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 IIUNDATED · Entry 8241

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Facing Pages · Branch 4460 of 4529

UNDATED · Entry 8241

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 8919

Il y a, non pas dans les carnets, mais dans les liasses de papiers […]e Joubert, un certain nombre d’écrits non datés. Le plus souvent […]’ai pu, avec quelque assurance, découvrir ou conjecturer leur date; et je les ai mis à leur place, en indiquant d’ailleurs que je faisais une hypothèse. Je rassemble ici ce qui a résisté à ma recherche et ce que je laisse sans date. On remarquera que, comme la date de ces divers morceaux ne se devine pas, elle n’a pas non plus beaucoup d’importance, même si les pensées ont de l’intérêt en elles-mêmes.

SANS DATE

1 (Liasse 17)

Qu’est-ce que définir? C’est décrire, c’est dessiner avec des mots ce que l’esprit seul apperçoit; c’est donner des extrémités à ce qui n’en a pas pour l’œil; c’est peindre ce qu’on ne peut voir; c’est circonscrire en un espace qui n’a pas de réalité un objet qui n’a pas de corps. Et qu’est-ce que bien définir? C’est représenter nettement l’idée que tous les esprits se font en eux et malgré eux de l’objet dont on veut parler, quand ils y pensent au hazard.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: UNDATED

p. 8920

There are, not in the notebooks but among [Joubert’s] bundles of papers, a certain number of undated writings. Most often [I] have been able, with some confidence, to discover or conjecture their date; and I have put them in their place, indicating, moreover, that I was making a hypothesis. I gather here what has resisted my search and what I leave undated. It will be observed that, since the date of these various pieces cannot be guessed, it is also of little importance, even if the thoughts have interest in themselves.

UNDATED

1 (Bundle 17)

What is it to define? It is to describe, to draw with words what the mind alone perceives; it is to give extremities to what has none for the eye; it is to paint what cannot be seen; it is to circumscribe in a space that has no reality an object that has no body. And what is it to define well? It is to represent clearly the idea that all minds form within themselves and despite themselves of the object one wishes to speak of, when they think of it at random.

T7.This first-person introduction belongs to the source editor, not Joubert. Discover/conjecture, some confidence, explicit hypothesis and remaining undated status are preserved without endorsing a date for any appendix item. The whole source introduction is italic, separate from the UNDATED heading and numbered items; the source’s assessment of importance remains its own. At the damaged margin, […]e Joubert retains e and the complete name but not a complete preceding d. In the reordered English possessive, [Joubert’s] is a deliberately broad contextual counterpart spanning the intact name and the inferred possessive relation through de; it does not claim that the name is lost. Before ai, the apostrophe survives but no complete j is certified: [I] renders that contextual subject, while have renders the intact ai. Neither bracket restores French letters. These two reproduction losses are separate from the printed source-editor omission in item 5. The introduction remains one italic editorial paragraph before SANS DATE, without an enclosing year or a main-entry identity.

T280.This complete single paragraph is italic and belongs to the source editor, before SANS DATE and all numbered items; it is neither a Joubert main entry nor a footnote. No enclosing year applies. At the worn second-line opening before Joubert, only e is complete; the preceding expected d has an incomplete slanted stem/bowl in both original color and native 449. Before ai, the apostrophe survives but the preceding j is not complete. These two lexical residues remain […]e and […]’ai, without contextual French completion. The other foreground starts et/hypothèse/que/divers/d’importance are abraded but identifiable in the color/native views. All repeated dates, first-person editorial claims and hypothesis qualifications are retained. The source distinguishes discovering/conjecturing from what remains undated.

T1.Both questions and all five representational acts in the first answer remain. Extremities preserves the bodily boundary image, and without-reality/without-body remain separate. All minds, within/despite themselves and at random are not smoothed into deliberate agreement. English combines the first two c’est predicates under one It is, a grammatical coordination adjustment without a source loss. French retains apperçoit with double p and hazard with z. Printed item 1 and (Liasse 17) stay separate metadata; only Liasse 17 is italic, without an internal terminal period, while the number, parentheses and body are roman. The bundle label supplies no date.

T172.In the French source, printed item 1 and the label (Liasse 17) are separate metadata, without a terminal period inside this first label and without a date. The label content Liasse 17 is italic; its parentheses and item number are roman. Literal apperçoit has double p; final hazard has z. Both questions, repeated c’est, bodily extremities/eye and all semicolon relations remain in one roman paragraph. Foreground initials que/a/en/qu’/les/quand are readable despite gutter/show-through marks, so no extra loss is supplied.

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.