From the book
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volumes I–II
Joseph Joubert · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Esteem
estime; estimer
Estime is an appraisal of worth, but what receives esteem and what deserves it need not coincide.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordEstime is an appraisal of worth, but what receives esteem and what deserves it need not coincide.
- In JoubertFortune can give virtues to make someone worthy of esteem or successes to make that person esteemed.
- In this editionThe English translation keeps the repeated esteem in the rule/person contrast and does not turn could not give oneself into an assertion that goodness can never be cultivated.
- A place to beginSuccess produces recognition, virtue makes one worthy of it.
- English renderings
- esteem; esteemed; esteeming
Meaning
Estime is an appraisal of worth, but what receives esteem and what deserves it need not coincide.
Use in the book
Fortune can give virtues to make someone worthy of esteem or successes to make that person esteemed. The difference separates value from recognition. Refined pride can more easily esteem good conduct as obedience to a rule than goodness as the merit of a person, because the latter exposes a merit it cannot simply confer on itself. Yet a tentative account of goodness allows esteem and love to exceed desert, while prudence adjusts what one entrusts to others. The perhaps and on-these-suppositions framing matter: a practical distinction is explored rather than made into an unconditional rule for all relationships.
Places to read
- I, p. 156, entry 1, ¶1Success produces recognition, virtue makes one worthy of it.
- II, p. 509, entry 9, ¶1Refined pride more readily esteems rule-following than personal goodness.
- II, p. 696, entry 2, ¶1Generous appraisal and prudent employment need not use the same measure.
Translation in this edition
The English translation keeps the repeated esteem in the rule/person contrast and does not turn could not give oneself into an assertion that goodness can never be cultivated. Worthy of esteem and esteemed preserve the early verbal distinction.
Source note
Beaunier 1938, I, pp. 156; II, pp. 509, 696.
From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Esteem
esteem; prize; account valuable; due regard
Esteem is an assessment of worth that includes a fitting regard for what is assessed.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordEsteem is an assessment of worth that includes a fitting regard for what is assessed.
- In TraherneEsteem turns a given good into an enjoyed treasure.
- In this editionEsteem here frequently concerns things, relations, and benefits, not only a person’s social reputation.
- A place to beginRendering things their due esteem is a form of righteousness.
Meaning
Esteem is an assessment of worth that includes a fitting regard for what is assessed. To prize something is to hold it precious; the act is stronger than merely noticing its existence.
Use in the book
Esteem turns a given good into an enjoyed treasure. Its correctness matters because a person may possess the whole world while valuing only a fashionable fragment. The acorn passage shows how judgement becomes richer as it comprehends relations: sun, sea, nourishment, purpose, and creature meet within a small object. The mature eye of reason can therefore recover childhood’s sense of preciousness with greater understanding. Repeated gifts deserve increased esteem, not depreciation through familiarity; gratitude and joy follow from this trained valuation.
Places to read
In this edition
Esteem here frequently concerns things, relations, and benefits, not only a person’s social reputation. “Prizing” is valuation and appreciation, not the fixing of a market price.