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 IYEAR 1786. · Entry 75

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Facing Pages · Branch 75 of 3781

YEAR 1786. · Entry 75

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 149

26 juillet 1786.

Quand le peintre veut représenter un événement, il ne scauroit employer un trop grand nombre de personnages ; mais il n’en scauroit [employer] trop peu quand il ne veut représenter qu’une passion.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: YEAR 1786.

p. 150

July 26, 1786.

When a painter wishes to depict an event, no number of figures is too great; but when he wishes to depict only a single passion, no number is too small.

S2.Source editor’s annotationDuring this July of 1786, Joubert reads Félibien’s Conversations on the Lives and Works of Painters; he notes passages concerning Poussin and Leonardo da Vinci, and he notes this: “One day Aristotle’s daughter, named Pithias, was asked which color pleased her most; she answered that it was the one born of modesty on the faces of simple men without malice.” Joubert adds: “P. 47, volume II, fifth conversation.” And Paul de Raynal is wrong to give these lines as Joubert’s (section XVII, § 8).

T3.Beaunier supplies [employer] in the French. The clarified English construction, no number of figures is too great ... no number is too small, cannot reproduce that bracket naturally because it no longer uses the corresponding verb. The contrast permits abundance for an event and the fewest figures for a single passion.

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.