Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition

Joseph Joubert

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II

Name: The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II
Author: Joseph Joubert

Complete Notebooks · French with an independent English translation.

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The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume IIYEAR 1808 · Entry 5581

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English Page · Branch 1800 of 4529

YEAR 1808 · Entry 5581

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 3599

19 février.

Pour produire une pensée, il ne faut que de la chaleur et du mouvement; c’est à dire une conviction et un jugement; enfin une décision. Mais, pour mettre au jour une idée, il faut une notion exacte et claire et des paroles transparentes. Or, pour avoir ces notions, il faut toujours ou très souvent laisser longtemps fumer sa tête afin que l’esprit soit plus net. Il faut laisser quitter sa lie à notre premier apperçu, ce qui exige encore du temps; il faut aussi polir ses mots comme les verres se polissent.

Et d’un vers qu’elle épure aux rayons du bon sens, disoit Boileau qui avoit une grande expérience et une conscience éclairée des opérations de l’esprit. Une idée est le résultat et l’esprit (la pure essence) d’une infinité de pensées.

Une notion exacte et claire et des paroles transparentes sont deux conditions nécessaires et indispensables pour faire exister une idée. Toute expression qui n’est que juste ne peut bien exprimer qu’un jugement.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1808

p. 3600

February 19.

To produce a thought, one needs only heat and movement; that is to say a conviction and a judgment; in short, a decision. But to bring an idea to light, one needs an exact and clear notion and transparent words. Now, to have these notions, one must always or very often let one’s head smoke for a long time so that the mind may be clearer. One must let our first perception shed its lees, which takes still more time; one must also polish one’s words as glass is polished.

And with a verse that she purifies in the rays of good sense, said Boileau, who had great experience and an enlightened awareness of the mind’s operations. An idea is the result and the spirit (the pure essence) of an infinity of thoughts.

An exact and clear notion and transparent words are two necessary and indispensable conditions for bringing an idea into existence. Any expression that is merely correct can express well only a judgment.

T100.Thought and idea remain distinct throughout the entry. Heat and movement lead to conviction, judgment, and decision. The head is allowed to smoke; the image is not replaced by mental effort alone. First perception renders premier apperçu and retains the shedding of lees. Glass renders the plural verres collectively without specifying drinking vessels or optical lenses.

T101.The verse line remains joined to its prose continuation within one paragraph, without added quotation marks. With renders the instrumental d’un vers; she has no supplied antecedent within Joubert’s excerpt. Spirit retains the distillation-like force of esprit beside the parenthetical pure essence. Enlightened awareness renders conscience éclairée without turning it into moral conscience. The line occurs in Boileau’s Satire IX, À son esprit, where she refers to satire and the next line continues the construction. Joubert’s excerpt stops before that continuation.

T102.Both necessary and indispensable remain, as do exact and clear. Merely correct translates ne... que juste in the contrast between a judgment and an idea; the final only restricts what such an expression can convey well.

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 II continues the notebooks and includes seventy undated pieces. 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.