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← ExitThe Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II

Reading language

UNDATED

50 (id.)

Works (or rather kinds) that must be placed outside criticism and approval, because merely speaking of them to the public would be a scandal — and because — one soils one’s taste by applying it (were it only for a moment) to these subjects.

51 (Bundle 26.)

A deceptive voice has ruined the world and the arts by crying to us: Invent and you will live. What was ancient and known no longer sufficed for mankind; it wanted novelties and forged monsters from them, which it persists in making real.

52 (Bundle 39.)

This man’s style (they say) is not natural. I shall add: neither are his thoughts. I mean that when he thinks, it is not naturally or through a property nature gave his organs. But he thinks through effort, through artifice, through work. He forces his brain to perform an operation that does not take place in it through the natural disposition in which it finds itself, or through a modification arising from the impression some object has made on it, but through a kind of mechanism exercised by its substance by the one who possesses it. This brain is made active only by will. Thus, since it has received nothing, it gives back nothing. It has the play of thought, but not its production. One feels effort, work, care, and everything except talent. One hears the loom at work, but this loom works empty.

53 (Same leaf.)

These fine and delicate organs should perform thought only as an Aeolian harp performs sounds. Placed at the top of a tower, it resounds only when the moving air strikes it in its course and nature sends the wind toward it.

54 (Bundle 3.)

— and my imagination has a singular empire over my hands.

55 (Same leaf.)

After laying out the magnificent gardens of the Quirinal Palace, the celebrated Le Nôtre said to Pope Clement XI, who asked what he wanted as a reward: “Most Holy Father, grant me the happiness of still having passions.”

56 (id.)

Paintings do not make painters, nor do books make authors. Only impressions that come from the objects themselves have enough force to modify our bodily constitution. That is why, in countries where works are very common and artists numerous, genius is rare. Nature is necessarily the last thing one looks at there, consults, and feels the influence of.

57 (Bundle 38.)

...One sees everything through a prism. These false colors dazzle at first, but in the long run everything is more beautiful to unaided sight.

T80.The nominal topic, parenthetic correction, criticism/approval pair, necessity, merely, scandal, interrupted because and momentary concession remain. The soiling image is not softened, and no prohibited genre is identified. French retains unelided parce que en and the two dashes around et que; no extra mark beside the first dash is certified or supplied. Were it only for a moment renders ne fût-ce qu’un moment. The complete body is roman; the separate italic id. relation supplies no date.

T226.In the French source, printed item 50 is one roman paragraph, a nominal topic with relative necessity and two parenthetic qualifications. The two dashes around et que remain; the small detached trace adjacent to the first dash does not certify additional punctuation. Literal unelided parce que en and ne fût-ce remain. The separate italic id. is a group relation, not a date.

S2.Source editor’s annotationAt first: “to them.”

T81.The deceptive voice, completed ruin, world/arts, imperative/future and ancient/known versus novelties/monsters remain. Us is the main reading; the separate source note’s earlier them is not substituted. Forged retains the making image and persists the obstinacy of present s’obstine. English joins the source sentence ending genre humain to the next sentence with a semicolon, and shares it across wanted and forged where French repeats il. Only Invent and you will live. is italic, through its period, matching Invente et tu vivras.; the surrounding prose is roman. The raised annotation call follows source nous before criant, with no baseline punctuation added there.

T85.The source editor records earlier leur as an indirect-object pronoun, rendered to them in the crying-to context. It remains separate from main nous/us; no recipients are identified. The complete source annotation is roman, and English moves its terminal period inside the closing quotation mark. It remains attached to the raised call after nous rather than replacing the main reading.

T82.The reported claim, first-person future addition, three through terms, forcing, only-will limitation, nothing-received/nothing-returned and play/production distinction remain. The awkward double by in mechanism exercised by its substance by... retains both literal par forms in par sa substance par celui. Canonical collation supports those printed forms but does not settle their syntactic relation; neither is silently changed to on. Neither are his thoughts gives ordinary English expression to the redundant French negative ni ses pensées non plus ne le sont pas. Gave contextually renders perfect-subjunctive ait donnée in the subordinate clause. Loom takes métier’s mechanical image contextually while its craft/trade sense remains available; no neurological claim is added. French retains final vuide, and the entire paragraph is roman.

T229.In the French source, printed item 52 is one complete roman paragraph. The two par forms in exercé par sa substance par celui are both literal in original-size color and native; neither is silently changed to sur. The syntactic relation remains awkward and is not settled by transcription. Literal ni ses pensées non plus ne le sont pas, future J’ajouterai, subjunctive ait donnée and final vuide remain. The repeated métier and all final clause boundaries are complete; no anatomical theory or writer identification is supplied.

T83.Fine/delicate, repeated perform, both only restrictions, tower, moving air and nature-sent wind remain. Feminine singular Placée and elle refer to the harp rather than plural organs. English shares when across the two coordinated clauses where French repeats que after et; the conjunction remains. French retains faîte and envoye. The body is roman, and no physical mechanism or particular instrument is supplied.

T230.In the French source, printed item 53 is one complete roman paragraph. Original color and native support faîte with circumflex and literal envoye. Feminine singular Placée/elle refer contextually and grammatically to harpe rather than plural organes; both restrictive ne...que constructions remain. The repeated exécuter/exécute are preserved.

T84.The initial dash and lowercase and, first-person imagination/hands and singular empire metaphor remain. No action of the hands or preceding clause is invented.

T231.In the French source, printed item 54 is one roman paragraph beginning with a dash and lowercase et; no preceding thought or missing clause is reconstructed. The terminal period is present. The source-group label is separately italic.

T86.The anecdote, named pope, reward, still and plural passions follow the printed account. Its historical chronology and attribution have not been independently established; neither name is silently repaired. French retains accordés moi and unhyphenated Très Saint Père. The quoted terminal period already stands inside the French closing guillemet, as in English. The body and baseline Roman XI are roman; the separate same-leaf relation supplies no entry date.

T232.In the French source, printed item 55 is one roman paragraph. Literal Le Nôtre with circumflex, Clément XI with baseline Roman numeral, unhyphenated Très Saint Père and accordés moi with final és remain. The quotation period precedes the closing guillemet. No chronological correction or external authentication of the anecdote is made.

T87.The paired negatives, exclusive only, force and three final relations to nature remain, with and retaining their additive coordination. Bodily constitution takes organisation physiologically in this discussion of impressions and artistic capacities; it does not mean an institution. French retains assés and païs with its diaeresis. English supplies the comma before the final and; the complete body is roman.

T233.In the French source, printed item 56 is one complete roman paragraph. Literal assés and païs with paired i components remain, along with the repeated ne...pas forms, restrictive il n’y a que and subjunctive aient. All three final relative relations and complete wraps are retained; no institutional sense of organisation is asserted by transcription.

S1.Source editor’s annotationCf. December 13, 1813. Joubert adds: “How did they enter life with hatreds without offense, a resourcefulness without apprenticeship, etc.” Mr. de Saint Pierre.”

T88.The initial three printed points, unidentified one, false colors, first/long-run contrast and everything remain. Canonical collation reads simple vuë, with the diaeresis on e, rendered unaided sight. The initial points are printed punctuation rather than a reproduction loss. The raised source call follows vuë before its terminal period; the body is roman.

T96.The date belongs to the source editor’s comparison, not this undated entry. They remains unidentified. Resourcefulness takes industrie as practical ingenuity in the paired without constructions. Both closing quotation marks are printed, after etc. and after Saint Pierre., with no intervening opening mark; English retains the unmatched extra close and supplies no question mark. Baseline Xbre is rendered December in the explicit 1813 comparison. The source Mʳ has a smaller raised r, whereas English uses baseline Mr. The complete annotation is roman, and no internal destination is assumed.

T235.In the French source, one roman annotation. The explicit comparison date 13 Xbre 1813 belongs only to this source-editor reference, not the undated main item. Xbre is baseline; Mʳ has a smaller raised r. The quotation closes after etc. and again after Saint Pierre. with no intervening opening guillemet. Both closing marks are retained; no question mark is invented.