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 6820

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French Page · Branch 3039 of 4529

According to Plato · Entry 6820

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 6077

Ils jugeoient des livres par leur goût, par leur conscience et leur raison. Nous en jugeons par les émotions qu’ils nous causent.

Ils jugeoient par le goût si un livre avoit les agrémens requis, par la raison s’il étoit conforme aux modèles, aux règles, et par la conscience s’il étoit louable ou blâmable...

Le goût qui est une espèce de conscience littéraire.

Ce livre peut il nuire ou peut il servir; est il propre à perfectionner ou à corrompre les esprits; fera-t-il du bien ou du [mal]? Grandes questions que se faisoient nos devanciers. Nous demandons : ce livre fera-t-il plaisir?

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

p. 6078

They judged books by their taste, by their conscience and their reason. We judge them by the emotions they cause us.

They judged by taste whether a book had the required charms, by reason whether it conformed to models, to rules, and by conscience whether it was praiseworthy or blameworthy...

Taste, which is a kind of literary conscience.

Can this book harm or serve; is it suited to perfect or corrupt minds; will it do good or [harm]? Great questions our predecessors asked themselves. We ask: will this book give pleasure?

T368.The unnamed they and contrasting we remain. Taste, conscience, reason and emotions are not collapsed into one faculty.

T710.All four paragraphs remain separate. The first two imperfect judgments contrast with present Nous en jugeons. The second paragraph ends with three printed dots. The third is a nominal-relative fragment. In the fourth, peut il and est il are unhyphenated while both fera-t-il forms have hyphens; source-supplied [mal] is not a reproduction loss. The semicolon-separated questions and lower-case ce after the final colon remain.

T369.The three faculties retain their different criteria, with models/rules repeated as separate objects. The final ellipsis remains open.

T370.The relative fragment remains without a new governing verb; kind of qualifies the identification.

T371.All three questions, their paired alternatives and the later pleasure question remain. [Harm] renders the printed source-editor supplement [mal], distinct from reproduction loss.

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.