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 1821 · Entry 8155

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French Page · Branch 4374 of 4529

YEAR 1821 · Entry 8155

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 8747

Sur la question du vuide. Quand un corps en déplace un autre, celui-ci fait cession de lieu et déplace un autre à son tour, et ainsi successivement. Mais le dernier corps déplacé, où se retire t’il? dans l’immatérialité ou la région où il ne déplace plus rien. Je me le disois autrefois, si à l’extrémité du monde matériel on étendoit son bras, où auroit-on sa main? Dans Dieu. Eh! nous y sommes : in ipso vivimus, movemur (moremur!) et sumus.

Movemur. Tout avance ou se recule dans son immatérielle immensité où tout est contenu. Et les bords du monde reçoivent perpétuellement quelque nouvelle découpure.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1821

p. 8748

On the question of the void. When one body displaces another, the latter yields its place and displaces another in turn, and so on successively. But the last body displaced, where does it withdraw? Into immateriality, or the region where it displaces nothing more. I used to say to myself, if one stretched out one’s arm at the edge of the material world, where would one’s hand be? In God. Ah! We are there: in him we live, are moved (moremur!) and are.

We are moved. Everything advances or draws back in his immaterial immensity, where everything is contained. And the edges of the world continually receive some new cutout.

T65.The displacement chain, last body, former self-questioning and repeated place relation remain. The Latin is freshly translated: are moved follows passive movemur, without importing published Bible wording. The parenthetic moremur! is the qualified literal canonical reading; it remains untranslated and is not silently emended to movemur or another verb. The complete Lewis and Short entry for the first-conjugation deponent moror supplies the senses remain and linger. Grammatically, moremur can be its first-person plural present subjunctive, permitting an exhortative gloss such as “let us linger!” This is a possible analysis, not an identification of Joubert’s intended force or an explanation of the parenthesis. The earlier unsuccessful lexical request is superseded by this completed control; the separate biblical passage remains externally unauthenticated. Are preserves final sumus rather than supplying a new noun. French retains vuide and spaced retire t’il. The three italic English spans are “in him we live, are moved”; retained “moremur!”; and “and are.” They correspond to “in ipso vivimus, movemur”; “moremur!”; and “et sumus.” The exclamation mark and final period belong to their respective italic spans. The comma within the first span is italic, while both intervening parentheses are roman.

T136.Literal vuide, spaced retire t’il, lower-case dans after the question, former imperfect disois and conditional auroit remain. Both complete immen-/sité and perpétuel-/lement wraps are joined without new gaps. The Latin reads in ipso vivimus, movemur (moremur!) et sumus. The anomalous moremur! is directly visible in original-size color/native 439 and is not emended or replaced with a conjectural translation. The three Latin text spans are italic, including their comma/exclamation/final period; the intervening parentheses are roman. The next French paragraph’s Movemur. is italic through its period. The worn left starts remain identifiable in color, including vivimus and the complete repeated Movemur. No external Latin text has been substituted for the printed sequence.

T66.We are moved freshly translates repeated Movemur. The two opposed motions, repeated everything, immaterial immensity and indefinite some remain. Cutout contextually preserves the material cutting image of découpure rather than reducing it to change; no particular shape or completed period dictionary control is asserted. The opening words We are moved and their period correspond to italic Movemur and its period; the remaining paragraph is roman.

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.