Proteus and political disguise

Meaning

Lemma.

The shape-changing figure gives Gamelin a model for the supposed conspirator’s incompatible appearances. A patriot, a moderate and an extreme revolutionary can all be read as the same enemy in different forms. The analogy explains how his accusation absorbs contradiction; it does not prove that the named politicians were agents of one plot. The English keeps “Proteus,” with the edition’s note supplying the mythological identification.