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Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition

Joseph Joubert

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I

Complete Notebooks · French with an independent English translation.

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The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I[On Voltaire.] · Entry 3146

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Facing Pages · Branch 3146 of 3781

[On Voltaire.] · Entry 3146

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French

p. 6291

« La parole est le bien de l’ouïe » (dit Plutarque), comme la lumière est le bien de nos yeux. Et Nota. le bien du toucher (les femmes). Le bien du goût (ou du tact du gosier) : est-ce le liquide ou le solide, ou l’aliment mère des deux? Le bien de l’odorat : l’encens dans les temples des dieux....

6291

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: [On Voltaire.]

p. 6292

“Speech is the good of hearing” (says Plutarch), as light is the good of our eyes. And Nota. the good of touch (women). The good of taste (or of the throat’s sense of touch): is it the liquid or the solid, or the food that is mother to both? The good of smell: incense in the temples of the gods....

6292

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.