From the book
The Gods Are Athirst
Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordÉpicurisme names the philosophy associated with Epicurus and, in ordinary usage, a taste for pleasure.
- In the novelThe arrangement of atoms composing Thévenin makes desire a material fact without a separate spiritual substance.
- In this editionThe edition uses “Epicureanism” for épicurisme and “sensual man” for voluptueux in Chapter XIX, paragraph 26; the latter is not itself a philosophical school-name.
- A place to readen quoi il tombait dans l’idéologie: thereby lapsing into ideology.
Meaning
Related words and phrases.
Épicurisme names the philosophy associated with Epicurus and, in ordinary usage, a taste for pleasure. France makes both senses active in Brotteaux, but does not equate his outlook with indiscriminate luxury. His Lucretius supplies a material universe, mortality and exercises in freedom from fear; a properly cooled glass of wine supplies a small pleasure within poverty.
Use in the book
The arrangement of atoms composing Thévenin makes desire a material fact without a separate spiritual substance. Brotteaux’s admiration for nature includes celestial mechanics and physical love, while his knowledge that humans are playthings of natural forces explains much suffering. Yet the narrator immediately identifies a lapse: believing revolutionaries more foolish and wicked than everyone else draws this professed sceptic into ideology.
The goal of life without fears or desires is repeatedly stated and repeatedly qualified. While reading Lucretius after sheltering Athénaïs, Brotteaux is devoured by regret and anxiety. The generosity that a purely detached spectator might avoid has already bound him to others. Philosophy supplies language and practice, not immunity to bodily and emotional conditions.
The prison tests the distinction still harder. A poor clean bed brings greater delight than the gilded bed of earlier luxury; severe consolations about non-existence coexist with envy of the Barnabite’s faith. Brotteaux enjoys the force of his own understanding while wishing for an assurance he regards as illusion. Neither the pleasure nor the failure of consolation is cancelled by the other.
Places to read
- Chapter XIV, paragraph 3Frenchen quoi il tombait dans l’idéologie: thereby lapsing into ideology. The narrator qualifies the sage’s prejudice against revolutionaries.
- Chapter XIV, paragraph 4Frenchl’ordre des atomes qui la composaient: the arrangement of atoms composing her. Thévenin’s attractiveness is described through Brotteaux’s materialism.
- Chapter XIV, paragraph 66Frenchà vivre sans craintes et sans désirs: to live without fears or desires. The following adversative says he remains devoured by regrets and worries.
- Chapter XIX, paragraph 6Frenchne lui avait pas paru si agréable: had not seemed so agreeable. The old luxurious bed is surpassed by relief from the dungeon.
- Chapter XIX, paragraph 26Frenchtout en jouissant de sa haute sagesse: while delighting in his lofty wisdom. The sentence goes on to say that he envies the priest’s concealing “madness.”
Translation in this edition
The edition uses “Epicureanism” for épicurisme and “sensual man” for voluptueux in Chapter XIX, paragraph 26; the latter is not itself a philosophical school-name. Its retained Latin Sic ubi non erimus is accompanied by an English translation of France’s French rendering. The note identifies the Lucretian locus; this lexicon does not claim independent collation of Latin witnesses.