In a philosophical treatise nominally about music but applicable to society as a whole, Pascal Quignard analyzes the little-known ancient Greek myth of Butes, one of the famous Argonauts who sailed to find the Golden Fleece and was known principally for having been the only one of his company to succumb to the deadly song of the Sirens. In contrasting Butes' decisionor compulsionto jump out of his boat with the stories of Orpheus, who neutralized the Sirens song with his lyre, and Odysseus, who had himself bound hand and foot, the author points to a larger dichotomy between an instinctive, almost nihilistic musical style and a more moderatethough perhaps more stagnantform. The argument can be expanded further to juxtapose an anarchic freedom with an existence tightly constrained by social norms."En un tratado filosofico que es nominalmente sobre la musica pero que se puede aplicar al conjunto de la sociedad, Pascal Quignard analiza el cuento griego poco conocido de Butes, uno de los famosos argonautas que zarparon en busca del vellocino de oro y quien era reconocido principalmente como el unico de su compania en sucumbir a la mortal cancion de las sirenas. Contrastando la decisiono compulsionde Butes por arrojarse de sunave con las historias de Orfeo, quien con su lira neutralizo el cantar de las sirenas, y de Ulises, quien se hizo atar de pies y manos, el autor senala una gran dicotomia entre un estilo de musica instintivo y casi nihilista y un tipo mas moderado, aunque quizas mas anquiloso. El argumento se puede expandir aun mas para yuxtaponer una libertad anarquica con una existencia condicionada por formas sociales.""