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 1818 · Entry 7868

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French Page · Branch 4087 of 4529

YEAR 1818 · Entry 7868

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 8173

24 août.

L’esprit faux et la voix de tête. La voix de tête est plutôt le style faux. Du faux style et du style faux. L’esprit a son fausset, sa haute-contre, son ténor et son contralto.

Voix de tête et voix de poitrine.

La fausseté d’esprit vient d’une fausseté de cœur. Par la fausseté d’esprit, on vise à gauche de la vérité. C’est qu’on a secretement pour but son opinion et non pas l’opinion vraie. La fausseté d’esprit est une mauvaise disposition d’esprit, et non pas un ou plusieurs actes. On peut se tromper une fois, cent fois, mille fois, sans avoir l’esprit faux. On n’a point l’esprit faux quand on l’a sincère.

S2.Source editor’s annotationPremière version : « Un homme a l’esprit faux quand il s’est fait une habitude de penser avec son cerveau et non pas avec son âme. C’est ainsi que la voix de tête (qui ne vient pas de la poitrine) a quelque chose de faux. La pauvreté d’esprit est donc une mauvaise disposition constante soit acquise soit naturelle, et non pas un ou plusieurs mauvais actes. On peut se tromper une fois, cent fois, mille fois, et avoir l’esprit vrai. L’esprit faux est sans bonne foi. L’esprit vrai n’est pas infaillible, mais sincère. Raisonnement : espèce de machine ou de méchanique qui ne produit qu’une conviction machinale. Quand on raisonne sur le sens des mots, on applique l’instrument d’une manière convenable, utile, efficace, non autrement. »

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1818

p. 8174

August 24.

The false mind and the head voice. The head voice is rather the false style. Of false style and of style that is false. The mind has its falsetto, its haute-contre, its tenor and its contralto.

Head voice and chest voice.

Falseness of mind comes from falseness of heart. Through falseness of mind, one aims to the left of truth. It is because one secretly aims at one’s own opinion and not the true opinion. Falseness of mind is a bad disposition of mind, and not one or several acts. One can be mistaken once, a hundred times, a thousand times, without having a false mind. One does not have a false mind when one has a sincere one.

T79.The rather correction, deliberate reversal of faux style/style faux and four vocal terms remain. The French term haute-contre is retained as a technical register designation without silently equating it with a modern countertenor. The musical analogy is not reduced to dishonesty.

T323.The complete 24 août retains identifying contours in color, with native abrasion on 2 disclosed. Three separately indented roman paragraphs share this date. The short second paragraph is not a heading. The literal unaccented secretement is retained. The lexical haute-contre hyphen is retained across its wrap. Left starts faux/contre/d’esprit/but/une/On/faux remain identifiable in color despite ghost print and native damage. All repeated faux/style/esprit, the four vocal terms, two non pas clauses, one/hundred/thousand counts and final negative remain. Raised 2 belongs after sincère in paragraph 3 before the period.

T80.This nominal pair is a separate paragraph within the same entry, not a new title or dated entry.

S2.Source editor’s annotationFirst version: “A man has a false mind when he has made a habit of thinking with his brain and not with his soul. Thus the head voice (which does not come from the chest) has something false about it. Poverty of mind is therefore a constant bad disposition, either acquired or natural, and not one or several bad acts. One can be mistaken once, a hundred times, a thousand times, and have a true mind. The false mind is without good faith. The true mind is not infallible, but sincere. Reasoning: a kind of machine or mechanism that produces only a mechanical conviction. When one reasons about the meaning of words, one applies the instrument in a suitable, useful, effective way; otherwise not.”

T81.The repeated falseness, mind, opinion and aim, literal to-the-left direction, disposition/acts distinction and mounting three counts remain. The final one refers to mind; sincerely making an error is not equated with the disposition criticized here.

T87.The variant’s poverty of mind, acquired/natural distinction, true/false contrast and machine/mechanism/mechanical sequence remain. All three counts and three final qualities are kept. A semicolon separates the final elliptical negative in English. The long variant remains one annotation.

T324.One long roman quoted version remains a single annotation. The head/chest parenthesis, poverty rather than falseness, both soit alternatives, all three counts, bad acts, true/false distinction, restriction ne…que and final three qualities plus non autrement remain. Méchanique retains ch. All wrapped words and left starts remain identifiable in color.

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.