quotations about enemies
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 must give even an enemy what credit he deserves. If thus we do, then whether we blame or excuse, it will be clear that we are looking at the wrong, not blinded by hatred of the person. This will gain credit for what we say. To this kind of high and self-contained justice, enemies may help us more directly than friends, perhaps, because it is so easy to commend the friend for love's sake, but a harder and higher virtue to excuse the enemy for justice's sake.
JAMES VILA BLAKE
Essays
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
Our enemies come nearer the truth in the opinions they form of us than we do in our opinion of ourselves.
FRANÇOIS DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims
We tend to become like the worst in those we oppose.
FRANK HERBERT
Chapterhouse: Dune
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
Grenades and bombs are exploding.
Friends are fighting furiously against foes.
One enemy pounding on another's nest,
emptying mother earth of its content.
SAMMY OKE AKOMBI
"Common Enemy", God the Artist and Other Poems
Never speak harshly of your enemy -- when you can kick 'im in the shins instead!
STAN LEE
"Stan Lee's Soapbox", Conan the Barbarian #55, October 1975
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
Mortal enemies are like beautiful kitchens: Some households have them, and when they belong to famous people, we're immediately more interested in them. Which makes public feuds between mortal enemies akin to fancy custom appliances and gleaming copper pots as far as the eye can see.
ALEX ABAD-SANTOS
"Kanye West and Taylor Swift's latest fight explained", Vox, February 12, 2016
We have two lessons to teach an enemy who despises us--to value himself less highly, and us more worthily.
CHRISTIAN NESTELL BOVEE
Intuitions and Summaries of Thought
Your enemy is any power, spirit, force and personality, that does not want you to fulfil your destiny.
D. K. OLUKOYA
When the Enemy Hides
Personal affection is a luxury you can have only after all your enemies are eliminated. Until then, everyone you love is a hostage, sapping your courage and corrupting your judgment.
ORSON SCOTT CARD
Empire
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
Enemies make us watchful of ourselves and induce self-examination; for we must argue thus: our foe hates us with reason or without reason; if without reason, then he not really hates us, but some other sort of person for whom he mistakes us; but if with reason, then it is plain we should improve, and remove the reason.
JAMES VILA BLAKE
Essays
I hate admitting that my enemies have a point.
SALMAN RUSHDIE
The Satanic Verses
Friends may come and go
but enemies accumulate.
JAYNE ANN KRENTZ
In Too Deep
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
Only rarely are these enemies of the easy-to-recognize, mustache-twirling variety. In some cases, of course, specific villains can readily be identified, but most of the time our enemies are subtle and diffuse, prone to transformation, sometimes even difficult to name. But they exist nonetheless, and more often than we care to admit, we feel their absence as strongly as their presence.
DAVID P. BARASH
Beloved Enemies