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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French Page · Branch 526 of 4529
YEAR 1805 · Entry 4307
French
p. 1051Du beau musical. Il faut que, pour la beauté et le mérite de la dissonance, qu’elle soit employée par un homme qui connoît l’harmonie et qui y pense en la fuyant, comme il faut pour le mérite de la caricature qu’elle soit traitée par un homme qui a en lui la connoissance du vrai type et qui y pense en s’en écartant.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1805
p. 1052Of beauty in music. It is necessary that, for the beauty and merit of dissonance, that it be used by a man who knows harmony and thinks of it while fleeing it, just as, for the merit of caricature, it must be handled by a man who holds within him knowledge of the true type and thinks of it while departing from it.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II · YEAR 1805 · Entry 4307
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.