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 6433

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English Page · Branch 2652 of 4529

1812 · Entry 6433

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 5303

L’Ame. Plus ou moins prompte et plus ou moins prête, plus ou moins exercée. L’esprit entre l’âme et l’objet. L’âme vient par derrière et quand l’esprit a achevé. C’est un effet de l’habitude. Dans Chateaubriand, l’âme opère d’abord. L’âme et le génie assoupis... Chaque homme a de l’un et de l’autre; mais... (Fontainebleau.)

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: 1812

p. 5304

The Soul. More or less prompt and more or less ready, more or less practiced. The mind between the soul and the object. The soul comes from behind and when the mind has finished. This is an effect of habit. In Chateaubriand, the soul acts first. The soul and genius drowsing... Each person has something of both; but... (Fontainebleau.)

T243.The nominal fragments, repeated more or less, behind/when relation and contrasting first action remain. The soul and genius are not collapsed into the mind. Both unfinished endings and the parenthetic place cue remain; no event or independently assigned date is supplied.

T549.The initial Ame has a plain capital A, unlike the subsequent lower-case âme forms. The punctuation after Ame is read as a period with nearby horizontal reproduction artifacts; its fine contour remains qualified. In the second plus ou moins, short stepped/horizontal marks appear over both o and u, alongside similar artifacts over nearby words; they do not certify a typographic accent, so plain ou is retained with qualification. Chateaubriand is plain and remains unexpanded. Minor left-edge abrasion in derrière/Chateaubriand/Chaque leaves enough structure for the qualified readings. The nominal formulations, both ellipses and final location remain within one paragraph; (Fontainebleau.) is not a new date or heading.

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.