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.

Explore the Lexicon

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II1812 · Entry 6392

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

Facing Pages · Branch 2611 of 4529

1812 · Entry 6392

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 5221

[…]7 juin.

La lune et ses humides influences. Et en effet si, comme ils le […]isent, elle exerce une telle action sur les repos et les mouvemens de […]’océan, elle en doit exercer quelque autre sur la génération, la durée […]t le cours de tout ce qui est humide; sur les sèves, sur les nuages, […]ur les pluyes, etc. Ses croits et ses décroits doivent y causer quel[…]ues différences.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: 1812

p. 5222

June […]7.

The moon and its moist influences. And indeed, if, as they [say], it exerts such an action upon [the] ocean’s rests and movements, it must exert some other action upon the generation, duration [and] course of everything moist; upon the saps, upon the clouds, [upon] the rains, etc. Its waxings and wanings must cause [some] differences in them.

T199.The nominal opening, conditional claim and as they say remain. The ensuing must belongs to Joubert’s inference; no modern scientific verification is claimed. Plural rests, saps, rains, waxings and wanings retain the unusual number. Brackets interpret the source residues as disent, l’océan, et, sur and quelques. The before ocean marks the contextual lost article; the intact ocean remains outside it. The croits and décroits spellings remain literal in French. Only the terminal 7 of the day is secure.

T508.Only the terminal 7 survives securely in the day; the preceding disconnected strokes do not certify a full digit. The openings of […]isent, […]’océan, […]t, […]ur and quel[…]ues are damaged and remain uncompleted. The apostrophe before océan and the initial surviving u are qualified for abrasion. Croits and décroits have dot-like marks over i, with horizontal reproduction artifacts elsewhere; no circumflex is certified. Pluyes and mouvemens retain their literal spellings. The nominal opening, conditional argument and repeated sur / ses 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.