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 1824 · Entry 8237

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English Page · Branch 4456 of 4529

YEAR 1824 · Entry 8237

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 8911

26 janvier.

Oter aux lois leur vétusté. C’est les rendre moins vénérables. Et même si on est réduit à en substituer de nouvelles et de jeunes aux anciennes, il faut donner à celles-là un air d’antiquité par l’expression, par la tournure, etc. Le style cursif et ordinaire ne convient point à des nomes tels que les loix doivent l’être et le paroître.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1824

p. 8912

January 26.

To take their age from laws. That is to make them less venerable. And even if one is reduced to replacing the old ones with new and young ones, one must give the latter an air of antiquity through expression, through phrasing, etc. A cursive and ordinary style does not suit nomes such as laws must be and appear to be.

T5.The opening infinitive, less, even-if concession, new/young pair, necessity and be/appear distinction remain. Their age renders vétusté without assuming that Joubert means useless obsolescence. Cursive preserves the running-style term provisionally. Nomes retains the uncommon printed term. The complete 1798 Académie entry records law and ancient poetic/musical senses, including a prescribed cadence; a resonance between law and ordered song is possible here but remains interpretive. The word is not silently changed to normes. The separate 1798 Académie Cursive entry concerns running diplomatic handwriting; it does not by itself establish the figurative style sense here. Canonical French retains plain Oter and nomes, first lois and later loix, and qualified paroître with its circumflex. The complete January 26 date and one roman paragraph remain; no lexical reproduction loss is asserted.

T12.Original-size color and native 448 support plain Oter: a detached thin trace above the capital does not establish a circumflex. The literal word nomes has a plain o; no r is inserted and no accent is supplied. The final paroître has a recognizable circumflex, with the reproduction contours retained as qualified. The first lois differs from the later loix. The whole long paragraph, complete line wraps, repeated par phrases and both être/paroître predicates remain roman and unbroken. No lexical reproduction loss is identified.

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.