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 397 of 4529
YEAR 1805 · Entry 4178
French
p. 7935 juin.
(A propos de l’Esai sur le beau, par le p. André.) I. Quand on demande à quelqu’un : qu’est-ce que le beau? naturellement il rentre en lui même et cherche quels sont les sentimens qu’il éprouve en voyant ce qui est beau, plus porté à définir le beau par l’impression constante qu’il produit que par les spectacles divers qu’il peut offrir. C’est là le procédé involontaire et nécessaire de l’esprit : et c’est la voye qu’il faudroit suivre et tenir dans cette espèce de recherche.
II. Ce n’est pas l’idée du beau, mais l’idée du sentiment que le beau fait invariablement éprouver qui est fixe et constante dans les esprits.
III. Quant à l’idée du beau en lui même, il n’y a que deux choses qu’on puisse s’en figurer et qu’on s’en figure constamment : la clarté et la splendeur, le lumineux éclatant, c’est à dire ce qu’il y a de plus semblable au divin.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1805
p. 794June 5.
(On the Essay on the Beautiful, by Father André.) I. When someone is asked: what is the beautiful? he naturally turns inward and seeks the feelings he experiences on seeing what is beautiful, more inclined to define the beautiful by the constant impression it produces than by the various sights it can offer. That is the mind’s involuntary and necessary procedure: and that is the path one should follow and keep to in this kind of inquiry.
II. It is not the idea of the beautiful, but the idea of the feeling that the beautiful invariably makes one experience, that is fixed and constant in minds.
III. As for the idea of the beautiful in itself, there are only two things one can picture of it, and constantly does picture: clarity and splendor, the brilliantly luminous, that is, what is most like the divine.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II · YEAR 1805 · Entry 4178
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.