From the book
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volumes I–II
Joseph Joubert · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Luxury
luxe
Luxe extends from life and possessions to writing, where excess must be distinguished from useful adornment.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordLuxe extends from life and possessions to writing, where excess must be distinguished from useful adornment.
- In JoubertThe question about luxury without beauty gives necessity and superfluity different demands: solidity may satisfy need, but charm is necessary to what exceeds it.
- In this editionThe English translation keeps the unfinished once-one-has-tasted clause and brackets contextual readings in the damaged ornament passage.
- A place to beginSuperfluity requires charm rather than bare solidity.
- English renderings
- luxury
Meaning
Luxe extends from life and possessions to writing, where excess must be distinguished from useful adornment.
Use in the book
The question about luxury without beauty gives necessity and superfluity different demands: solidity may satisfy need, but charm is necessary to what exceeds it. The later condemnation of luxury in morals or taste is immediately qualified by distinguishing adornments that make an object visible or intelligible. Ornament alone is not enough to establish luxury. The shipwreck passage admits another complication: even those who may be unable to regain simplicity can continue to love and judge it. Its saving of taste amid personal loss is deliberately less than a promise of restored innocence.
Places to read
- I, p. 434, entry 8, ¶1Superfluity requires charm rather than bare solidity.
- II, p. 799, entry 2, ¶1Not all adornment is luxury: some makes things manifest.
- II, p. 806, entry begun p. 805, no. 9, ¶3Love of lost simplicity can survive luxury of life and writing.
Translation in this edition
The English translation keeps the unfinished once-one-has-tasted clause and brackets contextual readings in the damaged ornament passage. The final exhortation retains perhaps, at least and the simultaneous perishing and saving. The verbal luxe meaning dislocates is outside this article.
Source note
Beaunier 1938, I, pp. 434; II, pp. 799, 806.
From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Luxury
τρυφῶσι (tryphōsi); οἰκίας (oikias); λιτότητα (litotēta)
Tryphaō denotes living luxuriously or indulging oneself; oikiai are houses.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordTryphaō denotes living luxuriously or indulging oneself; oikiai are houses.
- In this workThe attributed saying about Acragas joins two incompatible practical attitudes: its citizens enjoy themselves as though dying tomorrow and build as though they will live forever.
- In this editionThe commentary says the saying is very likely authentic, but the excerpt does not provide a direct contemporary source for the words.
- A place to readPreserves the luxury-and-houses saying and the explanation of royal refusal through plainness.
Meaning
Tryphaō denotes living luxuriously or indulging oneself; oikiai are houses. Litotēs is plainness or simplicity, used nearby to explain the refusal of kingship. The contrast concerns modes of life and expectations of time.
Use in the book
The attributed saying about Acragas joins two incompatible practical attitudes: its citizens enjoy themselves as though dying tomorrow and build as though they will live forever. The force is not an abstract denial of architecture or pleasure, but a criticism of unexamined assumptions about mortality. The same section praises Empedocles’ preference for simplicity when offered kingship, while the wider biography describes inherited wealth, expensive civic gifts, and splendid dress. These motifs should not be forced into either a consistent ascetic life or a simple charge of hypocrisy. Different anecdotes use wealth for different moral purposes: ostentation can be criticized, generosity praised, and office refused. The saying’s pointed balance makes it memorable, but does not make its attribution independently secure.
Places to read
- A 1 §§ 61–63 (biography)Diogenes Laertius VIII 63. Preserves the luxury-and-houses saying and the explanation of royal refusal through plainness.
Translation in this edition
The commentary says the saying is very likely authentic, but the excerpt does not provide a direct contemporary source for the words. The population number in the same paragraph also has a Greek-English discrepancy and should not authenticate the setting.