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 7355

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English Page · Branch 3574 of 4529

YEAR 1815 · Entry 7355

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 7147

« Il y a (dit le grave Gilbert lui même) des grâces qui ne se trouvent point, si on ne les cherche ». Et il remarque fort bien que « ces grâces qui ne se trouvent point si on ne les cherche » sont déduites le plus souvent « de la bonne imitation ». « Que dis-je? (ajoute-t-il) il faut de l’air pour atteindre même à cette noble simplicité qui a tant d’attraits. » Et en effet « cette simplicité n’est qu’un luxe de plus », comme Fontanes l’a dit d’un autre.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1815

p. 7148

“There are (says the grave Gilbert himself) graces that are not found if one does not seek them.” And he observes very well that “these graces that are not found if one does not seek them” are most often drawn “from good imitation.” “What am I saying? (he adds) One needs air to attain even that noble simplicity which has so many attractions.” And indeed “this simplicity is only one luxury more,” as Fontanes said it of another.

T181.All bounded quotations, the repeated search formulation, grave/himself, most-often qualification and questioning self-correction remain. Air preserves the visible l’air, checked in an original-size crop; it is not silently emended to l’art or imported from an external quotation. The canonical source also retains that difficult literal reading. English moves the periods of the first and third quotation spans inside their closing marks, and omits the first source conditional comma; it retains the different fourth-quotation period placement. The final another is not assigned a named referent. No exact Gilbert or Fontanes locus is authenticated; the English is newly translated.

T544.In the French source, all five distinct quotation spans retain their printed boundaries. The first and third periods follow their closing guillemets; the fourth period precedes its closing guillemet; the final quotation is followed by a comma. The first internal conditional has a comma after point, while its repeated form does not. Original-size color/native 359 visibly read l’air, with separate i/r and no final t; no contextual substitution of l’art is made. The parenthetic reporting clauses, unhyphenated lui même, repeated negatives, le plus souvent, même, tant and final restrictive n’est qu’un remain. At the left margin vent after trou-, grâces, le, il, tant and plus retain qualified identifiable foreground initials, distinct from adjacent show-through. The ordinary trou-/vent wrap is complete. All text is roman.

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.