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 7161

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Facing Pages · Branch 3380 of 4529

YEAR 1814 · Entry 7161

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 6759

Agir conformément à l’hypothèse. C’est ce que font souvent l’astronome et le médecin. C’est ce que peut faire aussi celui qui veut être chrétien. — « Emu par la seule supposition... » On peut l’être; on l’est même facilement. — « Entrer dans l’esprit de son rôle » ou dans celui de ses manières, de ses souvenirs ou de l’attitude qu’on prend. — On entre aussi dans l’esprit qu’exigent le lieu, et la destination qu’il a et que les autres y apportent, ou qu’on eut l’habitude d’y apporter, et qu’on y juge convenable. — Esprit du lieu, esprit du moment, esprit de l’assemblée, esprit... enfin esprit des circonstances, esprit du rôle, esprit de l’action qu’on fait.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1814

p. 6760

To act in accordance with the hypothesis. This is what the astronomer and the physician often do. This is what someone who wishes to be a Christian can also do. — “Moved by the mere supposition...” One can be so; one is even readily so. — “To enter into the spirit of one’s role” or into that of one’s manners, memories or the attitude one adopts. — One also enters into the spirit that the place and its purpose require and that others bring to it, or that one was accustomed to bring to it, and that one judges fitting there. — Spirit of the place, spirit of the moment, spirit of the assembly, spirit... finally, spirit of the circumstances, spirit of the role, spirit of the action one performs.

T64.The initial infinitive, repeated This is what, often/can/also, two bounded quotations and suspended ellipsis remain. Spirit repeats throughout the final sequence. The clauses concerning what the place and its purpose require, what others bring, what one was accustomed to bring and what one judges fitting are contextually read as sharing spirit; the embedded qu’il a describes the purpose the place has, rendered its purpose. This is a defensible reading of the compressed attachments, not a uniquely certified parse. The source comma after lieu has no counterpart inside reordered English the place and its purpose. The dash before One also enters begins at the continuation margin; the sequence remains one paragraph. The second clause after One can moves from possibility to assertion.

T191.This entire long passage is one physical paragraph. The margin dash before On entre does not begin another indented paragraph. Four dashes, both quoted spans, the printed ellipsis inside the first quotation and later esprit... remain in their exact sequence. Plain Emu and eut remain literal, with no accent inferred from expected modern spelling or tense. The astronomy/medicine pair, peut/aussi/même degrees, two alternatives and repeated esprit catalogue are preserved. The comma after lieu and the relative syntax of destination/qu’il a/que les autres y apportent remain without syntactic repair. The color view retains qualified identifiable foreground starts in nome, chrétien, l’est, celui, qu’il, apporter, moment and stances at the folded line margin. The ordinary astro-/nome and circon-/stances wraps do not create lexical losses. Native binarization degrades some of these starts more severely; the clearer color witness governs these bounded readings. Independent bounded comparison agrees with the named starts, wraps and one-paragraph topology, retaining the stated qualifications.

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.