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 1811 · Entry 6154

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French Page · Branch 2373 of 4529

YEAR 1811 · Entry 6154

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 4745

20 mars.

Il faut aussi que les airs soient tels que la beauté de la voix puisse s’y montrer. Et il en est ainsi de tous les autres ouvrages où il est bon qu’on voye non seulement la beauté qui doit leur être propre, mais aussi l’excellence de la main qui les a faits. Dans les ouvrages de Dieu, les plus beaux sont non seulement ceux qui paroissent les plus propres à remplir leur fonction, mais ceux qui paroissent le plus divins.

Le complément de tout ouvrage pris en soi cause de la satisfaction. Mais c’est toujours l’idée de l’ouvrier qui cause l’admiration. La trace du travail, l’empreinte de l’art, si tout le reste est achevé, sont donc un agrément de plus. Il faut donc que le talent traite tous ses sujets et dispose tous ses ouvrages de manière à pouvoir s’y montrer sans affectation. Simul denique eluceant opus et artifex.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1811

p. 4746

March 20.

The airs must also be such that the beauty of the voice can show itself in them. And so it is with all other works, in which it is good to see not only the beauty that should be their own, but also the excellence of the hand that made them. Among the works of God, the most beautiful are not only those that seem best suited to fulfill their function, but those that seem most divine.

The completion of any work taken in itself causes satisfaction. But it is always the idea of the maker that causes admiration. The trace of labor, the imprint of art, if all the rest is finished, are therefore one charm more. Talent must therefore treat all its subjects and arrange all its works so as to be able to show itself in them without affectation. Simul denique eluceant opus et artifex.

T42.The beauty of the work and the excellence of its maker’s hand remain distinct. The second not only construction distinguishes fitness for function from an appearance of divinity. No stronger claim than seem is substituted.

T189.Two physical paragraphs remain; the second continues at the top of page 698. The first paragraph retains voye and the contrast between les plus propres and le plus divins. Thin horizontal traces after soi do not certify an added hyphen or punctuation mark. The Latin concluding sentence alone is italic, including its period, and is not completed or attributed from another text.

T43.Completion renders complément in relation to the finished work; satisfaction and admiration remain different responses. Trace and imprint preserve the signs of making, and talent remains the subject that treats, arranges and shows itself. The concluding Latin is retained and italicized as printed: literally, Let work and maker, then, shine forth together. No external author or source copy is assigned.

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.