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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English Page · Branch 3601 of 3781
[Malebranche.] · Entry 3601
French
p. 7201H [ ] dit que « la matière est sœur de Dieu ». Non, elle n’en est pas la sœur. Elle en est l’ongle et le cheveu, si je puis ainsi m’exprimer. Il n’est point d’être qui n’ait en lui quelque chose qui n’est pas lui. Dieu est semblable à tous les êtres, car il s’est peint dans ses ouvrages. La matière est son instrument; il l’a eu toujours avec lui. C’est l’instrument de sa puissance, le rejet de sa force, le [supplément] de son essence. Elle sert à créer les âmes, comme le monde à les loger, et la vie à les éprouver. C’est la carrière dont l’éternité est la fin et le ciel est la récompense.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: [Malebranche.]
p. 7202H [ ] says that “matter is God’s sister.” No, it is not his sister. It is his nail and his hair, if I may express myself so. There is no being that does not have within it something that is not itself. God resembles all beings, for he has painted himself in his works. Matter is his instrument; he has always had it with him. It is the instrument of his power, the offshoot of his strength, the [supplement] of his essence. It serves to create souls, as the world serves to house them, and life to test them. It is the course whose end is eternity and whose reward is heaven.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · [Malebranche.] · Entry 3601
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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.