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 7882

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English Page · Branch 4101 of 4529

YEAR 1818 · Entry 7882

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 8201

Tous les livres écrits dans un autre idiome que le nôtre ne peuvent nous être connus que par quelque traduction, soit par celle qu’on nous en fait, soit par celle que nous nous en fesons nous même.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1818

p. 8202

All books written in an idiom other than our own can be known to us only through some translation, either the one made for us or the one we make of them ourselves.

S3.Source editor’s annotationFirst version: “We know no foreign book except through translation, either the one we make of it ourselves when we possess its language, or through another’s translation when we cannot read or understand the original.”

T110.The universal all, restrictive only, some and two alternatives remain. Ourselves retains the emphatic reflexive, and the claim is not narrowed to published translations.

T119.The negative restriction, emphatic ourselves, possess-language condition and read/understand alternative remain. The grammatical change from the one to through another’s follows the variant’s uneven coordination.

T352.The universal and restrictive forms, quelque, both soit alternatives and repeated nous remain. Literal fesons and singular même without a hyphen are not normalized. The peu-/vent wrap is complete. Raised 3 follows même before the period.

T353.One roman quoted version literally reads connaissons and faisons with ai, unlike the main text’s historical forms; color/native 409 confirm the letters. Singular même and the uneven soit/ou par coordination remain. The possé-/dons wrap is complete and the period precedes the closing guillemet.

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.