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 112 of 3781
YEAR 1786. · Entry 112
French
p. 223Qu’on juge de l’art chez les anciens par ce fait ci. Sous Auguste le pantomime Bathille exécutoit un monologue qui finissoit par ces mots, Agamemnon le grand.. Bathille pour les exprimer fit tous les gestes d’un homme qui veut mesurer un autre homme plus grand que lui. Pylade lui cria du parterre : « Mon ami, tu fais bien de ton Agamemnon un homme grand, mais tu n’en fais pas un grand homme. » Le peuple voulut que, dans l’instant, Pylade jouât le même rôle. Il le fit. Et lorsqu’il exécuta l’endroit où il avoit repris si hautement son rival, il représenta par son geste et par son attitude la contenance d’un homme plongé dans une profonde méditation, pour exprimer le caractère propre d’un grand homme ; témoignant ainsi qu’un homme plus grand que les autres étoit un homme qui pensoit plus profondément qu’eux. Le peuple applaudit, etc. (Vid. l’abbé Dubos, Tome Iᵉʳ.)
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: YEAR 1786.
p. 224No individual date printed
Let this fact be a measure of art among the ancients. Under Augustus, the pantomime Bathyllus performed a monologue ending with the words, Agamemnon the great. To express them, Bathyllus made all the gestures of a man who wishes to measure another man taller than himself. Pylades called out to him from the pit: “My friend, you do make your Agamemnon a tall man, but you do not make him a great man.” The people wanted Pylades to play the same role at once. He did so. And when he performed the passage at which he had so loudly corrected his rival, he represented by his gesture and posture the demeanor of a man plunged in deep meditation, to express the distinctive character of a great man; thus showing that a man greater than others was a man who thought more deeply than they did. The people applauded, etc. (See the Abbé Dubos, Volume I.)
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · YEAR 1786. · Entry 112
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.