collective murder, n.Definitions

Collective murder (n.) resurfaces ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠as a theme in every age and cannot be sunk, like a lifeboat more crowded than the raft of the Medusa.

Collective murder (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the true rupture between animal nature and humanity — the one event that can found order on prohibition and ritual.

Collective murder (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the constant scene in these myths, a circle with the victim at its centre, even where the myth takes pains to deny any murder.