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 wordProportion concerns relations among parts or the suitability of an expression to its object.
- In JoubertThe work conceived as a being has proportions, a trunk, limbs, stature, and personality.
- In this editionThe English translation preserves the plural “proportions” for an organized body or work, and uses singular “proportion” for the critical judgment.
- A place to beginA work possesses proportions like an individual body.
- English renderings
- proportion; proportions
Meaning
Proportion concerns relations among parts or the suitability of an expression to its object. It may name bodily dimensions without endorsing bulk as a standard of excellence.
Use in the book
The work conceived as a being has proportions, a trunk, limbs, stature, and personality. The physical vocabulary makes composition an organized whole rather than an arbitrary heap. Plastic forms similarly balance parts within and harmonize visible proportions without. In literary controversy, excessive indignation violates proportion because the passions employed are misplaced. These examples connect structure and appropriateness without reducing the latter to a numerical ratio.
Places to read
- I, p. 153, entry 5, ¶2A work possesses proportions like an individual body.
- I, p. 458, entry 1, ¶1Molding forms establish internal balance and visible harmony.
- II, p. 485, entry 13, ¶1Inflamed literary criticism is judged disproportionate.
Translation in this edition
The English translation preserves the plural “proportions” for an organized body or work, and uses singular “proportion” for the critical judgment. The metaphor’s bodily terms are not silently converted into an abstract plan.
Source note
Beaunier 1938, I, pp. 153, 458; II, pp. 485.