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 wordSensorium is a Latin term for a seat or organ of sensation, retained within Joubert’s discussion of Newton’s account of space.
- In JoubertJoubert says that Newton conceives space outside God where it should be put inside.
- In this editionThe English translation leaves sensorium untranslated and explains the term separately.
- A place to beginThe Latin term mediates a sequence of bodily comparisons applied to space.
- English renderings
- sensorium
Meaning
Sensorium is a Latin term for a seat or organ of sensation, retained within Joubert’s discussion of Newton’s account of space.
Use in the book
Joubert says that Newton conceives space outside God where it should be put inside. He then moves through bodily images: face, sensorium, body, stature. The sentence that Newton does not dare call it God’s body is Joubert’s characterization, not an independently verified Newton quotation. The local series helps a reader understand what the unusual Latin term is doing without treating it as an exact substitute for brain.
Places to read
- I, p. 451, entry 8, ¶1The Latin term mediates a sequence of bodily comparisons applied to space.
Translation in this edition
The English translation leaves sensorium untranslated and explains the term separately. It retains “if I dare speak this way,” marking Joubert’s own caution about the divine bodily image.
Source note
Beaunier 1938, I, pp. 451. Language: Latin within French prose. No external Newton passage is authenticated here.