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.

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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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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

A lawyer has no business with the justice or injustice of the cause which he undertakes, unless his client asks his opinion, and then he is bound to give it honestly. The justice or injustice of the cause is to be decided by the judge.

Samuel Johnson

Quoted in The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, by James Boswell

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More information about this quote
Topic
Lawyers Legal theory
Speaker
Samuel Johnson

Author

James Boswell
Source
The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides
Genre
Travel writing
Language
English
Time
1773 1770s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Johnson, Samuel. Quoted in journal entry, written by James Boswell. 15 Aug. 1773.

Current Citation

Johnson, Samuel and James Boswell. "The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides." A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and the Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, edited by Jack Lynch and Celia Barnes. Oxford University Press, 2021.

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.