Some believe it was Sun-Tzu, a Chinese general and military strategist (c. 500 BC). However his quotation was different. He said, "Know your enemy and know yourself and you will always be victorious." And while "Michael Corleone" did say that in the movie The Godfather Part II, the actual origin of the quote was from Machiavelli in "The Prince" which is the definitive primer on how to be a dictator.
The first part of the quotation means that you always want to keep your friends close to you because they are people you can trust and rely on.
The second part of this means that your enemies are always going to be out there seeking to harm you so you want to keep an extremely close eye on them, in order to make sure that they are not going to hurt you.
Overall, it means that you should always know what your enemies are doing. As a war tactic, know what the enemy is doing so you don't get ambushed.
Churchill
Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer.
"The GodFather"
It teaches that there is always a paradox. The saying goes "keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer" only in this case "keep your enemies close but keep your enemies closer"
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
The Godfather.
"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer" ...is a quotation attributed to Sun-tzu, a Chinese general and military strategist from 400 BC.
try to be nice to your friends but be nicer to your enemies so then your enemies are your friends. eventually every 1 will be your friends!
It means that you should keep your friends close because they will help you and protect you and give you advice. But you should watch you enemies even closer than you friends so you know what they are up to. It dosent mean you have to be friends with your enemies.You should have nothing to fear from your family and friends, but to know your enemies, where they are and what they are capable of is by far better then being surprised in the dark...You don't have to be friends with the enemy to know their capablities.
Quote "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." is from Mario Puzo's famous book "The Godfather"
Al Pacino
Machivelli says that in The Prince.
Chinease writer sun tzu