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 22 of 3781
YEAR 1783 · Entry 22
French
p. 43Les causes du bonheur sont dans l’éducation, dans la philosophie, dans l’organisation. Le bonheur qui provient de cette dernière cause est le plus constant (dit cet auteur) et le plus difficile à ébranler ; il a besoin d’alimens ; c’est le plus beau présent de la nature.
Nota. Il cherchoit une espèce de bonheur qui fût également facile et qui pût également convenir aux riches, aux pauvres, aux sots, aux gens d’esprit, aux honnêtes gens, et même aux méchans. Recherche folle.
Une grande multitude donne aux uns le besoin de l’éloquence, et met les autres dans la nécessité d’être éloquens.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: YEAR 1783
p. 44No individual date printed
The causes of happiness lie in education, in philosophy, in bodily constitution. The happiness that comes from this last cause is the most constant (says this author) and the hardest to shake; it needs nourishment; it is nature’s most beautiful gift.
Note. He sought a kind of happiness that would be equally easy and equally suitable for the rich, the poor, fools, people of wit, honest people, and even the wicked. A mad search.
A great multitude gives some a need for eloquence and puts others under the necessity of being eloquent.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · YEAR 1783 · Entry 22
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.