DiotimosReading Desk

Judgement

The Incorruptible

Incorruptible

Robespierre’s designation presents incorruptibility as the stable quality behind his judgments.

From the book

The Gods Are Athirst

Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Browse this book’s lexicon →

Meaning

Phrase.

Robespierre’s designation presents incorruptibility as the stable quality behind his judgments. In Gamelin’s chapter XX monologue it authorises distinctions that others cannot perceive; at the end of that chapter, the admirer wonders how far its possessor’s detection of traitors will extend. The epithet is not the narrator’s guarantee that every accusation is right. In chapter XXVII the same named man hesitates, becomes the accused, and cannot turn speech promptly into action.

Places to read

  1. Chapter XX, paragraph 2FrenchL’Incorruptible enseigne: The Incorruptible teaches. Gamelin gives the leader a teaching authority.
  2. Chapter XXVII, paragraph 2FrenchL’Incorruptible hésite: The Incorruptible hesitates. The epithet survives the reversal from accuser to accused.