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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Facing Pages · Branch 111 of 3781
YEAR 1786. · Entry 111
French
p. 221Quand Saint Ambroise composa le chant qui porte son nom, les théâtres étoient encore ouverts. Ils ne furent fermés pour jamais qu’après que Rome eût été prise et saccagée par Attila. Cinquante ans après, saint Grégoire régla le chant qu’on appelle grégorien. Il est d’autant plus probable que ces chants eclésiastiques ressemblent au chant des théâtres que les plus sévères écrivains parmi les Chrétiens avoient décidé qu’on [ne] pouvoit employer ce chant prophane aux louanges de Dieu.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: YEAR 1786.
p. 222No individual date printed
When Saint Ambrose composed the chant that bears his name, the theaters were still open. They were closed forever only after Rome had been taken and sacked by Attila. Fifty years later, Saint Gregory regulated the chant called Gregorian. It is all the more probable that these ecclesiastical chants resemble the chant of the theaters because the severest writers among the Christians had decided that this profane chant could [not] be used for the praises of God.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · YEAR 1786. · Entry 111
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.