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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 7155

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Facing Pages · Branch 3374 of 4529

YEAR 1814 · Entry 7155

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 6747

5 décembre.

Observations. — I. Il y a dans l’Ecriture beaucoup de choses [contradictoires] qui ceppendant sont toutes vraies, parce qu’il étoit nécessaire de nous entretenir par l’obscurité dans la crainte et dans le mérite de la foi.

II. Il faut insister sur ce qui est clair et glisser sur ce qui est obscur; éclaircir ce qui est incertain par ce qui est manifeste, ce qui est trouble par ce qui est serein, ce qui est nébuleux par ce qui est lucide, ce qui contente la raison par ce qui la trouble et l’embarrasse (sic).

III. Les jansénistes ont fait tout le contraire. Ils insistent sur ce qui est incertain, nébuleux, affligeant, embarrassant, et glissent sur le reste. Ils éclipsent les vérités lumineuses par elles-mêmes par l’interposition des vérités opaques.

IV. Applications. Multi vocati, voilà une vérité claire. Pauci electi, voilà une vérité obscure. Nous sommes enfans de colère, voilà une vérité sombre, nébuleuse, effrayante. Nous sommes tous enfans de Dieu qui est venu sauver les pécheurs et non les justes; il aime tous les hommes, il veut les sauver tous : voilà des vérités où il y a de la clarté, de la douceur, de la sérénité, de la lumière et une certitude évidente.

V. Rappelons et confirmons la règle : 1° il y a beaucoup d’oppositions et même des contradictions dans l’Ecriture et dans les doctrines de l’Eglise dont cependant aucune n’est fausse; — 2° Dieu les y a mises ou permises pour nous tenir par l’embarras et par l’incertitude dans la crainte et le mérite de la foi; — 3° dans l’étude et dans l’application qu’on en fait (de ces vérités opposées) il faut insister sur ce qui est clair et glisser sur ce qui est obscur; il faut éclaircir ce qui est incertain par ce qui est manifeste, ce qui est nébuleux par ce qui est lucide, ce qui est trouble par ce qui est serein; il faut tempérer ce qui effraye la raison par ce qui la rassure, ce qui est austère par ce qui est doux et ce qui effraye par ce qui console.

Faits : — I. Les Jansénistes insistent sur tout ce qui est dur, obscur, effrayant, affligeant et glissent sur le reste. — II. Ils éclipsent les vérités lumineuses et consolantes par l’interposition opiniâtre des vérités opaques, nébuleuses et effrayantes.

Ils troublent la sérénité et n’illuminent pas le trouble.

Conclusion. — Il ne faut pas [les]condamner pour ce qu’ils disent car cela est vrai, mais pour ce qu’ils taisent car cela est vrai aussi et même plus vrai (c’est-à-dire vrai) d’une vérité plus facile à saisir et plus complette dans son cercle et dans tous ses points.

La théologie, quand ils nous l’exposent, n’a que la moitié de son disque, et leur morale ne regarde Dieu que d’un œil.

Au surplus, il n’y a pas de théologien qui ne vous dise qu’en géné[…]al dans la foy tout est mystère et qui dans les détails de son système […]e vous soutienne que tout est démontré.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1814

p. 6748

December 5.

Observations. — I. There are many [contradictory] things in Scripture that are nevertheless all true, because it was necessary, through obscurity, to keep us in fear and in the merit of faith.

II. One must insist on what is clear and glide over what is obscure; clarify what is uncertain by what is manifest, what is troubled by what is serene, what is nebulous by what is lucid, what satisfies reason by what troubles and embarrasses it (sic).

III. The Jansenists have done quite the contrary. They insist on what is uncertain, nebulous, distressing, perplexing, and glide over the rest. They eclipse truths luminous in themselves by interposing opaque truths.

IV. Applications. Many are called, there is a clear truth. Few are chosen, there is an obscure truth. We are children of wrath, there is a dark, nebulous, frightening truth. We are all children of God who has come to save sinners and not the righteous; he loves all men, he wishes to save them all: there are truths with clarity, sweetness, serenity, light and an evident certainty.

V. Let us recall and confirm the rule: 1° there are many oppositions and even contradictions in Scripture and in the doctrines of the Church, none of which is nevertheless false; — 2° God has placed or permitted them there to keep us, through perplexity and uncertainty, in fear and in the merit of faith; — 3° in studying and applying them (these opposed truths), one must insist on what is clear and glide over what is obscure; one must clarify what is uncertain by what is manifest, what is nebulous by what is lucid, what is troubled by what is serene; one must temper what frightens reason by what reassures it, what is austere by what is sweet and what frightens by what consoles.

Facts: — I. The Jansenists insist on everything that is harsh, obscure, frightening, distressing, and glide over the rest. — II. They eclipse luminous and consoling truths through the obstinate interposition of opaque, nebulous and frightening truths.

They trouble serenity and do not illuminate trouble.

Conclusion. — One must not condemn [them] for what they say, for that is true, but for what they leave unsaid, for that is true as well and even truer (that is to say, true) with a truth easier to grasp and more complete in its circle and in all its points.

Theology, when they set it before us, has only half its disk, and their morality looks at God with only one eye.

Moreover, there is no theologian who does not tell you that in [general], in faith everything is mystery, and who does [not] maintain to you that in the details of his system everything is demonstrated.

T46.The introductory label and internal numeral remain in the paragraph. [Contradictory] corresponds to the printed source-editor supplement [contradictoires], not a new reproduction loss. Nevertheless renders the confirmed printed ceppendant, retaining its double p only in French. Nevertheless all true, the past necessity, obscurity and both in relations remain.

T185.Ten separately indented paragraphs remain in one dated unit, the tenth continuing through the first two lines of 803 before the star. The complete 5 décembre date is visible. Roman I–V belong to the opening five paragraphs; Faits later carries its own I/II inside one paragraph. The word following Conclusion.’s dash is read as qualified Il, with a lower-case l-like second glyph, not a new certified Roman II label. No hierarchy or paragraph is added from that resemblance. The source-editor supplements [contradictoires] in paragraph 1 and [les] in paragraph 8 are literal printed brackets, distinct from the fresh reproduction losses in paragraph 10. The source shows the closing ] tightly against condamner; [les]condamner retains that adjacency, without treating les as part of the verb’s spelling. The italic sic in paragraph 2 is an inline editorial signal, not an added apparatus call. Paragraph 1 literally prints ceppendant with two successive p letters, clear in both original-size color and native 334 after the independent literary query; the earlier single-p transcription was corrected by this bounded glyph check. Paragraph 2 retains the apparently reversed final relation ce qui contente la raison par ce qui la trouble et l’embarrasse, including its printed (sic). Paragraph 3 preserves the repeated par and historical lower-case jansénistes. Paragraph 4’s Latin expressions and both French scriptural formulations are retained exactly, without replacing them from a quoted authority or adding guillemets absent in the print. The singular Dieu qui est venu remains inside the longer italic formulation. Seven italic runs are recorded: sic; the two Latin phrases through their commas; Nous sommes enfans de colère, through its comma; the longer Nous sommes tous enfans...les sauver tous : through its terminal colon; Faits alone; and Conclusion. through its period. Parentheses around sic, the colon after Faits, the numbering and surrounding exposition remain roman. The full color page, original-size italic bands and boundary punctuation have been read; independent bounded comparison agrees with all seven style boundaries, retaining their stated contour qualifications. The numbered rules in paragraph 5 keep all three ordinal marks, two dashes, parenthesis, changing clarifying order and repeated il faut. Paragraph 6 preserves capital Jansénistes and the added consolantes/opiniâtre terms. Paragraph 7 remains a separate contrast. Paragraph 8 literally has complette with tt and no accent on that e; its parenthetic true gloss and comparative plus vrai are not reconciled away. Paragraph 9 preserves both restrictive ne...que constructions and the disc/eye images. Most right-edge line endings in this block are readable in color, unlike the preceding courage paragraph. The final s/t/s in choses/étoit/dans, and later est/qui/inter-/electi/une/de/tous/la/certitude are qualified identifiable foreground forms; line-wrap hyphens are ordinary continuation marks and do not imply lost letters. The later numbered and concluding passages have intact line endings, with no extra gaps inserted from pale outer show-through. At the cross-page end, géné remains before the ordinary hyphen and only al is complete at the next opening; the intervening r is not certified. On 803’s second line only e is complete before vous; a full n is not recovered from the narrow remnant. The final words, foy and the two tout assertions remain. Complete color 803 and original-size color/native 335 continuation crops were read. Independent bounded comparison agrees with these two losses and the named qualified accent/glyph targets; no r or n is recovered.

T47.All comparative pairs remain in their printed direction, including the surprising final reversal followed by source (sic). The source italicizes sic alone, with its parentheses roman. English does not repair the reversal or supply a missing negative.

T48.The explicit contrary, all four predicates and the insist/glide contrast remain. In themselves belongs to the luminous truths, while interposing opaque truths is the means of eclipsing them. These are Joubert’s judgments, without an added historical claim.

T49.The four contrasted declarations, all degree and quantity terms, God-relative construction, sinners/righteous opposition and final five qualities remain. Many are called and Few are chosen are fresh literal renderings of the printed Latin fragments. The source’s other italic statements receive corresponding English emphasis; no quotation is silently completed from a Bible translation. Bounded Latin controls find the fuller called/chosen clause in both Matthew 20:16 and 22:14 in the consulted Clementine text; neither is uniquely assigned here, and omitted Latin words are not inserted. Ephesians 2:3 gives a qualified children-of-wrath parallel, with a past tense and an additional natura absent from the French statement. The long following declaration is not certified as one exact verse. The specialist directly read the two complete Matthew parables and Ephesians 2:1–10 electronically; no original Bible image or English wording was used.

T50.The exhortation, three inline sublabels and all repeated contrasts remain within one paragraph. None false, placed or permitted, both perplexity and uncertainty, the explanatory parenthesis and all repeated one must formulations retain their scope. The final frightens/consoles pair is not collapsed into the earlier frightens/reassures relation.

T51.Facts remains an inline label rather than a new heading or translator assessment. The internal I and II labels, all four initial qualities, the two luminous/consoling qualities and all three opaque-truth qualities remain. Obstinate retains the force of opiniâtre.

T52.The repeated trouble root preserves troublent/trouble, alongside the intact negative and illuminate image. The sentence remains its own paragraph.

T53.The prohibition is contrasted with the supplied reason for censure, not extended to negate both clauses. [Them] renders the printed source-editor supplement [les]; the French keeps its tight [les]condamner adjacency, whereas the English object follows its verb naturally. The repeated true, comparative truer, self-correcting parenthesis, circle and points remain. Conclusion is an inline italic label through its period. The following qualified Il is read as a pronoun, not a new Roman II paragraph label.

T54.Theology and morality retain separate images and both only restrictions. Disk is not replaced by an identified moon or sun; they contextually continues the Jansenists named earlier in the sequence; no individual is identified.

T55.The universal negative construction, direct you, general/detail contrast and repeated everything remain. [General] contextually renders géné[…]al without recovering the missing r. The first negative is intact; the second [not] contextually reads […]e as ne, while does is ordinary English auxiliary grammar. The paragraph continues onto 803 before its first separator; no further paragraph or completed argument is inserted.

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.