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 1485 of 3781
YEAR 1799 · Entry 1485
French
p. 296913 décembre.
Etre désoccupé de soi et occupé de son devoir, — marcher au but sans saluer les assistans, — faire son personnage et non un rôle, — ne songer qu’à l’utilité (et au plaisir des spectateurs, si ce plaisir est un bien pour eux) mais ne prendre garde ni à leur froideur ni à leur sourire, détourner ses yeux de leurs yeux, oublier ce qui est en eux passager, n’ambitionner qu’une estime constante, intime, entière, enracinée et qui n’ait besoin d’aucun soin pour subsister ni de peu pour s’établir, l’attendre et ne pas y songer; vouloir être approuvé, mais seulement une fois dans la vie et pour toujours, et non pas à toute heure et pour un moment; — s’inquiéter de ce que les autres penseront à la fin, mais nullement de ce qu’ils pensent; perdre la vanité et la sagesse des enfans, n’être inquiet ni de l’humeur ni de la mine des XXX, comme si on étoit à l’école ou à la cour; être homme et cesser d’être un fat; — enfin, aller droit, mais sans réversion, — dites le lui pour l’an 1800.
Nota bis idem. — Ne pas contenter tout le monde.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: YEAR 1799
p. 2970December 13.
To be unoccupied with oneself and occupied with one’s duty, — to walk toward the goal without greeting the onlookers, — to be one’s own character and not play a part, — to think only of usefulness (and of the spectators’ pleasure, if that pleasure is a good for them), but to heed neither their coldness nor their smile, to turn one’s eyes from their eyes, to forget what is fleeting in them, to aspire only to an esteem that is constant, inward, entire, rooted, and needs no care to endure nor little to establish itself, to await it and not think of it; to wish for approval, but only once in a lifetime and forever, and not at every hour and for a moment; — to care what others will think in the end, but not at all what they think; to lose the vanity and the good behavior of children, to be anxious neither about the mood nor the look of the XXX, as though one were at school or at court; to be a man and cease to be a fop; — finally, to go straight ahead, but without turning back, — tell him so for the year 1800.
Nota bis idem. — Not to please everyone.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · YEAR 1799 · Entry 1485
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.