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 7351

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Facing Pages · Branch 3570 of 4529

YEAR 1815 · Entry 7351

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 7139

L’enthousiasme est toujours calme, toujours lent et reste intime. […]’explosion n’est point [l’]enthousiasme et ne vient point de l’en[…]housiasme proprement dit, mais d’un état plus violent. L’enthou[…]iasme agit en spirales. Nous le portons dans nos entrailles et il les […]uit et il leur est conforme en tout.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1815

p. 7140

Enthusiasm is always calm, always slow, and remains inward. Explosion is not enthusiasm and does not come from [enthusiasm] properly so called, but from a more violent state. [Enthusiasm] acts in spirals. We carry it in our entrails, and it [follows] them and it conforms to them in everything.

T176.Both always terms, inwardness, two negations and the more-violent alternative remain. Repeated enthusiasm and the bodily spiral/entrails image are preserved without a physiological explanation. Printed [l’] before enthusiasm is a supplied French definite article; idiomatic bare English enthusiasm has no separate word corresponding to that bracket. The repeated them refers grammatically to entrails without replacing the image with a new mechanism. The lost initial in […]’explosion belongs to a French article and has no separate English counterpart in bare Explosion; no missing lexical word is asserted there. The two bracketed enthusiasm terms and [follows] contextually complete en[…]housiasme, enthou[…]iasme and […]uit. The repeated il is retained as it in both final coordinated predicates.

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.