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 1805 · Entry 4243

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Facing Pages · Branch 462 of 4529

YEAR 1805 · Entry 4243

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 923

Munus proprium prudentiae est inquisitio et inventio veri. La prudence est parmi nous une autre espèce de vertu. Elle tient de la prévoyance et consiste à éviter tout dommage inutile soit pour soi, soit pour autrui. Je dis tout dommage inutile, car il y a de grands dommages dont il faut en quelque sorte donner l’exemple en les souffrant, en les recherchant, en les bravant. Le mépris en sera utile à ceux qui en seront les témoins.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1805

p. 924

The proper office of prudence is the search for and discovery of truth. Among us, prudence is another kind of virtue. It partakes of foresight and consists in avoiding all useless harm, whether to oneself or to others. I say all useless harm, for there are great harms of which one must in a way give the example by suffering them, seeking them, braving them. Contempt for them will be useful to those who witness it.

T110.The opening Latin sentence is translated within the same paragraph. Prudentia has the broader sense of wisdom or discernment; the repeated prudence lets Joubert state his own contrast with present usage. Cicero, De officiis I.15, provides a close parallel connecting wisdom and prudence with the investigation and discovery of truth and calling this their proper office. Joubert condenses and rearranges the wording; his sentence is not an exact quotation of that passage. The French prints no attribution in this block.

T111.Dommage is kept as harm throughout. The passage values the example of enduring, seeking or braving great harms, rather than claiming that all suffering is useful. The final witness is taken to witness the contempt for the harms; the French compresses that reference into en.

T312.The Latin is printed in italics and is not supplied with an attribution in this block. Comparison of enlarged facsimiles confirms prudentiae with separate a/e, not a ligature. The clipped right-edge divisions prudence and prévoyance are restored.

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.