Perfect is the enemy of good - wikipedia Perfect is the enemy of good Perfect is the enemy of good is an aphorism, an English variant of the older better is the enemy of good, which was popularized by Voltaire in French form. Alternative forms include `` the perfect is the enemy of the good '' or `` the enemy of the good is the better '', which more closely translate French and earlier Italian sayings, or `` ( the ) perfect is the enemy of ( the ) good enough ''. Similar sentiments occur in other phrases, including from English, and are all attested since around 1600. Contents 1 History 2 Related concepts 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading History The phrase is found in Italian as Il meglio è nemico del bene ( The better is enemy of the good ), attested since the 1603 Proverbi italiani ( Italian Proverbs ), by Orlando Pescetti. The phrase was popularized by Voltaire. He first used the saying in Italian in the article `` Art Dramatique '' in the 1770 edition of the Dictionnaire philosophique. It subsequently appeared in French in his moral poem, `` La Bégueule '', in Contes ( Tales ), 1772, which starts, ascribing it to an unnamed `` Italian sage '' or `` wise Italian '' : Dans ses écrits, un sage Italien Dit que le mieux est l'ennemi du bien. ( In his writings, a wise Italian says that the better is the enemy of good. ) This sentiment in English literature can be traced back to Shakespeare, In his tragedy King Lear, the Duke of Albany warns of `` striving to better, oft we mar what 's well '' and in Sonnet 103 : Were it not sinful then, striving to mend, To mar the subject that before was well ? Related concepts A widely accepted interpretation of `` The perfect is the enemy of the good '' is that one might never complete a task if one has decided not to stop until it is perfect : completing the project well is made impossible by striving to complete it perfectly. Closely related is the Nirvana fallacy, in which people never even begin an important task because they feel reaching perfection is too hard. The original meaning may have been that attempts to improve something may actually make it worse, similar to the sentiment expressed in the maxim `` leave well enough alone ''. Neither the Shakespeare nor the Voltaire construction suggests perfection, only improvement, lending support to this interpretation. Earlier, Aristotle, Confucius and other classical philosophers propounded the related principle of the golden mean, which counsels against extremism in general. The Pareto principle or 80 -- 20 rule is a 20th - century analogue. For example, it commonly takes 20 % of the full time to complete 80 % of a task, while to complete the last 20 % of a task takes 80 % of the effort. Achieving absolute perfection may be impossible and so, as increasing effort results in diminishing returns, further activity becomes increasingly inefficient. Robert Watson - Watt, who developed early warning radar in Britain to counter the rapid growth of the Luftwaffe, propounded a `` cult of the imperfect '', which he described as, `` Give them the third best to go on with ; the second best comes too late, the best never comes. '' See also Wikiquote has quotations related to : Perfection Gold plating ( software engineering ) Nirvana fallacy Satisficing Utopia Worse is better References Jump up ^ p. 30, p. 45 Jump up ^ Susan Ratcliffe ( 2011 ), Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Oxford University Press, p. 389, ISBN 978 - 0199567072 Jump up ^ Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel ; Allen W. Wood ; Hugh Barr Nisbet ( 1991 ), Elements of the Philosophy of Right, Cambridge University Press, p. 447, ISBN 978 - 0521348881 Jump up ^ Robert Allen ( 2008 ), Allen 's Dictionary of English Phrases, Penguin UK, pp. 242 -- 243, ISBN 978 - 0140515114 Jump up ^ Tal Ben - Shahar ( 2009 ), The Pursuit of Perfect, McGraw Hill Professional, p. 113, ISBN 978 - 0 - 07 - 160882 - 4 Jump up ^ E. Gandevia ; S. Breakspear ( 2009 ), Equip, Talent Generation, p. 30, ISBN 978 - 0980679304 Jump up ^ L Brown ( 1999 ), Technical and Military Imperatives : A Radar History of World War 2, p. 64, ISBN 9781420050660 Further reading Eric Johns ( October 1988 ), `` Perfect is the Enemy of Good Enough '', U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings : 37 Robert Watson - Watt ( 1957 ), `` The Cult of the Imperfect '', Three Steps to Victory, Odhams, pp. 74 -- 77 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good&oldid=827666643 '' Categories : Proverbs Talk Contents About Wikipedia עברית Edit links This page was last edited on 26 February 2018, at 01 : 11. About Wikipedia

Question: who said perfect is the enemy of good
Answer: Voltaire