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← ExitThe Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II

Reading language

YEAR 1816

February 24.

At every age, at all times, on every occasion and in every matter, to oppose what draws one away from God.

February 28.

Buffon has what is needed: genius for the whole and intelligence for the details.

February 29.

Good sense is knowing what one must do, a sound mind knowing what one must think.

March 1.

You arrive in Egypt. One person is struck by its appearance, its climate, the memories of its history. This is the learned man or the man of intelligence. The other looks for, and sees at a glance, where he can set up his bivouac or his [...]. This is the man of good sense. You advance toward Tintira. The man of intelligence looks for its monuments; the man of good sense, water and roots. Both do well; and let us conclude. Let us conclude: for the good of society there must be many men in whom good sense predominates and a few men who are dominated by their intelligence.

Of the kind of mind suited “to the government of great states.” It is the great mind, the mind that always governs and determines itself by the general laws of goodness and justice. For those alone are great, universal, suited to all times.

March 4.

Cause of the ascendancy of those of whom one can say that “they will not listen to reason.”

It is not a strong head but strong reason that one must praise, that one must honor in others and that one must desire for oneself. Often what is called a strong head has only strong unreason.

March 5.

The art or the gift of seeing invisible things as regards substances or as regards modes is what makes men of intellect and true metaphysicians.

or of picturing them to oneself, especially spiritual things, such as the soul, God, etc., as thought, memory, judgment, etc. One says sure judgment, a fortunate memory, a pure soul.

The gift of seeing or picturing substances to oneself is far superior to that of picturing modes, of which it is easier to speak without clarity, without exactness.

Metaphysics without clarity is a candle stub without light, a mere candle-snuff.

March 6.

False metaphysics produces only candle stubs that cannot give light.

March 7.

To represent to oneself and to represent to others under a form it does not have, but which makes it better seen (what is abstract or invisible) — that is imagination.

March 23.

Voltaire is full of ornaments that, if they are not in bad taste, set a bad example. “Who inhabit and ravage this globe.” And this globe in place of the proper word.

Brilliant and delicate faults.

March 30.

Voltaire. Has the style of “momus.” Momus is his true Apollo. What he has done best is his mummeries. When he is grave, it is “serious Momus.”

T39.All four universal circumstances and the infinitive remain. One gives English support to the otherwise unstated person drawn away without supplying an identified speaker or event.

T223.The complete day 24, plain initial A and four universal terms remain. The infinitive is not supplied with a subject or finite predicate.

T40.The whole/details opposition and genius/esprit distinction remain. Intelligence renders esprit here as the faculty attending to particulars; no specific work or independent assessment of Buffon is supplied.

T41.Good sense and a sound mind distinguish bon sens from bon esprit, while both obligations and the do/think opposition remain. The second copula stays unexpressed. Historical scavoir is not silently modernized in French.

T225.The complete day 29 and both scavoir spellings remain. The second clause keeps its omitted est and repeats the complete sca-/voir at the line wrap.

T42.The shifts between you and the two travelers remain, as do the three first impressions, the practical and monumental searches, and both do well. Intelligence renders esprit consistently within this paragraph; good sense remains distinct. Both repeated invitations to conclude and the many/few contrast remain, with dominates/dominated preserving the reversal. The printed bracketed ellipsis after his remains unresolved; no shelter or equipment is supplied. Tintira is retained without identifying or modernizing the place.

T226.The full day 1 has raised er. Egypte has plain capital E, and scavant/Tintira/monumens remain literal. Both ou forms are retained with no certified grave on the first in the original-size crop. The source visibly prints square brackets containing three baseline dots after ses; [...] is a printed omission, distinct from current reproduction gaps represented by […]. The whole long paragraph remains one unit. Both concluding imperatives, Tous deux, beaucoup/quelques, active domine and passive soient dominés remain; all left starts are identifiable at the color-page scale. No military or ancient-geographical identification is supplied.

T43.The nominal opening, bounded quotation, great repeated and reflexive self-direction remain. Always, alone and all times retain their scope. The general laws are those of goodness and justice; no political system is added. English puts the period inside the quotation under American style.

T227.In the French source, the nominal opening, quoted phrase with period after its closing guillemet, lowercase états, historical loix, both reflexives and feminine plural celles-là remain. The margin initials and tou-/jours wrap are abraded but identifiable.

T44.The nominal cause remains a fragment, without an invented explanation. Will not listen to reason renders n’entendent pas raison contextually as refusal to heed reason, not a claim of deafness; the wording does not add a future event. The English period moves inside the closing quotation.

T228.The complete day 4, nominal relative construction, the French source’s unelided que before the opening guillemet and separate terminal period remain.

T45.Head retains the bodily term rather than silently replacing it with determination. The three obligations, others/oneself relation, often and restrictive only remain. Strong repeats across the head/reason/unreason distinction; unreason keeps the reason/déraison opposition.

T229.The negative contrast and final restrictive ne...que remain, with all three qu’il faut phrases and repeated forte. Louër has two distinct upper e components. The Sou-/vent wrap and remaining left starts are identifiable; no new missing word is inserted. The named 847 left-margin residues, first date, qualified en/d’authorité/sagesse, both italic circumflexes, plain ou, printed omission, louër and later dates have received bounded independent comparison agreeing with these limits; all stated contour qualifications remain.

T46.Art/gift and substances/modes remain distinct pairs. Seeing the invisible is preserved as the paradoxical faculty, and true is not omitted. Men of intellect renders hommes d’esprit in this metaphysical context.

T230.Complete day 5 heads four physically separate paragraphs with no internal separator. Paragraph 2 begins lowercase ou; its suspended infinitive is not supplied a new subject or main predicate. Repeated se figurer, both modes/substances pairs, fort/plus degrees and repeated sans remain. Original-size color shows two distinct upper e-components in spirituëlles and a peaked upper mark in sûr. The complete right-edge substances/vrais/etc./sûr/à/sans and sim-/ple wrap require no reproduction gaps. All four paragraphs are roman.

T47.The lowercase or opening and the two linked lists remain within this separate paragraph. Them is ordinary English support for the object of se figurer. The compressed relation between substances and modes is not expanded into a newly stated system. Fortunate memory retains heureuse rather than equating it with a store of happy recollections.

T48.The alternative seeing/picturing, far-superior judgment, easier and both without phrases remain. The sentence does not substitute clarity for the source’s lack of clarity.

T49.The parallel clarity/light absence and the final material reduction remain. Candle stub selects the candle-remnant sense attested alongside wick end in the complete 1762 Académie Lumignon entry; the dictionary does not uniquely choose between those senses here. Candle-snuff renders mouchure de chandelle as the trimmed end of a candle wick, supported by the complete 1798 Mouchure entry. Both electronic entries were directly read by the literary specialist; no dictionary page image was inspected.

T50.Only and cannot retain the double restriction. Candle stubs repeats the preceding lumignon image, selecting the candle-remnant sense attested alongside wick end in the complete official electronic Académie entry of 1762. The literary specialist directly read that entry; no dictionary page image was inspected.

T231.Complete day 6 remains. The restrictive ne...que and separate negative possibility remain, with literal repeated lumignons and complete right-edge peuvent.

T51.The repeated representation, self/others, absent form and improved visibility remain. The delayed parenthetic object and the abstract/invisible alternative are left in their source position rather than silently reordered into an easy definition.

T232.Complete day 7 remains. The paired reflexive/nonreflexive infinitives, soi-même hyphen, il/le pronouns, negative clause, comparative mieux, entire delayed parenthesis and dash remain. The paragraph does not identify an external object beyond its own parenthetic formulation.

T52.The conditional concession keeps the distinction between bad taste and bad example. The quoted relative clause remains without a supplied antecedent and is freshly rendered from the French, not authenticated from Voltaire. Only the later this globe corresponds to the italic phrase; the quoted occurrence is roman. The final And clause remains a fragment.

T233.Complete day 23 owns two paragraphs. The first has its full conditional negative, quoted relative fragment with period inside the guillemets and following nominal Et phrase. Only the second ce globe, outside the quotation, is italic; both adjacent Et and au lieu du mot propre are roman. Ornemens and brillans remain literal. The second paragraph is the short nominal pairing and is not appended to the first or supplied a verb.

T53.Both qualities retain their paradoxical attachment to faults. This remains a separate nominal paragraph in the same source unit.

T54.The initial name and subjectless Has fragment remain; lower-case momus in the first quotation differs from the later capital. Mummeries preserves the sound relation to Momus and the satirical judgment. The complete 1798 Académie Momerie entry gives old masquerade, affected sentiment and staged jest senses; it does not establish an etymology from Momus or make every use a literal masked performance. The literary specialist directly read the official electronic entry; no dictionary page image was inspected. English Apollo does not alter the French Appollon spelling. Both English quoted endings follow American period placement; no external Voltaire passage is supplied.