Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II
Complete Notebooks · French with an independent English translation.
Explore the LexiconSwipe or use the arrow keys.
Facing Pages · Branch 569 of 4529
YEAR 1805 · Entry 4350
French
p. 1137Quand le soin a produit l’élégance, il devient, par cet agrément, facilité. L’aisance est importante dans l’ouvrage, mais non pas dans l’ouvrier, si ce n’est pour son plaisir propre. C’est assés pour celui du lecteur quand la peine a produit l’aisance. Quand un ouvrage sent la lime, c’est qu’il n’est pas assés poli; et, s’il sent l’huile, c’est qu’on a trop peu veillé.
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: YEAR 1805
p. 1138When care has produced elegance, it becomes, through that agreeableness, facility. Ease matters in the work, but not in the worker, except for his own pleasure. For the reader’s pleasure it is enough that pains have produced ease. When a work smells of the file, it is because it is not polished enough; and if it smells of oil, it is because one has kept too little vigil.
Socrates
Reading The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II · YEAR 1805 · Entry 4350
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.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.