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 6057

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English Page · Branch 2276 of 4529

YEAR 1810 · Entry 6057

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 4551

Il y a des temps qui n’ont pas d’historiens parce qu’ils n’ont pas d’histoire; d’autre dont l’histoire est embrouillée et confuse parce que les événemens l’ont été : et les événemens sont confus quand ils ne naissent pas les uns des autres, qu’ils n’ont pas de causes connues et naturelles.

Des historiens qui n’ont pas l’humeur ou le caractère de leur sujet, qui parlent d’un temps serein avec un style sombre et qui feroient méconnoître à leurs personnages les temps où ils ont vécu; enfin qui placent des faits véritables sous un ciel faux et hors de leurs vrais paysages.

Toutes les belles histoires annoncent un esprit serein : animo deducta sereno (Ovide).

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1810

p. 4552

There are times that have no historians because they have no history; others whose history is tangled and confused because the events have been so: and events are confused when they do not arise from one another, when they have no known and natural causes.

Historians who do not have the mood or character of their subject, who speak of a serene time in a dark style and would make their characters fail to recognize the times in which they lived; finally, who place true facts beneath a false sky and outside their real landscapes.

All beautiful histories reveal a serene mind: animo deducta sereno (Ovid).

T30.Times and history repeat without choosing a particular period. Others follows the plural sense of the printed d’autre, whose singular spelling remains in French. Have been so retains the earlier confusion of events; the events’ arising from one another and their known and natural causes remain distinct.

T125.Three physical paragraphs remain. D’autre is singular as printed. The second paragraph remains nominal and retains its chain of relatives, conditional feroient and historical landscape imagery. The concluding italic Latin in the enlarged facsimile supports animo deducta sereno, with final a in deducta. The excerpt and attribution remain without completing a larger quotation. Thin horizontal traces above ou and near the final serein resemble the surrounding reproduction artifacts; no extra accent or hyphen is certified from them.

T31.The nominal chain of Historians who remains without a main clause. Mood and character stay distinct. The conditional would make their characters fail to recognize retains the effect on the figures in the histories, not an asserted failure of the historian. Serene time, dark style, false sky, and real landscapes retain Joubert’s imagery.

T32.The Latin animo deducta sereno means drawn from a serene mind. The three words occur in Ovid, Tristia I.1.39, where they qualify poems; the next line contrasts the poet’s own clouded heart. Joubert applies the shortened extract to histories. The omitted noun and verb are not supplied, and the Latin alone retains the source italics. The bounded electronic Latin passage was read; no critical apparatus or particular source copy was collated.

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.