Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II
Complete Notebooks · French with an independent English translation.
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English Page · Branch 2957 of 4529
According to Plato · Entry 6738
French
p. 5913[…] septembre.
Oui, il faut dans les arts et dans tous les arts ce que Gr[i]m[m] […]pelloit « un vernis de fausseté ». C’est ce vernis qui « d’une aven[…]re » (ou d’une chose) « commune fait » (une chose ou) « une […]enture rare et merveilleuse », comme il le remarque fort bien. Ne […]rnissons-nous pas nos bois, ne les teignons-nous pas pour nos […]partemens? Quant au marbre, sa surface est toute pleine d’illusions pour les mettre au jour il nous suffit de le polir.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: According to Plato
p. 5914September […].
Yes, in the arts and in all the arts one needs what Gr[i]m[m] [called] “a varnish of falsity.” It is this varnish that “from an [adventure]” (or a thing) “that is common makes” (a thing or) “an [adventure] rare and marvelous,” as he very well remarks. Do we not [varnish] our wood, do we not stain it for our [rooms]? As for marble, its surface is full of illusions, and to bring them to light we need only polish it.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II · According to Plato · Entry 6738
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.