Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II
Complete Notebooks · French with an independent English translation.
Explore the LexiconSwipe or use the arrow keys.
English Page · Branch 2950 of 4529
According to Plato · Entry 6731
French
p. 5899En effet, rien ne peut être beau dans la matière (ou dans les choses matérielles, comme les mots, les sons, etc.) que par l’impression de la pensée ou de l’âme. Excepté la lumière, belle par elle-même ou plutôt par l’impression de son principe immédiat qui est Dieu — peut-être.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: According to Plato
p. 5900Indeed, nothing can be beautiful in matter (or in material things, such as words, sounds, etc.) except through the impress of thought or of the soul. Except light, beautiful in itself, or rather through the impress of its immediate principle, which is God — perhaps.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II · According to Plato · Entry 6731
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.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.