“You and I were long friends: you are now my enemy, and I am yours.”

— Benjamin Franklin

Letter to William Strahan (5 July 1775); reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
Epistles

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "You and I were long friends: you are now my enemy, and I am yours." by Benjamin Franklin?

Benjamin Franklin photo

Benjamin Franklin183

American author, printer, political theorist, politician, p… 1706–1790

Related quotes

“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”

Kresley Cole American writer

Source: Dark Skye

“I will never hurt you.
I will always help you.
If you are hungry
Ill give you my food.
If you are frightened
I am your friend.
I love you now.
And love does not end.”

Orson Scott Card Songmaster

Source: Songmaster

“Come as you are, as you were
As I want you to be
As a trend, as a friend, as a known enemy
Take your time, hurry up
The choice is yours, don't be late.”

Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) American musician and artist

Come As You Are.
Song lyrics, Nevermind (1991)

“I love my enemies, but am hell on my friends.”

Ammon Hennacy (1893–1970) American Christian radical

[The Book of Ammon, 1970, Hennacy, 205]

“If the enemy of my enemy is my friend, then surely you should be friend to my friend.”

Holly Black book The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Source: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

“My friends call me by my name."
"You don't have any friends."
"I don't want you to be my friend, Selia, or my servant, not now. I thought you were both. You have let me know I was wrong. So are you to treat me so. You are wrong.”

Shannon Hale The Goose Girl

Source: The Goose Girl

“How do I know I can trust you?'

'You can't,' he said bluntly. 'You've got to take it on faith that the enemy of your enemy is your friend.”

Richelle Mead book Last Sacrifice

Source: Last Sacrifice

“You frequently ask, where are the friends of your childhood, and urge that they shall be brought back to you. As far as I am able to learn, those of your friends who are not in jail are still right there in your native village. You point out that they were wont to share your gambols, If so, you are certainly entitled to have theirs now.”

Stephen Leacock Literary Lapses

The Poet Answered
Literary Lapses (1910)

“If you want enemies, excel your friends; but if you want friends, let your friends excel you.”

Dale Carnegie How to Win Friends and Influence People

How to Win Friends and Influence People

“Keep your enemies close, but your friends closer. That way your friends are between you and your enemies.”

Jim C. Hines (1974) American writer

Source: The Goblin Quest Series, Goblin Hero (2007), Chapter 7 (p. 117)

Related topics