Joseph Joubert (; 6 May 1754 in Montignac,

Périgord Périgord ( , ; ; oc, Peiregòrd / ) is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne department, now forming the northern part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is div ...

– 4 May 1824 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

) was a

French moralist In French literature, the moralists (french: moralistes) were a tradition of secular writers who described "personal, social and political conduct", typically through maxims. The tradition is associated with the salons of the ''Ancien Régime'' f ...

and

essayist An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal an ...

, remembered today largely for his ''Pensées'' (''Thoughts''), which were published posthumously.

Biography

From the age of fourteen Joubert attended a religious college in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...

, where he later taught until 1776. In 1778 he went to

where he met

D'Alembert Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert (; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the ''Encyclopéd ...

and

Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominen ...

, amongst others, and later became a friend of a young writer and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, Chateaubriand. He alternated between living in

with his friends and life in the privacy of the countryside in

Villeneuve-sur-Yonne Villeneuve-sur-Yonne () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. It is surrounded by a partly intact wall, built during the 12th century, which was one of the 8 residences of the French kings. G ...

. He was appointed inspector-general of universities under Napoleon. Joubert published nothing during his lifetime, but he wrote a copious number of letters and filled sheets of paper and small notebooks with thoughts about the nature of human existence, literature, and other topics, in a poignant, often

aphoristic An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...

style. After his death his widow entrusted Chateaubriand with these notes, and in 1838, he published a selection titled, ''Recueil des pensées de M. Joubert'' (''Collected Thoughts of Mr. Joubert''). More complete editions were to follow, as were collections of Joubert's correspondence. Somewhat of the

Epicurean Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings b ...

school of philosophy, Joubert even valued his own frequent suffering of ill health, as he believed sickness gave subtlety to the soul. Joubert's works have been translated into numerous languages. In 1866 "Some of the 'Thoughts' of Joseph Joubert" were translated by George H. Calvert. A later English translation version was made by

Paul Auster Paul Benjamin Auster (born February 3, 1947) is an American writer and film director. His notable works include ''The New York Trilogy'' (1987), '' Moon Palace'' (1989), '' The Music of Chance'' (1990), ''The Book of Illusions'' (2002), '' The B ...

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, li ...

in his Critical Essays devotes a section to Joubert.

Quotes

*''There are some acts of justice which corrupt those who perform them.''

Principal editions

*''Recueil des pensées de M. Joubert'', published by Chateaubriand, Le Normant, Paris, 1838
Text online
*''Pensées, essais, maximes et correspondance de J. Joubert'', preface by Paul Raynal, Le Normant, Paris, 1850 ; 1861
Text on line
*''Pensées'', introduction and noted by Victor Giraud, Bloud, Paris, 1909 *''Carnets'', texts collected by André Beaunier, Gallimard, Paris, 1938 ; 1994 *''Correspondance de

Louis de Fontanes Louis-Marcelin, marquis de Fontanes (6 March 175717 March 1821) was a French poet and politician. Biography Born in Niort (Deux-Sèvres), he belonged to a noble Protestant family of Languedoc which had been reduced to poverty by the revocation of ...

et de Joseph Joubert : (1785-1819)'', Plon, Paris, 1943 *''Pensées et Lettres'', organized by Raymond Dumay and Maurice Andrieux, Grasset, 1954 *''Pensées'', selected texts presented by Raymond Dumay, Club français du livre, 1954 *''Essais : 1779-1821'', complete critical version by Rémy Tessonneau, A.G. Nizet, Paris, 1983

References

External links

*
Joubert's works
at

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national reposito ...

(in French)
Review of translations by Paul Auster
*English translations o
Joubert's works
at Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Joubert, Joseph 1754 births 1824 deaths French male essayists People from Dordogne