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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 8260

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French Page · Branch 4479 of 4529

UNDATED · Entry 8260

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 8957

20 (Liasse 39.)

L’art et l’agrément dans les ustensiles usuels d’un païs prouvent que les beaux arts existent quelque part, mais non pas qu’ils existent dans ce païs. Ceppendant, comme la Grèce fut regardée dans toute l’antiquité comme la patrie des arts, ce qui ne prouveroit rien pour les Hébreux prouve tout en faveur des Grecs.

Un beau poëme prouve en faveur de la musique, mais non pas en faveur de la peinture. Des peuples bien organisés, heureux, oisifs, habitans d’un beau païs, éprouvent certainement le besoin du chant, mais non celui de peindre. Cet art n’est cultivé que chez les peuples puissans où la représentation des événemens publics est un grand moïen d’acquérir la faveur publique; cet art n’est cultivé que chez les peuples riches où, faisant partie de l’ostentation et du luxe, il est un grand moïen d’acquérir des richesses. Comme d’ailleurs il est très long dans son étude, il exige toute l’application d’un homme et le rend mercenaire en lui ôtant tous ses moïens de subsistance.

Un musicien va chantant et se trouve accueilli partout où il y a des hommes. Un peintre ne peut trouver les moïens de peindre et le prix de ses tableaux que dans les lieux où il y a des villes. Aussi les peintres sont-ils généralement plus avides d’argent que les musiciens.

Il est à remarquer que Virgile, dans ses aventures d’Enée, place partout des tableaux. Il se voit peint à Carthage avec les autres Troïens illustres. Il voit à Cumes l’histoire de Dédale en bas-relief aux portes du temple de la Sibille, etc. Et je ne me souviens pas qu’Homère parle une seule fois de tableaux dans son poëme. Il fait chanter les avantures d’Ulisse par Phemius. Il place à la table d’Antinoüs un autre chantre qu’il appelle divin, etc. C’est toujours de la musique et jamais de la peinture.

Mais puisque les Grecs avoient des tableaux après Homère ils devoient avoir d’excellens tableaux. Il n’est pas possible que des hommes d’un tact exquis eussent admiré d’informes ébauches. Il n’est pas possible que des hommes accoutumés au beau idéal par leurs poëtes eussent admiré dans leurs peintres de médiocres tentatives. Car, dans les arts, ce qui est réellement nécessaire dans leur technique est indivisiblement uni à l’idéal. L’un ne peut se manifester sans l’autre.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: UNDATED

p. 8958

20 (Bundle 39.)

Art and pleasingness in a country’s everyday utensils prove that the fine arts exist somewhere, but not that they exist in that country. Yet, since Greece was regarded throughout antiquity as the homeland of the arts, what would prove nothing for the Hebrews proves everything in favor of the Greeks.

A beautiful poem proves something in favor of music, but not in favor of painting. Peoples who are well constituted, happy, idle, inhabitants of a beautiful country, certainly feel the need to sing, but not to paint. This art is cultivated only among powerful peoples, where depicting public events is a great means of gaining public favor; this art is cultivated only among rich peoples, where, as a part of ostentation and luxury, it is a great means of acquiring riches. Moreover, since it takes a very long time to study, it requires a man’s entire application and makes him mercenary by taking away all his means of subsistence.

A musician goes about singing and finds a welcome wherever there are people. A painter can find the means to paint and the price of his pictures only in places where there are cities. Thus painters are generally greedier for money than musicians.

It is to be observed that Virgil, in his adventures of Aeneas, places paintings everywhere. He sees himself painted at Carthage with the other illustrious Trojans. At Cumae he sees the history of Daedalus in bas-relief on the doors of the Sibyl’s temple, etc. And I do not recall Homer speaking even once of paintings in his poem. He has the adventures of Ulysses sung by Phemius. He places at Antinous’s table another singer whom he calls divine, etc. It is always music and never painting.

But since the Greeks had paintings after Homer, they must have had excellent paintings. It is not possible that men of exquisite discernment should have admired shapeless sketches. It is not possible that men accustomed to ideal beauty by their poets should have admired mediocre attempts in their painters. For in the arts, what is truly necessary in their technique is indivisibly united with the ideal. The one cannot manifest itself without the other.

T26.Art/pleasingness, everyday objects, somewhere/that-country distinction and nothing/everything argument remain. Would-prove versus proves preserves modality. The historical premise is translated as stated rather than independently endorsed. French retains païs with its diaeresis, Ceppendant with double p and unhyphenated beaux arts. All five paragraphs of this item are roman; only the separate Liasse 39. label is italic, inside roman parentheses, and it supplies no date.

T192.In the French source, printed item 20 owns five distinct roman paragraphs under the separate italic Liasse 39. label; no date or source annotation is present. The repeated cultivated-only propositions remain separated by one semicolon inside paragraph 2. All right endings and ordinary wraps are complete. Original-size color/native support païs and moïen/moïens with paired upper i components, poëme/poëtes with paired upper e components, and literal Ceppendant with double p. Habitans, puissans, événemens and excellens remain unmodernized. Color supplies complete word contours where the native crop clips outer edges. Paragraph 4 has literal Enée with plain capital E, Troïens and Antinoüs with paired upper marks, Sibille, Ulisse with one l and Phemius. It prints aventures in the first sentence but avantures in the later Ulisse sentence; the distinction is retained. No Homeric name or account is corrected through an external witness. The source has no comma after Homère in paragraph 5; both eussent admiré clauses and the epistemic/deontic contextual value of devoient are left literal in French. The final one/other clause remains separate. None of the poem references or names is italic.

T27.The poem/music versus painting contrast, all four descriptions, certainly, repeated only and two great-means clauses remain. Well constituted provisionally renders bien organisés without identifying a political system. Something supplies the implicit evidentiary object of prouve en faveur, while the source’s all-means-of-subsistence paradox is not softened. The two only-cultivated propositions remain in one paragraph, separated by the source semicolon. French retains poëme, païs, moïen/moïens and the forms habitans, puissans and événemens. English supplies commas before both where clauses; its comma after beautiful country corresponds to the source comma after beau païs.

T28.The musician/painter comparison, wherever versus only, means/price and generally-qualified comparison remain. Price preserves prix rather than silently replacing it with a patron; the generalization remains Joubert’s. French moïens retains its diaeresis; the body is roman.

T29.Everywhere, the shift to the narrated he, other illustrious Trojans, first-person failure to recall, even once and always/never remain. The names use conventional English forms where applicable, while French retains Enée with plain E, Troïens, Sibille, Ulisse, Phemius and Antinoüs. Antinous is not silently replaced by another Homeric name. French distinguishes aventures in the opening sentence from avantures in the Ulysses sentence; both are translated adventures. His adventures remains the source’s possessive presentation, not an independently verified book title. The names and poem references are roman. No external poem text is substituted.

T30.The inference, after-Homer relation, must, repeated impossibility and two kinds of failed attempt remain. Discernment contextually renders tact, not literal touch or social tact. Truly necessary, indivisibly and one/other dependence preserve the argument without supplying art-historical proof. Must have had gives devoient avoir its contextual inferential force; it does not assign the Greeks an obligation to possess paintings. The two eussent admiré clauses are rendered should have admired. French retains excellens and poëtes. English supplies a comma after the opening after-Homer clause and omits the comma immediately after French Car while retaining the comma after in the arts. The entire body 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.