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 6589

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French Page · Branch 2808 of 4529

YEAR 1813 · Entry 6589

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 5615

Platon a tort : il y a des choses qui se communiquent et qui ne […]’enseignent pas. Il y en a qu’on possède manifestement sans pouvoir […]es communiquer. A la rigueur peut être on n’est scavant que de ce […]ui peut être enseigné; mais on peut être doué d’un art qui ne peut […]as être transmis. On ne peut rien enseigner de ce qui dépend du […]oup d’œil, de l’instinct, du génie, etc. L’art de se connoître en hom[…]es est de ce nombre et peut-être la haute politique aussi.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1813

p. 5616

Plato is wrong: there are things that can be communicated and cannot be taught. There are some that one manifestly possesses without being able to communicate [them]. Strictly speaking, perhaps one is learned only in [what] can be taught; but one can be endowed with an art that cannot be transmitted. Nothing can be taught of what depends on the [glance], on instinct, on genius, etc. The art of understanding [men] is among these, and perhaps high politics too.

T85.The opening judgment and distinctions among possession, communication, teaching, transmission and gift remain. Both perhaps qualifications and glance/instinct/genius stay distinct. No Platonic passage or political application is inserted. [Them] and [men] contextually render les and hommes from […]es and hom[…]es. [What] renders the combined ce qui construction, with intact ce and damaged […]ui; its English scope is broader than the damaged word alone. [Glance] renders the whole coup d’œil phrase with its damaged […]oup, while intact d’œil has no additional English noun. Missing s before ’enseignent has no separate English word in the passive taught. The second cannot expresses intact ne even though the first letter of pas is lost; no empty English bracket is added, and no French component is recovered.

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.