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 wordHumanité in these passages means humane feeling or conduct, rather than simply the human species.
- In JoubertThe praise of an unnamed man makes his humanity the best thing that can be said of him.
- In this editionThe English translation distinguishes humanity from humane while preserving their verbal relation.
- A place to beginThe link between exaggerated humanity and cruelty is left for investigation.
- English renderings
- humanity
Meaning
Humanité in these passages means humane feeling or conduct, rather than simply the human species.
Use in the book
The praise of an unnamed man makes his humanity the best thing that can be said of him. The next paragraph describes politeness as its flower, connecting outward manner to a compassionate disposition rather than treating courtesy as empty decoration. The earlier warning asserts a difficult limit: exaggerated ideas of humanity and compassion lead to cruelty. Its closing instruction to find out how leaves the mechanism unworked. The lexicon therefore keeps that paradox as a question for inquiry, not a completed psychological law or a reason to discount compassion.
Places to read
- I, p. 132, entry 2, ¶1The link between exaggerated humanity and cruelty is left for investigation.
- II, p. 611, entry 6, ¶1Humanity is praised in an unnamed person.
- II, p. 611, entry 6, ¶2Politeness is figured as humanity’s flower.
Translation in this edition
The English translation distinguishes humanity from humane while preserving their verbal relation. It does not identify the praised man. The two praise paragraphs remain paired within their source unit; the chronological irregularity in the printed date sequence is not silently corrected.
Source note
Beaunier 1938, I, pp. 132; II, pp. 611.