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 6300

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French Page · Branch 2519 of 4529

1812 · Entry 6300

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 5037

Bonhomme et très bonhomme; mais qui n’a pas assés de bonté pour […]ant de bonhommie. Il faudroit être aussi bonhomme qu’homme bon, […]ussi homme bon que bonhomme; et qu’il y eût entre ces qualités une telle correspondance que la conversion entre ces épithètes pût se faire parfaitement avec vérité et justesse.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: 1812

p. 5038

Good-natured, and very good-natured; but without enough goodness for [so much] good nature. One ought to be as good-natured as one is a good man, [as] much a good man as good-natured; and there should be such a correspondence between these qualities that the conversion between these epithets could be made perfectly, with truth and exactness.

T63.Good-natured/good nature and good man/goodness preserve the repeated bonhomme/bonhommie and homme bon/bonté contrast and reversed comparison. Period senses overlap: bonhomie combines goodness of heart with outward simplicity, while bon homme may praise or criticize according to tone. Good nature therefore does not mean mere cheerfulness; the English preserves Joubert’s demand that these qualities correspond. Conversion retains the logical language, and exactness renders justesse. [So much] and the second [as] render contextual tant and aussi from […]ant and […]ussi; the first aussi is intact. No lost French letter is restored.

T409.The first component before ant and the first letter before ussi are lost at the left edge; tant and aussi are contextual possibilities only. The earlier intact aussi is unchanged. The initial u of une and s of se are partly clipped but retain recognizable shapes. The nominal opening, repeated bonhomme/homme bon in reversed order, conditional faudroit and subjunctives eût/pût remain. Assés retains its printed spelling.

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.