76 Quotes About Enemies

Navigating the complex realm of relationships often means encountering not only allies but also adversaries. Enemies, whether they are rivals in the workplace, social circles, or even within ourselves, challenge us and shape our journey. They serve as reminders of our vulnerabilities, yet also as catalysts for growth and resilience. In this blog post, we've curated a collection of 76 powerful quotes about enemies, offering perspectives that range from insightful and thought-provoking to empowering and humorous. Whether you're seeking wisdom on handling conflict or simply looking for inspiration, these quotes provide a window into the intricate dynamics of enmity and the strength it can forge within us.

1. “Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.” - Oscar Wilde

2. “Don't flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become. Except in cases of necessity, which are rare, leave your friend to learn unpleasant things from his enemies; they are ready enough to tell them.” - Oliver Wendall Holmes

3. “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” - Abraham Lincoln

4. “A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.” - Baltasar Gracian

5. “Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love.” - Mahatma Gandhi

6. “It is easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business.” - Mahatma Gandhi

7. “The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.” - G.K. Chesterton

8. “We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.” - George Orwell

9. “I can be on guard against my enemies, but God deliver me from my friends!” - Charlotte Brontë

10. “A man with no enemies is a man with no character.” - Paul Newman

11. “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

12. “A true man loves his enemies as much he loves his friends.” - Santosh Kalwar

13. “My enemies are worms, cool days, and most of all woodchucks.” - Henry David Thoreau

14. “Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies. (from "Loving Your Enemies")” - Martin Luther King Jr.

15. “How many of us have conflicts with someone else- and how many of us pray for that person? We have individuals with whom we are competitive, or whom we dislike or have a quarrel with; but very few of us have true enemies in the martial sense. And yet if Lincoln could pray fervently- and contemporary reports indicate he did- for the people who were opposing him, how much more can we do for someone we just find a little irritating?” - John Wooden

16. “In order to know your enemy, you must become your enemy.” - Chris Bradford

17. “Enemies are people who's story you haven't heard, or who's face you haven't seen.” - Irene Butter

18. “Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. 'The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared' (Luther).” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

19. “Take no duty of the Guard lightly. Friends must not be enemies Just as enemies must not be friends.Discerning the two is a life's work.” - David Petersen

20. “Friends may come and go but enemies accumulate.” - Jayne Ann Krentz

21. “Memo to extreme partisans: If you can't bring yourselves to love your enemies, can you at least learn to hate your friends?” - Walter Kirn

22. “A doubtful friend is worse than a certain enemy. Let a man be one thing or the other, and we then know how to meet him.” - Aesop

23. “As he grew older, which was mostly in my absence, my firstborn son, Alexander, became ever more humorous and courageous. There came a time, as the confrontation with the enemies of our civilization became more acute, when he sent off various applications to enlist in the armed forces. I didn't want to be involved in this decision either way, especially since I was being regularly taunted for not having 'sent' any of my children to fight in the wars of resistance that I supported. (As if I could 'send' anybody, let alone a grown-up and tough and smart young man: what moral imbeciles the 'anti-war' people have become.)” - Christopher Hitchens

24. “There is nothing more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends.” - Homer

25. “If people think nature is their friend then they sure don't need an enemy.” - Kurt Vonnegut

26. “It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.” - Siddhārtha Gautama

27. “Your Worst Enemy Could Be Your Best Friend && Your Best Friend Your Worst Enemy” - Bob Marley

28. “I am often thought of as being remarkably bright, and yet my brains, more often than not, are busily devising new and interesting ways of bringing my enemies to sudden, gagging, writhing, agonizing death.” - Alan Bradley

29. “Show no fear to your enemies. Only contempt. Never let anyone look down on you. You're just as good as any of them. I don't care who they are. Better in fact. In our world, Dagans are royalty and you, my son, are a prince.” - Sherrilyn Kenyon

30. “one day my best friend said to me 'Jess, you rock a lot of polka dots' and that was the deal breaker, now we're mortal enemies” - Zooey Deschanel

31. “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. -Nelson Mandela, activist, South African president, Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1918)” - Nelson Mandela

32. “Only people who're positive enough to have friends have enemies. When you're as glum and morose as he was, people just give up and go away.” - Ellis Peters

33. “That's ridiculous. 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

34. “It's not about going around trying to stir up trouble. As long as you're honest and you articulate what you believe to be true, somebody somewhere will become your enemy whether you like it or not.” - Criss Jami

35. “The Master: The cosmos without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about.” - Terrance Dicks

36. “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

37. “Friends never turn as enemies. If they did, they were never your friends at all.” - Hark Herald Sarmiento

38. “Both teachers and learners go to sleep at their post as soon as there is no enemy in the field.” - John Stuart Mill

39. “He had been dazzled. Because of the dazzling brightness, he had had to kill [Seigen]. All who had encountered Seigen had had their hearts stolen by that brightness. That envy had turned to malice.” - Takayuki Yamaguchi

40. “It is a good man who stands up for his friends, but an honorable man who stands up for his enemies.” - Violet Haberdasher

41. “This new war, like the previous one, would be a test of the power of machines against people and places; whatever its causes and justifications, it would make the world worse. This was true of that new war, and it has been true of every new war since...I knew too that this new war was not even new but was only the old one come again. And what caused it? It was caused, I thought, by people failing to love one another, failing to love their enemies.” - Wendell Berry

42. “A man falling off a cliff to certain death will stretch out a hand even to his worst enemy.” - Robert Jordan

43. “These three ladies disliked and distrusted one another as heartily as the First Triumvirate of Rome, and their close alliance was probably for the same reason.” - Margaret Mitchell

44. “To be successful you need friends and to be very successful you need enemies.” - Sidney Sheldon

45. “Air traffic control is going to have a steamy old fit on your dime, boy.They can get in line behind the police, the people whose cars we trashed, the Empire of Ob'enn, the Partnership Collective, and the Wormgate Corporation. Oh, and I think maybe some dark matter beasties from Andromeda.You "think maybe"?-General Tagon & Captain Andreyasn” - Howard Tayler

46. “At this hourLie at my mercy all mine enemies.” - William Shakespeare

47. “Hate is your enemy; you must defeat it! Anger is your enemy; you must defeat it! Violence is your enemy; you must defeat it! Death is your enemy; you must defeat it! Know well your real enemies!” - Mehmet Murat ildan

48. “If you want to find the real competition, just look in the mirror. After awhile you'll see your rivals scrambling for second place.” - Criss Jami

49. “Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults.” - Benjamin Franklin

50. “Know me, Amber. I am Amelia Hoffman, and that," I said emphatically, gesturing towards them, "is my family. And if you or anyone does anything to harm them, I will turn the wrath of the Earth Mother on you. I will turn this entire town into a desert waste if I have to, but I will protect my family. If that makes us enemies, then I will weep for you when you are dead.” - Elizabeth Sharp

51. “بدلاً من أن نمقت أعدائنا ينبغي أن نشفق عليهم، وأن نحمد الله عز وجل على أنه لم يخلقنا مثلهم.” - كلارنس وارد

52. “Wrong. Enemies don't fight with such determined passion. That kind of focus is reserved for friends at odds with one another."pg 69 Tomas to Vlad” - Heather Brewer

53. “Unless people are prepared to declare themselves your enemies you have to hunt around for them.” - Auberon Waugh

54. “You know what, Michael? I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship of loathing.” - Meinos Kaen

55. “Never annoy an inspirational author or you will become the poison in her pen and the villian in every one of her books.” - Shannon L. Alder

56. “I’m not a Knight. I’m a Bishop. Or at least I am trying to be. And traveling with you is the most slantwise, backward thing I can possibly think of, which in this place probably means it’s the right thing to do.” - Catherynne M. Valente

57. “If you don't make enemies, you're just not trying.” - Shannon A. Hiner

58. “This squirrel is inadequately afraid of humans! Squirrel, I am a threat to you! We are enemies! Please get off my bench! Oh, god! Oh, god! Don't touch me—oh, god!” - John Green

59. “I cannot encourage any fabrication even for the sake of making people feel good. If I were to fabricate consciously and knowingly, I would not only be ordaining myself their enemy, but also ordaining myself God's enemy.” - Criss Jami

60. “After an awkward pause, Bast extended his hand. Chronicler hesitated for a bare moment before reaching out quickly, as if he were sticking his hand into a fire. Nothing happened, both of them seemed moderately surprised."Amazing, isn't it?" Kvothe addressed them bitingly. "Five fingers and flesh with blood beneath. One could almost believe that on the other end of that hand lay a person of some sort.” - Patrick Rothfuss

61. “Words can be powerful allies. Or enemies” - Yasmine Galenorn

62. “Our task shouldn't be punishing the villains in our lives, but enlarging the God who heals us from all wounds.” - Mary DeMuth

63. “Some allies are more dangerous than enemies.” - George R.R. Martin

64. “In the New Testament our enemies are those who harbour hostility against us, not those against whom we cherish hostility, for Jesus refuses to reckon with such a possibility. The Christian must treat his enemy as a brother, and requite his hostility with love. His behaviour must be determined not by the way others treat him, but by the treatment he himself receives from Jesus; it has only one source, and that is the will of Jesus.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

65. “A thorn in your side will drive you to find someone or thing to remove it. Therefore, don't hate your enemies. Thank them. Without them, you wouldn't have traveled as far in your life to find peace and happiness.” - Shannon L. Alder

66. “One of the most powerful lessons in life is to recognize that no one can give you power, and many people don’t want you to have it. You have to find the courage to seize it, own it and hold on!” - Shannon L. Alder

67. “So help me, if something crawls out of one of these bags, I will castrate you.” “I bet you’d love that.”-Emma and Jackson” - Rachael Wade

68. “Love your enemies and hate your friends, your enemies remain the same your friends always change” - 50 cent

69. “The bottom line remains the same: you’re either awake or you’re not.One day, there it is. Nothing. No more enemies, no more battles.” - Jed McKenna

70. “Staying silent is like a slow growing cancer to the soul and a trait of a true coward. There is nothing intelligent about not standing up for yourself. You may not win every battle. However, everyone will at least know what you stood for—YOU.” - Shannon L. Alder

71. “Normally we divide the external world into that which we consider to be good or valuable, bad or worthless, or neither. Most of the time these discriminations are incorrect or have little meaning. For example, our habitual way of categorizing people as friends, enemies, and strangers depending on how they make us feel is both incorrect and a great obstacle to developing impartial love for all living beings. Rather than holding so tightly to our discriminations of the external world, it would be much more beneficial if we learned to discriminate between valuable and worthless states of mind.” - Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

72. “An idle tongue is the mother of all conflicts.” - Dennis E. Adonis

73. “The two studied one another for what seemed hours, neither saying a word. Jaden’s first inclination was to yell and demand his freedom, but something held him back. Here was a new man, and a new set of mind games. He waited for the old man to speak first and introduce himself, as Dalton had upon their first formal meeting. The stranger remained silent.” - Courtney Kirchoff

74. “But you know as well as I do that anger won’t solve anything.”“I beg to differ,” he shrugged. “Anger can be quite rewarding…at least for those of us who have the option of blasting our enemies to oblivion.” - M.A. George

75. “He finds he cannot think of the dying men at all. Into his mind instead strays the picture of More on the scaffold, seen through the veil of rain: his body, already dead, folding back neatly from the impact of the axe. The cardinal when he fell had no persecutor more relentless than Thomas More. Yet, he thinks, I did not hate him. I exercised my skills to the utmost to persuade him to reconcile with the king. And I thought I would win him, I really thought I would, for he was tenacious of the world, tenacious of his person, and had a good deal to live for. In the end he was his own murderer. He wrote and wrote and he talked and talked, then suddenly at a stroke he cancelled himself. If ever a man came close to beheading himself, Thomas More was that man.” - Hilary Mantel

76. “He looks around at his guests. All are prepared. A Latin grace; English would be his choice, but he will suit his company. Who cross themselves ostentatiously, in papist style. Who look at him, expectant. He shouts for the waiters. The doors burst open. Sweating men heave the platters to the table. It seems the meat is fresh, in fact not slaughtered yet. It is just a minor breach of etiquette. The company must sit and salivate. The Boleyns are laid at his hand to be carved.” - Hilary Mantel