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 1808 · Entry 5594

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English Page · Branch 1813 of 4529

YEAR 1808 · Entry 5594

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 3625

29 février.

« Souvent même (c’est Ch[éni]er qui l’a dit et il est fâcheux que ce soit lui, car cela est bien dit) souvent l’art oratoire consiste à éviter les mouvemens. » (Les mouvemens de l’éloquence même.) Il ajoute : « Mais l’art exige toujours l’élégance, et la régularité des formes, la clarté, la justesse et l’heureux accord des idées et des expressions. » (Voyez Discours à l’Empereur, 26 février.) Je ne vois, dans tout le reste du discours, que Ch[é]n[ie]r et son paraphe.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1808

p. 3626

February 29.

“Often indeed (it is Ch[éni]er who said it, and it is unfortunate that it should be he, for it is well said) often oratory consists in avoiding movements.” (The movements of eloquence itself.) He adds: “But art always requires elegance, and regularity of forms, clarity, correctness, and the happy agreement of ideas and expressions.” (See Address to the Emperor, February 26.) In all the rest of the address, I see only Ch[é]n[ie]r and his signature flourish.

T119.The two source-supplied name forms Ch[éni]er and Ch[é]n[ie]r retain their distinct brackets. Movements keeps the rhetorical term and its repeated explanatory parenthesis without restricting it to bodily gestures. Signature flourish renders paraphe. The February 26 reference belongs to the paragraph, not to a second entry date; Address to the Emperor translates the printed Discours à l’Empereur. The parenthetical objection to the speaker remains Joubert’s.

T517.The two supplied name forms are printed differently, Ch[éni]er and Ch[é]n[ie]r, and both are retained; their bracket placement was checked in enlarged facsimiles. The repeated souvent, separate parenthesis after the first quotation, and comma after élégance are preserved. The February 26 reference is internal to the main paragraph, not a new date heading.

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.