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 1816 · Entry 7649

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Facing Pages · Branch 3868 of 4529

YEAR 1816 · Entry 7649

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 7735

26 juillet.

(En songe.) Mes frères ou Messieurs, Pourquoi suis-je tremblant en ce moment? D’où vient que le son de ma propre voix m’effraye en l’entendant retentir en public pour la première fois et en songeant qu’elle parvient à vos oreilles? C’est que malgré moi j’aspire à vous plaire, quand je devrois ne travailler qu’à vous instruire! C’est que je pense à mon succès quand je devrois ne m’occuper que de mon devoir. Ce que j’éprouve me fait sentir deux vérités qui seront la matière de ce discours. Nous désirons ce que nous [ne] devrions pas désirer et ce sera le sujet de mon premier mot. Nous craignons ce que nous ne devrions pas craindre et ce sera mon second point. Je m’offre moi-même en exemple et mes erreurs me serviront d’expiation. La conclusion de ces premiers...

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1816

p. 7736

July 26.

(In a dream.) My brothers or Gentlemen, Why am I trembling at this moment? Why does the sound of my own voice frighten me as I hear it resound in public for the first time and think of it reaching your ears? It is because, despite myself, I aspire to please you when I ought to labor only to instruct you! It is because I think of my success when I ought to concern myself only with my duty. What I experience makes me feel two truths that will be the matter of this discourse. We desire what we ought [not] to desire, and that will be the subject of my first word. We fear what we ought not to fear, and that will be my second point. I offer myself as an example, and my errors will serve me as expiation. The conclusion of these first...

T116.The dream circumstance, alternative forms of address, both questions, first-time hearing and repeated causal explanation remain in one paragraph. Despite myself, ought and only keep their scopes. First word translates premier mot rather than silently changing it to point; the next source term is point. [Not] is a broader English rendering of printed editorial [ne] together with intact pas; it is not a reproduction loss or a claim that the full French negation was supplied. The final plural first remains unfinished, without a supplied noun. Expiation is retained rather than softened into explanation.

T284.The complete 26 is qualified by slight left abrasion but retains its identifying contours. The dream circumstance is an opening body parenthesis with a period inside, not a second date. One continuous paragraph retains both questions, the exclamation, repeated C’est que, the first-person-to-plural shift and future discourse divisions. The brackets around [ne] are printed source-editor brackets, not a current reproduction loss. The intact pas remains outside them. The final three dots are printed and the ending is not completed. Literal premier mot and second point remain distinct. The l’en-/tendant wrap is complete; the remaining left starts are identifiable in the original color despite softened strokes.

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.