The initial publication of the book was arranged in six thematically segregated sections:
- Spleen et Idéal (Spleen and Ideal)
- Tableaux parisiens (Parisian Scenes)
- Le Vin (Wine)
- Fleurs du mal (Flowers of Evil)
- Révolte (Revolt)
- La Mort (Death)
Baudelaire dedicated the book to the poet Théophile Gautier, Au parfait magicien des lettres françaises ("To the perfect magician of French letters").[1]
Foreword
The foreword to the volume, Au Lecteur ("To the Reader"), identifying Satan with the pseudonymous alchemist Hermes Trismegistus and calling boredom the worst of miseries, sets the general tone of what is to follow:
Si le viol, le poison, le poignard, l'incendie, N'ont pas encore brodé de leurs plaisants dessins Le canevas banal de nos piteux destins, C'est que notre âme, hélas ! n'est pas assez hardie. If rape, poison, dagger and fire, Have still not embroidered their pleasant designs On the banal canvas of our pitiable destinies, It's because our soul, alas, is not bold enough!
The preface concludes with the following malediction:
C'est l'Ennui!—l'œil chargé d'un pleur involontaire, Il rêve d'échafauds en fumant son houka. Tu le connais, lecteur, ce monstre délicat, Hypocrite lecteur,—mon semblable,—mon frère! It's Boredom!—eye brimming with an involuntary tear He dreams of gallows while smoking his hookah. You know him, reader, this delicate monster, Hypocritical reader, my likeness, my brother!
