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 1814 · Entry 6961

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French Page · Branch 3180 of 4529

YEAR 1814 · Entry 6961

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 6359

19 mars.

Il n’y a pas là précisément une belle poësie, mais cela en donne l’idée; et tout ce qui en donne l’idée charme l’esprit.

On peut en dire autant de beaucoup de tableaux qui donnent l’idée d’une belle peinture sans qu’elle y soit. Et même de quelques livres. Anacharsis par exemple donne l’idée d’un beau livre et ne l’est pas. Racine et Fénelon eux même donnent de leur génie ou de leur âme une idée supérieure à ce qu’ils en laissent voir.

Dans l’art et dans la nature, il y a des individus et des ouvrages qui plaisent plus qu’eux même en quelque sorte parce qu’ils appartiennent visiblement à un beau genre. C’est alors l’espèce qui est belle et qui seule embellit la personne ou la chose [qui] en sont empreintes.

Il faut donc avant tout pour qu’une personne, une chose, une pro[…]ction soient belles, que l’espèce ou le genre en soient beaux. Sans […]te condition, il n’y aura pas là de beauté intérieure et qui puisse […]cher notre âme. Car il n’y a de touchant et de pénétrant que ce […]i vient de Dieu, de l’âme et du dedans.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1814

p. 6360

March 19.

There is not exactly beautiful poetry there, but it gives the idea of it; and everything that gives the idea of it charms the mind.

One can say as much of many paintings that give the idea of beautiful painting without its being there. And even of some books. Anacharsis, for example, gives the idea of a beautiful book and is not one. Racine and Fénelon themselves give an idea of their genius or their soul superior to what they let us see of it.

In art and in nature, there are individuals and works that in a sense please more than themselves because they visibly belong to a beautiful kind. It is then the species that is beautiful and that alone beautifies the person or thing [that] bears its imprint.

Above all, then, for a person, a thing, a [production] to be beautiful, their species or kind must be beautiful. Without [this] condition, there will be no beauty there that is inward and can [touch] our soul. For only [what] comes from God, from the soul and from within is touching and penetrating.

T114.The qualified denial, repeated giving-the-idea and final charm remain. No unverified poem or author is identified.

T431.The four source paragraphs remain one dated unit; paragraph 4 starts indented on page 781. Anacharsis and Racine/Fénelon are sentences within paragraph 2, not additional paragraphs. Both eux même forms are spaced with même singular. The source’s [qui] is a printed editorial bracket, retained before plural sont empreintes. Poësie has two raised components over e supporting its diaeresis. The first negative, repeated idea-giving relation, final comparative and person/thing/production list retain their scopes. The singular âme in paragraph 2 and the plural agreements in paragraph 4 are not repaired. At the damaged ordinary left margin on 781, only ction, te, cher and i remain complete after their respective losses. The wrapped pro- joins to pro[…]ction without supplying du. The earlier components of cette, toucher and qui are not restored. The final i is compact and abraded but retains a stem/dot structure; its reading is qualified. Il faut is intact, distinct from detached earlier noise. Independent full/native comparison agrees with all four residue limits.

T115.The paintings/books extension, separate And fragment, Anacharsis paradox and genius-or-soul alternative remain. The named work is not replaced by a description; no external reception claim is added. Superior describes the idea relative to what the writers disclose.

T116.The unusual please-more-than-themselves formulation and in-a-sense qualification remain. Kind/species retains genre/espèce without imposing modern biological classification. [That] corresponds to printed source-editor [qui]. English bears gives grammatical singular agreement to person or thing; the anomalous French en sont empreintes is retained literally in the French, without silent French repair.

T117.The three examples, species-or-kind requirement and conditional future remain. Both touching/penetrating predicates and all three sources remain distinct. This fourth paragraph starts physically on page 781 within the preceding unit. [Production], [this] and [touch] contextually render production, cette and toucher from pro[…]ction, […]te and […]cher; complete English words receive the brackets without restored French letters. [What] renders intact ce together with contextual qui from the damaged […]i; its bracket is broader than the missing relative word. Only renders the intact ne…que restriction outside that bracket.

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.