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 wordÉtendue names spatial spread, but its English equivalent changes when the concern is magnitude, inward spaciousness, or a philosophical property.
- In JoubertThe account of simple ideas describes space as extension or measure.
- In this editionThe English translation uses “extension,” “expanse,” and “extent” for the cited contexts. Étenduë is an older printed spelling, not a second concept.
- A place to beginSpace is considered as extension or measure.
- English renderings
- extension; extent; expanse
Meaning
Étendue names spatial spread, but its English equivalent changes when the concern is magnitude, inward spaciousness, or a philosophical property.
Use in the book
The account of simple ideas describes space as extension or measure. Yet the later distinction between space and mere extension withholds from the latter the divine character attributed to the former. Extension therefore does not simply exhaust what space means. In the musical image of souls, a lack of étendue prevents resonance: “expanse” makes the imagined inward room audible. A king’s comparison with a palace, by contrast, mocks judging worth by physical extent and dimensions.
Places to read
- I, p. 456, entry 7, ¶1Space is considered as extension or measure.
- II, p. 725, entry 9, ¶1Mere extension is distinguished from space.
- II, p. 513, entry 2, ¶1Inward expanse allows resonance.
- I, p. 241, entry 3, ¶1Extent cannot by itself measure worth.
Translation in this edition
The English translation uses “extension,” “expanse,” and “extent” for the cited contexts. Étenduë is an older printed spelling, not a second concept. The participle étendues means stretched out and is distinct from the noun.
Source note
Beaunier 1938, I, pp. 241, 456; II, pp. 513, 725.