"Beauty is worse than wine, it intoxicates both the holder and beholder"

Aldous Huxley’s assertion that “Beauty is worse than wine, it intoxicates both the holder and beholder” explores the seductive and dual-edged power inherent in beauty. Comparing beauty to wine, he emphasizes that its influence is not one-sided or passive; rather, it is an active, pervasive force that impacts both those who possess it and those who witness it. While wine is celebrated and feared for its intoxicating effects, dulling the senses, lowering inhibitions, and altering perception, beauty holds a similar, perhaps even more profound, potential to distort reality.

The one who possesses beauty, the “holder,” experiences a kind of intoxication through their appeal and the attention it brings. Such allure can lead to vanity, pride, or even a distortion of self-perception; one might come to overvalue external appearance or believe themselves deserving of special treatment. The intoxicating effect empowers but also isolates, as others may be drawn more to the external than to the person within.

The “beholder,” meanwhile, is equally vulnerable to this intoxication. Encountering beauty can awaken desire, admiration, even obsession. Rational judgment can be clouded, leading one to idealize or misinterpret, to pursue what is beautiful simply for its appearance. Both parties thus become captives of beauty, their interactions colored by its magnetism, their true selves obscured.

Huxley’s statement also contains a warning. The word “worse” signals that beauty’s capacity to intoxicate surpasses even that of wine, suggesting it can mislead, entrap, and ultimately harm when left unchecked. Beauty is transient, yet its power over people’s actions and emotions is enduring and often irrational. Ultimately, the holder and beholder alike must guard against surrendering to the seductive spell of beauty, lest they become lost in illusions and lose sight of more enduring values and truths.