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 this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others?

Voltaire

Candide

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More information about this quote
Topic
Problem of evil

Author

Voltaire
Source
Candide
Medium
Novel
Genre
Satire
Statement Type
Question
Language
French
Time
1759 1750s 18th century
Era
Age of Enlightenment
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Voltaire. Candide, ou l'Optimisme [Candide: or, All for the Best]. Geneva: Gabriel Cramer, 1759, ch. 6.

Current Citation

Voltaire. Candide, edited by Nicholas Cronk. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016, ch. 6.

Another quote from the 1770s

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.

Adam Smith

The Wealth of Nations

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More information about this quote
Topic
Self-interest Free market Capitalism

Author

Adam Smith
Source
The Wealth of Nations
Genre
Economic literature
Language
English
Time
1776 1770s 18th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations. Vol. 1, London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1776, bk. 1, ch. 2.

Current Citation

Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, edited by Edwin Cannan. The Modern Library, bk. 1, ch. 2.

Another quote originally in French

Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake.

Napoleon Bonaparte

More information about this quote
Topic
Military strategy

Author

Napoleon Bonaparte
Source
History of Europe
Language
French
Time
1805 1800s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Bonaparte, Napoleon. Quoted in History of Europe from the Commencement of the French Revolution in 1789 to the Restoration of the Bourbons in 1815, written by Archibald Alison. Vol. 5, Paris: Baudry's European Library, 1841.