“Was it a friend or foe that spread these lies?
Nay, who but infants question in such wise,
'T was one of my most intimate enemies.”

Fragment, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).

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 "Was it a friend or foe that spread these lies? Nay, who but infants question in such wise, 'T was one of my most inti…" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti?
Dante Gabriel Rossetti photo
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 33
English poet, illustrator, painter and translator 1828–1882

Related quotes

Mao Zedong photo

“Who are our enemies? Who are our friends? This is a question of the first importance for the revolution.”

Mao Zedong (1893–1976) Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

谁是我们的敌人?谁是我们的朋友?这个问题是革命的首要问题.
Shéi shì wǒmen de dírén? Shéi shì wǒmen de péngyǒu? Zhège wèntí shì gémìng de shǒuyào wèntí.
Chapter 2 https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/ch02.htm, originally published in Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society (March 1926), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 1.
Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong (The Little Red Book)

Andrew Jackson photo

“The individual who refuses to defend his rights when called by his Government, deserves to be a slave, and must be punished as an enemy of his country and friend to her foe.”

Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) American general and politician, 7th president of the United States

"Proclamation to the people of Louisiana" from Mobile (21 September 1814).
1810s

Jean De La Fontaine photo

“Nothing is as dangerous as an ignorant friend; a wise enemy is to be preferred.”

Jean De La Fontaine (1621–1695) French poet, fabulist and writer.

Rien n'est si dangereux qu'un ignorant ami;
Mieux vaudrait un sage ennemi.
Book VIII (1678-1679), fable 10.
Fables (1668–1679)
Variant: Nothing is more dangerous than a friend without discretion; even a prudent enemy is preferable.

Mao Zedong photo

“Who are our enemies and who are our friends? This is the first and foremost question of a revolution and it is also the first and foremost question of the great Cultural Revolution.”

Mao Zedong (1893–1976) Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

1967
Directives Regarding the Cultural Revolution (1966-1972)

Warren G. Harding photo

“I have no trouble with my enemies. I can take care of my enemies all right. But my damn friends, my god-damned friends, White, they're the ones who keep me walking the floor nights!”

Warren G. Harding (1865–1923) American politician, 29th president of the United States (in office from 1921 to 1923)

Remark to editor William Alan White, as quoted in Thomas Harry Williams et al. (1959) A History of the United States.
1920s

Holly Black photo
Marc Benioff photo

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so that makes Google my best friend.”

Marc Benioff (1964) American businessman

Quoted in Miguel Helft, " Google and Salesforce Join to Fight Microsoft http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/technology/14google.html?_r=1&oref=slogin", New York Times (April 14, 2008).

Abraham Lincoln photo

“A friend is one who has the same enemies as you have.”

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States

“But most men must first be persuaded that the task lies ahead and not behind — that we are infants still, with loaded guns for toys.”

Philip Wylie (1902–1971) American writer

Source: Generation of Vipers (1942), p. 20
Context: The blame for Armageddon lies on man. And the millennium will come only when the average man exhibits a scientific integrity about all he is and does — instead of half of it. Many a psychological Archimedes has put signposts on the hard road man must follow if he is to avoid self-destruction and come into his own. A few very great modern scientists have added to the lore. Indications of what man may expect of himself are everywhere at hand. But most men must first be persuaded that the task lies ahead and not behind — that we are infants still, with loaded guns for toys.

Related topics