Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1744 ed.)

Dave — Tue, 12 May 2015 12:05:38 +0000

Tart Words make no Friends: a spoonful of honey will catch more flies than Gallon of Vinegar.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1744 ed.)
(Source)

Not original with Franklin. See Giovanni Torriano, A Common Place of Italian Proverbs [Piazza universale di proverbi Italiani] (1666):

Il mele catta più mosche, che non fà l'aceto.

Honey gets more flyes to it, than doth viniger.

WIST Quotations