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 2253 of 3781
[ON KANT.] · Entry 2253
French
p. 4505Cette ennuyeuse question de la perfectibilité devroit être réduite à ces termes : 1° la perfection humaine (telle que nous pouvons la concevoir et que nous sommes portés à la désirer) a-t-elle existé dans quelque homme, oui ou non? 2° existe-t-elle ou a-t-elle existé dans un aussi grand nombre d’hommes qu’il est possible? L’affirmative sur la première partie et la négative sur la deuxième seroit certainement conforme aux idées de la plupart des hommes, mais les partisans de la perfectibilité ne conviennent pas de la première et pensent que la nature humaine elle-même n’est qu’au premier point de son développement — et qu’avec le temps et des livres comme les leurs, les plus petits hommes pourront avoir 20 pieds de haut, les plus débiles vivre 100 ans et les plus sots avoir de l’esprit comme Voltaire.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: [ON KANT.]
p. 4506This tedious question of perfectibility ought to be reduced to these terms: 1st, has human perfection (as we can conceive it and are inclined to desire it) existed in any man, yes or no? 2nd, does it exist or has it existed in as many men as possible? An affirmative answer to the first part and a negative answer to the second would certainly accord with most men’s ideas, but the partisans of perfectibility do not concede the first and think that human nature itself is only at the first point of its development — and that with time and books like theirs, the smallest men will be able to stand 20 feet tall, the weakest to live 100 years, and the stupidest to have wit like Voltaire.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · [ON KANT.] · Entry 2253
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.