From the book
The Gods Are Athirst
Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Lemma.
Sollicitude normally names attentive care or concern. The Convention sends a surgeon to dress Gamelin’s wounds, but the next clause explains that it wants none of Robespierre’s associates to escape the guillotine. Bodily care is real while its purpose is fatal. The irony depends on retaining both the medical act and the stated intention, not calling the treatment merely pretend.
Places to read
- Chapter XXVII, paragraph 47Frenchpleine de sollicitude: full of solicitude. The narrator immediately gives the reason: keeping the prisoners alive for execution.