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 5827

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English Page · Branch 2046 of 4529

YEAR 1808 · Entry 5827

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 4091

22 septembre.

« Phénomène léger » et « chef d’œuvre aërien » de l’abbé Delille en parlant du colibri, vaut cent fois mieux que l’expression « bijou de la nature » employée par Mʳ de Buffon. Y. se trompe lourdement dans le journal du jour. (Vide journal de l’Empire.)

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1808

p. 4092

September 22.

“Light phenomenon” and “airy masterpiece,” used by Abbé Delille of the hummingbird, are a hundred times better than the expression “jewel of nature” used by Mʳ de Buffon. Y. is gravely mistaken in today’s newspaper. (See journal de l’Empire.)

T379.The three quoted descriptions remain separate. Light renders léger as lightness, while airy renders aërien; jewel retains the distinct comparison. Abbé and Mʳ remain French forms of address, and Y. remains unidentified. English uses plural are with the two descriptions; the printed singular vaut remains in French. The newspaper reference stays inside the main paragraph. Buffon’s phrase was checked in a later primary extract published in Léon Feugère’s 1865 anthology. An indexed anthology excerpt points to Delille’s Les Trois Règnes, chant VII, for the paired descriptions; its page was not directly verified. The cited newspaper review was not independently located.

T703.The singular vaut remains after the paired quoted formulations. The raised r in Mʳ is preserved; Y. remains unidentified. Delille has double l despite local stroke damage. The raised mark over e in aërien is compressed; independent enlarged-facsimile comparison supports a qualified diaeresis reading with compressed, joined upper marks. The ending of bijou is clipped and qualified from bijou’s surviving letter traces. The journal reference is main text, not apparatus.

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.