DiotimosReading Desk

Institutions

Permanent sittings

permanence

In permanence des sections, the noun means the sections’ continued or permanent assembly, not the everlasting existence of the neighbourhood institutions.

From the book

The Gods Are Athirst

Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Meaning

Lemma.

In permanence des sections, the noun means the sections’ continued or permanent assembly, not the everlasting existence of the neighbourhood institutions. Henry condemns Robespierre for opposing that arrangement while also accusing Danton and Marat of restraining revolutionary action. This is Henry’s severe political evaluation, and it should remain attributable to him rather than become the narrator’s judgement of all three men.

Places to read

  1. Chapter VII, paragraph 35Frenchla permanence des sections: permanent sittings of the sections. The supplied translation expands the institutional sense of permanence.