From the book
The Gods Are Athirst
Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Lemma.
The indictment calls Longuemare’s writings libelles against public liberty and peace. Earlier narration presents his elaborate theological defence, so the legal charge recodes religious argument as political attack. The English “libels” is the prosecution’s characterisation, not a finding independently endorsed by the narrator. It should not be taken to prove that the writings satisfy a modern legal definition of defamation.
Places to read
- Chapter XXIV, paragraph 9Frenchdes libelles attentatoires à la liberté et à la paix publiques: libels against public liberty and peace. The charge belongs to the indictment.