DiotimosReading Desk

Judgement

Take cognisance of

connaître de

Connaître de is a legal construction meaning to hear or take jurisdiction over a matter.

From the book

The Gods Are Athirst

Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Browse this book’s lexicon →

Meaning

Phrase.

Connaître de is a legal construction meaning to hear or take jurisdiction over a matter. It differs from knowing a fact or recognising a person. When the Tribunal is to connaître du crime verbal, the claim concerns what it will adjudicate. That institutional reach joins Gamelin’s desire for certain knowledge, but the two grammatical uses should not be conflated.

Places to read

  1. Chapter XIII, paragraph 12Frenchconnaîtrait du crime absolu, du crime verbal: would take cognisance of absolute and verbal crime. The conditional follows Gamelin’s reception of the political creed.