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"The enemy of my enemy is my friend" is an ancient proverb which suggests that two parties can or should work together against a common enemy. The exact meaning of the modern phrase was first expressed in the Latin phrase "Amicus meus, inimicus inimici mei" ("my friend, the enemy of my enemy"), which had become common throughout Europe by the early 18th century, while the first recorded use of ...
A proverbial phrase or expression is a type of conventional saying similar to a proverb and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. [1] [2] In 1768, John Ray defined a proverbial phrase as:
The phrase "My enemy's enemy is my friend", and various translations thereof, is attributed to Sun Tzu (6th century BCE) in The Art of War. Sun Tzu lived during the later years of the Old Chinese (language) period, about 300 years before the founding of the first Chinese Empire - which happened about a century after Old Chinese finished its ...
In the English-speaking world the aphorism is commonly attributed to Voltaire, who quoted an Italian proverb in his Questions sur l'Encyclopédie in 1770: "Il meglio è l'inimico del bene ". [1] It subsequently appeared in his moral poem, La Bégueule, which starts: [2] Dans ses écrits, un sage Italien Dit que le mieux est l'ennemi du bien.
The saying Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad, sometimes given in Latin as Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat (literally: Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first deprives of reason) or Quem Iuppiter vult perdere, dementat prius (literally: Those whom Jupiter wishes to destroy, he first deprives of reason) has been used in English literature since at least the 17th century.
Proverbs 29 is the 29th chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. [1] [2] The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably ...
The proverb is found in a number of forms. Benjamin Franklin included a version in his Poor Richard's Almanack (1758), but over a century earlier, the poet George Herbert included it in a 1640 collection of aphorisms. [4] [5] [6] Predecessors include the following:
A proverb (from Latin: proverbium) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language.