Any french literature geniuses? Corneille...

[frenchliterature]

I can't find this in context online - it is from "The Palace Gallery" - what does it mean in context?!

"Everyone does what they can, and this is no wonder
If, as with good right a case is lost,
Often a good work has little success"

"Chacun fait ce qu'il peut, et ce n'est pas merveille
si, comme avec bon droit on perd bien un procès,
souvent un bon ouvrage a de faibles succès"

Thank you!

What don't you understand? I find the translation accurate. You may well lose a legal case even though you are the one in the right. In the same way, sometimes you put a lot of work into something but ultimately fail.

In other words, life is unfair...

There are a couple of bits of the translation that are a bit literal and I don't think help understanding - I think it would better as "...it's no wonder that, just as one can lose a lawsuit even with right on your side, often a good piece of work...".

The meaning is as PP said though.

Ah thank you both. I think it was the context I saw it in which confused me, because it just didn't seem to fit, and also I had a migraine last night and so my brain wasn't working. Your posts make perfect sense!