The Dalkey Archive Press edition of B & P also contains a copy of Flaubert’s Dictionary of Received Ideas, a terrific satire. And a lot of the entries are still true! E.g., “AMBITION: Always ‘insane’ unless it is ‘noble’”; “BIRD: Wish you were one, saying with a sigh: ‘Oh, for a pair of wings!’ This shows a poetic soul”; “HOME: Always a castle. However, the police can enter whenever they please. Home, sweet home. No place like it”;

and my favorite:

“ART: Leads to the poorhouse. What use is it since machines can make things better and quicker?”

“The bane of language, for Ash­bery as for Flaubert, is the ‘received idea’ — the idea every one mouths and takes for granted…”

So. true.