Keep your friends close and your enemies closer
Meaning: It's wise to monitor those who might harm you.
Origin: Spoken by Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974), written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola: "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." It is often credited to Sun Tzu or Machiavelli, but no such line appears in their works.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Garde tes amis près de toi, et tes ennemis encore plus près (literally: Keep your friends near you, and your enemies even nearer)
- Spanish: Mantén a tus amigos cerca y a tus enemigos más cerca (literally: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer)
- Japanese: 友は近くに、敵はもっと近くに (Tomo wa chikaku ni, teki wa motto chikaku ni) (literally: Friends close, enemies closer)
- German: Halte deine Freunde nah, aber deine Feinde noch näher (literally: Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Jack of all trades, master of none — Versatility can come at the cost of expertise.
- Haste makes waste — Rushing leads to mistakes and wasted effort.
- Don't cry over spilled milk — Don't worry about things that have already happened.
- A penny saved is a penny earned — Saving money is just as valuable as earning it.
- Easy come, easy go — Things obtained without effort are easily lost.
- The proof is in the pudding — Results speak louder than promises.
From our compliments & insults
- Más terco/a que una mula — Hopelessly obstinate — no argument, fact, or force of nature will shift their position.
- Pareces un pulpo en un garaje — You're completely out of place — flailing around uselessly in an environment that makes n…
- Che rompiscatole — What an insufferable pest — someone who endlessly pesters and never lets you be.