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 176 of 4529
YEAR 1805 · Entry 3957
French
p. 351Oui : mais c’est ici une chose qui ne peut se montrer et qui, pour être bien enseignée, exige autant d’intelligence de celui qui apprend que de celui qui instruit.
De la remémoration. Vieux mot très juste. L’esprit fait alors ce que fait le chien chasseur en repassant sur toutes ses traces, affin de retrouver la voye.
Il faut donc bien que la pensée soit quelque chose et qu’elle laisse d’elle même quelque trace ou quelques fumées, puisque nous avons le pouvoir, en nous remettant en quête, en revenant sur ses brisées, de la rattrapper quand elle a fui.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1805
p. 352Yes: but here is a thing that cannot be shown and that, to be well taught, requires as much intelligence in the learner as in the teacher.
Of recollection. An old and very exact word. The mind then does what the hunting dog does in retracing all its tracks to find the trail again.
Thought must therefore indeed be something and leave some trace or droppings of itself, since we have the power, by taking up the hunt again, by returning along its broken branches, to catch it again when it has fled.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II · YEAR 1805 · Entry 3957
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.