From the book
The Gods Are Athirst
Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Phrase.
The phrase morally classifies blood before it is shed. Gamelin uses it to identify the enemies whose deaths he claims as filial service; the chapter XXII narration also channels the demand for further executions through this rhetoric. “Impure” is not a medical or biological condition. The classification makes the killing appear cleansing or dutiful, while actual blood elsewhere marks the vulnerable bodies of both the punished and their former judge.
Places to read
- Chapter XXII, paragraph 6Frenchdes flots de sang impur: floods of impure blood. The rhetoric follows the festival’s promise of purity and fraternity.
- Chapter XXIII, paragraph 4Frenchle sang impur des ennemis de ma patrie: the impure blood of my country’s enemies. Gamelin explains his acts as filial piety.