Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition

Joseph Joubert

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I

Name: The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I
Author: Joseph Joubert

Complete Notebooks · French with an independent English translation.

Explore the Lexicon

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume IYEAR 1801 · Entry 2121

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

English Page · Branch 2121 of 3781

YEAR 1801 · Entry 2121

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 4241

[La Harpe. Cours,] pag. 334. « Il y auroit (disoit Diderot) trois grands plaidoyers à faire, un pour Sénèque et pour Burrhus, un second pour Néron, un troisième pour Agrippine. » Ce dernier trait (dit fort bien Laharpe) explique tout en vous donnant la mesure de l’homme et celle de l’intérêt qu’il prenoit à la morale et a la vérité. Et plus haut : Qu’on me dise si jamais tout ce qu’il y a de plus sacré parmi les hommes a été plus formellement mis en problème et en litige que dans les trois grands plaidoyers que Diderot propose gravement à l’examen des hommes sensés et dont le second est pour Néron!

[La Harpe.] Il eût mieux valu dire — la pensée est une assertion (de l’esprit) et l’idée est un apperçu. Par l’une, l’on prend un parti et par l’autre on a une vue. Celle-là dépend plus de la raison, celle-ci de l’imagination. Il y a plus de volonté dans l’une et d’intelligence dans l’autre.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: YEAR 1801

p. 4242

[La Harpe. Cours,] p. 334. “There would be (Diderot used to say) three great pleas to make, one for Seneca and for Burrhus, a second for Nero, a third for Agrippina.” This last remark (Laharpe says very well) explains everything by giving you the measure of the man and of the interest he took in morality and truth. And above: Let me be told whether all that is most sacred among men has ever been more formally put in question and in dispute than in the three great pleas Diderot gravely proposes for the examination of sensible men, the second of which is for Nero!

[La Harpe.] It would have been better to say — thought is an assertion (of the mind), and an idea is a glimpse. Through the one, we take a position, and through the other we have a view. The former depends more on reason, the latter on imagination. There is more will in the one and intelligence in the other.

T46.The bracketed source identification remains supplied by the edition; Cours is its abbreviated French title, meaning Course. The passages following Laharpe says and And above remain Joubert’s cited La Harpe wording, distinguished by the edition’s italics. Their judgment of Diderot is preserved as reported.

T238.The bracketed La Harpe cues are supplied source-editor attributions within the printed paragraphs, not invented Joubert titles. The native crop confirms unaccented a in a la vérité and the source’s different La Harpe/Laharpe spellings; retained. The left edge damages the opening parenthesis before dit, initial l’homme, parmi, litige, gravement, Néron, and several other line-opening letters; restored from surviving words and syntax. The final punctuation after Néron is an elongated exclamation stroke with no clear separate dot; represented by ! and not silently made a question mark.

T47.Thought and idea remain distinct. The former and latter refer respectively to thought and idea; the repeated one and other preserve the contrast in will and intelligence. Glimpse retains aperçu beside view.

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.