Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II
Complete Notebooks · French with an independent English translation.
Explore the LexiconSwipe or use the arrow keys.
French Page · Branch 2946 of 4529
According to Plato · Entry 6727
French
p. 589121 septembre.
Tout ouvrier (et Dieu lui même) trouve quelque chose d’imparfait et qui lui résiste dans la matière qu’il met en œuvre. C’est de là que vient le travail. L’argile est trop molle pour le sculpteur et ne peut souffrir le ciseau; le marbre est trop dur et n’obéit pas à la main; l’airain est trop cassant et a besoin d’être fondu.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: According to Plato
p. 5892September 21.
Every worker (and God himself) finds something imperfect and resistant to him in the matter he puts to work. This is where labor comes from. Clay is too soft for the sculptor and cannot bear the chisel; marble is too hard and does not obey the hand; bronze is too brittle and needs to be melted.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II · According to Plato · Entry 6727
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.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.