Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II
Complete Notebooks · French with an independent English translation.
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French Page · Branch 329 of 4529
YEAR 1805 · Entry 4110
French
p. 65722 avril.
C’est le sens qui fait l’harmonie. Et, par exemple, à cette phraze : « le bruit de vos canons réveille les morts » substituez celle-ci : « Le bruit de vos canons réveille les ports ». Et voyez comme il y a dans la première un retentissement qui manque à la seconde! C’est que dans celle-ci tout est plus vague et plus vaste pour l’attention et que dans celle là tout est plus circonscript. Les bornes de la réalité y sont. Il s’y fait un bruit plus véritable, mais il y a moins d’écho; et il y a moins d’écho parce qu’il y a moins d’espace.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1805
p. 658April 22.
Meaning makes harmony. And, for example, for this sentence: “the report of your cannons wakes the dead,” substitute this one: “The report of your cannons wakes the ports.” And see how the first has a reverberation that the second lacks! That is because in the latter everything is vaguer and vaster for the attention, and in the former everything is more circumscribed. The bounds of reality are there. A truer noise is made there, but there is less echo; and there is less echo because there is less space.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II · YEAR 1805 · Entry 4110
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.