French Literature Reviews - 2026
Étienne Barilier, Réenchanter le monde. L’Europe et la beauté
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
A review of this book can be read in Acta Fabula (January 2023, vol. 25, no. 1): Beauté son beau souci, by Alain Corbellari
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Europe invented the idea of the Beautiful, establishing its equivalence with the Good and the True. It distinguished these three entities only to unite them more closely—something not all civilizations do. Yet even while championing this triad, Europe has continually called it into question, from Dante to Simone Weil, via Goethe, Nietzsche, and Dostoevsky.
If the works of Richard Wagner or Louis-Ferdinand Céline are beautiful, is it not, in fact, with a devilish beauty? Must we renounce this alliance of the Beautiful, the True, and the Good, which nevertheless forms the foundation of our identity?
Étienne Barilier is a novelist, essayist, and professor emeritus at the University of Lausanne. His output includes some sixty books, among them Contre le nouvel obscurantisme, une critique des irrationalismes contemporains, which was awarded the European Essay Prize.
The philosophical triad of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful has long served as a cornerstone of Western intellectual history, tracing its roots to classical antiquity. Throughout the centuries, European thought has frequently revisited these concepts, often debating whether aesthetic value can be separated from ethical integrity. Readers interested in the history of aesthetics and the evolution of European cultural identity may find this reflection on the potential dark side of beauty relevant.
European thought has distinguished the Beautiful, the Good, and the True only to unite them, yet it has also continually called this triad into question, from Dante to Simone Weil, via Goethe, Nietzsche, and Dostoevsky. This inquiry considers whether the alliance of these three entities, which forms the foundation of European identity, must be renounced when faced with works that may possess a devilish beauty.