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 1810 · Entry 6052

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French Page · Branch 2271 of 4529

YEAR 1810 · Entry 6052

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 4541

[…]4 janvier.

Un cagot n’est pas un homme sans foi, sans loi, sans religion; au […]ontraire, il a beaucoup de tout cela, mais il manque de conscience. […]e ciel qui l’éclaire au dehors n’a pas mis en lui une lumière inté[…]ieure extrêmement vive [blanc] ses desseins qu’il faut adorer; il est […]e maître de ses dons.

Aussi le cagot qui quelquefois au péril de sa vie ne violeroit pas […]n point religieux de la loi, violera sans scrupule ou du moins avec […]eu de résistance tel ou tel point de la morale ou de l’honneur. Il ne […]iolera pas l’abstinence des viandes, mais il ne s’abstiendra ni pour […]ui ni pour les siens des places et des dignités dont il est et dont ils […]ont indignes, incapables. Il ne connoit ni soi ni les autres, ils ne sont que ses affections; il n’est juste que pour l’Autel...

Dieu a mis sa règle hors de lui, aussi doit-il en être esclave.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1810

p. 4542

January […]4.

A bigot is not a man without faith, without law, without religion; on the […]ontraire, he has much of all this, but he lacks conscience. […]e heaven that enlightens him from without has not placed in him an extremely vivid inté[…]ieure light [blank] his designs, which one must adore; he is […]e master of his gifts.

So the bigot who sometimes at the peril of his life would not violate […]n religious point of the law will violate without scruple, or at least with […]eu resistance, this or that point of morals or honor. He will not […]iolera the abstinence from meat, but he will not abstain, either for […]ui or for his own, from offices and dignities of which he is and they […]ont unworthy, incapable. He knows neither himself nor others, they are only his affections; he is just only for the Altar...

God has placed his rule outside him, so he must be its slave.

T22.Bigot renders cagot in its historical sense of false or misconceived devotion, not necessarily modern hostility toward a group. Its range overlaps cafard in the 1798 Académie. The person expressly possesses faith, law, and religion but lacks conscience. The residues […]ontraire, […]e, inté[…]ieure, and […]e remain French; contraire, Le, intérieure, and le are possible completions. From without preserves the contrast with an inward light. The source’s blanc becomes blank, with only the word italic inside roman brackets; the missing connection to his designs is not supplied, and the pronouns are not assigned a newly named antecedent.

T23.The conditional would not violate remains distinct from the following future will violate. The residues […]n, […]eu, […]iolera, […]ui, and […]ont remain French; un, peu, violera, lui, and sont are possible completions. His own remains unspecific. The shared unworthy, incapable follows both he and they. The abrupt shift to they are only his affections and the comma before that finite clause remain; no explanation of the pronoun shift is inserted. Altar retains its capital and the final ellipsis.

T24.The rule is God’s; outside him refers to the person just described. Its slave renders en être esclave, with the rule as its antecedent. So preserves the inference in aussi, without adding a new rule or agent.

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.