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 6793

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French Page · Branch 3012 of 4529

According to Plato · Entry 6793

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 6023

24 octobre.

Fleury. premier discours.

I. Ægri somnia. Des philosophes. Voyez Varron.

II. Mahomet. Ignorant et éloquent; éloquent dans sa propre langue. Sa religion : « Sans mystères ».

III. Historien « dont le style montre de la vanité » a peu de poids.

IV. Abrégés. Voy. pag. 11 ce qui en fait l’inutilité.

V. Epithètes (défendues). C’est au lecteur à qualifier les personnages et même les événemens.

VI. « Esprits élevés » et « esprits forts ». Vid. pag. 16.

VII. « Se contenter (dit-il) de ce que Dieu veut que nous scachions. » Pag. 19.

VIII. Longueur des livres « introduit l’ignorance » parce qu’elle décourage la curiosité.

IX. Point d’épithètes. Pag. 21.

X. J.-C. n’a rien écrit. Enseigner et dicter. La divinité inspire et dicte. C’est aux disciples à écrire.

XI. « Mais la perte de tant d’écrits précieux n’est pas arrivée sans cette même providence sans laquelle un passereau ne tombe pas à terre. » Pag. 30.

XII. « Mots nouveaux » furent introduits pour expliquer les mots anciens.

XIII. « Discipline ». A subi plus de changemens que la doctrine. Pourquoi. Vid. pag. 33.

XIV. « Vie chrétienne ». Véritable vie philosophique, enseignée à tous les hommes et pratiquée par des peuples entiers.

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

p. 6024

October 24.

Fleury. first discourse.

I. A sick man’s dreams. Of philosophers. See Varro.

II. Muhammad. Ignorant and eloquent; eloquent in his own language. His religion: “Without mysteries.”

III. A historian “whose style shows vanity” carries little weight.

IV. Abridgments. See page 11 for what makes them useless.

V. Epithets (forbidden). It is for the reader to characterize the people and even the events.

VI. “Elevated minds” and “strong minds.” See page 16.

VII. “To be content (he says) with what God wishes us to know.” Page 19.

VIII. The length of books “introduces ignorance” because it discourages curiosity.

IX. No epithets. Page 21.

X. J.-C. wrote nothing. To teach and to dictate. The divinity inspires and dictates. It is for the disciples to write.

XI. “But the loss of so many precious writings did not occur without that same providence without which a sparrow does not fall to the ground.” Page 30.

XII. “New words” were introduced to explain old words.

XIII. “Discipline.” Has undergone more changes than doctrine. Why. See page 33.

XIV. “Christian life.” True philosophical life, taught to all men and practiced by whole peoples.

T324.This introductory fragment remains Joubert’s text and the first of fifteen paragraphs in one unit; it is not promoted to an invented book title. The precise external edition is not identified here.

T683.The reading-circumstance paragraph and all fourteen Roman paragraphs remain separate. The intact October 24 follows October 31 and is not reordered. Premier begins lowercase after Fleury. The Latin ligature and its terminal period are italic; the Roman I. and all surrounding French remain roman. Epithètes begins with an unaccented capital E, whereas the later lowercase épithètes retains its acute. Scachions, événemens and changemens remain literal. The quotation boundaries, fragmentary subjects, repeated éloquent, negative restrictions, and periods after Pourquoi remain as printed. The page references 11/16/19/21/30/33 belong to the reading note; they are not dates or entry numbers in this edition. No quotation is corrected against an external text.

T325.The italic Latin Ægri somnia receives a fresh translation. The same phrase occurs in Horace’s Ars poetica, verse 7, within the directly read opening passage 1–23. This parallel does not identify the following Varro reference or show who supplied its association. The separate Of philosophers and See Varro fragments remain; no particular Varro text is verified.

T326.Muhammad is the conventional English name for source Mahomet. Both eloquent formulations and the quoted nominal description remain. The judgments belong to the excerpt, without an added account of doctrine or literacy.

T327.The internal quotation remains bounded, and carries little weight preserves the judgment of authority. A complete indexed primary excerpt from Fleury’s first discourse reproduces the vanity phrase in a discussion of historical credibility. Its direct page opens failed: this is an indexed-excerpt control, not a reading of the full discourse, the named 1763 volume or Joubert’s copy. The particular edition used by Joubert remains unidentified.

T328.The nominal opening and external page reference remain. The page is not linked to page 11 of Joubert’s book; its particular edition remains unlocated.

T329.The prohibition stays parenthetic. Characterize renders qualifier contextually; even retains the extension from people to events without inserting a rule about named adjectives.

T330.Both quoted phrases keep the common minds. Strong minds can carry the historical freethinking sense of esprits forts; the pair is not silently replaced with a modern psychological classification. The external page remains unverified.

T331.The infinitive, parenthetic attribution inside the quotation and divine wish remain. The unnamed he is not assigned a new identity beyond the introductory context.

T332.The quotation is limited to introduces ignorance, and because states the given cause. Length remains singular despite plural books.

T333.The brief prohibition remains a fragment and the page remains an external reference; no link is fabricated.

T334.The source initials remain, without silently expanding them in the text. The middle infinitives and the teaching/dictation/inspiration/writing distinctions remain.

T335.Both without constructions and the small-bird comparison remain inside one quotation. No biblical verse or exact Fleury edition is claimed from the familiar image alone.

T336.Only new words is quoted. The passive past and explanatory purpose remain; the sentence does not identify an inventor or particular vocabulary.

T337.The finite fragment, comparison and Why followed by a period remain. No governing subject is inserted into the second sentence and no change of doctrine is inferred.

T338.The initial quotation ends before the nominal explanation. All men and whole peoples retain their different collective scopes, and taught/practiced remain distinct.

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.