"I did not subscribe to the book of Holy Virginity," Pascal said. "What if subscribing to nonsense could cost us immortality?" asked Rostand. But what did both mean? If there are terms that sow trouble in the French language, "souscrire" certainly comes first. This is because of the subtleties inherent in the transitive use, direct or indirect, of this verb. In fact, it will not have escaped your notice that saying "I subscribe", rather than "I subscribe to", does not mean the same thing.
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Taken from the classical Latin "subscribere", which qualifies the fact of "writing below, writing at the bottom, putting in inscription", the word "subscribe" was born in the fourteenth century, in the sense of "writing one's name at the bottom of an act to approve it", reads the Treasury of the French language. It is in a document of the Chamber of Accounts of Dole, which, under the Ancien Régime, was a sovereign court specializing in the financial affairs of the County of Burgundy, that it appears for the first time. It is also used to signify the closing of a letter with a form of politeness preceding the signature, but also to speak of a commitment to contribute, to pay by signing. "I was penniless, I subscribed an effect to oblige you," wrote Balzac in Illusions perdues (1839).
Write or join
The indirect transitive use of the verb "subscribe", followed by the preposition "to", can be observed as early as 1590. Montaigne, in his Essays, uses it as a synonym for "consent, approve what another says." It is then said, like Molière, in L'Avare (1668): "See if it is your design to subscribe to this marriage." More rarely, it is also possible to use it to refer to a written commitment to provide an agreed sum. This, in order to carry out a project.
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Also, when Pascal says "I did not subscribe to the book of Holy Virginity", he claims not to have signed the publication in question. While Rostand, wondering "what if to have subscribed to nonsense could cost us immortality?", speaks of adhering to ideas. On a day-to-day basis, we will not say, "I have subscribed." But: "I bought a subscription." Likewise, it will be said, "He agrees with your opinion." Rather than, "He agrees with your opinion."