We must respect the past, and mistrust the present, if we wish to provide for the safety of the future.

The line argues for a conservative epistemology: the past deserves respect because it contains accumulated experience, tested institutions, and hard-won lessons; the present deserves “mistrust” because it is prone to novelty, passion, and self-deception. Joubert is not simply praising tradition for its own sake, but warning that uncritical confidence in current opinions can endanger what comes next. “Safety of the future” suggests stewardship—acting with humility toward what we inherit and caution toward what we improvise. The quote thus frames prudence as a moral duty: to protect posterity, we must weigh present enthusiasms against historical memory.