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 wordMorale names the field or discipline of conduct, as well as a moral teaching.
- In JoubertDuty is called its object and virtue its end; the double human end joins one’s virtue with another person’s happiness.
- In this editionThe English translation varies morality and morals according to English construction.
- A place to beginMorality’s object and end are distinguished.
- English renderings
- morality; morals
Meaning
Morale names the field or discipline of conduct, as well as a moral teaching. Its methods and standards are distinguished from those of literature and contemplation.
Use in the book
Duty is called its object and virtue its end; the double human end joins one’s virtue with another person’s happiness. The rhetoric appropriate to morals must then move the will through fire and ardor rather than merely offer contemplation. In the ignorance comparison, the same circumstance can mitigate a moral fault while constituting a primary literary fault. Evaluation depends on what activity is being judged, not only on the person’s possession or lack of knowledge.
Places to read
- I, p. 298, entry begun p. 297, no. 2, ¶4Morality’s object and end are distinguished.
- II, p. 481, entry 7, ¶1Moral discourse aims to move will.
- II, p. 652, entry 5, ¶1Ignorance has different effects in moral and literary judgment.
Translation in this edition
The English translation varies morality and morals according to English construction. It keeps the duty/end distinction and the fire/light comparison. The abbreviated attribution in the literature note remains unexpanded; the lexicon does not identify an author behind A. C.
Fault
French: faute.
Ignorance mitigates fault in morals but can itself be a fundamental fault in literature; the same word is evaluated by different standards.
Places to read: II, p. 652, entry 5, ¶1.
Source note
Beaunier 1938, I, pp. 298; II, pp. 481, 652.