10/26/2014 Duolingo: "The best is the enemy of the good.

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https://www.duolingo.com/comment/1301001 1/3
TOPIC: FRENCH
"The best is the enemy of the good."
Translation: Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien.
10 months ago
16 Comments
LauraBacker 17 13 13 9 7 6 6
What does this mean? In either language?
simulacre 15 5 5
"The best is the enemy of the good" - I think there are multiple possible interpretations.
Here are two that come to my mind, the first being the one that I think was originally
intended:
(1) "Don't be a perfectionist." If you go after the best, you won't get anything done.
Trying to do the best prevents you to do anything at all, including the good. In this
sense "the best is the enemy of the good."
(2) Ethical/political interpretation. If you set your ethical (and political) standards too
high, if you want people to be ethically "the best" (i.e. "completely pure"), which is
something that doesn't exist, you will view and treat everybody as evil, even those
people that are good: the idea of "the best" (which is only ideal) becomes the enemy of
the good (which is real, already existing). In short, it is a critique of ethical and political
ideals, which can make more evil than good (think of the 20th century).
It is a wonderful phrase, because it is saying that (a) "the best" is not real, it can only be
ideal, and that (b) "the best" as ideal has negative effects on the real. This relation
between "the best" and "the good" is interesting because it shows that the most of
something (superlative) can contradict that something. There is no "pure" something,
something as such without what it is not (the best is supposed to be the good without
the bad).
Sitesurf 25 25 2
Your nb1 is the usual interpretation.
kmburkezoo 12 5
Yeah, I use "perfect is the enemy of good," or the my family's phrase,
"sometimes done is better than perfect."
Markle0 10 5 3
I've always heard it given as advice: "Don't let perfect become the
enemy of good" and it means don't waste time on diminishing
returns. It parallels the 80/20 rule: The first 80% takes 20% of the
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10/26/2014 Duolingo: "The best is the enemy of the good."
https://www.duolingo.com/comment/1301001 2/3
time, the last 20% takes 80% of the time.
LauraBacker 17 13 13 9 7 6 6
Thank you! I understand now :)
forest_killer 13 6
it means that we must find some mistakes, sth that we do not do well to make it better,
to achieve the best. If all the things are ok, no thing to change, we can't reach the best.
That what I understand this sentence
Cloudcatcher 12 9
I have only ever heard the English expression "Good is enemy of the best" Meaning once
something is ok, people give up trying to make it better. "Best is the enemy of good" is new to
me, although I can see that also making sense.
insanekiki 15
'bon' is no good here? Why is that?
Basilious 9 2
"Bon" indicates that something is beautiful; "bien" indicates that something is well done
and good or fine. That's why we say, "Je suis bien" when we want to say: "I am fine".
Remy 12 11 11 7 5 3
I would rather say that "bon" is an adjective, and that in this sentence, "the
good" (noun) translates to another noun: (le) "bien".
insanekiki 15
Trs bien! Merci beaucoup!
dadexter 14 9
Mieux in my dictionary is better, where meilluer is best?
Sitesurf 25 25 2
adjective: bon (bonne/bons/bonnes)- meilleur (meilleure/meilleurs/meilleures)- le
meilleur (la meilleure/les meilleurs/les meilleures) = good - better - the best
adverb: bien - mieux - le mieux = well/good - better - the best
dadexter 14 9
Thanks, it is just that my dictionary (Larousse Francais Anglais) shows meilleur
as best also so there seems to be some inconsistency.
10/26/2014 Duolingo: "The best is the enemy of the good."
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Ariaflame 20 18 480
mieux or meilleur are both roughly equivalent to 'better' putting the
'le' in front of them changes the 'better' to 'best'.