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 II1812 · Entry 6258

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Facing Pages · Branch 2477 of 4529

1812 · Entry 6258

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 4953

[…] février.

Cicéron ne fit pas mal. Caton fit mieux, il sauva jusqu’à la fin la […]ignité de la nature romaine. Il a laissé un bon exemple et au sur[…]lus, un malheur (dans une vie et dans le monde), vaut mieux qu’un mal.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: 1812

p. 4954

February […].

Cicero did not do badly. Cato did better; he saved to the end the [dignity] of the Roman nature. He has left a good example, and [moreover], a misfortune (in a life and in the world) is worth more than an evil.

T18.The limited initial praise and ensuing comparison remain. Saved preserves sauva. The source residue […]ignité is read contextually as dignité, rendered [dignity]. Bracketed moreover renders au sur[…]lus contextually as au surplus. Neither intervention restores missing French letters. Misfortune and evil remain distinct, with both settings in the parenthesis retained. Has left retains the source’s shift from the earlier narrative past to a laissé.

T367.The February day is lost; no digit is inferred. At the left edge the remnant before ignité does not establish its whole initial letter. The divided sur[…]lus likewise retains a gap before lus; dignité and surplus are contextual possibilities only. The initial m of the last mal is partly damaged but its surviving arches support the reading. The parenthesis and following comma, the comparative mieux and the distinction between malheur and mal remain.

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.