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 IIAccording to Plato · Entry 6698

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French Page · Branch 2917 of 4529

According to Plato · Entry 6698

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 5833

Dieu. L’enfant le croit semblable à l’homme; l’homme exercé le […]oit semblable à la lumière, ce qui est un bien petit progrès.

Il y a dans ces explications plus de géométrie et plus de mécani[…]e, mais non pas plus de vérité et beaucoup moins de vraisem[…]ance.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: According to Plato

p. 5834

God. The child believes him like man; the practiced man [believes] him like light, which is very little progress.

There is more geometry and more [mechanics] in these explanations, but no more truth and much less [verisimilitude].

T207.The detached God, two beliefs and semicolon remain. Practiced renders exercé without inventing a particular discipline; the smallness of the progress remains Joubert’s judgment. Only the second [believes] contextually interprets croit from […]oit; the earlier croit is intact.

T593.The two paragraphs remain separate. Only oit survives at the first broken verb opening. After mécani-, the narrow residual stroke before e does not certify a whole u; after vraisem-, only the qualified a of ance is identifiable. No missing components are restored.

T208.The two more formulations and contrasted no more/much less remain. Truth and verisimilitude are distinct, and these explanations is not given a new referent. The two brackets contextually interpret mécanique and vraisemblance from mécani[…]e and vraisem[…]ance.

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.