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 6196

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French Page · Branch 2415 of 4529

YEAR 1811 · Entry 6196

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 4829

7 octobre.

Balzac. Eblouï par la nouveauté. C’est cette qualité qui donnoit à ses yeux un si beau lustre au style de d’Ablancourt. Nitidusque juventâ...

Balzac : insignis dicendi copiâ, rerum ubertate et gravitate verborum et sententiarum.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1811

p. 4830

October 7.

Balzac. Dazzled by novelty. It was this quality that gave such a fine luster, in his eyes, to d’Ablancourt’s style. Nitidusque juventâ...

Balzac: distinguished for abundance of expression, richness of matter and gravity of words and thoughts.

T96.The two opening fragments remain, followed by the causal account of the style’s luster in Balzac’s eyes. The terminal Latin fragment is retained: literally, and bright with youth... The phrase occurs in Virgil, Aeneid II.473 and Georgics III.437, both in descriptions of a snake renewed after shedding its skin; these words alone do not decide which passage is recalled. The snake and omitted surrounding words are not inserted. The Latin’s printed spelling, circumflex and ellipsis are retained.

T230.Eblouï has plain initial E and two distinct dots over i. De d’Ablancourt retains both adjacent particles. The Latin remains in two separate paragraphs, and no attribution or omitted wording is supplied. The circumflex in juventâ is visible; the more compressed upper mark in copiâ supports only a qualified circumflex reading.

T97.The Latin description receives a fresh English rendering here because it is the entire statement after the name. Abundance of expression renders dicendi copia; matter, words and thoughts remain distinct, with gravity preserving gravitas. No external attribution is established, and the source’s qualified circumflex in copiâ is not replaced from an outside witness.

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.