Gustave Flaubert · 1881 · EPUB · Calibre ID 2964
Resurfaced in Cento, Copy, Dictionary (2026-09-24).
Role in the triad
The copy: encyclopedic reading as comedy and disease; the Dictionary of Accepted Ideas as hinge to Mullen.
Why this book
Burton’s negative image. Two amateurs do the same encyclopedic reading, stupidity replaces melancholy as the subject, and keeping busy becomes the novel’s engine. The Dalkey edition includes the Dictionary of Accepted Ideas, whose entries (MELANCHOLY, DICTIONARY, BOOK, LATIN) land on the other two books. Tagged priority_tbr.
Quotations
Verified against the book’s own text on the day of the reading.
- “The pleasure they feel in the physical act of copying.” (ch. 11, Their Copy, plan)
- “No time for reflection! Let’s copy! The page must be filled, the “monument” completed.” (ch. 12, plan)
- “End with a view of our two heroes leaning over their desk, copying.” (ch. 12, plan)
- “At the national library, they wanted to know the exact number of volumes.” (ch. 1)
- “MELANCHOLY: Sign of a distinguished heart and an elevated mind.” (Dictionary of Accepted Ideas)
- “DICTIONARY: Scoff at it—is only for ignoramuses.” (Dictionary)
- “BOOK: No matter which one, always too long.” (Dictionary)
Themes
cliché · copying · dictionary · encyclopedia · received ideas · satire · stupidity