Self-help is the best help
It is easier to become entangled with an enemy than to disentangle oneself afterwards.
A Fox entered the house of an actor and, rummaging through all his properties, came upon a Mask, an admirable imitation of a human head. He placed his paws on it and said, "What a beautiful head! Yet it is of no value, as it entirely lacks brains."
Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.
Betray a friend, and you'll often find you have ruined yourself.
Others may try to feed our ego, but it is up to us to constrain it.