Rosicrucianism, stressing the unity between soul and matter and depicting Macedonski's own journey into a transcendental space. Following the examples of Baudelaire's Les paradis artificiels, but also echoing his readings from Paul Verlaine and Théophile Gautier, Macedonski left poems dealing with narcotics and substance abuse, at least some of which reflected his personal experience with nicotine and possibly other unnamed drugs. Also at that stage, Macedonski also began publishing the "instrumentalist" series of his Symbolist poems. This form of experimental poem was influenced by the theories of René Ghil and verified through his encounter with Remy de Gourmont's views. In parallel, it reaffirmed Macedonski's personal view that music and the spoken word were intimately related (a perspective notably attested by his 1906 interview with Jules Combarieu). Romanian critic Petre Răileanu theorized that such elements evidenced Macedonski's transition to "metaliterature". On a different level, they echoed an older influence, that of Gottfried August Bürger. Excelsior Despite having stated his interest in innovation, Macedonski generally displayed a more conventional style in his Excelsior volume. It included Noaptea de mai, which Vianu sees as "one of the [vernacular's] most beautiful poems" and as evidence of "a clear joy, without any torment whatsoever". A celebration of spring partly evoking folkloric themes, it was made famous by the recurring refrain, Veniți: privighetoarea cântă și liliacul e-nflorit ("Come along: the nightingale is singing and the lilac is in blossom"). Like Noaptea de mai, Lewki (named after and dedicated to the Snake Island), depicts intense joy, completed in this case by what Vianu calls "the restorative touch of nature." The series also returned to Levant settings and Islamic imagery, particularly in Acșam dovalar (named after the Turkish version of Witr). Also noted within the volume is his short "Modern Psalms" series, including the piece Iertare ("Forgiveness"), which is addressed to God: Excelsior also included Noaptea de ianuarie ("January Night"), which encapsulates one of his best-known political statements. Anghelescu reads it as a "meditation on disillusionment that culminates in a vitality-laden exhortation of action." Its anti-bourgeois attitude, literary historian Z. Ornea argues, was one of the meeting points between Macedonski and Junimism. In what is seen as its most acid section, the text notably reads: At the same time as being engaged in his most violent polemics, Macedonski produced meditative and serene poems, which were later judged to be among his best. Noaptea de decemvrie is the synthesis