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 IIMr. Hochet and Mme de Sévigné. · Entry 4593

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

French Page · Branch 812 of 4529

Mr. Hochet and Mme de Sévigné. · Entry 4593

Translator notesBook Mode

French

p. 1623

27 avril au soir.

Comment se font les enfans?

Ils naissent de certains baisers qui, pour être innocens, ont besoin d’être sanctifiés par le mariage. Ou bien : ils naissent de certains embrassemens qui ne sont permis qu’aux personnes mariées, et qui se font avec tant de force qu’y penser seulement pourroit donner la mort à ceux qui n’ont pas encore atteint leur vingt unième année. Ou bien : mon fils, ils naissent […] certains embrassemens qui ne sont permis qu’aux personnes mariées et qui se font avec tant de force qu’ils pourroient donner la mort à ceux qui oseroient s’y livrer avant d’avoir atteint l’âge de 21 ans. On ne peut pas les comprendre et il n’est pas permis d’y penser. Par force, ils s’appellent viol ou violence. Voilà pourquoi vous lisez dans les auteurs vi compressa. Ces embrassemens déshonorent celles qui les souffrent même malgré elles. Aussi les auteurs disent-ils vitiavit virginem : il a souillé cette jeune fille.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volume II: Mr. Hochet and Mme de Sévigné.

p. 1624

April 27 in the evening.

How are children made?

They are born of certain kisses that, to be innocent, need to be sanctified by marriage. Or else: they are born of certain embraces permitted only to married people, and performed with such force that merely thinking of them could bring death to those who have not yet reached their twenty-first year. Or else: my son, they are born […] certain embraces permitted only to married people and performed with such force that they could bring death to those who dared to indulge in them before reaching the age of 21. One cannot understand them and is not permitted to think of them. By force, they are called rape or violence. That is why you read in the authors, overpowered by force. These embraces dishonor those women who suffer them even against their will. Thus the authors say, he defiled a maiden: he has defiled this young girl.

T319.The bracketed roman [carnet] follows the italic evening date and remains in that position. It marks return from the preceding separate critical essay. In the third formulation, the word between ils naissent and certains is heavily crossed or overwritten. Two independent inspections of the enlarged facsimile cannot securely establish its underlying printed letters; […] marks that loss. A handwritten de appears in the right margin, with authorship not established, and is not silently substituted as printed text. The three alternative explanations, both age formulations, the prohibition and the concluding Latin/French formulations are retained in the single second paragraph as historical source content.

T141.The repeated Or else introduces alternative formulations within one paragraph. The two age expressions differ in the French and remain twenty-first year and age of 21. The claims about mortal danger and dishonor are part of the explanation Joubert records, not statements supplied by the translator. My son is retained without identifying an actual addressee.

T142.Overpowered by force translates vi compressa, a feminine participial phrase; he defiled a maiden translates vitiavit virginem. Joubert then gives his own French gloss, rendered he has defiled this young girl. The change from Latin to French remains visible in the source and the two formulations are not collapsed in English. No particular ancient author is named here.

T143.The […] marks a word between they are born and certain embraces whose printed letters cannot be read securely beneath an intervention in the facsimile. A handwritten de appears in the margin, but its authorship is unestablished; it is not substituted for the illegible text. The resulting gap in the English is intentional.

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.