IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchDieu reconnaîtra les siens
Meaning: Act without discriminating and let a higher authority sort out the innocent.
Literally: God will recognize his own
Example: “Le nouveau prof punit toute la classe à chaque bêtise : Dieu reconnaîtra les siens.” — The new teacher punishes the whole class for every prank: kill them all and let God sort them out.
English equivalent: Kill them all and let God sort them out
Equivalents in other languages
English: Origin: Attributed to the papal legate Arnaud Amaury at the sack of Béziers in 1209, asked how to tell Cathars from Catholics. The attribution comes from a later chronicler and may be invention; twenty thousand people were killed regardless.
More French idioms
- À l'eau de rose Insipidly sentimental, especially of fiction.
- L'échapper belle To have a narrow escape.
- Faire l'école buissonnière To play truant.
- Ne pas tarir d'éloges To praise someone endlessly.
- Une éminence grise The unofficial power behind a public figure.
- À l'emporte-pièce Trenchant and uncompromising, of a remark or judgment.
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