Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I
Complete Notebooks · French with an independent English translation.
Explore the LexiconSwipe or use the arrow keys.
English Page · Branch 803 of 3781
YEAR 1797 · Entry 803
French
p. 160510 mai.
C’est un songe, si vous voulez; mais un tel songe qui rend heureux et qui rend d’autant plus heureux qu’il approche plus de sa fin parce qu’alors il se renforce, il est plus vif, plus occupant et plus entier pour ainsi dire. Un tel songe, encore une fois, ne vaut-il pas mieux que les autres, que ceux de l’amant, de l’avare etc. Nous ne survivons point à celui-ci. Ce doux délire [dure] autant que notre existence et ainsi donc, selon vous-même, cette opinion est un rêve agréable dont on ne s’éveille jamais. Selon nous, c’est encore un bien plus grand; elle est un avant gout une [certitude] d’une éternelle félicité.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I: YEAR 1797
p. 1606May 10.
It is a dream, if you wish; but such a dream as makes one happy, and all the happier the nearer it comes to its end, because then it grows stronger, is more vivid, more absorbing, and more whole, so to speak. Such a dream, once again, is it not worth more than the others, than those of the lover, the miser, etc. We do not outlive this one. This sweet delirium [lasts] as long as our existence, and thus, according to you yourself, this opinion is a pleasant dream from which one never wakes. According to us, it is a still greater good; it is a foretaste a [certainty] of eternal felicity.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume I · YEAR 1797 · Entry 803
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.