Mieux vaut une tête bien faite qu\\\'une tête bien pleine

English translation: rather a well-made than a well-filled head

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:Mieux vaut une tête bien faite qu\\\'une tête bien pleine
English translation:rather a well-made than a well-filled head
Entered by: CLS Lexi-tech

08:30 Sep 10, 2001
French to English translations [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary
French term or phrase: Mieux vaut une tête bien faite qu\\\'une tête bien pleine
This is a proverb by the French writer Montaigne
Sophie Royer
see quote below
Explanation:
I would, also, have his friends solicitous to find him out a tutor,
who has rather a well-made than a well-filled head

This is a quote from Selected Essays by Montaign that you can find at the site
Concordances of Great Books
http://www.concordance.com/cgi-bin/2wrdr.pl

I had sent this quote this morning, but I must have done something wrong, because I discovered now that it never made it to the site.

cheers

paola l m
Selected response from:

CLS Lexi-tech
Local time: 16:44
Grading comment
Thanks a lot for your help! I need this translation to put into my final dissertation!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2A well-ordered mind is better/worth more than an overfull one
Mary Worby
4A good head is better than a lot of knowledge
Genevieve Tournebize
4see quote below
CLS Lexi-tech
4a clear mind is better than an overcrowed one
Didier LONGUEVILLE


  

Answers


25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
A well-ordered mind is better/worth more than an overfull one


Explanation:
I couldn't find any translation of this proverb anywhere. But the sense seems to be that organisation is the key and that (especially when it comes to learning and children) order is more important than pure information.

HTH

Mary


    Reference: http://www.google.com
Mary Worby
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:44
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 484

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Guy Bray
20 mins

agree  Buzzy: Sense confirmed by a French literature teacher I know
16 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
A good head is better than a lot of knowledge


Explanation:
that's my idea

Genevieve Tournebize
Local time: 15:44
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 28
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
see quote below


Explanation:
I would, also, have his friends solicitous to find him out a tutor,
who has rather a well-made than a well-filled head

This is a quote from Selected Essays by Montaign that you can find at the site
Concordances of Great Books
http://www.concordance.com/cgi-bin/2wrdr.pl

I had sent this quote this morning, but I must have done something wrong, because I discovered now that it never made it to the site.

cheers

paola l m


CLS Lexi-tech
Local time: 16:44
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in pair: 162
Grading comment
Thanks a lot for your help! I need this translation to put into my final dissertation!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

17 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
a clear mind is better than an overcrowed one


Explanation:
Une tête bien faite: well structured, well organized, well managed, clear
Une tête bien pleine: full of knowledge, overcroweded, saturated

J'ai essayé de garder l'aspect compact qui sied si bien aux proverbes. Cependant mes limites en anglais ne permettent pas de trouver la traduction littéraire idéale.

Didier LONGUEVILLE
Local time: 22:44
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in pair: 58
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search