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 637 of 3781
YEAR 1796 · Entry 637
French
p. 1273Nervorum affectus sanat febris. Les affections nerveuses ont donc pour cause quelque humeur crue et subtile que la fièvre cuit et dissipe.
L’éternement est produit par une contraction, et un relâchement subit de la membrane pituitaire, laquelle aussitôt que quelque parcelle d’humeur étrangère et vicieuse s’introduit en elle, s’irrite aussitôt et l’expulse à toute force. De là le remontement subit de tout tissu, sa redescente, l’explosion et le bruit qui en est la suite.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: YEAR 1796
p. 1274Nervorum affectus sanat febris. Nervous affections therefore have as their cause some raw and subtle humor that fever cooks and disperses.
Sneezing is produced by a contraction and a sudden relaxation of the pituitary membrane, which, as soon as some particle of foreign and corrupt humor enters it, immediately becomes irritated and expels it with all its force. Hence the sudden upward movement of all tissue, its descent again, the explosion, and the noise that follows it.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · YEAR 1796 · Entry 637
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.