The best is the enemy of the good.

Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien.

Voltaire

More information about this quote

Topic

Perfection

Author

Voltaire

Medium

Poem

Language

French

Time

1770 1770s 18th century

Occupation

Philosopher Writer

From

France Europe

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Voltaire. La Bégueule, Conte Moral. Lausanne: Chez François Grasset et Comp, 1772.

Illustrated Quote

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A quote by Voltaire about perfection: “The best is the enemy of the good.”
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A quote by Voltaire about perfection: “The best is the enemy of the good.”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by Voltaire

If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.

Voltaire

More information about this quote
Topic
Existence of God God

Author

Voltaire
Source
Letter to the Author of The Three Imposters
Medium
Letter
Language
French
Time
1768 1760s 18th century
Authentication Score 2
Citation

Voltaire. Épître à l'Auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs [Letter to the author of The Three Impostors]. 10 Nov. 1770.

Another quote from the 1770s

If you inquire what the people are like here, I must answer, "The same as everywhere!"

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Sorrows of Young Werther

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More information about this quote
Topic
Nature of man

Author

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Source
The Sorrows of Young Werther
Medium
Novel
Genre
Epistolary novel
Language
German
Time
1774 1770s 18th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang. Die Leiden des jungen Werthers [The Sorrows of Young Werther]. Leipzig: Weygand'sche Buchhandlung, 1774.

Current Citation

Von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang. "The Sorrows of Young Werther." The Sorrows of Young Werther and Selected Writings, translated by Catherin Hutter. Signet, 2013.

Another quote originally in French

The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said, "This is mine," and found people naïve enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Discourse on Inequality

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More information about this quote
Topic
Civil society Property rights

Author

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Source
Discourse on Inequality
Genre
Political literature
Language
French
Time
1755 1750s 18th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discours sur l'origine et les fondemonts de l'inegalite parmi les hommes [Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men]. Amsterdam: Marc-Michel Rey, 1755, pt. 2.

Current Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, translated by Donald A. Cress. Hackett, 1992, pt. 2.