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 7221

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Facing Pages · Branch 3440 of 4529

YEAR 1815 · Entry 7221

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 6879

La vieillesse, voisine de l’éternité, est une espèce de sacerdoce et, si elle est aussi sans passion, elle vous consacre. Elle semble donc être authorisée à opiner sur la religion; mais avec défiance. avec crainte. Si on n’a plus alors de passions, on en a eu et on a (sic) les habitudes. Si on est voisin de Dieu, on a gardé les impressions de la terre. Enfin on s’est longtemps trompé. Il faut craindre de se tromper encore et surtout de tromper les autres.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1815

p. 6880

Old age, a neighbor to eternity, is a kind of priesthood and, if it is also free of passion, it consecrates you. It therefore seems entitled to pronounce on religion; but with mistrust. with fear. If we then have no more passions, we have had them and we have (sic) their habits. If we are close to God, we have kept our impressions of the earth. Finally, we have long been mistaken. We must fear being mistaken still and, above all, misleading others.

T2.The neighbor/priesthood/consecration images, conditional freedom from passion and tentative seems remain. The source has on en a eu et on a (sic) les habitudes: and retains the intact et, and the printed source-editor sic remains after have. No explanation of the source editor’s intended correction is inferred. The unusual period after défiance and following lowercase avec are preserved as mistrust. with fear. Generic we renders the recurring on, while consecrates you preserves vous. Self-error and misleading others remain distinct. Only sic is italic; its parentheses remain roman. The source’s authorisée is not modernized.

T407.The whole passage remains one paragraph. The conditional si clauses, apparent authorization, negative ne...plus, past en a eu versus present on a and final self/other distinction are retained. Authorisée literally has h; no modern spelling replaces it. Original-size color and native pixels support the anomalous baseline period after défiance followed by lowercase avec; it is retained without assigning authorial intent. The source sic alone is italic, with its parentheses roman; it follows the printed on a, which is not emended. The folded si/être/crainte/habitudes/la/tromper beginnings remain identifiable at the qualified color level.

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.