Joseph Joubert

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

1. The aim of an argument is not victory but improvement.

   Most arguments are fought to win, so both sides leave unchanged. Joubert wants every disagreement to leave someone better informed. Go into the next debate asking what you could learn, not how you could score.

   Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre VIII, our translation from the French

2. A target is not always set to be hit, but to be aimed at.

   Some ideals are too high to reach completely, and that is the point. They give direction and pull you further than a modest goal would. Aim at the high mark and judge yourself by how far it moves you.

   Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre IX, our translation from the French

3. Be gentle and lenient with everyone. Except yourself.

   Joubert flips the usual habit of excusing ourselves and judging others. Give everyone else the benefit of the doubt, and keep the hard standard for your own conduct. It makes you easier to live with and harder to beat.

   Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre V, our translation from the French

4. Good impulses are nothing until they become good actions.

   Feeling moved to help, call or change is not the same as doing it. Intentions that never leave your head count for nothing. Close the gap: when a good impulse arrives, act on it the same day.

   Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre V, our translation from the French

5. A high heart and a modest mind.

   Aim high in courage and generosity, and stay humble about what you know. Big spirit, small ego. That pairing makes people both brave and teachable.

   Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre V, our translation from the French

6. Each must be his own magistrate, king and judge.

   No one else can govern your life for you. Joubert hands you all three offices: make your own rules, rule yourself by them and judge yourself honestly when you break them. Self-command starts with taking the job.

   Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre IX, our translation from the French

7. Without duty, life is soft and boneless.

   Obligations feel like weight, but they are also the skeleton that holds a life upright. Remove every duty and a person collapses into drift. Keep commitments that give your days a spine.

   Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre IX, our translation from the French

8. Don't cut what you can untie.

   Breaking things off is fast and final; untangling them takes patience. Joubert prefers the patient way whenever it is possible, in relationships, conflicts and problems alike. Before you cut, see whether the knot can be loosened.

   Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre IX, our translation from the French

9. Let the flags fly and the sails fill. The mast stays fixed.

   Joubert pictures a ship: anchors and ballast are your settled convictions, and the mast must never move. Moods and opinions can flutter and swell like flags and sails. Let the surface of your life move with the wind while the core holds.

   Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre IX, our translation from the French

10. Convince with your reasons. Persuade only with theirs.

    Your arguments can prove a point, but people change their minds for their own reasons. To move someone, find what they already care about and show how it leads where you want to go. Listen first, then argue in their terms.

    Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre VIII, our translation from the French

11. Each of us is his own Fate, spinning his own future.

    The ancients imagined the Fates spinning each person's thread of life. Joubert puts the spindle in your own hands. Your habits and choices today are the thread your future is made of.

    Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre VII, our translation from the French

12. Like Daedalus, I forge my wings. One feather a day.

    Daedalus built wings to escape his prison, one feather at a time. Joubert describes his own slow work the same way. Big freedoms are built by small daily additions; add your feather today.

    Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre préliminaire, our translation from the French

13. When my friends have one eye, I look at them in profile.

    Everyone has a flaw you could stare at. Joubert chooses to look from the angle where it does not show. Love your friends from their best side, and they will often grow into it.

    Pensées, essais et maximes (1850), vol. 1, Titre préliminaire, our translation from the French