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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Facing Pages · Branch 2785 of 3781
[On Voltaire.] · Entry 2785
French
p. 5569[…] février (mardi gras, le bonhomme matin.)
Du plaisir que les hommes goûtent à se sentir instruire. Il suffiroit à leur bonheur. En être cause devroit aussi suffire à notre ambition. Mais nous voulons éblouir. Il ne nous suffit pas d’être chéris, d’être utiles. Une douce lumière imperceptiblement insinuée dans les esprits y porte une joye qui s’y augmente par la réflexion. Luisons comme la lune, renonçons à trop de splendeur.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: [On Voltaire.]
p. 5570February […] (Shrove Tuesday, le bonhomme matin.)
Of the pleasure people take in feeling themselves taught. It would suffice for their happiness. To be its cause ought also to suffice for our ambition. But we want to dazzle. It is not enough for us to be cherished, to be useful. A gentle light imperceptibly insinuated into minds brings them a joy that grows there through reflection. Let us shine like the moon, let us renounce too much splendor.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · [On Voltaire.] · Entry 2785
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.