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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English Page · Branch 2172 of 3781
[ON KANT.] · Entry 2172
French
p. 434331 août.
Son livre seroit donc très bien appellé Critique ou discernement de ce qui (dans nos pensées) appartient à notre esprit seul et non aux objets du dehors.
Vraie grammaire philosophique.
Nous voyons donc le temps en nous.
L’objet de la morale est le devoir. La fin est la vertu. Sa vertu propre et le bonheur d’autrui, voilà la double fin de l’homme. [Le] bonheur est [sa] destination suprême. Ce n’est pas ce qu’il doit chercher; mais seulement ce qu’il peut obtenir et attendre s’il en est digne.
La loi règle l’action. La morale règle la règle.
Il faut que chaque homme ait en soi une force qui fasse plier ses actions même les plus secrettes à la règle. Chacun doit être le magistrat, le roi, le juge de soi-même.
Bienveillance infinie, bénéficence ou bienfaisance bien réglée. (Il veut que l’amour et la haine ne puissent pas être ordonnés; pourquoi pas?)
Point de vertu sans de l’ascendant sur soi-même.
Ἀπάθεια : espèce d’inébranlabilité indispensable à la vertu.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: [ON KANT.]
p. 4344August 31.
His book would therefore very aptly be called Critique or discernment of what (in our thoughts) belongs to our mind alone and not to external objects.
True philosophical grammar.
We therefore see time within ourselves.
The object of morality is duty. Its end is virtue. His own virtue and the happiness of others, there is man’s double end. Happiness is [his] supreme destination. It is not what he ought to seek, but only what he can obtain and expect if he is worthy of it.
Law governs action. Morality governs the rule.
Every man must have within himself a force that makes even his most secret actions bend to the rule. Each must be his own magistrate, king, judge.
Infinite benevolence, well-regulated beneficence or well-doing. (He holds that love and hatred cannot be commanded; why not?)
No virtue without ascendancy over oneself.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · [ON KANT.] · Entry 2172
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.