Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I
Complete Notebooks · French with an independent English translation.
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English Page · Branch 124 of 3781
YEAR 1787 · Entry 124
French
p. 247Avril 1787.
Dans les plaines de Gentilli.
Pourquoi vois-je des femmes labourer ? La guerre ou la peste ont-elles détruit tous vos mâles ? et n’y a t’il plus sur cette terre d’êtres humains qui soient forts et formés, si ce n’est des filles et des veuves ? tous les jeunes hommes ont-ils péri, aussi bien que les époux ? Et ces chevaux que je vois attelés sont-ils revenus seuls de l’armée ?
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: YEAR 1787
p. 248April 1787.
In the plains of Gentilli.
Why do I see women plowing? Have war or plague destroyed all your males? And are there no longer on this earth any strong, fully formed human beings except unmarried women and widows? Have all the young men perished, as well as the husbands? And have those horses I see harnessed returned alone from the army?
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · YEAR 1787 · Entry 124
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Joubert’s notebooks return to the work of thinking and writing, the demands of friendship, and questions of faith, beauty and conduct. This edition pairs the French with a new English translation, preserving the order of the chosen source and the unfinished character of its fragments. Dates and source references allow readers to follow a thought through time or return to its printed context.
Historical Text and Translation
The French text follows André Beaunier’s 1938 edition of Les Carnets de Joseph Joubert, published by Gallimard from Joubert’s autograph manuscripts. Volume I presents the entries on printed pages 32–475. French and English are aligned paragraph by paragraph, retaining the source order, printed dates and page references so readers can return to the facsimile.
About Diotimos Editions
Diotimos Editions prepared this new English translation directly from the French, preserving Joubert’s distinctions, recurring images, ambiguities and unfinished thoughts. Translator’s notes clarify wording, references and uncertain readings: Essential keeps notes that help explain a passage, while All includes technical detail. Annotations from the 1938 source edition remain distinct from the new translator’s notes.
Rights
The linked facsimile records identify the French source as public domain in the United States. The new English translation and editorial notes are © 2026 Diotimos, with source annotations and new editorial contributions credited separately. This edition pairs the complete French notebooks with an independent English translation, preserving the distinction between Joubert’s text and its accompanying notes.