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 8163

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Facing Pages · Branch 4382 of 4529

YEAR 1821 · Entry 8163

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 8763

8 octobre.

Esprit. Esprit des choses.

Si ce n’est pas lui qui nous touche, c’est du moins lui qui nou[…] atteint. — (Fourreau ouvert à son extrémité — et qui laisse passe[…] la pointe.)

C’est lui qui nous nourrit, nous désaltère... Tant nous mêmes som[…]es esprit.

Le porc lui-même vit d’essences.

L’esprit est seul vital. Mais l’esprit simplement vital a une vie qu’il communique et ne sent pas. Pour la sentir, il faut un être organisé. Pour en jouïr, il faut une âme; et une âme spirituelle, intelligente.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1821

p. 8764

October 8.

Spirit. The spirit of things.

If it is not what touches us, at least it is what reaches [us]. — (A sheath open at its end — and letting the point [through].)

It is what feeds us, quenches our thirst... So much [are] we ourselves spirit.

The pig itself lives on essences.

Spirit alone is vital. But merely vital spirit has a life that it communicates and does not feel. To feel it, an organized being is needed. To enjoy it, a soul is needed; and a spiritual, intelligent soul.

T84.Both nominal sentences and repeated spirit remain; no equation with mind, soul or matter is supplied.

T144.The complete October 8 date follows October 22 and governs five paragraphs: two on 908 and three on 909. The right ends retain nou and passe. At the incoming som-/mes wrap, the left part of the m is interrupted: only es is complete after it, so som[…]es remains without supplying the missing arch/stem. The incoming emphatic Tant sentence ends with a clear period, not an exclamation mark, in both color 909/native 441. The earlier three points are printed ellipsis. The complete C’est, communique and Pour starts are abraded but identifiable in color; no extra prefix is recovered. The two upper i-components in jouïr are visible in the original color 909/native 441 views and retained with reproduction qualification. Both finite restrictions, spirit/life/soul distinctions, semicolon and final adjective pair remain. All five paragraphs are roman.

T85.The conditional, at least, distinct touching/reaching and complete sheath parenthesis remain. Only the second [us], after reaches, interprets damaged nou[…]; the earlier us represents intact nous. [Through] is the broad contextual counterpart of passe[…] in letting the point through, while letting represents intact laisse. The English brackets do not certify the lost endings or imply that the whole French passage is missing. The point is not identified with a particular weapon or doctrine.

T86.The two actions, printed ellipsis and ourselves remain. [Are] contextually renders som[…]es, whose internal damaged letter is not silently supplied in French. The emphatic sentence ends with the actual source period, replacing the preliminary English exclamation mark. Thirst is supplied by English quenches our thirst for désaltère. This is the first of three paragraphs on 909 continuing the five-paragraph owner begun on 908; the complete October 8 date governs the whole owner, without reordering it before October 22.

T87.Itself preserves the emphasis of lui-même without substituting an unstated contrast. Lives on retains the nutritive sense; essences remains plural.

T88.Only/merely, possessing/communicating/not-feeling life and the two requirements remain distinct. Organized retains the bodily or organic technical term without turning it into socially organized. The repeated soul, semicolon and final two adjectives remain. French jouïr retains its qualified paired upper i marks. This final paragraph remains roman within the five-paragraph October 8 owner; no new loss is inferred at its complete line starts.

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.