From the book
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volumes I–II
Joseph Joubert · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordGouvernement concerns the arrangement and exercise of political authority.
- In JoubertThe analogy with religion describes a descending sequence of objects of worship, leaving the governmental comparison suggestive rather than fully specified.
- In this editionThe English translation preserves “repudiate” across the marriage/politics comparison, and keeps the distinction between what governors should experience and what they do experience in a well-administered state.
- A place to beginGovernment is compared with the objects of religious attachment.
- English renderings
- government; governments
Meaning
Gouvernement concerns the arrangement and exercise of political authority. Joubert tests it through religious, marital and protective images.
Use in the book
The analogy with religion describes a descending sequence of objects of worship, leaving the governmental comparison suggestive rather than fully specified. Repudiating governments is then compared with divorce, but an objection concerning ascertainment of public will remains unfinished. The direct address to government assigns war, peace, abundance and tranquility to it so that private people may be freed from those cares. Its emblem is a sheltering tree. These images articulate dependence and duty without supplying a detailed constitution.
Places to read
- I, p. 156, entry 10, ¶1Government is compared with the objects of religious attachment.
- I, p. 304, entry 4, ¶1Changing governments is placed beside divorce.
- I, p. 461–462, entry 7, ¶1The sheltering tree figures the relief of private people’s cares.
Translation in this edition
The English translation preserves “repudiate” across the marriage/politics comparison, and keeps the distinction between what governors should experience and what they do experience in a well-administered state. The unfinished objection is not answered by the translator.
Source note
Beaunier 1938, I, pp. 156, 304, 461, 462.