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 1807 · Entry 5147

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English Page · Branch 1366 of 4529

YEAR 1807 · Entry 5147

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 2731

« On est franc par caractère et vrai par principe (dit Mme de Staël). La franchise interrogée souvent ne peut garder un secret; mais la véracité étant une vertu cède toujours le pas à une vertu d’un ordre supérieur lorsqu’elle la rencontre. J’aimerois mieux (ajoute-t-elle) vivre avec un homme franc (qu’avec un homme vrai)... parce que les qualités ont pour les autres cet avantage sur les vertus qu’elles exigent moins de respect en donnant les mêmes jouissances. » Elle semble dire : — moins de travail et plus de revenu. — Cette idée est née évidemment en elle de celle du commerce et d’un emploi de fonds. Disons plus clairement : — La franchise est une qualité naturelle, et la véracité constante une vertu. On aime plus les qualités, on respecte davantage les vertus. On peut dire que la vertu est science. Aussi toute vertu cède le pas à une vertu d’un ordre supérieur quand elle la rencontre. Cela veut dire qu’un homme vertueux remplit ses devoirs dans leur ordre et fait céder les petits devoirs aux plus grands. C’est ce que ne fait pas toujours l’homme simplement bon. Nos qualités ne sont qu’un ordre sans lumière, une régularité sans règle, une doctrine sans cordeau, un équilibre sans aplomb, une harmonie dont rien ne nous bat la mesure, un instinct de ce qu’il faut être et non pas de ce qu’il faut faire.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1807

p. 2732

“One is frank by character and truthful by principle (says Mme de Staël). Frankness, when questioned, often cannot keep a secret; but veracity, being a virtue, always gives way to a virtue of a higher order when it encounters one. I would rather (she adds) live with a frank man (than with a truthful man)... because qualities have this advantage over virtues for others: they require less respect while giving the same enjoyments.” She seems to say: — less work and more income. — This idea evidently arose in her from that of commerce and an investment of funds. Let us say more clearly: — Frankness is a natural quality, and constant veracity a virtue. One loves qualities more, respects virtues more. One can say that virtue is knowledge. Thus every virtue gives way to a virtue of a higher order when it encounters one. This means that a virtuous man fulfills his duties in their order and makes the lesser duties yield to the greater. This is what the merely good man does not always do. Our qualities are only an order without light, a regularity without a rule, a doctrine without a measuring line, a balance without plumb, a harmony for which nothing beats time for us, an instinct for what one must be and not for what one must do.

T149.The quotation attributed to Mme de Staël and Joubert’s ensuing commentary occupy one source paragraph. Frank, truthful, frankness, veracity, qualities, and virtues remain differentiated. The precise external quotation has not been collated. When questioned, often cannot reads souvent with the inability to keep a secret; its proximity to interrogée also permits a different emphasis on frequent questioning.

T150.The quoted preference ends before She seems to say. Work, income, commerce, and investment remain Joubert’s economic interpretation of the preceding words. Both occurrences of yielding to a higher virtue keep the same relation; one renders the already described virtue encountered, not an unidentified person. Knowledge renders science as organized understanding, without narrowing it to a modern scientific discipline.

T151.Measuring line renders cordeau; plumb retains aplomb as uprightness or steadiness in the balance image. Order without light, regularity without rule, doctrine without a line, balance, and unmeasured harmony remain separate images. The closing being and doing retain their opposition.

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.