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.

Explore the Lexicon

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume IIUNDATED · Entry 8288

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

Facing Pages · Branch 4507 of 4529

UNDATED · Entry 8288

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 9013

48. (Liasse 26.)

1. Il semble que chez les anciens les lettres qu’ils appelloient humaines étoient en effet plus humaines que parmi nous. L’art de la critique chez eux étoit plus indulgent, plus doux, plus favorable que le nôtre. Ils étoient plus portés à approuver.

2. Ils admettoient trois genres : le sublime (ou le grand), le simple (ou le petit, le menu), et le moyen (le tempéré ou le médiocre). Tous ceux, dit Cicéron, qui se sont distingués chez les Grecs dans quelqu’un de ces trois genres « ont acquis un grand renom ».

3. Ces hommes qui faisoient de si grandes choses avec la parole et pour lesquels l’art de parler étoit une grande puissance n’accordoient peu d’estime à aucun ouvrage où la parole étoit employée avec habileté. Ils admiroient l’art avant tout. Et tout ouvrage dont ils pouvoient se dire l’art y surpasse la matière étoit à leurs yeux un chef d’œuvre. Ils ne [le] mettoient au dessous de rien et le plaçoient à côté de tout. Ils sembloient dans leurs jugemens avoir pour loi cette maxime : tout ce qui excelle doit être mis au premier rang.

4. Et en effet pour la pratique et pour l’utilité l’art dans un ouvrage est fort au dessus du sujet. C’est l’art qui instruit. C’est de lui qu’on peut s’enrichir. On peut enlever ses beautés et les placer ailleurs sans rien ôter aux ouvrages où elles sont. Qu’un peintre ait peint sur la toile ou sur le bois, le fonds n’est rien; le dessin et les couleurs sont tout. (Les pots de terre des Etrusques nous ont appris à modeler l’or et l’argent.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: UNDATED

p. 9014

48. (Bundle 26.)

1. It seems that among the ancients the letters they called humane were indeed more humane than among us. Their art of criticism was more indulgent, gentler, more favorable than ours. They were more inclined to approve.

2. They admitted three kinds: the sublime (or the great), the simple (or the small, the slight), and the middle (the temperate or the mediocre). All those, says Cicero, who distinguished themselves among the Greeks in any one of these three kinds “acquired great renown.”

3. These men who did such great things with speech, and for whom the art of speaking was a great power, held no work in low esteem in which speech was employed with skill. They admired art above all. And every work of which they could say to themselves art in it surpasses the material was in their eyes a masterpiece. They put [it] below nothing and placed it beside everything. In their judgments they seemed to have this maxim as their law: everything that excels must be put in the first rank.

4. And indeed, for practice and for utility, the art in a work is far above its subject. It is art that instructs. It is from art that one can enrich oneself. One can take its beauties away and place them elsewhere without taking anything from the works in which they are. Whether a painter has painted on canvas or on wood, the ground is nothing; drawing and colors are everything. (The Etruscans’ earthenware pots taught us to model gold and silver.

S1.Source editor’s annotationThis leaf bears this incomplete date: “March 21.”

T67.The numbered paragraph, seems, indeed, humane repetition, three comparisons and approving disposition remain. Humane letters preserves the play between literary studies and humane judgment rather than silently replacing the first term with humanities. All four Arabic paragraph numbers under item 48 are baseline main text, distinct from its raised heading annotation call. French retains appelloient and nôtre. The incomplete March 21 date belongs to the separate source annotation, not a new main date heading.

T76.The source editor’s date is retained with no year. It remains apparatus attached to item 48 rather than a newly invented main date heading; English places the period inside the quotation.

T220.In the French source, printed item 48 owns four Arabic-numbered paragraphs; the numbers are baseline main text. The heading call and incomplete-date annotation are separate from this main sequence. Literal appelloient, nôtre, jugemens, unhyphenated chef d’œuvre/au dessous/au dessus and plain Etrusques are retained. Only l’art y surpasse la matière in paragraph 3 is italic; it has no added quotation marks. The later [le] is a printed roman source-editor supplement. The unusual n’accordoient peu d’estime à aucun remains literal, without adding pas. Paragraph 4 opens a parenthesis before Les pots and reaches a terminal period after l’argent without any printed closing parenthesis. No close is supplied. The native target clips outer line ends; the complete full color page and adjacent color crop establish the complete text and unclosed boundary.

T221.In the French source, raised call 1 follows the printed item number 48 and precedes its separate baseline period. The annotation is one roman paragraph. Its incomplete date gives day 21/month March but no year and remains apparatus, not a main date heading. The final period follows the closing guillemet.

T68.The number, all three categories and every parenthetic alternative remain. Mediocre contextually retains the middle-range relation made explicit by moyen and tempéré here, without implying that the ancients praised bad writing or claiming a separately authenticated rhetorical classification. The reported Cicero quotation is translated from the French, not externally authenticated. English moves its terminal period inside the closing quotation mark; the entire source paragraph, including the quotation, is roman.

T69.Great things/power, every/no-work, skill and above-all remain. Held no work in low esteem is the contextual negative reading of the unusual n’accordoient peu d’estime à aucun; French remains literal and receives no inserted pas. Printed roman [le] becomes roman [it], a source-editor supplement rather than a reproduction loss. The below-nothing/beside-everything paradox and first-rank maxim remain. Only art in it surpasses the material corresponds to italic l’art y surpasse la matière; no quotation marks or adjacent punctuation are added to that emphasis. French retains jugemens and unhyphenated chef d’œuvre, au dessous and au dessus.

T70.The numbered And-indeed, practice/utility pair, far-above, enrichment and taking-without-taking paradox remain. Ground gives fonds its material painting-support sense in the canvas/wood context. The source opens the final parenthesis but prints no close after its terminal period; English retains that unfinished boundary. French has plain Etrusques. The body is roman, and no archaeology or modern materials account 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.