Authority

From the book

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volumes I–II

Joseph Joubert · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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autorité

Autorité concerns the weight of a person, office or tradition in directing judgment.

Orientation

At a Glance

The wordAutorité concerns the weight of a person, office or tradition in directing judgment.
In JoubertThe religious reflection says authority, rather than reasoning, serves as the rule, yet ends with a difficult counterfactual about Jansenism that should not be repaired into a smooth argument.
In this editionThe English translation retains the three decision/deliberation, law/count and peer/rank contrasts.
A place to beginA transmitted paragraph advocates paternal authority, with an authorship qualification.

English renderings: authority

Meaning

Autorité concerns the weight of a person, office or tradition in directing judgment. It differs from mere numerical participation and can be placed against reasoning.

Use in the book

The religious reflection says authority, rather than reasoning, serves as the rule, yet ends with a difficult counterfactual about Jansenism that should not be repaired into a smooth argument. The temple-of-sages image assigns exceptional opinions a role in deciding rather than deliberating: a voice makes law instead of adding to a count. The earlier paternal-authority paragraph connects ownership and affection, but Beaunier expressly marks that paragraph as not in Joubert’s handwriting. Its presence in the edition is evidence of transmitted material, not secure evidence of Joubert’s own formulation.

Places to read

I, p. 128, entry 2, ¶1A transmitted paragraph advocates paternal authority, with an authorship qualification.
II, p. 704, entry 4, ¶1Religious authority is distinguished from reasoning.
II, p. 795, entry 7, ¶1Exceptional authority is set apart from the counting of opinions.

Translation in this edition

The English translation retains the three decision/deliberation, law/count and peer/rank contrasts. It preserves the incomplete argumentative relation in the religious witness, and does not name a modern assembly or electoral system.

Source note

Beaunier 1938, I, pp. 128; II, pp. 704, 795. I.128 e02 p01 is explicitly reported by Beaunier as not in Joubert’s handwriting. It must not be cited as an unqualified autograph assertion.

From the book

Centuries of Meditations

Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Authority

authority; jurisdiction; law-giver; authoritative example

Authority is a recognized power to command, guide, or establish what others accept.

Orientation

At a Glance

The wordAuthority is a recognized power to command, guide, or establish what others accept.
In TraherneDivine authority is pictured as advocacy for the person loved.
In this editionOnly the first two places use “authority” itself; III.11 supplies the corrective educational practice.
A place to beginThe divine law-giver employs authority to secure love and honour for the human recipient.

Meaning

Authority is a recognized power to command, guide, or establish what others accept. Its exercise may be legal and sovereign or informal, as when a child trusts the judgment of adults.

Use in the book

Divine authority is pictured as advocacy for the person loved. God commands His subjects to love the speaker and treats what is done to that person as done to Himself. Authority magnifies the recipient instead of merely demanding submission. The childhood narrative shows the danger of trusting human authority without sound objects of judgment. The child reverences elders, follows their examples, and eventually forgets the treasures they never mention. These are not equivalent authorities or a general rejection of teaching. They show that a command's power over the hearer must be distinguished from the truth of the valuation it transmits. The responsible teacher uses influence to disclose, rather than replace, the world's excellence.

Places to read

I.70The divine law-giver employs authority to secure love and honour for the human recipient.
III.7Adult authority helps direct the child away from early apprehensions.
III.11Parents and nurses are urged to teach judgments confirmed by the things themselves.

In this edition

Only the first two places use “authority” itself; III.11 supplies the corrective educational practice. The entry includes influence through example as well as explicit command.

Source note

Primary text: I.70, III.7, III.11. The contrast between I.70 and III.7 concerns the use and object of authority, not a claim that all authority is corrupting.