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 1817 · Entry 7747

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French Page · Branch 3966 of 4529

YEAR 1817 · Entry 7747

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 7931

[…]3 mai.

Il n’y a de belle vieillesse que celle qui est patriarcale ou sacerdotale; et de vieillesse aimable que celle du lévite ou du courtisan. La politesse applanit les rides. La bonté et la bonne humeur servent aussi à nous dérider. Une vieillesse sourcilleuse.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1817

p. 7932

May […]3.

There is no beautiful old age except a patriarchal or priestly one; and no amiable old age except that of the Levite or the courtier. Politeness smooths wrinkles. Kindness and good humor also help to unwrinkle us. A frowning old age.

T46.The two restrictions and contrasting kinds of old age remain. Unwrinkle keeps the bodily image in dérider as well as its suggestion of cheering someone; frowning connects sourcilleuse to the brow while leaving its severity audible. Levite is retained without restricting the figure to an identified individual. The opening day […]3 remains incomplete; no missing leading digit is supplied. Frowning is a contextual choice, not a meaning uniquely established by a period dictionary.

T164.Only the terminal 3 is complete. The earlier narrow stroke remains incomplete in both color and native 395 and does not certify 1; no preceding digit is restored. The two restrictive formulations, alternative roles, repeated vieillesse and final nominal sentence remain. Applanit has doubled p. The sacer-/dotale wrap is complete; the d of dotale, L of La and a of aussi are faded at the color margin but retain identifiable shapes, without additional lexical gaps.

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.