Quotation by

Alexander Pope

Trust not yourself, but your defects to know, make use of every friend and every foe.

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Understanding this quote AI Analysis

Alexander Pope is saying that you should not rely on your own judgment alone, but instead be aware of your own weaknesses to guide your decisions. He also advises taking advantage of all relationships, whether friendly or hostile, to gain insight and benefit.

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Let's say a Soviet exchange student back in the '70s would go back and tell the KGB about people and places and things that he'd seen and done and been involved with. This is not really espionage the…

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Espionage, for the most part, involves finding a person who knows something or has something that you can induce them secretly to give to you. That almost always involves a betrayal of trust.