quotations about enemies
We ought not to make those people our enemies who might have become our friends, if we had only known them better.
JEAN DE LA BRUYÈRE
"Of the Affections", Les Caractères
Men of sense often learn from their enemies. It is from their foes, not their friends, that cities learn the lesson of building high walls and ships of war.
ARISTOPHANES
The Birds
He who has his enemy's love and trust is in a far better position to attack, later, when the time is right.
K. J. PARKER
Devices and Desires
When we admit that our enemies are really a part of ourselves they help us (or force us) to incorporate the unity of God and of creation into our lives.
MOSHE SCHATZ
preface, You Are What You Hate
I have only one real and true enemy on earth, and that is myself.
CHRISTIAN MORGENSTERN
An Evolution in Aphorisms
The enemy to be feared most is one who wears the face of a friend.
BRIAN HERBERT & KEVEN J. ANDERSON
Dune: House Corrino
Scratch a lover, and find a foe.
DOROTHY PARKER
"Ballads of a Great Weariness", Enough Rope
When the inhabitants of a free city have overcome the enemy in the field, it is not easy to express the pleasure which they feel in putting their opponents to flight, as well as in pursuing and making havoc of them.
XENOPHON
Hiero
The enemy is never more unnerving than when he's invisible.
K. J. PARKER
Devices and Desires
Boyfriends
And girlfriends
And enemies
Those upon which we rely
LOW
"Boyfriends and Girlfriends"
The enemy
Is gonna get me
But not today
On my horsey
MOLOKO
"On My Horsey", Do You Like My Tight Sweater?
In reality, there are no enemies; we're all souls in growth, waking up.
JAMES REDFIELD
The Tenth Insight: Holding the Vision
A dead man is the worst enemy alive ... You can't alter his power over you. You can't alter what you love or owe. And it's too late to ask him for his absolution. He has beaten you all ways.
JOHN LE CARRÉ
Our Game
It's great to have an enemy. Sharpens your senses.
JOHN UPDIKE
Rabbit is Rich
A man's enemies are those he should endeavor first to make his friends.
NORMAN MACDONALD
Maxims and Moral Reflections
People no longer need enemies--in this millennium their great dream is to become victims. Only their psychopathies can set them free.
J. G. BALLARD
Super-Cannes
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
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
An enemy to define ourselves
An enemy to refine our hate
DARK TRANQUILITY
"The Enemy", Damage Done
You have enemies? Why, it is the story of every man who has done a great deed or created a new idea. It is the cloud which thunders around everything that shines. Fame must have enemies, as light must have gnats. Do no bother yourself about it; disdain. Keep your mind serene as you keep your life clear.
VICTOR HUGO
Choses Vues 1849-1885