DiotimosReading Desk

Death

Outlawry

mise hors la loi; hors la loi

The formal declaration places its subjects outside ordinary trial protection and exposes them to execution once identified.

From the book

The Gods Are Athirst

Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Meaning

Related words and phrases.

The formal declaration places its subjects outside ordinary trial protection and exposes them to execution once identified. The novel immediately glosses it as death without judgment. In chapter XXVIII the procedural problem is who may establish identity when the municipal officers themselves have been outlawed. The term is therefore stronger and more specific than ordinary criminality or being suspected of breaking a law.

Places to read

  1. Chapter XXVII, paragraph 38FrenchLa mise hors la loi, la mort sans jugement: outlawry, death without trial. The consequence frightens even the determined insurgents.
  2. Chapter XXVIII, paragraph 1FrenchLe dictateur et ses complices étaient hors la loi: The dictator and his accomplices were outlaws. The remaining procedure is identification before execution.