From the book
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volumes I–II
Joseph Joubert · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordBrièveté and concision concern economy of expression, but a short formulation must still produce an intelligible or vivid effect.
- In JoubertThe question inspired by a newspaper remark asks whether brevity rests attention while tiring memory.
- In this editionThe English translation keeps concision and brevity distinct words where Joubert gives both.
- A place to beginThe effects of brevity on attention and memory are posed as a question.
- English renderings
- brevity; concision
Meaning
Brièveté and concision concern economy of expression, but a short formulation must still produce an intelligible or vivid effect.
Use in the book
The question inspired by a newspaper remark asks whether brevity rests attention while tiring memory. It is a proposed comparison, not an established law about cognition. Another note denies merit to concision that draws no features, alongside energy that strengthens nothing and softness that does not touch the heart. Brevity succeeds in the Hippocrates sentence because its few words have simplicity and wise economy, with the conjunction itself offered in two versions. This makes economy relational: what is omitted or compressed matters as much as word count.
Places to read
- I, p. 397, entry 7, ¶1The effects of brevity on attention and memory are posed as a question.
- II, p. 609, entry 3, ¶2Concision without delineating force lacks merit.
- II, p. 879, entry 3, ¶1A reported Hippocratic sentence exemplifies wise verbal economy.
Translation in this edition
The English translation keeps concision and brevity distinct words where Joubert gives both. The newspaper date is bibliographical text, not the entry’s date. The Hippocrates wording is translated as reported, with “but (or, and)” left visible rather than externally corrected.
Source note
Beaunier 1938, I, pp. 397; II, pp. 609, 879.