quotations about enemies
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
Your enemy brought out your dormant primal instincts, he lit up the primitive circuits of your brain.
E. L. DOCTOROW
Homer & Langley
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
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
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
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
Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate.
ANONYMOUS
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
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
He makes no friends who never made a foe.
ALFRED TENNYSON
Alfred Lord Tennyson: A Memoir
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
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
Friends may come and go
but enemies accumulate.
JAYNE ANN KRENTZ
In Too Deep
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
Enemies were teachers in disguise.
EIJI YOSHIKAWA
Musashi
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
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
I hate admitting that my enemies have a point.
SALMAN RUSHDIE
The Satanic Verses
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