DiotimosReading Desk

Identity

Capuchin and Barnabite

capucin; barnabite; franciscain

A Capuchin belongs to the Franciscan tradition; Longuemare is instead a Barnabite clerk regular.

From the book

The Gods Are Athirst

Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Meaning

Related words and phrases.

A Capuchin belongs to the Franciscan tradition; Longuemare is instead a Barnabite clerk regular. He insists on this distinction first against a crowd, then against Dubosc’s teasing and finally against the court’s dismissive equivalence. The wrong classification wounds his institutional identity more sharply than the lawyer’s mock damnation; after sentence he still pities judges unable to tell the orders apart. Their disregard for the distinction also exposes their disregard for particulars. His claim that the Barnabites derive their origins or constitutions from Saint Paul is devotional character speech, not an independently established foundation history.

Places to read

  1. Chapter VI, paragraph 35Frenchmais non pas un capucin: but not a Capuchin. Longuemare corrects the crowd’s classification and identifies himself as a Barnabite clerk regular.
  2. Chapter XIX, paragraph 20Frenchdistinguer un barnabite d’un franciscain: distinguish a Barnabite from a Franciscan. Longuemare protests the lawyer’s use of capucin.
  3. Chapter XXIV, paragraph 20FrenchJe ne suis pas capucin: I am not a Capuchin. Longuemare corrects the court’s category.
  4. Chapter XXIV, paragraph 41Frenchconfondent un barnabite avec un franciscain: confuse a Barnabite with a Franciscan. He continues to pity the judges for their confusion after sentence.