“Thou canst not joke an Enemy into a Friend; but thou may'st a Friend into an Enemy.”

— Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack (1739)

About Benjamin Franklin

1706 – 1790

American statesman, scientist, printer and writer, who published 'Poor Richard's Almanack' for many years.

“Well done is better than well said.”

“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

“He that lives upon Hope will die fasting.”

“Before you make a friend, eat a bushel of salt with him.”

“While both are dear, piety requires us to honor truth above our friends.”

“But thus do I counsel you, my friends: distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful!”

“Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.”

“I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”

“We are not born for ourselves alone; a part of us is claimed by our nation, another part by our friends.”