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 wordPhosphore is the material image for a light that seems transferable from the poet or his finger to writing.
- In JoubertThe fragment about writing with mind and thought recalls the poet’s finger passing its phosphorus into an unspecified thing.
- In this editionThe English translation retains phosphorus instead of silently replacing it with inspiration or glow.
- A place to beginThe poet’s finger supplies transferable literary luminosity.
- English renderings
- phosphorus
Meaning
Phosphore is the material image for a light that seems transferable from the poet or his finger to writing. Its radiance need not amount to illumination of the reader.
Use in the book
The fragment about writing with mind and thought recalls the poet’s finger passing its phosphorus into an unspecified thing. Its initial luminosity is kept as an appearance, without turning the chemical name into a precise substance in a laboratory account. Much later, minds rubbed with phosphorus seem luminous but shine without illuminating. The distinction limits the value of borrowed brilliance: visible effect and clarifying power are separate achievements.
Places to read
- II, p. 493, entry 2, ¶1The poet’s finger supplies transferable literary luminosity.
- II, p. 772, entry 7, ¶1Minds can shine through borrowed phosphorus without illuminating.
Translation in this edition
The English translation retains phosphorus instead of silently replacing it with inspiration or glow. The earlier pronoun has no named object and its possessor remains potentially ambiguous. At II.772 the English plural follows the plural verbs and pronouns, while French singular Esprit is left uncorrected.
Source note
Beaunier 1938, II, pp. 493, 772.