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 1815 · Entry 7269

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French Page · Branch 3488 of 4529

YEAR 1815 · Entry 7269

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 6975

Fénelon. Les grammairiens baisent ses fautes. Avoit cet heureux genre d’esprit, de talent et de caractère qui donne immanquablement de soi à tout le monde l’idée de quelque [chose] de meilleur que ce qu’on a. C’est ainsi qu’on attribue malgré [soi] à Racine ce qui n’appartient qu’à Virgile et qu’on s’attend toujours à trouver dans Raphaël des beautés qui sont plus souvent peut-être dans deux ou trois autres peintres que dans celui-ci.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1815

p. 6976

Fénelon. Grammarians kiss his faults. Had that happy kind of mind, of talent and of character which unfailingly makes one seem to everyone to possess some[thing] better than one has. Thus, despite [oneself], one attributes to Racine what belongs only to Virgil, and one always expects to find in Raphael beauties that are perhaps more often in two or three other painters than in this one.

T64.The kiss remains physical, and Had preserves the subjectless continuation. Happy is contextual to a fortunate effect, not necessarily an inward mood. Some[thing] mirrors the printed quelque [chose] supplement across the single English word; [oneself] corresponds to printed [soi]. Only, always, perhaps, more often and two or three retain their limits. The Racine/Virgil and Raphael/other-painters comparisons are translated as Joubert’s judgments without added attribution.

T455.The printed [chose] and [soi] are roman editorial supplements; no new reproduction loss is marked. Avoit retains its absent explicit subject. The three de objects, comparative meilleur, restrictive n’appartient qu’à, toujours, plus souvent, peut-être and two-or-three relation remain. Raphaël has two distinct raised e components in the original-size color crop, with their softened contours qualified. The n’ap-/partient line wrap is complete and joined; the surviving ordinary left initials remain identifiable. All body text is roman.

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.