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 IIUNDATED · Entry 8302

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French Page · Branch 4521 of 4529

UNDATED · Entry 8302

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 9041

62. (Calepin vert.)

Quiquonque vit dans des temps incertains a beau être ferme, invariable dans ses principes, il ne peut pas l’être dans toutes leurs applications; ferme dans ses plans, dans sa marche, il ne pourra garder toujours ni les mêmes résolutions ni les mêmes chemins. Il faut qu’il abandonne aux vens (cela veut dire aux circonstances) quelques parties de lui-même, qu’il laisse flotter ses cheveux et tienne la tête hors d’atteinte. Je le compare à ces gros arbres, à ces noyers dont les rameaux viennent et vont pendant l’orage, se ployant et se laissant fléchir en haut, en bas, à droite, à gauche, agités dans toutes leurs feuilles quoique leur tronc reste immobile. Il y a dans cette comparaison une image de moi qui me plaît parce qu’elle excuse en me les expliquant des variations que je n’aime ni en moi ni dans les autres.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: UNDATED

p. 9042

62. (Green pocket notebook.)

Whoever lives in uncertain times may be firm, unchanging in his principles, but he cannot be so in all their applications; firm in his plans, in his course, he will not always be able to keep either the same resolutions or the same paths. He must abandon some parts of himself to the winds (that is, to circumstances), let his hair float, and keep his head out of reach. I compare him to those great trees, those walnut trees whose branches come and go during the storm, bending and yielding upward, downward, to the right, to the left, shaken in all their leaves though their trunk remains motionless. In this comparison there is an image of myself that pleases me because, by explaining them to me, it excuses variations I like neither in myself nor in others.

S3.Source editor’s annotationAn undated loose leaf found in the green pocket notebook. Very labored handwriting, in ink; crossings-out.

T109.The distinction between principles and applications, repeated firm and same, self-explaining parenthesis, hair/head image, four directions, motionless trunk and first-person self-criticism remain. The comparison explains and excuses variations without approving them. The source note’s undated loose-leaf description stays separate. Whoever contextually interprets the anomalous literal Quiquonque; French is not normalized and no reproduction-loss bracket is introduced. The may...but construction gives the concessive a beau. French retains vens and plaît with its circumflex; plural branches and leaves remain distinct from the singular trunk. The main body is roman, and source call 3 belongs to the item heading after 62 before its period.

T112.The source editor identifies an undated loose leaf and its physical writing features. No date is inferred from the notebook or handwriting. French retains plain initial Ecriture. English renders qui se trouve with participial found and retains the first terminal period and later comma and semicolon; the complete annotation is roman. Its source call belongs to the item heading rather than the end of the walnut-tree paragraph.

T248.In the French source, printed item 62 is one long roman paragraph. Original-size color and native read anomalous Quiquonque, with q descender after Qui followed by u; no normalization to navigation Quiconque. Literal vens and final plaît with circumflex remain. The concessive a beau, repeated firm/same terms, necessity coordination, four directions and singular trunk remain. The parenthetic explanation is inline main text. Heading call 3 follows 62 before its baseline period; the Calepin vert label and undated annotation supply no date.

T249.In the French source, complete roman source-editor description with plain capital Ecriture. The leaf is explicitly undated; notebook color and handwriting do not establish a date.

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.