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 2991 of 3781
[On Voltaire.] · Entry 2991
French
p. 5981Mais il y a de certains élans qui nous viennent de l’âme seule. Ont-elles toutes la même agilité?
Il y a aussi de certains sentimens (du beau, du bon, etc.) qui ne viennent que de notre âme. Toutes ont-elles aussi la même finesse de tact, la même susceptibilité?
— Des yeux plus beaux, des regards plus perçans, comme des bêtes à gros yeux et à orbites évasés. — Têtes ailées ou têtes d’anges, qui représentent assés bien de pures âmes.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: [On Voltaire.]
p. 5982But there are certain impulses that come to us from the soul alone. Do all [souls] have the same agility?
There are also certain feelings (for the beautiful, the good, etc.) that come only from our soul. Do all [souls] also have the same delicacy of touch, the same susceptibility?
— More beautiful eyes, more piercing gazes, like beasts with large eyes and flaring sockets. — Winged heads or angels’ heads, which represent pure souls well enough.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · [On Voltaire.] · Entry 2991
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.