Œuvres Complètes De Gustave Flaubert, Tome 2: Salammbô
1964
Œuvres Complètes De Gustave Flaubert, Tome 2: Salammbô is a historical novel first published in 1964, set in ancient Carthage during the Mercenary War. The narrative explores themes of loyalty, betrayal, and cultural conflict, beginning with a lavish feast hosted by General Hamilcar, where soldiers from diverse backgrounds gather amidst brewing tensions. The story intricately weaves personal desires with the political strife of the era, particularly through the character of Salammbô, Hamilcar's daughter, who becomes central to the unfolding drama.
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“Through the forest he pursued the she-monster whose tail coiled over the dead leaves like a silver stream; and he came to a meadow where women, with the hindquarters of dragons, stood around a great fire, raised on the tips of their tails. The moon shone red as blood in a pale circle and their scarlet tongues, formed like fishing harpoons, stretched out, curling to the edge of the flame.””
— Gustave Flaubert
“C'était à Mégara, faubourg de Carthage, dans les jardins d'Hamilcar.””
— Gustave Flaubert
“Les âmes des morts, disait-il, se résolvent dans la lune comme les cadavres dans la terre. Leurs larmes composent son humidité: c’est un séjour obscur plein de fange, de débris et de tempêtes.””
— Gustave Flaubert
“Les Grecs alignèrent sur des rangs parallèles leurs tentes de peaux; les Ibériens disposèrent en cercle leurs pavillons de toile; les Gaulois se firent des baraques de planches; les Libyens des cabanes de pierres sèches, et les Nègres creusèrent dans le sable avec leurs ongles des fosses pour dormir. Beaucoup, ne sachant où se mettre, erraient au milieu des bagages [...]””
— Gustave Flaubert
“Her hair, which was powdered with violet sand, and combined into the form of a tower, after the fashion of the Chanaanite maidens, added to her height. Tresses of pearls were fastened to her temples, and fell to the corners of her mouth, which was as rosy as a half-open pomegranate. On her breast was a collection of luminous stones, their variegation imitating the scales of the murena. Her arms were adorned with diamonds, and issued naked from her sleeveless tunic, which was starred with red flowers on a perfectly black ground. Between her ankles she wore a golden chainlet to regulate her steps, and her large dark purple mantle, cut of an unknown material, trailed behind her, making, as it were, at each step, a broad wave which followed her.””
— Gustave Flaubert
