quotations about enemies
Fear of an enemy can often blind men to other hazards, not least the shape which they themselves make in the world.
CORMAC MCCARTHY
No Country for Old Men
A man's enemies are those he should endeavor first to make his friends.
NORMAN MACDONALD
Maxims and Moral Reflections
Love your enemies but keep your gun oiled.
KEN ALSTAD
Savvy Sayin's
Your enemy brought out your dormant primal instincts, he lit up the primitive circuits of your brain.
E. L. DOCTOROW
Homer & Langley
We're locked in a death grip and it's taking its toll
When our enemies are what make us whole
ANDREW BIRD
"Archipelago", My Finest Work Yet
We tend to become like the worst in those we oppose.
FRANK HERBERT
Chapterhouse: Dune
It is perilous to study too deeply the arts of the Enemy, for good or for ill.
J. R. R. TOLKIEN
The Fellowship of the Ring
I have always paid attention to the merits of my enemies, and found it an advantage.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
The Maxims and Reflections of Goethe
Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind, it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate.
ROBERT A. HEINLEIN
The Notebooks of Lazarus Long
When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time which you must not do it. There will come a time, in many instances, when the person who hates you most, the person who has misused you most, the person who has gossiped about you most, the person who has spread false rumors about you most, there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to defeat that person. It might be in terms of a recommendation for a job; it might be in terms of helping that person to make some move in life. That’s the time you must do it. That is the meaning of love. In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. It’s not merely an emotional something. Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men. It is the refusal to defeat any individual. When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems. Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the system.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
sermon delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Nov. 17, 1957
It is weakness which makes us hate an enemy and seek revenge, and it is idleness that pacifies us and causes us to neglect it.
JEAN DE LA BRUYÈRE
"Of the Affections", Les Caractères
In cases of defence 'tis best to weigh
The enemy more mighty than he seems;
So the proportions of defence are fill'd;
Which of a weak and niggardly projection
Doth, like a miser, spoil his coat with scanting
A little cloth.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Henry V
An enemy is like a darkroom designed to develop you as a portrait for the next season of your life.
J. ELWOOD GATLIN, SR.
260 Gems of Wisdom, 624 Daily Confessions
The only point in having enemies is so you can defeat them, kill them, brush them aside ... or give them a chance to redeem themselves.
DEREK LANDY
Death Bringer
The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.
G. K. CHESTERTON
Illustrated London News, Jul. 16, 1910
It is noteworthy that in Japanese pop culture, enemies are not always villains. It is acknowledged that an enemy is simply the person fighting for the other side of the conflict and that if the story were told from his point of view, he would be the hero of the tale.
ROBIN E. BRENNER
Understanding Manga and Anime
Every man is his greatest enemy, and, as it were, his own executioner.
SIR THOMAS BROWNE
Religio Medici
An adversary may spur us on to great efforts to excel; for there is pain in surpassing those who love us, however it be our duty to prevail; but to exceed any one who is hostile to us will try the heart with but a general compassion, and only a tender and charitable heart--which all, indeed, ought to be.
JAMES VILA BLAKE
Essays
We shall support whatever our enemies oppose and oppose whatever our enemies support.
MAO ZEDONG
Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong
The assault of our enemies is not part of our life; it is only part of our experience; we throw it off and guard ourselves against it as against frost, storm, rain, hail, or any other of the external evils which may be expected to happen.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
The Maxims and Reflections of Goethe