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 1815 · Entry 7220

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Facing Pages · Branch 3439 of 4529

YEAR 1815 · Entry 7220

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 6877

ANNÉE 1815

Dimanche 1ᵉʳ janvier. (A Villeneuve.)

Tout ce qui est dans l’homme un mal incurable ne mûrit point. Et rien de ce qu’il peut avoir d’angélique ne vieillit : qui a jamais pu se figurer un ange vieux? On peut tout au plus imaginer un vieux génie, mais en le supposant plus terrestre qu’aërien.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1815

p. 6878

YEAR 1815

Sunday, January 1. (At Villeneuve.)

Nothing in man that is an incurable evil matures. And nothing angelic that he may have in him grows old: who has ever been able to picture an old angel? At most one can imagine an old spirit, but only by supposing it more earthly than aerial.

T1.The incurable evil, maturing/aging distinction, rhetorical question and final restriction remain. May have retains peut avoir rather than presuming an angelic quality is present. Spirit reads génie as a supernatural being in the immediate angel/earthly/aerial comparison, rather than creative talent; the 1798 Académie entry’s spirit sense supports this contextual choice. The singular man and ensuing him retain the generic individual. The source date and place are metadata, not a second body paragraph.

T406.The separate rule and ANNÉE 1815 heading precede this entry; they do not belong to the preceding 1814 unit. The full weekday, numeral 1 and raised er are identifiable, with the place circumstance retained on the same date line. Villeneuve. is italic inside roman parentheses after plain capital A; no accent is added to A. The two negatives, direct question, tout au plus and terrestrial/aerial comparison remain. Mûrit has a raised circumflex-like component and aërien has two distinct upper e components in the original-size color view; narrow contours remain qualified. The folded left starts rien/se/génie are identifiable foreground forms despite show-through, without added gaps.

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.