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.

Explore the Lexicon

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume IIYEAR 1818 · Entry 7910

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

Facing Pages · Branch 4129 of 4529

YEAR 1818 · Entry 7910

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 8257

28 octobre.

Arrondissons la maxime de Nicole et disons : — C’est beaucoup scavoir que de scavoir bien dire tout ce qu’on dit.

La maxime de Nicole est celle-ci : « C’est être bien scavant que de scavoir ce qu’il faut dire aux autres. » Ajoutons : — Et à soi-même.

L’art de bien dire est l’art d’atteindre. — Mal dire ou donner un mauvais arrangement à ses paroles ou à ses pensées, c’est prendre son épée par la pointe ou par le milieu, vouloir la faire entrer par le pommeau.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1818

p. 8258

October 28.

Let us round out Nicole’s maxim and say: — To know how to say well everything one says is to know a great deal.

Nicole’s maxim is this: “To know what one must say to others is to be very learned.” Let us add: — And to oneself.

The art of speaking well is the art of hitting. — To speak badly or give a bad arrangement to one’s words or one’s thoughts is to take one’s sword by the point or the middle, to want to drive it in by the pommel.

T163.The inclusive exhortations, roundness and say/know repetitions remain. English transposes the subject phrase for readability while keeping the much-knowing claim; it does not supply an external version of Nicole. The French retains two literal scavoir forms in this paragraph; ordinary English know does not reproduce their spelling.

T386.The complete 28 governs three separate paragraphs. Scavoir/scavant and the three scavoir occurrences across the first two paragraphs retain their historical forms. The second paragraph keeps its closed Nicole quotation and separate Ajoutons fragment; the attribution is not independently authenticated here. All three paragraphs are roman. Their repeated dire, alternatives, colons/dashes and full sword image remain. The line openings have abraded but identifiable foreground letters; no extra missing words are certified.

T164.The full quotation is translated from the printed French; no independently authenticated Nicole passage is substituted. The must, learned/know relation and separate inclusive addition remain, with And and the reflexive object intact. The French retains literal scavant and scavoir. English again places the knowing phrase first while preserving the learned/know relation.

T165.The repeated art, well/badly contrast, the alternative arrangement of words or thoughts and full sword image remain. Hitting renders atteindre in the context of the following ineffective sword stroke without supplying a target. Pommel is the hilt’s end; no weapon or historical example is added.

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.