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Knowledge

Botany and meadow plants

botanique; bouillon-blanc; campanule; verveine odorante; hièble; menthe; gaude; mille-feuille

Botanique is the study of plants.

From the book

The Gods Are Athirst

Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Meaning

Lexical group.

Botanique is the study of plants. The meadow list is concretely named in both languages: bouillon-blanc is great mullein; campanule, bellflower; verveine odorante, lemon verbena; hièble, dwarf elder; menthe, mint; gaude, weld; mille-feuille, yarrow. The narrator describes clustered spikes and hanging bells before linking the women’s knowledge to Rousseau. These are the supplied edition’s identifications, not evidence that the excursion conducts a scientific botanical survey.

Places to read

  1. Chapter X, paragraph 29Frenchla botanique: Botany. The narrator attributes its fashionable appeal to Jean-Jacques.
  2. Chapter X, paragraph 29Frenchla campanule: Bellflower. The described lilac bells support the visual sense.
  3. Chapter X, paragraph 29Frenchla verveine odorante: Lemon verbena. The edition names this aromatic plant.
  4. Chapter X, paragraph 29Frenchle bouillon-blanc: Great mullein. The French describes its flowers clustered in spikes around the stem.
  5. Chapter X, paragraph 29Frenchl’hièble, la menthe, la gaude, la mille-feuille: Dwarf elder, mint, weld and yarrow. The aligned translation differentiates the final four plants.