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 1820 · Entry 8093

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Facing Pages · Branch 4312 of 4529

YEAR 1820 · Entry 8093

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 8623

3 février.

Nous sommes gouvernés par des erreurs et des prestiges (erreurs dans les opinions, prestiges dans les hommes). La liberté, le jury, l’utilité supposée des représentations nationales sont des erreurs. Napoléon lui-même fut un prestige, et Mirabeau en fut un autre. Le premier cependant a eu quelques idées et dit quelques paroles qui annoncent de la grandeur ou du moins de la puissance personnelle. Mirabeau avoit appris les siennes; celles de Napoléon naissoient de lui. Ses exploits même ont moins vallu.

Il plut au ciel d’envoyer le prestige au sceau de l’erreur. (Et nota le double prestige, celui qui exhausse aux yeux ce qui est petit et celui qui rappetisse ce qui est grand; et la double erreur, celle qui fait paroître vrai ce qui est faux et paroître faux ce qui est vrai.)

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1820

p. 8624

February 3.

We are governed by errors and enchantments (errors in opinions, enchantments in men). Liberty, the jury, the supposed usefulness of national representations are errors. Napoleon himself was an enchantment, and Mirabeau was another. The former, however, had some ideas and spoke some words that betoken greatness, or at least personal power. Mirabeau had learned his; Napoleon’s were born of him. Even his exploits were worth less.

It pleased heaven to send enchantment to the seal of error. (And note the double enchantment, the one that raises what is small in our eyes and the one that makes what is great small; and the double error, the one that makes what is false appear true and what is true appear false.)

T10.Prestiges is rendered enchantments in its contextual illusory sense, not modern prestige. The full parenthesis, three political objects, supposed, himself, some, however and at least remain. His keeps the reference open between the preceding ideas and words. Napoleon is the conventional English form of Napoléon; no historical assessment is supplied by the editor. French retains doubled-l vallu. English had and spoke give idiomatic simple-past wording to the shared perfect a eu…et dit; the relative annoncent remains present as betoken.

T11.Seal follows literal au sceau, however unusual; no conjectural secours is silently substituted. The full parenthesis, two double formulations and all four reversals remain. Only note corresponds to italic nota; And and the surrounding parenthesis remain roman. Both source paroître forms retain their qualified circumflex contours. Our in in our eyes makes the ordinary implicit possessor of aux yeux explicit; it is not a recovered source pronoun. The qualified left starts in this paragraph are complete, with no new loss inserted.

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.