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 2473 of 3781
[LOCKE] · Entry 2473
French
p. 4945Il a remis à flot le vaisseau de l’Etat, mais il ne l’a pas mis au port. — Il a remis la France à flot, mais il ne l’a pas mise au port. — Cette dernière phrase pourroit se dire dans la conversation, et la première non. Pourquoi. — 1° La métaphore est plus courte dans la deuxième, le son en est plus bref, la pensée s’y présente avec moins de prétention. Le vaisseau de l’Etat offre un déployement emphatique et donne à la phrase une ampleur, etc. D’ailleurs, etc. la lenteur etc. C’est l’extrême vivacité qui fait passer les métaphores, même dans un cercle, entre amis, en tête à tête, et que dis-je? en conversant avec soi-même.
Dans le premier cas, j’allonge ma phrase comme si je voulois atteindre à des oreilles éloignées. Dans le deuxième cas, je la resserre parce que celui auquel je parle est proche. Je fais d’ailleurs littérairement des mots ce que je fais machinalement de la voix.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: [LOCKE]
p. 4946He has set the ship of State afloat again, but he has not brought it into port.—He has set France afloat again, but he has not brought her into port.—The latter sentence could be said in conversation, and the first could not. Why.—1° The metaphor is shorter in the second, its sound briefer, the thought presents itself with less pretension. The ship of State offers an emphatic unfolding and gives the sentence an amplitude, etc. Besides, etc. the slowness etc. It is extreme liveliness that allows metaphors to pass, even in a circle, among friends, tête-à-tête, and what am I saying? in conversation with oneself.
In the first case, I lengthen my sentence as though I wished to reach distant ears. In the second case, I draw it in because the person to whom I speak is near. Besides, I do with words as a writer what I do mechanically with the voice.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · [LOCKE] · Entry 2473
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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.