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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French Page · Branch 5 of 3781
ANNÉES 1774 à 1776 · Entry 5
French
p. 9Recevoir des bienfaits de quelqu’un est une manière plus sûre de se l’attacher que de l’obliger lui-même. La vue d’un bienfaiteur importune souvent, celle d’un homme à qui l’on a fait du bien est toujours agréable. Nous aimons notre ouvrage en lui.
Vouloir se passer de tous les hommes et n’être obligé à personne, signe certain d’une âme sans sensibilité.
Braver toujours les bienséances est d’une âme abjecte ou corrompue, en être esclave dans toutes les occasions est d’une âme petite et...
Le devoir et les bienséances ne sont pas toujours d’accord.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: ANNÉES 1774 à 1776
p. 10No individual date printed
Receiving favors from someone is a surer way of binding him to us than doing him a favor. The sight of a benefactor is often irksome; the sight of a man to whom we have done good is always pleasant. We love our own work in him.
To wish to do without all other men and be obliged to no one, a sure sign of a soul without feeling.
Always to defy propriety is the mark of a base or corrupt soul; to be its slave on every occasion, of a petty soul and...
Duty and propriety do not always agree.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · ANNÉES 1774 à 1776 · Entry 5
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.