"Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien."
— Voltaire
January 1, 1970
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Added on April 10, 2026
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Fantasy authors
Academics from France
Science fiction authors
Essayists from France
Historians from France
Original Language: English
Sources
The best is the enemy of the good. — "La Bégueule" (Contes, 1772) — Variant translations: The perfect is the enemy of the good. The better is the enemy of the good. — Note: translation of earlier traditional Italian Il meglio è nemico del bene, attested since 1603: Proverbi italiani (Italian Proverbs), by Orlando Pescetti (c. 1556 – c. 1624) (p. 30, p. 45) — Note: Voltaire cites this saying in his poem "La Bégueule" ("The prude woman") while ascribing it to an unnamed "Italian sage"; he also giv
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The best is the enemy of the good. — "La Bégueule" (Contes, 1772) — Variant translations: The perfect is the enemy of the good. The better is the enemy of the good. — Note: translation of earlier traditional Italian Il meglio è nemico del bene, attested since 1603: Proverbi italiani (Italian Proverbs), by Orlando Pescetti (c. 1556 – c. 1624) (p. 30, p. 45) — Note: Voltaire cites this saying in his poem "La Bégueule" ("The prude woman") while ascribing it to an unnamed "Italian sage"; he also giv