The Temptation of St. Anthony

by Gustave Flaubert

I, the first consciousness of Chaos, arose from the abyss that I might harden matter, and give a law unto forms

"Since then I have dwelt in the deep pools left by the Deluge. But the desert grows vaster about them; the winds cast sand into them; the sun devours them;—and I die upon my couch of slime, gazing at the stars through the water. Thither I return!"

(He leaps and disappears in the Nile.)

Hilarion. "That is an ancient God of the Chaldæans!"

Anthony (ironically). "What, then, were those of Babylon?"

Hilarion. "Thou canst behold them!"

(And they find themselves upon the platform of a lofty quadrangular tower dominating six other towers, which, narrowing as they rise, form one monstrous pyramid. Far below a great black mass is visible—the city, doubtless—extending over the plains. The air is cold; the sky darkly blue; multitudes of stars palpitate above.