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Myth

Sinai and the saving thunderbolt

Sinaï; foudre salutaire

The political Mountain is praised as a protecting Sinai from which a saving thunderbolt issues.

From the book

The Gods Are Athirst

Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Meaning

Related words and phrases.

The political Mountain is praised as a protecting Sinai from which a saving thunderbolt issues. Biblical revelation and classical divine combat, already invoked by the Titans, are combined in ceremonial praise of punitive power. Gamelin reports this chorus within his own thought. The sacred imagery elevates the killings into deliverance; it does not establish that the narrator accepts their saving character.

Places to read

  1. Chapter XX, paragraph 4FrenchMontagne bienfaisante, Sinaï protecteur: beneficent Mountain, protecting Sinai. A quoted public acclamation is nested inside Gamelin’s inward discourse.
  2. Chapter XX, paragraph 4Frenchla foudre salutaire: the saving thunderbolt. The violence is praised as an act of rescue.