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 1813 · Entry 6548

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French Page · Branch 2767 of 4529

YEAR 1813 · Entry 6548

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 5533

[…]0 mars.

Par la nature de notre goût, par les qualités nécessaires à un sujet […]rai ou feint pour plaire à l’imagination et pour intéresser le cœur, […]nfin par la condition donnée et par l’immutabilité de la nature […]umaine, il y a peu de sujets épiques, peu de sujets tragiques, peu de comiques. Et par nos combinaisons pour en créer de nouveaux, nous […]entons souvent l’impossible.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1813

p. 5534

March […]0.

By the nature of our taste, by the qualities necessary in a subject, [true] or invented, to please the imagination and interest the heart, [finally] by the given condition and the immutability of [human] nature, there are few epic subjects, few tragic subjects, few comic ones. And through our combinations to create new ones, we often [attempt] the impossible.

T43.All three initial grounds, true/invented, repeated few and often remain. Subject is not reduced to plot alone; combination stays distinct from free invention. [True], [finally], [human] and [attempt] interpret vrai, enfin, humaine and tentons from […]rai, […]nfin, […]umaine and […]entons. Only terminal 0 survives in the March day; no earlier digit is supplied.

T446.The surviving tall closed oval supports qualified terminal 0, but preceding date fragments do not certify another digit. The damaged openings before rai, nfin, umaine and entons do not establish vrai, enfin, humaine or tentons as recovered words. The initial c of comiques retains an identifiable open body despite intersecting artifacts and is qualified; those outside-margin traces do not certify an extra word. The repeated par/peu sequence, plural subjects and final impossible 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.