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 6990

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French Page · Branch 3209 of 4529

YEAR 1814 · Entry 6990

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 6417

20 avril.

Hobbes étoit, dit-on, humoriste. Je n’en suis pas surpris; c’est la mauvaise humeur surtout qui rend l’esprit et le ton décisifs. C’est elle qui nous porte irrésistiblement à concentrer nos idées. Elle abbonde en expressions vives. Mais, pour devenir philosophique, il faut que la mauvaise humeur naisse uniquement de la déraison d’autrui et non pas de la nôtre, du mauvais esprit des temps où l’on vit et non pas de notre mauvais esprit propre.

La véritable profondeur vient des idées concentrées.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1814

p. 6418

April 20.

Hobbes was, they say, moody. I am not surprised; it is bad temper above all that makes the mind and tone peremptory. It is bad temper that irresistibly drives us to concentrate our ideas. It abounds in lively expressions. But to become philosophical, bad temper must arise solely from the unreason of others, not from our own, from the ill spirit of the times in which one lives, not from our own ill spirit.

True depth comes from concentrated ideas.

T153.Moody reads humoriste in its temperamental context, not as a modern comedian. The attribution they say, first-person reaction, above all and irresistibly remain. The repeated bad temper is the feminine elle and the subject becoming philosophical; sole origin and both exclusions remain. Ill spirit renders mauvais esprit as disposition, not a supernatural being. The first paragraph continues on 784 before its separate conclusion. Peremptory renders décisifs in its unfavorable sense of categorical judgment and speech. The Académie dictionary of 1798 explicitly marks the mind and tone collocations adversely; dogmatic is another possible rendering, without a particular doctrine being named.

T462.The first paragraph continues on 784 and is followed by a distinct indented second paragraph before the next separator. Abbonde retains two b. The past étoit, present reporting dit-on and current first-person response remain; no individual pronoun is silently reassigned. The 784 continuation keeps both non pas comparisons, nôtre versus notre, and the repeated mauvais esprit. The full continuation starts at the ordinary margin with intact faut/trui/et; detached surrounding artifacts do not justify extra losses or words. The second paragraph preserves the passive-participial ideas image without an added causal claim.

T154.The separate second paragraph, true depth and concentrated-ideas relation remain, without an added causal account.

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.