Who said "Neither a borrower or a lender be"?

Updated February 23, 2017 | Factmonster Staff

The Question:

Who said "Neither a borrower nor a lender be"?

The Answer:

That saying was taken from a soliloquy by Polonius in Act I, Scene 3 of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Polonius is giving advice to his son Laertes before Laertes heads back to school. Here is more of the quote.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Some people may say that this is the advice of a fool. But it certainly sounds nice, doesn't it?

-The Fact Monster

Sources +
 
See also: