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.

Explore the Lexicon

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume IIYEAR 1814 · Entry 7142

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

French Page · Branch 3361 of 4529

YEAR 1814 · Entry 7142

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 6721

Jeudi 1ᵉʳ décembre.

Enfans et livres. — Livres : n’en laisser lire aux enfans qu[…] sérieux dans leurs premières lectures. Ils ne s’en ennuyent pas, […] qu’ils sont pour eux une nouveauté. — Les enfans, quand ils […] bien nés; ils aiment le recueillement autant que la dissipation. — […] lecture sérieuse plait aux enfans en fixant leur attention, ce qu[…] pour eux une variété, vu la légèreté de leur âge.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1814

p. 6722

Thursday, December 1.

Children and books. — Books: let children read [only serious ones] in their first reading. They are not bored by them, [because] they are a novelty to them. — Children, when they [are] of a good disposition; they love recollection as much as distraction. — […] serious reading pleases children by holding their attention, [which gives] them variety, considering the lightness of their age.

T26.The first-reading, novelty and recollection/distraction relations remain. [Only serious ones] broadly marks the damaged qu[…] restriction and includes the intact sérieux counterpart. [Because] spans an unknown opener and intact qu’ils; [are] supplies a contextual verb in the wholly lost slot after quand ils. The unknown opening before lecture sérieuse remains […]. [Which gives] interprets ce qu[…] pour eux une variété; its verb and any missing connector are not certified, and an is construction remains possible. Of a good disposition takes bien nés in the good-inclinations sense attested for a child in the complete 1798 Académie Naître entry; family origin remains an alternative sense. The awkward semicolon after the condition is printed in the source and retained. Lightness is not turned into an attention diagnosis.

T172.The complete weekday, numeral 1 and raised er remain in the printed opening date. The source’s Enfans spelling, three dashes, colon, semicolon after bien nés and degree comparison remain. All text is roman. At the right edge only qu survives before sérieux, while no full word is certified after pas, or after quand ils. Following the third dash the article or other opening is lost; before the final pour eux only qu is certified after ce. These losses may include short grammatical words and are not completed. Plain plait has a dot-like upper mark rather than a certified circumflex; retain the literal form with contour qualification. Independent bounded comparison agrees with the recorded edge losses and qualified plain-i plait; no lost word or accent is supplied.

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.