La farce de la Sorbonne

A young scholar recalls his first, bewildering encounter with the Sorbonne’s hallowed halls, when a fifteen‑year‑old he is sent to the prestigious Concours Général. He paints the scene on rue Saint‑Jacques with noisy pupils brandishing massive dictionaries, stern censors handing out ceremonial entry slips, and the climb up six flights to a lofty attic where a lone, melancholy professor unfurls an indecipherable Latin passage. The ritual becomes a test of stamina, patience and, paradoxically, a source of secret delight as the narrator discovers a quiet sympathy for the modest “cancres” among the crowd.

The narrative then turns to the eccentric faculty who shape his year of study: a bibliographer who recites endless lists, a translator whose diction feels like a living dictionary, and a few rigid professors whose moods swing with the weather. A brief, sharp encounter with the singularly witty Emile Faguet leaves the protagonist with an unexpected “mention” and the feeling that the venerable university is as much a comedy of manners as a place of learning.