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

Joseph Joubert

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I

Name: The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I
Author: Joseph Joubert

Complete Notebooks · French with an independent English translation.

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The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I[Malebranche.] · Entry 3624

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English Page · Branch 3624 of 3781

[Malebranche.] · Entry 3624

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 7247

Nature de l’homme. Elle est simple et s’ajuste à tout. Il faut y avoir égard dans les loix ou déclarations de la morale publique. Mais, dans la constitution des gouvernemens, il faut avoir [égard] aux circonstances du passé et du présent. Tenons pour assuré qu’aucun gouvernement ne peut être une simple affaire de choix. C’est presque toujours une affaire de nécessité.

Il y a des gouvernemens et des climats plus favorables, mais on ne se les procure pas à volonté. Il est bon de les connoître, car l’industrie et l’art peuvent par d’adroits supplémens introduire partout dans (quelques détails) le train de la vie humaine les douces influences des unes et des autres.

On corrige avec des poëles l’âpreté des hyvers de la Sibérie. On peut amollir et rendre toutes propices les rigueurs du despotisme en donnant au despote une humeur paternelle et des entrailles de roi. Le foyer en ce cas prête ses chaleurs au climat; l’humeur du prince, la bénignité des usages, etc. prêtent leur huile aux ressorts de l’authorité.

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

p. 7248

The nature of man. It is simple and adjusts to everything. It must be taken into account in the laws or declarations of public morality. But in the constitution of governments, one must have [regard] for the circumstances of past and present. Let us take it as certain that no government can be a simple matter of choice. It is almost always a matter of necessity.

There are more favorable governments and climates, but one cannot procure them at will. It is good to know them, for ingenuity and art can, by skillful supplements, introduce everywhere into (some details) the course of human life the gentle influences of both.

With stoves one tempers the harshness of Siberian winters. One can soften and make wholly propitious the rigors of despotism by giving the despot a paternal disposition and the entrails of a king. The hearth in this case lends its warmth to the climate; the prince’s disposition, the benignity of customs, etc., lend their oil to the springs of authority.

T176.Constitution here concerns the forming or arrangement of governments, without necessarily naming a written constitutional document. The source-supplied [égard] remains [regard]. Simple nature and the necessity of political circumstances remain distinct parts of the argument.

T177.Industrie denotes ingenuity or resourceful activity here, rather than an industrial sector. The parenthesis remains in its unusual source position between into and the course, with some details inside it. Both refers to governments and climates, despite the source’s feminine unes et autres after the masculine nouns.

T178.Poëles means stoves, not poets. The entrails of a king retains the bodily image for inward feeling or compassion; the source’s damaged roi is contextually restored in the transcription. The hearth’s warmth and oil supplied to the springs of authority remain separate mechanical and domestic images.

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.