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 2283 of 4529
YEAR 1810 · Entry 6064
French
p. 456519 février.
Et la morale de ce temps ne se montra pas moins sévère que sa […]térature. « ... à quoi bon (disoient-ils) et pour quel chimérique des[…]in s’est-il fait sans nécessité l’historien de la fable? Quelle étrange […]anie d’enseigner exprès le paganisme pour former une âme chré[…]enne! Comment en composant un ouvrage si profane conserver la […]té de Dieu agissant immédiatement sur les facultés de l’âme! » Et […]ette politique éblouissante dont le livre est rempli ne les séduisoit […]oint. « Plût au ciel... (disoient-ils)... mais les peuples sont ils capa[…]les de se comporter en enfans et d’être gouvernés par un père? » […]t celui qui parloit ainsi... Tant il est vrai que les foux même avoient […]lors plus de sagesse que n’en ont aujourd’hui les sages même, parce […]u’ils participoient aux opinions de leur siècle, comme nous parti[…]ipons aux opinions du nôtre qui est insensé.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1810
p. 4566February 19.
And the morals of that time proved no less severe than its […]térature. “... to what purpose (they said) and for what chimerical des[…]in has he needlessly made himself the historian of fable? What a strange […]anie to teach paganism expressly to form a chré[…]enne soul! How, in composing so profane a work, preserve the […]té of God acting immediately on the faculties of the soul!” And […]ette dazzling politics with which the book is filled did not […]oint seduce them. “Would to heaven... (they said)... but are peoples capa[…]les of behaving as children and being governed by a father?” […]t the one who spoke thus... So true is it that even fools had […]lors more wisdom than even the sages have today, because […]u’ils shared in the opinions of their age, just as we parti[…]ipons in the opinions of ours, which is senseless.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II · YEAR 1810 · Entry 6064
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.