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 7343

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French Page · Branch 3562 of 4529

YEAR 1815 · Entry 7343

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 7123

23 mars.

Ecrire ses vuës ou ses apperçus, ses idées, mais non pas ses jugemens. Nos jugemens mettent des bornes à nos vuës. Quelques clôtures, mais point de murs. L’homme qui écrit toujours ses jugemens place partout devant ses yeux des calpé et des abyla. Il ne va pas plus loin et fait des nec plus ultra. Donc, dans l’étude de la sagesse, beaucoup de vuës et peu de jugemens.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1815

p. 7124

March 23.

To write one’s views or insights, one’s ideas, but not one’s judgments. Our judgments set bounds to our views. Some enclosures, but no walls. The man who always writes his judgments places calpés and abylas everywhere before his eyes. He goes no farther and makes nec plus ultras. Thus, in the study of wisdom, many views and few judgments.

T167.The infinitive, alternatives, explicit but-not and final many/few remain. Bounds, enclosures, walls and the named limiting images are not collapsed. The source visibly reads italic calpé and abyla, verified in a native crop; English adds ordinary plural s to the generalized names without emending French. Nec plus ultras retains the Latin expression as an English plural noun: in this context its literal no-further force, rather than merely the finest example, matters. Canonical French italicizes calpé alone, then abyla. and nec plus ultra. including their periods. English plural counterparts preserve the words; the moved sentence period after the abyla counterpart requires explicit metadata treatment. No unverified identification is added.

T532.The complete date 23 is retained. Ecrire opens with plain capital E. All three vuës forms have paired upper e components at the qualified color level. Apperçus retains double p, and every jugemens retains the historical ending without t. The juge-/mens wrap is complete. Clôtures retains its qualified circumflex. Original-size color/native 358 show literal lowercase calpé and abyla, with an acute on final é in calpé and a clear y descender in abyla. No normalized place-name spelling replaces either form. In the French source, Calpé alone is italic before roman et; abyla. and nec plus ultra. each include their terminal periods within the italic run. The intervening French remains roman. The initial infinitive, alternatives, negative contrasts, always/everywhere, ne...pas plus loin, Donc and final beaucoup/peu relation remain. No numerical or argumentative completion 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.