutic potential, Albert Hofmann’s “wonder child” became an overnight sensation in the scientific world.» — Grof nombra *Walter A. Stoll* como autor del primer trabajo clínico sobre LSD, donde el cuerpo del libro escribe Werner A. Stoll; la divergencia se consigna sin arbitrar

«Never before in the history of science had a single substance held so much promise in such a wide variety of fields.» — el grado que Grof le pone al caso: ninguna sustancia había prometido tanto en tantos campos a la vez

«Experimental psychiatrists saw LSD as a unique means for creating a laboratory model for naturally occurring functional, or endogenous, psychoses.» — la primera esperanza que Grof registra: el LSD como modelo de laboratorio de las psicosis endógenas

«It was suddenly conceivable that the brain or other parts of the body could under certain circumstances produce small quantities of a substance with similar effects as LSD. This meant that disorders like schizophrenia would not be mental diseases, but metabolic aberrations that could be counteracted by specific chemical» — la consecuencia que esa hipótesis abría según Grof: la esquizofrenia como aberración metabólica y no enfermedad mental; la frase termina en la plana siguiente con la palabra *intervention*

«The promise of this research was nothing less that the fulfillment of the dream of biologically oriented clinicians, the Holy Grail of psychiatry—a test-tube cure for schizophrenia.» — la fórmula con que Grof nombra esa esperanza, el Santo Grial de la psiquiatría; el troceo imprime *nothing less that*

«LSD was also highly recommended as an extraordinary unconventional teaching device that would make it possible for clinical psychiatrists, psychologists, medical students, and nurses to spend a few hours in the world of their patients and as a result of it to understand them better, be able to communicate with them more effectively, and improve their ability to help them.» — el segundo uso que Grof registra: el LSD como recurso docente para que psiquiatras, psicólogos, estudiantes y enfermeras pasaran unas horas en el mundo de sus pacientes

«Kurt Beringer, author of the influential book Der Meskalinrausch (Mescaline Inebriation) published in 1927,» — Grof nombra a Kurt Beringer y su Der Meskalinrausch de 1927 como el libro influyente de aquella primera etapa; la frase se corta en el cambio de plana y concluye en la 18 con el veredicto de psicosis tóxica

«Many found that the current model, limiting the psyche to postnatal biography and the Freudian individual unconscious, was superficial and inadequate.» — la objeción que Grof dice que salió de esos experimentos: el modelo que limita la psique a la biografía posnatal y al inconsciente individual freudiano se quedaba corto

«The new map of the psyche that emerged out of this research added two large transbiographical domains—the perinatal level, closely related to the memory of biological birth, and the transpersonal level, harboring the historical and archetypal domains of the collective unconscious as envisioned by C. C. Jung.» — el mapa que Grof propone en su lugar, con el nivel perinatal y el transpersonal añadidos; el troceo imprime *C. C. Jung* donde la inicial del segundo nombre es G

«Using LSD as a catalyst, it became possible to extend the range of applicability of psychotherapy to categories of patients that previously had been difficult to reach—sexual deviants, alcoholics, narcotic drug addicts, and criminal recidivists.» — las categorías de pacientes que, según Grof, el LSD como catalizador puso al alcance de la psicoterapia

«Particularly valuable and promising were the early efforts to use LSD psychotherapy in the work with terminal cancer patients. Research on this population showed that LSD was able to relieve severe pain, often even in those patients who had not responded to medication with narcotics. In a large percentage of these patients, it was also possible to ease or even eliminate difficult emotional and psychosomatic symptoms, such as depression, general tension, and insomnia, alleviate the fear of death, increase the quality of their life during the remaining days, and positively transform the experience of dying.» — lo que Grof reporta de la psicoterapia con LSD en enfermos terminales de cáncer: alivio del dolor donde no respondían los narcóticos, y disminución del miedo a la muerte

«For professional painters, who participated in LSD research, the psychedelic session often marked a radical change in their artistic expression. Their imagination became much richer, their colors more vivid, and their style considerably freer. They could also often reach into deep recesses of their unconscious psyche and tap archetypal sources of inspiration.» — el efecto que Grof registra sobre los pintores profesionales que participaron en la investigación

«The mystical experiences frequently observed in LSD sessions offered a radically new understanding of a wide variety of phenomena from the world of religion, including shamanism, the rites of passage, the ancient mysteries of death and rebirth, the Eastern spiritual philosophies, and the mystical traditions of the world.» — los campos que, según Grof, quedaban replanteados por las experiencias místicas de las sesiones: chamanismo, ritos de paso, misterios antiguos de muerte y renacimiento, filosofías espirituales orientales y tradiciones místicas del mundo

«LSD research seemed to be well on its way to fulfill all the above promises and expectations when it was suddenly interrupted by the unsupervised mass experimentation of the young generation.» — la fecha de quiebre según Grof: la experimentación masiva y sin supervisión de la generación joven

«In the infamous Harvard affair, Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert and Ralph Metzner left the university (Leary and Alpert leaving teaching posts, and Metzner losing a fellowship) after their overeager proselytizing of LSD and psilocybin.» — Grof nombra a los tres implicados en el caso Harvard y qué perdió cada uno; el término que usa para su actividad es prosélitismo demasiado entusiasta

«The ensuing repressive measures of administrative, legal, and political nature had very little effect on street use of LSD and other psychedelics, but they drastically terminated legitimate clinical research.» — la asimetría que Grof señala en las medidas represivas: poco efecto en la calle y efecto drástico sobre la investigación clínica

«An important contributing factor was also the attitude of technological societies toward non-ordinary states of consciousness.» — la segunda causa que Grof añade al rechazo, más allá del periodismo sensacionalista: la actitud de las sociedades tecnológicas ante los estados no ordinarios

«As I mentioned earlier, all ancient and pre-industrial societies held these states in high esteem, whether they were induced by psychedelic plants or some of the many powerful non-drug “technologies of the sacred”—fasting, sleep deprivation, social and sensory isolation, dancing, chanting, music, drumming, or physical pain.» — el contraste que Grof traza, con su lista de tecnologías de lo sagrado sin droga: ayuno, privación de sueño, aislamiento, danza, canto, música, tambor o dolor físico

«By comparison, the industrial civilizations have pathologized non-ordinary states, developed effective means of suppressing them when they occur spontaneously, and have rejected or even outlawed the contexts and tools that can facilitate them.» — lo que Grof adjudica a las civilizaciones industriales: patologizar esos estados, suprimirlos cuando aparecen solos y proscribir los contextos que los facilitan

«The sudden invasion of the Dionysian element from the depths of the unconscious and the heights of the superconscious was too threatening for the Puritanical values of Euro-American society.» — la figura con que Grof explica el rechazo: una invasión dionisíaca demasiado amenazante para los valores puritanos

«The existence and nature of these experiences could not be explained in the context of mainstream theories and seriously undermined the metaphysical assumptions concerning priority of matter over consciousness on which Western culture is built.» — según Grof, la experiencia psicodélica socavaba el supuesto metafísico de la prioridad de la materia sobre la consciencia sobre el que se levanta la cultura occidental

«It also threatened the leading myth of the industrial world by showing that true fulfillment does not come from achievement of material goals but from a profound mystical experience.» — el segundo golpe que Grof registra: la plenitud no vendría del logro de metas materiales sino de una experiencia mística honda

«It was not just the culture at large that was unprepared for the psychedelic experience; it was also the helping profession.» — Grof extiende el diagnóstico al gremio: tampoco la profesión de ayuda estaba preparada

«The intense emotions and dramatic physical manifestations in psychedelic sessions appeared to them to be too close to what they were used to associate with psychopathology. It was hard for them to imagine that such states could be healing and transformative.» — por qué, según Grof, a los terapeutas les costaba imaginar esos estados como curativos: se parecían demasiado a lo que tenían por psicopatología

«In one of my early books, I suggested that the potential significance of LSD and other psychedelics for psychiatry and psychology was comparable to the value the microscope has for biology and medicine or the telescope has for astronomy.» — la comparación con que Grof cifra el valor del LSD para la psiquiatría, y que dice haber sostenido desde sus primeros libros

«These substances function as unspecific amplifiers that increase the cathexis (energetic charge) associated with the deep unconscious contents of the psyche and make them available for conscious processing.» — la definición operativa que Grof da de los psicodélicos: amplificadores inespecíficos que suben la carga energética de los contenidos inconscientes y los vuelven disponibles

«Naturally, the tools of this power carry with them greater risks than more conservative and far less effective tools currently accepted and used by mainstream psychiatry, such as verbal psychotherapy or tranquillizing medication. Responsible clinical research has shown that these risks can be minimized by responsible use and careful control of the set and setting.» — el límite que Grof pone en la misma página: herramientas de esa potencia traen más riesgo, y lo acota al uso responsable y al control del set y el setting

«However, legislators responding to unsupervised mass use of psychedelics did not get their information from scientific publications, but from the stories of sensation-hunting journalists.» — de dónde dice Grof que sacaron su información los legisladores

«For those of us who had the privilege to explore and experience the extraordinary potential of psychedelics, this was a tragic loss for psychiatry, psychology, and psychotherapy. We felt that these unfortunate developments wasted what was probably the single most important opportunity in the history of these disciplines.» — el balance que Grof declara como suyo y de los suyos: pérdida trágica de la que llama probablemente la oportunidad más importante de esas disciplinas

«LSD researchers responded in different ways to the legal and political sanctions against psychedelics. Some of them grudgingly accepted them and reluctantly returned to mainstream therapeutic practices, which now seemed to them boring and painfully ineffective. A few of us attempted to develop non-drug methods for inducing non-ordinary states of consciousness with the experiential spectrum and healing potential comparable to psychedelics. There were also those who saw the extraordinary benefits of LSD psychotherapy and decided not to sacrifice the wellbeing of their clients to irrational and scientifically unsubstantiated legislation, and continued their work in secret.» — las tres salidas que Grof registra entre los investigadores tras las sanciones: volver a la práctica corriente, buscar métodos sin droga, o seguir en secreto

«In addition to the therapeutic value of psychedelics, many of these professionals were also aware of the entheogenic potential of these substances. For this reason, they understood their work with LSD to be not only therapeutic practice, but also religious activity in the best sense of the word.» — el potencial entógeno que Grof adjudica a esas sustancias y la consecuencia que extrae: el trabajo con LSD como actividad religiosa además de terapéutica

«From this perspective, the legal sanctions against psychedelics appeared to be not only unfounded and misguided, but represented a serious infringement of religious freedom guaranteed by the American Constitution.» — Grof lee las sanciones como violación de la libertad religiosa garantizada por la Constitución estadounidense, y lo declara como perspectiva de ese grupo

«After having personally conducted over the last fifty years more than four thousand psychedelic sessions, I have developed great awe and respect for these substances and their enormous positive, as well as negative potential.» — la cifra con que Grof respalda su juicio: más de cuatro mil sesiones psicodélicas en cincuenta años, y el respeto que dice haber sacado de ahí para lo positivo y lo negativo

«The question whether LSD is a phenomenal medicine or a devil’s drug makes as little sense as a similar question asked about the positive or negative potential of a knife.» — el símil con que Grof rechaza la pregunta por el carácter bueno o malo de la sustancia

«Similarly, the image of LSD will vary whether we focus on the results of responsible clinical or spiritual use, naive and careless mass self-experimentation of the young generation, or deliberately destructive experiments of the Army or the CIA.» — los cuatro usos que Grof enumera para mostrar que la imagen del LSD depende de dónde se mire, incluidos los experimentos deliberadamente destructivos del Ejército y la CIA

«I firmly believe that psychedelics can be used in such a way that the benefits far outweigh the risks. This has been amply proven by millenia of safe ritual and spiritual use of psychedelics by generations of shamans, individual healers, and entire aboriginal cultures.» — la tesis que Grof declara como creencia firme, y el sostén que le da: milenios de uso ritual seguro; el troceo imprime *millenia*

«However, the Western industrial civilization has so far abused nearly all its discoveries and there is not much hope that psychedelics will make an exception, unless we rise as a group to a higher level of consciousness and emotional maturity.» — la reserva con que Grof cierra su pronóstico: la civilización industrial ha abusado de casi todos sus descubrimientos, y pone como condición que el grupo suba de nivel de consciencia y madurez

«However, I believe that Western society is at present much better equipped to accept and assimilate psychedelics than it was in the 1950s.» — la tesis que Grof declara como creencia propia sobre el momento actual frente a los años cincuenta

«This was reflected in the terms “hallucinogens,” “delirogens,” “psychotomimetics,” and “experimental psychoses,” used initially for psychedelics and the states induced by them.» — los nombres que, según Grof, reflejaban aquel encuadre patológico —hallucinogens, delirogens, psychotomimetics, experimental psychoses—; es el inventario de nombres que la casa tiene pendiente de decidir para el bloque psicodélico

«In addition, many of the experiences and observations from psychedelic sessions seemed to seriously challenge the image of the human psyche and of the universe developed by Newtonian-Cartesian science and considered to be accurate and definitive descriptions of “objective reality.”» — el desafío que Grof adjudica a esas experiencias frente a la imagen newtoniano-cartesiana de la psique y del universo

«Psychedelic subjects reported experiential identification with other people, animals, and various aspects of nature, during which they gained access to new information about areas about which they previously had no intellectual knowledge.» — lo que Grof reporta de los sujetos: identificación experiencial con otras personas, animales y aspectos de la naturaleza, con acceso a información que antes no tenían

«In out-of-body experiences, experimental subjects were able to witness and accurately describe remote events occurring in locations that were outside of the range of their senses.» — la observación más fuerte que Grof consigna, y la razón que da de su rechazo: nada de eso cabía en la ciencia materialista tradicional

«Under these circumstances, many professionals chose to stay away from this area to preserve their scientific world-view and to protect their common sense and sanity.» — el motivo que Grof adjudica a quienes se apartaron del campo

«Among these new approaches to self-exploration are Gestalt practice, bioenergetics and other neo-Reichian methods, primal therapy, rebirthing, and holotropic breathwork.» — los métodos sin droga que Grof alinea con la sesión psicodélica, entre ellos su propia respiración holotrópica

«Eastern spiritual practices have moved to the mainstream of Western culture, with meditation centers and yoga schools to be found in every major city.» — uno de los signos con que Grof dice que la cultura está hoy más dispuesta

«Salient examples of this development are philosophical implications of quantumrelativistic physics, David Bohm’s theory of holomovement, Karl Pribram’s holographic theory of the brain, Ilya Prigogine’s theory of dissipative structures, Rupert Sheldrake’s theory of morphogenetic fields, Gregory Bateson’s brilliant synthesis of systems and information theory, cybernetics, anthropology, and psychology, and particularly Ervin Laszlo’s concept of the akashic field, his connectivity hypothesis, and his “integral theory of everything.”» — la lista de teorías con que Grof documenta el desgaste del pensamiento newtoniano-cartesiano, de Bohm y Pribram a Prigogine, Sheldrake, Bateson y Laszlo; el impreso parte *quantum-relativistic* a fin de renglón y la extracción lo devuelve fundido

«It is very encouraging to see that all these new developments that are in irreconcilable conflict with traditional science seem to be compatible with the findings of psychedelic research and with transpersonal psychology.» — la compatibilidad que Grof señala entre esos desarrollos y los hallazgos de la investigación psicodélica

«I personally believe that in the future LSD will be seen as one of the most influential discoveries of the twentieth century and that Albert Hofmann’s “problem child” will again be seen —as it should have been seen all along—as a “wonder child” that had to grow up in a dysfunctional society.» — el pronóstico que Grof declara como creencia personal, y la vuelta de tuerca al título: un wonder child que tuvo que crecer en una sociedad disfuncional

«I would like to end this foreword on a personal note. Writing it gives me the opportunity to express my profound gratitude to Albert Hofmann for everything that his discovery brought into my personal and professional life and the lives of countless others who used his gift responsibly and with respect that this extraordinary tool deserves.» — el cierre personal del prólogo, con la gratitud de Grof a Hofmann

«I had another opportunity to meet Albert during my recent visit in Switzerland, where I was teaching an advanced training module on holotropic breathwork entitled Fantastic Art. It was held in the H. R. Giger Museum in Gruyére and Albert came as a guest of honor.» — la escena que Grof cuenta del museo de H. R. Giger en Gruyère, donde Hofmann fue invitado de honor

«He spoke about the miraculous chemistry that gives rise to the pigments responsible for the colors of flowers and butterfly wings, about the gratitude he felt for being alive and participating in consciousness, and about the need to embrace creation in its totality, including its shadow side, because without» — lo que Grof reporta de la conversación de Hofmann ahí: la química que da color a las flores y a las alas de mariposa, la gratitud por estar vivo y participar de la consciencia, y la necesidad de abrazar la creación entera con su lado sombrío; la frase termina en la plana siguiente con la polaridad sin la cual el universo no se habría creado

«When he left, we all felt that we just had attended a darshan with a spiritual teacher. It was clear that Albert had joined the group of great scientists—like Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton—for whom rigorous pursuit of their discipline brought the recognition of the miraculous divine order underlying the world of matter and the natural phenomena.» — la fórmula con que Grof lo coloca: un darshan con un maestro espiritual, y la compañía de Einstein y Newton entre los científicos a quienes el rigor de su disciplina llevó a reconocer un orden divino bajo la materia

«Numerous Accounts of the discovery of LSD have been published in English; none, unfortunately, have been completely accurate. Here, at last, the father of LSD details the history of his “problem child” and his long and fruitful career as a research chemist.» — arranque del prefacio de Jonathan Ott, traductor al inglés: ninguno de los relatos publicados en inglés sobre el descubrimiento era del todo exacto, y aquí lo cuenta el padre del LSD

«In a real sense, this book is the inside story of the birth of the Psychedelic Age, and it cannot be denied that we have here a highly candid and personal insight into one of the most important scientific discoveries of our time, the significance of» — lo que Ott dice que es el libro: la historia por dentro del nacimiento de la Era Psicodélica; la frase sigue en la plana 35 tras el corte de chunk y acaba diciendo que su alcance está por amanecer

«[Publisher's note: The struggle to return LSD to legitimacy continues, and it is with this hope that MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) has re-published Dr. Hofmann’s book, on the occasion of his 100th birthday. See the “About the Publisher” section at the end of this book for more information and ways to get involved.]» — la nota que MAPS intercala entre corchetes dentro del prefacio de Hofmann, y que declara el motivo de esta reedición: el centenario del autor

«Surpassing its historical value is the immense philosophical import of this work. Never before has a chemist, an expert in the most materialistic of the sciences, advanced a Weltanschauung of such a mystical and transcendental nature.» — la tesis del traductor Jonathan Ott sobre lo que hace singular al libro: un químico, experto en la más materialista de las ciencias, adelantando una Weltanschauung mística y trascendental

«LSD, psilocybin, and the other hallucinogens do indeed, as Albert Hofmann asserts, constitute “cracks” in the edifice of materialistic rationality, cracks we would do well to explore and perhaps widen.» — Ott recoge y suscribe la figura de Hofmann de las grietas en el edificio de la racionalidad materialista, y añade que convendría ensancharlas

«As a writer, it gives me great satisfaction to know that by this book the American reader interested in hallucinogens will be introduced to the work of Rudolf Gelpke, Ernst Jiinger, and Walter Vogt, writers who are all but unknown here. With the notable exceptions of Huxley and Wasson, English and American writers on the hallucinogenic experience have been far less distinguished and eloquent than they.» — Ott declara a qué autores acerca el libro al lector estadounidense —Rudolf Gelpke, Ernst Jünger y Walter Vogt— y pone a Huxley y a Wasson como las excepciones notables del lado anglosajón; el troceo imprime *Jiinger*

«This translation has been carefully overseen by Albert Hofmann, which made my task both simpler and more enjoyable.» — Ott declara que Hofmann supervisó la traducción, dato que pesa sobre el estatuto del texto inglés

«I am beholden to R. Gordon Wasson for checking the chapters on LSD’s “Mexican relatives” and on “Ska Maria Pastora” for accuracy and style.» — Ott acredita a R. Gordon Wasson la revisión de los capítulos sobre los parientes mexicanos del LSD y sobre la Ska María Pastora

«Two chapters of this book—-“How LSD Originated” and “LSD Experience and Reality”—were presented by Albert Hofmann as a paper before the international conference “Hallucinogens, Shamanism and Modern Life” in San Francisco on the afternoon of Saturday, September 30, 1978. As a part of the conference proceedings, the first chapter has been published in the Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, Vol. 11 (1-2), 1979.» — Ott da la procedencia de dos capítulos: una ponencia leída por Hofmann en el congreso Hallucinogens, Shamanism and Modern Life de San Francisco el 30 de septiembre de 1978, y su publicación en el Journal of Psychedelic Drugs; guarda anticosido desactivada por el año entre paréntesis de la referencia, tramo releído entero en el crudo

«Woodcut of St. Anthony, the patron saint of ergotism victims. Ergot poisoning was originally known as St. Anthony's Fire.» — pie de una de las láminas en color de esta edición, que ilustra el capítulo sobre el cornezuelo

«Drop Acid Not Bombs. “The existence of LSD was even regarded by the drug enthusiasts as a predestined coincidence—it has to be discovered precisely at this time in order to bring help to people suffering under the modern conditions” (p. 81). LSD was discovered in 1943; the atomic bomb was developed between 1942 and 1945.» — pie de lámina del editor, que cita el cuerpo por su plana impresa 81 y añade la comparación de fechas con la bomba atómica; el pie imprime *it has to be discovered* donde el cuerpo escribe *it had to be discovered*, y data el descubrimiento en 1943

«The hippies’ hero. A caricature of the author adorned with the symbols of 1960s psychedelia. Drawing by Bouyum, 1970» — pie de la caricatura de Hofmann con los emblemas de la psicodelia de los años sesenta

«Stanislav Grof, M.D. A pioneering LSD psychotherapist who emigrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia, Dr. Grof was among the first to study the effects of LSD psychotherapy on the terminally ill.» — pie de lámina con que esta edición presenta al prologuista

«Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert. “Shortly thereafter, Leary and Alpert were discharged from the teaching staff of Harvard University because the investigations, at first conducted in an academic milieu, had lost their scientific character”» — pie de lámina que cita el cuerpo por su plana impresa, que el troceo imprime *(9. 96)*

«Albert Hofmann and Timothy Leary. “The greeting was cordial, a symbol of our fateful relationship through LSD"(p. 98).» — pie de la fotografía del encuentro, citando la frase del cuerpo con su plana impresa

«Mushroom stones. Iwo views of a pre-Columbian stone mushroom icon from classic Mayan culture (circa 300-600 A.D.). From the collection of the Rietberg Museum, Zurich» — pie de las piedras-hongo mayas de la colección del Museo Rietberg; el troceo imprime *Iwo* donde el inglés pide Two

«Aztec mushroom eater. This detail from a 17th-century Aztec codex shows the death god Mictlantecuhtli with a person eating a sacred mushroom. Codex Maglia» — pie que describe la lámina del dios de la muerte Mictlantecuhtli con un comedor de hongos sagrados, tomada de un códice azteca del siglo XVII; el nombre del códice queda partido a fin de renglón y sigue como *becchi*

«R. Gordon and Valentina Pavlovna Wasson. The Wassons’ expeditions to the mountains of southern Mexico brought the knowledge of psychoactive mushrooms to industrialized society.» — pie de la fotografía de los Wasson, con la fórmula del editor sobre lo que sus expediciones trajeron a la sociedad industrial

«Maria Sabina. “How should we judge the conduct of Maria Sabina, the fact that she allowed strangers, white people, access to the secret ceremony, and let them try the sacred mushrooms?”» — pie de la fotografía de María Sabina, que recoge la pregunta que el cuerpo del libro deja abierta y no contesta

«Gordon Wasson and Maria Sabina. “Wasson describes how the mushroom seized possession of him completely, although he had tried to struggle against its effects, in order to be able to remain an objective observer” (p. 124).» — pie de la fotografía de Wasson con María Sabina, que cita el cuerpo del libro por su plana impresa

«Historical illustration of ololiuhqui. The earliest account of Rivea corymbosa (also known as Turbina corymbosa), the sacred morning glory. From Francisco Hernandez's Rerum Medicarum Novae Hispaniae Thesaurus seu Plantarum, Animalum, Mineralium Mexicanorum Historia, published in Rome in 1651.» — pie de la lámina del ololiuhqui, que la edición toma de la historia natural de Francisco Hernández impresa en Roma en 1651; la plana reproduce además el texto latino del facsímil, con la capa de texto muy dañada

«[Publisher’s note: Years later, Dr. Frank Olson was revealed to be a CIA officer, and the circumstances around his death are still mysterious. For an excellent history of the CIA’s involvement with LSD, see Acid Dreams by Martin Lee and Bruce Shlain (Grove Press, 1985).]» — la nota que MAPS intercala entre corchetes en el cuerpo: da el nombre completo de Olson, lo declara oficial de la CIA y dice que las circunstancias de su muerte siguen sin aclararse; tramo con año entre paréntesis en la referencia editorial, releído entero en el crudo

«[Translator’s note: As R. Gordon Wasson has pointed out, “ololiuhqui” is a more precise orthography than the more popular spelling used by Schultes. See Botanical Museum Leaflets Harvard University 20: 161-212, 1963.]» — nota del traductor Jonathan Ott intercalada en el cuerpo, que enmienda la ortografía de Schultes apoyándose en Wasson y da la referencia

«[Publisher’s note: In 2002, Roth et al. found that Salvinorin A., the active principle in ska Maria, is a kappa-opiod receptor agonist, making it pharmacologically distinct from LSD and other psychedelics, which primarily affect serotonin receptors.» — la nota que MAPS añade en el cuerpo para actualizar la deuda química que Hofmann deja abierta: la salvinorina A como agonista del receptor opioide kappa, farmacológicamente distinta del LSD

«[Translator’s note: Jinger is referring to LSD, a derivative of ergot, and mescaline, derived from the Mexican peyotl cactus.]» — nota del traductor Jonathan Ott que identifica las dos sustancias que Jünger nombra por perífrasis; el troceo imprime *Jinger*

«BEFORE WIDESPREAD RECREATIONAL USE and media hysteria brought psychedelic research to a halt, LSD and psilocybin were the subjects of thousands of studies worldwide, conducted with the full support of academic institutions and governments. This “golden age” of psychedelic research is documented in the Hofmann Collection, a free online database of peer-reviewed, scientific journal articles on LSD and psilocybin.» — arranque del apéndice que MAPS añade sobre la colección digital Hofmann, con su propia lectura de la edad dorada de la investigación psicodélica

«Originally compiled by the staff of the Sandoz Pharmaceutical Corporation during Albert Hofmann’s residence there, the collection represents nearly every research paper on LSD or psilocybin published between the mid-1940s and the mid-1970s. The papers reflect the evolving trends in psychiatry and culture over the decades, and changing perceptions of psychedelics’ risks and benefits. About 80% of the articles are published in English, and 20% are in other languages.» — lo que el apéndice de MAPS declara sobre el origen y el alcance de la colección Hofmann, con el reparto de lenguas

«The project to digitize the papers has been a joint effort of MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), the Albert Hofmann Foundation, Erowid (a comprehensive drug information website, www.erowid.org), the Promind Foundation, and the Heffter Research Institute.» — las instituciones que el apéndice nombra como responsables de la digitalización

«In 1996, Sandoz donated the collection to the Albert Hofmann Foundation, and the papers were displayed in the AHF Museum in Los Angeles while funding lasted.» — el destino de la colección tras la donación de Sandoz, según el apéndice

«In a few hundred entries the article is simply missing, but in most cases there is at least a link to the paper's abstract. Most of the missing papers probably exist in libraries or university collections somewhere in the world, and those who come across them are encouraged to send them in for posting.» — el hueco que el propio apéndice declara en la colección y la petición que hace al lector

«It is hoped that this resource will help to inform the discussion on psychedelics and aid future researchers who seek permission to study their risks and benefits.» — el propósito declarado del apéndice, que enlaza con la campaña del editor

«FOUNDED IN 1986, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is a membership-based, IRS-approved 501 (c) (3) non-profit research and educational organization. We assist scientists to design, fund, obtain approval for, conduct, and report on studies evaluating the risks and benefits of MDMA, psychedelic drugs, and marijuana. MAPS’ mission is to sponsor scientific research designed to develop psychedelics and marijuana into FDA-approved prescription medicines and to educate the public honestly about the risks and benefits of these drugs.» — la presentación que MAPS hace de sí misma al cierre del volumen, con su fecha de fundación y su misión declarada

«For decades, the government was the biggest obstacle to research. Now that long-awaited research is finally being approved, the formidable challenge is funding it. At present, there is no funding available from governments, pharmaceutical companies, or major foundations.» — el diagnóstico que MAPS hace de su propio momento: el obstáculo pasó de la aprobación al dinero

«Can you imagine a cultural reintegration of the use of psychedelics and the states of mind they engender? Please join MAPS in supporting the expansion of scientific knowledge in this promising area. Progress is only possible with the support of individuals who care enough to take individual and collective action.» — la pregunta con que MAPS interpela al lector, y que es la petición de fondos del volumen

«Sponsored and obtained approval for the first LSD-assisted psychotherapy study in over 35 years. The study is taking place in Switzerland in subjects with anxiety associated with end-of-life issues.» — el primer logro que MAPS se adjudica en esta edición, y que es el estudio suizo que la nota del editor enlaza con la muerte de Hofmann

«Assisted Dr. Charles Grob to obtain permission for the first human studies in the United States with MDMA after it was criminalized in 1985.» — otro de los logros que MAPS enumera, con su fecha

«As a MAPS member, you'll receive the tri-annual MAPS Bulletin. In addition to reporting on the latest research in both the United States and abroad, the Bulletin includes feature articles, personal accounts, book reviews, and reports on conferences and allied organizations. MAPS members are invited to participate in a vital on-line mailing list and to visit our website, which includes all articles published by MAPS since 1988.» — los beneficios de membresía que el volumen imprime, y que son aparato editorial y no voz de la obra

«Unless otherwise indicated, your donation will be considered an unrestricted gift to be used to fund high-priority projects. If you wish, however, you may direct contributions to a specific study.» — la última instrucción del aparato editorial sobre el destino de los donativos

«The discovery of the psychedelic properties of LSD was a milestone in the history of consciousness. Albert Hofmann’s personal story of that discovery and its consequences is one of my favorite books.» — recomendación de contracubierta firmada por Andrew Weil, que no es voz del autor ni del cuerpo

«Aldous wrote about LSD that ‘it is a gratuitous grace neither necessary nor sufficient for salvation.’ However, it provides the opportunity to discover and make creative use of the infinite possibilities of the human mind. Probably The Doors of Perception might not have been written were it not for Albert’s ‘Problem Child’ Thank you, Albert.» — recomendación de contracubierta firmada por Laura Huxley, viuda de Aldous Huxley, que cita la fórmula de su marido —gracia gratuita ni necesaria ni suficiente para la salvación— y conjetura que sin este hallazgo no se habría escrito The Doors of Perception

«The current revival of the psychedelic aesthetic in art, design, fashion, music and film is testament to the revolutionary power of LSD. Its complex nature and true impact, however, remains unrecognised and this book provides both a personal history as well as rigorous analysis of this enduring phenomenon.» — recomendación de contracubierta firmada por Christoph Grunenberg, director de la Tate Liverpool

«It is our good fortune that Dr. Albert Hofmann, a nature mystic and Nobel-prize-worthy scientist, made such an amazing discovery.» — recomendación de contracubierta firmada por Martin A. Lee, coautor de Acid Dreams, que llama a Hofmann místico de la naturaleza y científico digno del Nobel

«rtificially cultivated psilocybe mexicana. One of about a dozen different species of sychoactive mushrooms used ceremonially by the Mazatecs, and botanically identified by Roger {eim, who accompanied the Wassons on their expeditions.» — pie de lámina que acredita a Roger Heim la identificación botánica y cifra en una docena las especies usadas ceremonialmente por los mazatecos; el OCR se come la inicial de tres palabras, que el impreso escribe *Artificially*, *psychoactive* y *Heim*

«This is the most common morning glory, and Its seeds are used eremonially by the Zapotec people along with the seeds of Rivea (Turbina) corymbosa. oth plants contain lysergic acid amide, or LSA.» — pie de la lámina de la campanilla, que nombra el uso ceremonial zapoteco y el principio activo compartido con el ololiuhqui; el OCR se come la inicial de *Ipomoea*, *ceremonially* y *Both*

«Lysergic acid hydroxyethylamide Active constituents of ololiuhqui» — rótulo de la lámina de fórmulas químicas que el volumen intercala tras las láminas en color; el resto de la plana es el diagrama, que la capa de texto devuelve en fragmentos sueltos

«The Psychedelic Bibliography, which includes several other databases of psychedelic research, including the MAPS MDMA Literature Review project, which is updated monthly with PDFs of new papers on MDMA.» — las vías de acceso a la colección que el apéndice de MAPS imprime

«Eleusinian Mysteries 203—205, 208 Ergot 36-44 ergot poisoning (ergotism) 39-40» — entrada del índice de la edición, que remite por plana impresa: los misterios de Eleusis quedan en las impresas 203 a 208 y el cornezuelo en las 36 a 44, que con las dos fórmulas de folio de este volumen corresponden a las planas 229 a 234 y 46 a 54

«LSD: My Problem Child (ISBN:978-0-9798622-2-9): $15.95» — la información de pedidos que cierra el volumen, con el precio de tapa de esta edición; el resto de la plana son los rótulos en versalitas de gastos de envío y formas de pago, que quedan fuera del verbatim

«Albert Hofmann, 2002. Photo by Kent Martin, producer of Hofmann’s Potion» — pie del retrato de Hofmann en 2002, con el crédito del productor del documental Hofmann's Potion; el tramo se corta antes del año entre paréntesis que cierra el pie

«Hojas de Maria Pastora. See Ska Maria Pastora Horowitz, Michael 99 Houston, Jean 80 Huxley, Aldous 168, 177-182 death 181 writings 159, 177-179, 196» — entradas del índice de la edición, que remiten los nombres mazatecos a la Ska María Pastora y separan la muerte y los escritos de Aldous Huxley

«Mystical experience 29-32, 81, 174-177, 177, 180, 186-189, 195-197, 197-210. See also Spiritual potential of psychedelics» — la entrada del índice sobre la experiencia mística, que es la que más planas impresas reúne de todo el volumen y remite además a la del potencial espiritual de los psicodélicos

«Ololiuhqui (morning glories) 61, 132-139, 166 historical accounts 133 isolation of active components 135-136 recreational use 138 relationship to LSD 135-136» — la entrada del índice sobre el ololiuhqui, con sus subentradas de relatos históricos, aislamiento de componentes, uso recreativo y parentesco con el LSD

«Ska Maria Pastora 139-155 botanical identification 145,153 investigation of psychoactive component 154 religious use 145-148, 150-152» — la entrada del índice sobre la Ska María Pastora, que separa identificación botánica, investigación del componente psicoactivo y uso religioso

«Portrait of the autho Courtesy of Dr. Hofmann» — pie de la última lámina en color, cuya capa de texto se come la letra final de *author*

Iniciación (recepción por grados / metamorfosis del ser) — La iniciación de Eleusis como el núcleo de los misterios frente al drama mítico que los enmarca: la ceremonia nocturna en el telesterion, el secreto bajo pena de muerte, los testimonios de Píndaro y de Cicerón sobre lo que el iniciado sabe del fin y del principio de la vida, y la tesis de Hofmann de que ahí la visión podía darse en el sitio y la hora previstos. En la novela Island de Huxley, que Hofmann resume, la medicina moksha se da a los jóvenes en ritos de iniciación.

Secreto (lo que se jura no fijar por escrito) — Dos secretos guardados y rotos: el de Eleusis, que ningún iniciado divulgó nunca bajo pena de muerte, y el de los hongos mazatecos, que los curanderos negaron a la expedición de Wasson y que María Sabina rompió, con la casa quemada por sus paisanos como respuesta. Hofmann plantea la pregunta moral y no la cierra.

Microcosmos (el hombre-mundo) — La fórmula con que Hofmann salva a la ciencia de su propia crítica: si el saber de hechos avanza lo bastante hondo lleva sin remedio al misterio de lo divino, en el microcosmo del átomo, en el macrocosmo de la nebulosa espiral, en las semillas de las plantas y en el cuerpo y el alma de las personas.

Philosophia perennis (filosofía perenne) — Hofmann recomienda La filosofía perenne de Aldous Huxley a una visitante que había tenido una visión espontánea de joven y a quien su entorno trató como enferma: la lee como colección de visiones dichosas de todos los tiempos y culturas, y toma de ahí la tesis de que mucha más gente de la que se supone tiene esos momentos y los reprime por no caber en la racionalidad cotidiana.

Crítica de fuentes (criterios de inclusión y descarte) — Hofmann objeta el relato del hallazgo por accidente y lo fecha dentro de un programa sistemático; niega que el envenenamiento de Pont-Saint-Esprit de 1951 tuviera que ver con el cornezuelo; niega que el asesinato de 1966 atribuido al LSD pueda ser cierto, con tres argumentos farmacológicos; y consigna la tesis de Safford sobre la inexistencia de los hongos mágicos sin dejar de concederle el efecto de haber llamado la atención del mundo científico. El propio volumen discrepa de sí mismo en el nombre y la fecha que el prólogo de Grof da para Werner A. Stoll y para el descubrimiento.