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 II1812 · Entry 6347

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English Page · Branch 2566 of 4529

1812 · Entry 6347

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 5131

Il faut avoir une âme poëtique et un esprit géométrique. Gⁿ est le […]traire de cela. Il a l’âme d’un géomètre et l’esprit fleuri d’un poëte: […] moins il tâche de l’avoir. Son caractère est compassé, son cœur est […], et sa raison par des fleurs... On l’a accoutumé aux métaphores. […] nature et ses habitudes sont entre elles à cet égard dans une per[…]uelle contradiction.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: 1812

p. 5132

One must have a poetic soul and a geometric mind. Gⁿ is the [reverse] of this. He has the soul of a geometer and the flowery mind of a poet: [at] least he tries to have it. His character is stilted, his heart is […], and his reason through flowers... He has been accustomed to metaphors. [His] nature and his habits are in this respect in [perpetual] contradiction with one another.

T122.The reversed pairing, flowery mind, qualified attempt and final contradiction remain. Gⁿ retains the source’s raised abbreviation and is not expanded. [Reverse], [at], [His] and [perpetual] render contextual contraire, au, Sa and perpétuelle from the source’s […]traire, […] moins, […] nature and per[…]uelle; the bracket on at covers the interpreted au while least renders the intact moins. No French letters are restored. The heart predicate remains unrecovered as […]; the phrase “and his reason through flowers...” remains without a supplied verb. Stilted renders compassé, exact and regulated to the point of affectation, retaining the underlying image of measured conduct. The paragraph continues onto page 717 without a new division.

T454.The paragraph continues on 717 without an intervening separator. The abbreviation G has a clearly raised lowercase n and is not expanded. Poëtique and poëte retain their visible upper pairs of dots. At the damaged left edge on 717, only traire and moins are securely readable at the first two openings. No complete word can be established before the comma following son cœur est. The opening before nature and the missing component before uelle in the wrapped final adjective are likewise unrecovered. Contraire, an introductory phrase before moins, a heart predicate, Sa and perpétuelle must not be supplied as printed recoveries. The surviving phrase et sa raison par des fleurs remains without a supplied verb, and the ellipsis is retained. The comparisons and sentence order are unchanged.

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.