Enemy Quotes
It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt you to the heart: the one to slander you and the other to get the news to you.
"It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt you to the heart: the one to slander you and the other to get the news to you."— Mark Twain
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Meaning of this quote
A hostile remark can become more painful when a friend carries it to its target. Twain’s joke questions whether repeating harmful gossip is helpful.
Key takeaway:
Consider whether passing on an insult serves a useful purpose.
Origin of the quote
Following the Equator (1897), Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar.
Who actually said this?
VerifiedThe Chapter IX epigraph contains the passage. The post changes punctuation in the final contrast.
