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Better safe than sorry; Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven (John Milton, in Paradise Lost) [8] Be yourself; Better the Devil you know (than the Devil you do not) Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all; Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness; Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to ...
James G. Blaine finally gained the 1884 Republican nomination for U.S. president on his third attempt: "Another victory like this and our money's gone!". A Pyrrhic victory (/ ˈ p ɪr ɪ k / ⓘ PIRR-ik) is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. [1]
If legislation is used for such an attempt, people observe the letter of the law rather than improve the desired behaviour. The threat of punishment may make behavior less rather than more ethical. [10] Studies of business ethics indicate that most wrongdoing is not due directly to wickedness but is performed by people who did not plan to err. [11]
One might also say that an unlikely event will happen "on the 32nd of the month". To express indefinite postponement, you might say that an event is deferred "to the [Greek] Calends" (see Latin). A less common expression used to point out someone's wishful thinking is Αν η γιαγιά μου είχε καρούλια, θα ήταν ...
Perfect is the enemy of good is an aphorism that means insistence on perfection often prevents implementation of good improvements. Achieving absolute perfection may be impossible; one should not let the struggle for perfection stand in the way of appreciating or executing on something that is imperfect but still of value.
Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person who has dabbled in many skills, rather than gaining expertise by focusing on only one. The original version, "a jack of all trades", is often used as a compliment for a person who is good at fixing things and has a good level of broad knowledge.
Leibniz then claims that the only possible reason for the choice between these possible worlds is "the fitness or the degree of perfection" which they possess – i.e., the quality which makes worlds better than others, so that the world with the greatness "fitness" or "perfection" is the best one.
The late-medieval author Chaucer (c. 1343 –1400) observed "The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne" ("The life so short, the craft so long to learn", the first line of the Parlement of Foules). [6] The first-century CE rabbi Tarfon is quoted as saying "The day is short, the labor vast, the workers are lazy, the reward great, the Master ...