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 8245

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French Page · Branch 4464 of 4529

UNDATED · Entry 8245

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 8927

5 (id.)

Isocrate, ce grand ennemi de la démocratie, donne la préférence à la monarchie « parce que (dit-il) les meilleurs y commandent »; et il ajoute : « rien n’est plus fâcheux pour ceux qui excellent que de vivre sans dignités et d’être cachés dans la foule! » O le méprisable lettré!

[...] Voici une de ses observations qui est digne d’être recueillie : « Rien de ce qui se fait par hazard (dit-il) n’est durable ni solide. » Il est ceppendant possible qu’un peuple recouvre par hazard sa liberté et qu’il la conserve par une volonté forte et par la prudence. Le hazard est alors d’accord avec le temps, c’est à dire avec les mœurs et le caractère d’un siècle.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: UNDATED

p. 8928

5 (id.)

Isocrates, that great enemy of democracy, gives preference to monarchy “because (he says) the best command there”; and he adds: “nothing is more distressing to those who excel than to live without honors and be hidden in the crowd!” Oh, the contemptible man of letters!

[...] Here is one of his observations worth collecting: “Nothing that happens by chance (he says) is durable or solid.” Yet it is possible for a people to recover its freedom by chance and preserve it through a strong will and through prudence. Chance is then in accord with the times, that is to say, with the manners and character of an age.

T5.Great enemy, preference, both quoted claims, best/excel and the final denunciation remain Joubert’s. Honors provisionally renders dignités as distinctions or ranks; distressing renders fâcheux without inventing an injury. The source attribution is not independently authenticated. French has plain O; English uses Oh and adds its following comma. Both exclamations remain, the semicolon stays outside the first quotation, and the second quotation begins with lower-case nothing. All body and quotation text is roman; this is the first of two paragraphs under printed item 5, whose separate id. label is italic within roman parentheses.

T176.In the French source, printed item 5 retains italic id. within roman parentheses and has two main paragraphs. The bracketed three-point omission [...] at the second opening is visibly printed source-editor matter, not a new reproduction loss. Literal plain O precedes the denunciation; both exclamations, the first quotation’s following semicolon, and the second paragraph’s quotation period are retained. All quoted material and body text are roman. Original color/native support literal ceppendant with double p; hazard recurs with z. The source prints c’est à dire without inserted hyphens. All left-margin starts, including lettré/Il/liberté/Le/mœurs, retain identifiable foreground contours despite abrasion; no new gap is inferred.

T6.The printed bracketed omission [...] remains distinct from reproduction damage, including the two margin losses in the separate source-editor introduction. Both negated qualities, possibility, recover/preserve contrast, repeated chance, strong will/prudence and final clarification remain. The repeated through explicitly renders both par relations. Times and age preserve temps/siècle in context without assigning a calendar year. French retains ceppendant with double p, repeated hazard with z and unhyphenated c’est à dire. The quotation period is already inside the source closing mark; English adds a comma after that is to say. This second paragraph remains roman and belongs to the same numbered item as the preceding Isocrates paragraph.

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.