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← ExitThe Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II

Reading language

1812

July […]5.

This painting (of Henry IV) not being intended precisely to [represent] the figures, but the action or the event [a blank]. In [this] case, one or two likenesses suffice, especially for [posterity], which can know only one or two of these faces. Henry IV [is] known, Marie de Médicis is not, nor Louis XIII, nor etc. [Louis] XIV is very well known.

May […]7.

It is possible for the human mind to imagine very wicked and very unhappy [beings] as learned. People do speak of “evil [spirits].”

July […]9.

Without temper (and without a temper as strong as one’s character), one has character only in the mind.

Why the highest praise one can give a painted figure is to say that “it breathes.” Deep and extensive meaning of this word. Life and repose, movement and balance; the innocence of this moment, completeness, fullness, truth, perfection. Then the individual has its nature and resembles it.

July 30.

When one has feared too much what happens, one ends by feeling some relief when it has happened.

If he had in composure and patience what he has in excess in activity and vivacity, he would be one of the foremost artists in the world.

August 1.

A moderation incompatible (since it must be said) with lively and frank sincerity.

August […]4.

The ideas of eternity and space have something divine, and not those of pure duration and mere extension.

Everything that looks antique is beautiful; not everything that looks old is beautiful:

A wall of a million toises can bore because, in the uniformity of its surface, it offers only an object at once bounded and extended. A rotunda of a few feet can charm by its dimension, because everything in it can present an existence amid immensity. If a point appears surrounded by space, if a ruin offers a single trace of indestructibility, that single trace and that single point make a great impression. The grandiose is measured not by the object’s dimension, but by the feeling one receives.

August 5.

Mystical. Everything that belongs to an order of refined ideas or feelings, or to an overly subtle language, partakes of the mystical. “Feeling admires and reason is silent,” by J.-J. Rousseau, concerning those two vile lovers of Lyon, is ridiculously mystical. The mystical is in its place only in religious ideas and feelings. This extraordinary style then becomes natural, simple, easy to understand and to speak.

August 8.

Montesquieu. A hopping about of thoughts, reason that gambols; the other at least plays only with words and is light only in mind.

T214.The opening participial fragment and the source-editor blank remain; both words a blank correspond to italic un blanc within roman brackets. Likenesses, faces and differing recognition are not converted into the people’s importance. [Represent], [this], [posterity], [is] and [Louis] interpret représenter, ce, postérité, est and Louis at the damaged source residues. The partial day remains incomplete. No painting title or artist is supplied.

T523.Only the day suffix 5 is secure. The beginnings before enter, e cas, ité, st and ouis are damaged; représenter / ce / postérité / est / Louis are contextual possibilities only. The intact initials of these residues remain qualified for edge abrasion. The parenthetic Henri IV and all Roman numerals retain their source forms. The opening n’étant remains a participial fragment. The source editorial [un blanc] is present; both un and blanc are italic inside roman brackets. No missing predicate is supplied in French.

T215.The possibility and three qualities remain, with learned predicated of the very wicked and unhappy beings. [Beings] and [spirits] interpret […]tres and […]énies as êtres and génies; spirits concerns the supernatural comparison, not exceptional artistic talent. No cosmology is inserted. The source’s damaged May date remains May despite its position among July entries.

T524.The source date reads […]7 mai within this July sequence; mai is not changed to juillet. The initial components before tres and énies are lost; êtres and génies are contextual possibilities only. Scavans has plain c; méchans retains its spelling.

T216.The repeated temper and character, parenthetic degree and final restriction remain. Temper renders humeur as disposition, with a force that may include unevenness or caprice; it does not require anger or comedy. The historical dictionary supports the range, not a unique explanation of this maxim. The missing portion of the day remains unfilled.

T217.The opening Why formulation retains its period, followed by nominal explanation and the ordered qualities. This moment follows ce moment. The breathing figure is not supplied a name, date or interpretation. Its nature remains the referent of the final it, following the reference of lui to nature; the individual and nature are not conflated.

T526.The interrogative opening ends with a period, followed by nominal formulations; no question mark or predicate is supplied. The partly abraded initial p in peinte, m in moment and l’ before individu remain identifiable from their surviving contours and are qualified. Detached margin traces before mot do not certify an added word.

T218.The degree too much, eventual feeling and difference between happens and has happened remain. No event or emotional diagnosis is supplied. The qualified source reading 30 juillet is retained with its documented edge damage, rather than the earlier provisional incomplete day.

T219.The counterfactual condition and paired qualities remain. Composure interprets literal sens-froid contextually as sang-froid, supported by the 1798 dictionary’s sense of a soul undisturbed by violent passion. The source spellings sens-froid and en-patience remain unchanged. The artist is not identified.

T220.The nominal judgment, parenthetic necessity and two qualities of sincerity remain, without supplying an unnamed possessor of the moderation.

T529.The nominal formulation and parenthesis remain. The date has raised er in 1ᵉʳ; the upper mark over u in août is compressed but consistent with a qualified circumflex.

T221.The ordered pairs and negative distinction remain. Extension keeps the philosophical term for étendue; the ideas are not collapsed into synonyms.

T530.Only the terminal 4 is secure before août; the disconnected preceding marks do not establish whether a full earlier digit was printed. The accent over u is compressed and remains qualified. A thin low horizontal trace between quelque and chose resembles nearby reproduction artifacts, not a certified lexical hyphen. The repeated de and intact negative contrast remain.

T222.The antique/old distinction remains. The second universal-plus-negative formulation is rendered as partial negation: not every old-looking thing is beautiful. It does not assert that none is beautiful. The final colon follows the qualified source punctuation; no promised continuation is invented.

T223.The historical toises and contrasting feet remain without modern conversion or a supplied direction of measurement. Bounded/extended, point/ruin and repeated single remain. The grandiose and feeling render grandiose and affection in their aesthetic senses, without making the former a charge of pretension. The singular dimension and everything can retain their source scope.

T532.All quantities and units, the repeated seul / si formulations and the final contrast remain. The singular dimension, tout peut and affection are the printed words. Minor right-margin abrasion does not certify any missing whole word.

T224.The isolated opening term, repeated mystical, religious restriction and final change in the style remain. The mystical denotes the manner or register, not a newly introduced person. Vile preserves Joubert’s adverse vilains without identifying the pair or episode; the quoted Rousseau attribution is reported, not independently located. The 1762 dictionary supports religious figurative and refined spiritual usage, without authenticating the quotation or supplying its context.

T533.The August 5 date and roman Mystique remain. The quotation closes after tait, before the attribution; J.-J. is not expanded. The wrapped raf-/finés has two f. Amans and sentimens retain their spelling; n’est à sa place que remains intact. A detached low stroke after the final sentence does not certify an additional punctuation mark.

T225.The hopping/gamboling image, unidentified other and two restrictions remain. Light retains the evaluative metaphor rather than being replaced by stupid or frivolous throughout.

T534.August 8, the nominal opening and unnamed l’autre remain. Both ne...que formulations and the semicolon are preserved.