WIST Quotations

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1872-07 (1872 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:17:01 +0000

Convince a phool ov hiz errors, and you make him yure enemy.

[Convince a fool of his errors, and you make him your enemy.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1872-07 (1872 ed.)
(Source)

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Competitor,” “Devil’s Dictionary” column, San Francisco Wasp (1881-08-05)

Dave — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 22:17:14 +0000

COMPETITOR, n. A scoundrel who desires that which we desire.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Competitor,” “Devil’s Dictionary” column, San Francisco Wasp (1881-08-05)
(Source)

Not collected in later books.

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 2, ch. 18 (2.18), “Of Giving the Lie [Du Démentir]” (1578–79) [tr. Ives (1925)]

Dave — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 21:51:02 +0000

Lying is a villainous vice, and an ancient writer depicts it as most shameful when he says that to lie is to manifest contempt of God together with fear of man. It is not possible to represent more fully the horror, the vileness, the outrageousness of it. For what can be conceived more villainous than to be cowardly with respect to men, and audacious with respect to God?

[C’est un vilain vice, que le mentir; & qu’un ancien peint bien honteusement, quand il dit, que c’est donner tesmoignage de mespriser Dieu, & quand & quand de craindre les hommes. Il n’est pas possible d’en representer plus richement l’horreur, la vilité & le desreiglement: Car que peut on imaginer plus vilain, que d’estre couart à l’endroit des hommes, & brave à l’endroit de Dieu?]

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 2, ch. 18 (2.18), “Of Giving the Lie [Du Démentir]” (1578–79) [tr. Ives (1925)]
(Source)

This essay (and passage) appeared in the 1st (1580) edition, and was expanded in each succeeding edition.

The ancient writer mentioned is Plutarch in his Life of Lysander.

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

To ly is a horrible-filthy vice; and which an auncient writer setteth forth very shamefully, when he saith, that whosoever lieth, witnesseth that he contemneth God and therewithal feareth men. It is impossible more richly to represent the horrour, the vilenesse and the disorder of it: For, What can be imagined so vile, and base, as to be a coward towardes men, and a boaster towardes God?
[tr. Florio (1603)]

Lying is a base vice; a vice that one of the ancients paints in the most odious colours when he says, "That it is too manifest a contempt of God, and a fear of man." It is not possible more copiously to represent the horror, baseness, and irregularity of it; for what can be imagined more vile, than a man, who is a coward towards man, so courageous as to defy his Maker?
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

Lying is a base vice; a vice that one of the ancients portrays in the most odious colors when he says, “that it is to manifest a contempt of God, and withal a fear of men.” It is not possible more fully to represent the horror, baseness, and irregularity of it; for what can a man imagine more hateful and contemptible than to be a coward toward men, and valiant against his Maker?
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

Lying is a base vice, and painted in its most shameful colours by one of the ancients, who says that to lie is to give proof that you despise god and at the same time are afraid of men. It is impossible to state its horror, its vileness, and its outrageousness more felicitously. For what baser thing can we imagine than to be a coward toward men and act the brave fellow toward God?
[tr. Zeitlin (1934)]

Lying is an ugly vice, which an ancient paints in most shameful colors when he says that it is giving evidence of contempt for God, and at the same time of fear of men. It is not possible to represent more vividly the horror, the vileness, and the profligacy of it. For what can you imagine uglier than being a coward toward men and bold toward God?
[tr. Frame (1943)]

Lying is a villein's vice, a vice which an Ancient paints full shamefully when he says that it gives testimony to contempt for God together with fear of men. It is not possible to show more richly the horror of it, its vileness and its disorderliness. For what can one imagine more serf-like than to be cowardly before men and defiant towards God?
[tr. Screech (1987)]

Franklin, Benjamin -- (Spurious)

Dave — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 17:34:47 +0000

War is when the government tells you who the bad guy is. Revolution is when you decide that for yourself.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
(Spurious)

Not found in the recorded works of Franklin, nor of Napoleon Bonaparte (to whom it is also attributed). The number of variants is an indicator this is an unconfirmed attribution:

"... who the enemy is" or "... who your enemy is."
"... you figure it out ..."

The term "bad guy" is an Americanism from the early 20th Century (the OED dates it to 1932; Dictionary.com to the early 1920s). But even if one uses the "enemy" variant, this sounds unlike either Franklin or Napoleon.

Despite his skeptical nature, Franklin did not speak out against propagandistic influences on war (or revolution). Indeed, he was a skilled, if subtle, propagandist himself. Nor did he object to "government" in general (he would have attacked "the Crown" or "Parliament") nor any war that the British government had declared.
Napoleon, as self-appointed Emperor of France (and war-maker, though most of his conquests were a result of other countries declaring war on him) would not have made the first half of this phrase, as he was the government. Nor, as one whose regime depended on propaganda, would he have suggested people decide for themselves who the true enemy is.
Neither man, as a rule, wrote their various aphorisms in the second person ("you"). At most they might have used "one"; more often, it would have been "a man" or some third person construction.

The quotation is occasionally attributed to Susan Sarandon. While she did use it (e.g., at a pro-Palestinian speech), she attributed it in turn to Napoleon.

Nietzsche, Friedrich -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 04:39:28 +0000

A politician divides mankind into two classes: tools and enemies. That means he knows only one class: enemies.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) German philosopher and poet
(Attributed)
(Source)

This is frequently attributed to Nietzsche, without citation -- a clue that it is a paraphrase of a more complex or nuanced passage. I found only one reference online that mentioned a source -- Nietzsche's Human, All Too Human (1880) -- but a search through multiple translations did not uncover this sentiment.

Fowler, Gene -- Skyline: A Reporter’s Reminiscence of the 1920s, ch. 8 (1961)

Dave — Sat, 15 Nov 2025 06:16:58 +0000

Men are not against you, they are merely for themselves.

Gene Fowler (1890-1960) American journalist, author, and dramatist. [b. Eugene Devlan]
Skyline: A Reporter’s Reminiscence of the 1920s, ch. 8 (1961)
(Source)

~Proverbs and Sayings -- Turkish Proverb

Dave — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 23:51:15 +0000

The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe because its handle was made of wood and they thought it was one of the them.

Proverbs, Sayings, and Adages
Turkish Proverb

While this particular phrasing is widely labeled online as a Turkish proverb, it is a fairly recent reformulation of a Talmudic or Turkish set of proverbs, and is not credited solely to the Turks.

The Babylonian Talmud (6th Century AD) includes a passage (Sanhedrin, Perek 4, 39B), indicating it was a common proverb:

As this is as people say: From and within the forest comes the ax to it, as the handle for the ax that chops the tree is from the forest itself.

As well as:

This is as people say: From and within the forest comes the ax to it, as King David was a descendant of Ruth the Moabite.

This phrase was brought into English in Rev. J. Ray's A Collection of English Proverbs (1678) as a "Hebrew Adage":

The axe goes to the wood, from whence it borrowed its helve: [the saying] is used against those who are injurious to those from whom they are derived, or from whom they have received their power.

Ray's work continued in reprint for over a century, well-establishing the phrase in English.

In a similar vein, Metin Yurtbaşı's Dictionary of Turkish Proverbs (1993) includes two such phrases, indexed under "Ingratitude". It attributes these back to Ebüzziya Tevfik, Durüb-ı, Emsâl-i Osmaniyye [Ottoman Proverbs] (1885). First:

They struck at the tree with an ax; and the tree said: “The handle is made from my body.”

[Ağaca balta vurmuşlar, “Sapı bedenimden” demiş.]

Second:

An ax went into the woods and its handle was of itself.

[Ormana (bir) balta girmiş sapı yine kendisinden (imiş).]

There are a variety of later uses, in books and then in social media, that further evolved the concept into the quotation that leads this entry, which was first tweeted by @mabarsayaaaaa (2018-02-24). In this more political form, it and further variants have also been credited as an African (Yoruba) proverb (often by African tweeters).

For more discussion of the background and origin of this quotation, see:

Addison, Joseph -- Essay (1711-12-08), The Spectator, No. 243

Dave — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 20:48:28 +0000

We should esteem virtue though in a foe, and abhor vice though in a friend.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Essay (1711-12-08), The Spectator, No. 243
(Source)

Bujold, Lois McMaster -- The Vor Game, ch. 5 (1990)

Dave — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 18:18:19 +0000

A weapon is a device for making your enemy change his mind.

Lois McMaster Bujold (b. 1949) American author
The Vor Game, ch. 5 (1990)
(Source)

Protagonist Miles Vorkosigan recalling a saying of his father's.

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1740 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 15:11:43 +0000

Lend Money to an Enemy, and thou’lt gain him, to a Friend and thou’lt lose him.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1740 ed.)
(Source)

Moffat, Steven -- Sherlock, 01×01 “A Study in Pink” (2010-07-25)

Dave — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 22:11:15 +0000

MYCROFT: You’ve met him. How many friends do you imagine he has? I’m the closest thing to a friend that Sherlock Holmes is capable of having.

WATSON: And what’s that?

MYCROFT: An enemy.

WATSON: An enemy?

MYCROFT: In his mind, certainly. If you were to ask him, he’d probably say an arch-enemy. He does love to be dramatic.

WATSON: Well, thank God you’re above all that.

Steven Moffat (b. 1961) Scottish television writer, producer
Sherlock, 01×01 “A Study in Pink” (2010-07-25)
(Source)

(Source (Video); dialogue confirmed)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1740 ed.) [borrowed]

Dave — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 15:36:31 +0000

An open Foe may prove a curse;
But a pretended friend is worse.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1740 ed.) [borrowed]
(Source)

Borrowed by Franklin from John Gay (1727).

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 531 (1725)

Dave — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 22:26:52 +0000

Give not thy Enemy Despair; for it is a weapon more dangerous than Valour it self.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 531 (1725)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Lecture (1948-12-26), “Social Cohesion and Human Nature,” Reith Lecture, No. 1 (14:16), BBC Radio

Dave — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 18:42:55 +0000

Instinctively we divide mankind into friends and foes — friends, towards whom we have the morality of co-operation; foes, towards whom we have that of competition. But this division is constantly changing; at one moment a man hates his business competitor, at another, when both are threatened by Socialism or by an external enemy, he suddenly begins to view him as a brother. Always when we pass beyond the limits of the family it is the external enemy which supplies the cohesive force. In times of safety we can afford to hate our neighbour, but in times of danger we must love him.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Lecture (1948-12-26), “Social Cohesion and Human Nature,” Reith Lecture, No. 1 (14:16), BBC Radio
(Source)

As collected, with edits, in Authority and the Individual (1949).

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- In Verrem [Against Verres; Verrine Orations], Action 2, Book 1, ch. 15 / sec. 38 (1.15.38) (70 BC) [tr. Greenwood (1928)]

Dave — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 21:53:58 +0000

That man must be everyone’s personal enemy who has behaved like a public enemy to his own friends. No wise man ever felt that a traitor ought to be trusted.

[Omnium est communis inimicus qui fuit hostis suorum. Nemo umquam sapiens proditori credendum putavit.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
In Verrem [Against Verres; Verrine Orations], Action 2, Book 1, ch. 15 / sec. 38 (1.15.38) (70 BC) [tr. Greenwood (1928)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

He is the common enemy of all men who has once been the enemy of his own connections. No wise man ever thought that a traitor was to be trusted
[tr. Yonge (1903)]

He is a common enemy who has been a foe to his own people. No man of sense has ever considreed a traitor worthy of credence.
[ed. Harbottle (1906)]

Heinlein, Robert A. -- Starship Troopers, ch. 13 [Hughes] (1959)

Dave — Wed, 29 May 2024 16:04:02 +0000

Bugs, Mr. Rico! Zillions of ’em!

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) American writer
Starship Troopers, ch. 13 [Hughes] (1959)
(Source)

Reporting to Lieutenant Juan Rico an Arachnid assault while on Planet P. The line is not in the 1997 movie.

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Orationes in Catilinam [Catilinarian Orations], No. 2, ch. 5 / § 11 (2.5.11) (63-11-09 BC) [tr. Grant (1960)]

Dave — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 22:04:07 +0000

What a contrast to this civil war in our midst! Here, set deep inside the country, are conspiracy, danger and a deadly foe. Degeneracy, madness and evil are the enemies we have to fight.

[Domesticum bellum manet, intus insidiae sunt, intus inclusum periculum est, intus est hostis. cum luxuria nobis, cum amentia, cum scelere certandum est.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Orationes in Catilinam [Catilinarian Orations], No. 2, ch. 5 / § 11 (2.5.11) (63-11-09 BC) [tr. Grant (1960)]
(Source)

Cicero argues that, having achieved peace with other nations, the danger to Rome is now the internal one of Catiline and his decadent, wastrel followers.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

The Plot is within; the danger locked within; the Enemy is within: We have a Conflict with Luxury, with Madness, with Treachery.
[tr. Wase (1671)]

Our only danger is at home; treason lurks within our walls; the enemy is in the heart of the city. Luxury, villainy, and madness, are the foes we are to encounter.
[tr. Sydney (1795)]

Domestic war alone remains. The only plots against us are within our own walls, -- the danger is within, -- the enemy is within. We must war with luxury, with madness, with wickedness.
[tr. Yonge (1856)]

A war at home remains; the snares are within; the danger is inclosed within; the enemy is within; we have to contend with luxury, with madness, with guilt.
[tr. Mongan (1879)]

A domestic war remains; the snares are within; the danger is inclosed within; the enemy is within; it is to be contended to (by) us with luxury, with madness, with crime.
[tr. Underwood (1885)]

A domestic war remains; the ambuscades are within; the danger is enclosed within; the enemy is within; (it) is to [must] be contended by us [we must contend] with luxury, with madness, with crime.
[tr. Dewey (1916)]

The enemy is within the gates; it is with our own luxury, our own folly, our own criminality that we have to contend.
[tr. Taylor (1916)]

Hardy, Thomas -- “The Man He Killed” (1902)

Dave — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 16:59:00 +0000

Yes; quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down
You’d treat if met where any bar is,
Or help to half-a-crown.

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) English novelist, poet
“The Man He Killed” (1902)
(Source)

Forster, E. M. -- “The Unsung Virtue of Tolerance,” radio broadcast, BBC (Jul 1941)

Dave — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 15:41:01 +0000

Tolerance, I believe, will be imperative after the establishment of peace. It’s always useful to take a concrete instance: and I have been asking myself how I should behave if, after peace was signed, I met Germans who had been fighting against us. I shouldn’t try to love them: I shouldn’t feel inclined. They have broken a window in my little ugly flat for one thing, and they have done other things which I need not specify. But I shall try to tolerate them, because it is common-sense, because in the post-war world we shall have to live with Germans […] not for any lofty reason, but because it is the next thing that will have to be done.

E. M. Forster (1879-1970) English novelist, essayist, critic, librettist [Edward Morgan Forster]
“The Unsung Virtue of Tolerance,” radio broadcast, BBC (Jul 1941)
(Source)

Published as "Tolerance," Two Cheers for Democracy (1951).

La Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 11 “Of Mankind [De l’Homme],” § 150 (11.150) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970)]

Dave — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 17:20:26 +0000

You injure yourself by your own vindictiveness, and give your enemies too great an advantage, if you accuse them of things that are not true, and tell lies in order to disparage them.

[C’est se venger contre soi-même, et donner un trop grand avantage à ses ennemis, que de leur imputer de choses qui ne sont pas vraies, et de mentir pour les décrier.]

Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 11 “Of Mankind [De l’Homme],” § 150 (11.150) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

We are reveng'd on our selves, and give our Enemies too much advantage over us, when we say things of them which are not true, and lie to reproach 'em.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]

'Tis reproaching our selves, and giving our Enemies too much advantage over us, to say things of them which are not true, and lie to disparage them.
[Curll ed. (1713)]

We are vindictive to our own loss, and give the Staff into our Enemies Hands, when we say things of them which are not true, and lie to defame them.
[Browne ed. (1752)]

To say things of our enemies which are not true, and to lie to defame them, is to avenge ourselves on ourselves, and give them too great an advantage over us.
[tr. Van Laun (1885)]

Schieffer, Bob -- “Free Speech,” CBS Evening News (14 Sep 2006)

Dave — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 16:09:49 +0000

Democracies have no business running secret prisons. That’s what our enemies do. If we are in a battle for the hearts and minds of people around the world, as the administration says we are, I won’t feel very secure if the people around the world believe we are no different than our enemies. […] As Americans, we do believe our system offers a better way. But the only way to convince others of that is if we live by our values. Real security begins with remembering who we are. We gain nothing by adopting the methods of our enemies.

Bob Schieffer (b. 1937) American broadcast journalist
“Free Speech,” CBS Evening News (14 Sep 2006)
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- The Origins of Totalitarianism, Part 3, ch. 12 “Totalitarianism in Power,” sec. 1 (1951)

Dave — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 21:28:30 +0000

Practically speaking, the totalitarian ruler proceeds like a man who persistently insults another man until everybody knows that the latter is his enemy, so that he can, with some plausibility, go and kill him in self-defense.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
The Origins of Totalitarianism, Part 3, ch. 12 “Totalitarianism in Power,” sec. 1 (1951)
(Source)

Abraham, Daniel -- Leviathan Wakes, ch. 19 (2011) [with Ty Franck]

Dave — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 14:31:32 +0000

It’s the problem with politics. Your enemies are often your allies. And vice versa.

Daniel Abraham (b. 1969) American writer [pseud. James S. A. Corey (with Ty Franck), M. L. N. Hanover]
Leviathan Wakes, ch. 19 (2011) [with Ty Franck]
(Source)

Gracián, Baltasar -- The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 118 (1647) [tr. Maurer (1992)]

Dave — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 16:24:11 +0000

Treat your enemies with courtesy, and you’ll see how valuable it really is. It costs little but pays a nice dividend: those who honor are honored.

[Tiénese por deuda entre enemigos para que se vea su valor. Cuesta poco y vale mucho: todo honrador es honrado.]

Baltasar Gracián y Morales (1601-1658) Spanish Jesuit priest, writer, philosopher
The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 118 (1647) [tr. Maurer (1992)]
(Source)

(Source (Spanish)). Alternate translations:

[Civility] is even a duty, and in use amongst Enemies, which shews the power of it. Whoever honours is honoured.
[Flesher ed. (1685)]

Between opponents [courtesy] is especially due as a proof of valour. It costs little and helps much: every one is honoured who gives honour.
[tr. Jacobs (1892)]

Hold to [courtesy] as a matter of duty between enemies, for it exhibits our courage, costing little, and being worth much, for to show honor is to be honored.
[tr. Fischer (1937)]

Gracián, Baltasar -- The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 84 (1647) [tr. Maurer (1992)]

Dave — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 16:02:56 +0000

Many owe their greatness to their enemies. Flattery is fiercer than hatred, for hatred corrects the faults flattery had disguised. The prudent man makes a mirror out of the evil eye of others; it is more truthful than that of affection, and helps him reduce his defects or emend them.

[Fabricáronles a muchos su grandeza sus malévolos. Más fiera es la lisonja que el odio, pues remedia este eficazmente las tachas que aquella disimula. Hace el cuerdo espejo de la ojeriza, más fiel que el de la afición, y previene a la detracción los defectos, o los enmienda.]

Baltasar Gracián y Morales (1601-1658) Spanish Jesuit priest, writer, philosopher
The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 84 (1647) [tr. Maurer (1992)]
(Source)

(Source (Spanish)). Alternate translations:

Many owe their fortune to their enviers. Flattery is more cruel than ha∣tred, in as much as it palliates the faults, which the other makes us remedy. The wise man makes the hatred of his Enviers his looking-glass, wherein he sees himself far better than in that of kindness.
[Flesher ed. (1685)]

Many have had their greatness made for them by their enemies. Flattery is more dangerous than hatred, because it covers the stains which the other causes to be wiped out. The wise will turn ill-will into a mirror more faithful than that of kindness, and remove or improve the faults referred to.
[tr. Jacobs (1892)]

Many have been made through the greatness of their enemies. Far more to be feared is flattery, than hate, since this exposes the flaws, which flattery would conceal. The man who knows makes a mirror of spite, more faithful than the mirror of affection, and envisages his shortcomings, to correct them.
[tr. Fischer (1937)]

Orwell, George -- Nineteen Eighty-Four, ch. 3 (1949)

Dave — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 17:55:18 +0000

At the moment, for example, in 1984 (if it was 1984), Oceania was at war with Eurasia and in alliance with Eastasia. In no public or private utterance was it ever admitted that the three powers had at any time been grouped along different lines. Actually, as Winston well knew, it was only four years since Oceania had been at war with Eastasia and in alliance with Eurasia. But that was merely a piece of furtive knowledge which he happened to possess because his memory was not satisfactorily under control. Officially, the change of partners had never happened. Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. The enemy of the moment always represented absolute evil, and it followed that any past or future agreement with him was impossible.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Nineteen Eighty-Four, ch. 3 (1949)
(Source)

Flaubert, Gustave -- Letter to Louise Colet (14 Jun 1853) [tr. Hannigan (1896)]

Dave — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 17:45:25 +0000

You are astonished to find yourself the butt of so much calumny, opposition, indifference and ill-will. You will be more so and have more of it; it is the reward of the good and the beautiful: one may calculate the value of a man from the number of his critics and the importance of a work by the evil said of it.

Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) French writer, novelist
Letter to Louise Colet (14 Jun 1853) [tr. Hannigan (1896)]
(Source)

Alternate translation: "You can calculate the worth of a man by the number of his enemies, and the importance of a work of art by the harm that is spoken of it." [Source]

Brodsky, Joseph -- Commencement Address, Williams College (24 May 1984)

Dave — Tue, 25 May 2021 14:25:12 +0000

If the first blow hasn’t knocked all the wits out of the victim’s head, he may realize that turning the other cheek amounts to manipulation of the offender’s sense of guilt, not to speak of his karma. The moral victory itself may not be so moral after all, not only because suffering often has a narcissistic aspect to it, but also because it renders the victim superior, that is, better than his enemy. Yet no matter how evil your enemy is, the crucial thing is that he is human; and although incapable of loving another like ourselves, we nonetheless know that evil takes root when one man starts to think that he is better than another.

Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996) Russian-American poet, essayist, Nobel laureate, US Poet Laureate [Iosif Aleksandrovič Brodskij]
Commencement Address, Williams College (24 May 1984)
(Source)

Bukowski, Charles -- The Captain is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship (1998)

Dave — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 21:52:52 +0000

The human race exaggerates everything: its heroes, its enemies, its importance.

Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) German-American author, poet
The Captain is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship (1998)

Homer -- The Iliad [Ἰλιάς], Book 22, l. 261ff (22.261) [Achilles] (c. 750 BC) [tr. Fagles (1990), l. 308ff]

Dave — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 16:02:15 +0000

Hector, stop!
You unforgivable, you … don’t talk to me of pacts.
There are no binding oaths between men and lions —
wolves and lambs can enjoy no meeting of the minds —
they are all bent on hating each other to the death.
So with you and me. No love between us. No truce
till one or the other falls and gluts with blood
Ares who hacks at men behind his rawhide shield.

[Ἕκτορ μή μοι ἄλαστε συνημοσύνας ἀγόρευε:
ὡς οὐκ ἔστι λέουσι καὶ ἀνδράσιν ὅρκια πιστά,
οὐδὲ λύκοι τε καὶ ἄρνες ὁμόφρονα θυμὸν ἔχουσιν,
ἀλλὰ κακὰ φρονέουσι διαμπερὲς ἀλλήλοισιν,
265ὣς οὐκ ἔστ᾽ ἐμὲ καὶ σὲ φιλήμεναι, οὐδέ τι νῶϊν
ὅρκια ἔσσονται, πρίν γ᾽ ἢ ἕτερόν γε πεσόντα
αἵματος ἆσαι Ἄρηα ταλαύρινον πολεμιστήν.]

Homer (fl. 7th-8th C. BC) Greek author
The Iliad [Ἰλιάς], Book 22, l. 261ff (22.261) [Achilles] (c. 750 BC) [tr. Fagles (1990), l. 308ff]
(Source)

After Hector proposes a pact with Achilles that the winner of their battle will not abuse the corpse of his opponent. Original Greek. Alternate translations:

Hector, thou only pestilence in all mortality
To my sere spirits, never set the point ’twixt thee and me
Any conditions; but as far as men and lions fly
All terms of cov’nant, lambs and wolves; in so far opposite state,
Impossible for love t’ atone, stand we, till our souls satiate
The God of soldiers.
[tr. Chapman (1611), l. 224ff]

"Talk not of oaths," the dreadful chief replies,
While anger flashed from his disdainful eyes,
"Detested as thou art, and ought to be,
Nor oath nor pact Achilles plights with thee;
Such pacts, as lambs and rabid wolves combine,
Such leagues, as men and furious lions join,
To such I call the gods! one constant state
Of lasting rancour and eternal hate:
No thought but rage, and never-ceasing strife,
Till death extinguish rage, and thought, and life."
[tr. Pope (1715-20)]

Hector! my bitterest foe! speak not to me
Of covenants! as concord can be none
Lions and men between, nor wolves and lambs
Can be unanimous, but hate perforce
Each other by a law not to be changed,
So cannot amity subsist between
Thee and myself; nor league make I with thee
Or compact, till thy blood in battle shed
Or mine, shall gratify the fiery Mars.
[tr. Cowper (1791), l. 302ff]

Talk not to me of covenants, O most cursed Hector. As there are not faithful leagues between lions and men, nor yet have wolves and lambs an according mind, but ever meditate evils against each other; so it is not possible for thee and me to contract a friendship, nor shall there at all be leagues between us, -- first shall one, falling, satiate the invincible warrior Mars with his blood.
[tr. Buckley (1860)]

Hector, thou object of my deadly hate,
Talk not to me of compacts; as ’tween men
And lions no firm concord can exist,
Nor wolves and lambs in harmony unite,
But ceaseless enmity between them dwells:
So not in friendly terms, nor compact firm,
Can thou and I unite, till one of us
Glut with his blood the mail-clad warrior Mars.
[tr. Derby (1864)]

Hector, talk not to me, thou madman, of covenants. As between men and lions there is no pledge of faith, nor wolves and sheep can be of one mind, but imagine evil continually against each other, so is it impossible for thee and me to be friends, neither shall be any pledge between us until one or other shall have fallen and glutted with blood Ares, the stubborn god of war.
[tr. Leaf/Lang/Myers (1891)]

Fool, prate not to me about covenants. There can be no covenants between men and lions, wolves and lambs can never be of one mind, but hate each other out and out an through. Therefore there can be no understanding between you and me, nor may there be any covenants between us, till one or other shall fall and glut grim Mars with his life's blood.
[tr. Butler (1898)]

Hector, talk not to me, thou madman, of covenants. As between lions and men there are no oaths of faith, nor do wolves and lambs have hearts of concord but are evil-minded continually one against the other, even so is it not possible for thee and me to be friends, neither shall there be oaths between us till one or the other shall have fallen, and glutted with his blood Ares, the warrior with tough shield of hide.
[tr. Murray (1924)]

Hektor, I'll have no talk of pacts with you, forever unforgiven as you are. As between men and lions there are none, no concord between wolves and sheep, but all hold one another hateful through and through, so there can be no courtesy between us, no sworn truce until one of us is down and glutting with blood the wargod Arês.
[tr. Fitzgerald (1974)]

Kelly, Walt -- The Pogo Papers, Introduction (1953)

Dave — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 19:19:18 +0000

Traces of nobility, gentleness and courage persist in all people, do what we will to stamp out the trend. So, too, do those characteristics which are ugly. It is just unfortunate that in the clumsy hands of a cartoonist all traits become ridiculous, leading to a certain amount of self-conscious expostulation and the desire to join battle.

There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand. Resolve then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and tinny blast on tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us.

Forward!

Walt Kelly (1913-1973) American animator and cartoonist [Walter Crawford Kelly, Jr.]
The Pogo Papers, Introduction (1953)

This looks to be the origin of the famous Pogo phrase, "We have met the enemy and he is us," which Kelly introduced in that shorter form in 1970. Both are inspired by Oliver Perry's report on the Battle of Lake Erie (1813), "We have met the enemy and they are ours."

Sophocles -- Antigone, l. 522ff (441 BC) [tr. Werner (1892)]

Dave — Sat, 12 Dec 2020 19:04:04 +0000

CREON: A foe, though dead, should as a foe be treated still.
ANTIGONE: My love shall go with them, but not my hate.

Κρέων: οὔτοι ποθ᾽ οὑχθρός, οὐδ᾽ ὅταν θάνῃ, φίλος.
Ἀντιγόνη: οὔτοι συνέχθειν, ἀλλὰ συμφιλεῖν ἔφυν.

Sophocles (496-406 BC) Greek tragic playwright
Antigone, l. 522ff (441 BC) [tr. Werner (1892)]
(Source)

Original Greek. Alt. trans.:

KREON: The foe is ne'er a friend -- not e'en in death.
ANTIGONE: My heart is love's co-mate, not hatred's partner.
[tr. Donaldson (1848)]

CREON: Not even death can make a foe a friend.
ANTIGONE: My nature is for mutual love, not hate.
[tr. Storr (1859)]

CREON: You do not love someone you have hated, not even after death.
ANTIGONE: It is not my nature to join in hate, but in love.
[tr. Jebb (1891)]

CREON: A foe is never a friend -- not even in death.
ANTIGONE: 'Tis not my nature to join in hating, but in loving.
[tr. Jebb (1917)]

CREON: An enemy is an enemy, even dead.
ANTIGONE: It is may nature to join in love, not hate.
[tr. Fitts/Fitzgerald (1939)]

CREON: An enemy can't be a friend, even when dead.
ANTIGONE: My way is to share my love, not share my hate.
[tr. Watling (1947), ll. 441-42]

CREON: No enemy will become a friend in the Underworld.
ANTIGONE: I am for sharing love, not hatred.
[tr. Theodoridis (2004)]

CREON: An enemy
can never be a friend, not even in death.
ANTIGONE: But my nature is to love. I cannot hate.
[tr. Johnston (2005), ll. 596-98]

CREON: An enemy is not a friend, even when dead.
ANTIGONE: I cannot share their hate, only their love.
[tr. Thomas]

Hofstadter, Richard -- “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” Herbert Spencer Lecture, Oxford (Nov 1963)

Dave — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 17:49:18 +0000

The enemy is clearly delineated: he is a perfect model of malice, a kind of amoral superman—sinister, ubiquitous, powerful, cruel, sensual, luxury-loving. Unlike the rest of us, the enemy is not caught in the toils of the vast mechanism of history, himself a victim of his past, his desires, his limitations. He wills, indeed he manufactures, the mechanism of history, or tries to deflect the normal course of history in an evil way. He makes crises, starts runs on banks, causes depressions, manufactures disasters, and then enjoys and profits from the misery he has produced. The paranoid’s interpretation of history is distinctly personal: decisive events are not taken as part of the stream of history, but as the consequences of someone’s will.

Richard Hofstadter (1916-1970) American historian and intellectual
“The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” Herbert Spencer Lecture, Oxford (Nov 1963)
(Source)

Reprinted in Harpers (Nov 1964).

Tyson, Neil deGrasse -- Twitter (19 Apr 2020)

Dave — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 15:20:13 +0000

If a predatory enemy to our species can’t unite everyone on Earth to fight it, I’m left wondering what hope remains for Civilization.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (b. 1958) American astrophysicist, author, orator
Twitter (19 Apr 2020)
(Source)

Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1739 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 14:31:55 +0000

Thou canst not joke an Enemy into a Friend; but thou may’st a Friend into an Enemy.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1739 ed.)
(Source)

Straczynski, J. Michael "Joe" -- Babylon 5, 3×20 “And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place” (14 Oct 1996)

Dave — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 01:55:01 +0000

DEXTER: Every day, here and at home, we are warned about the enemy. But who is the enemy? Is it the alien? Well, we are all alien to one another. Is it the one who believes differently than we do? No, oh no, my friends. The enemy is fear. The enemy is ignorance. The enemy is the one who tells you that you must hate that which is different. Because, in the end, that hate will turn on you. And that same hate will destroy you.

J. Michael (Joe) Straczynski (b. 1954) American screenwriter, producer, author [a/k/a "JMS"]
Babylon 5, 3×20 “And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place” (14 Oct 1996)

Arendt, Hannah -- Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Epilogue (1963)

Dave — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 15:27:27 +0000

The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal. From the viewpoint of our legal institutions and of our moral standards of judgment, this normality was much more terrifying than all the atrocities put together, for it implied — as had been said at Nuremberg over and over again by the defendants and their counsels — that this new type of criminal, who is in actual fact hostis generis humani, commits his crimes under circumstances that make it well-nigh impossible for him to know or to feel that he is doing wrong.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Epilogue (1963)
(Source)

Hostis humani generis (Latin for "enemy of humanity") was an admiralty legal term indicating that slavers, pirates, and terrorists were held beyond legal protection and were a legitimate target of any nation.

Aristophanes -- The Birds, l. 375ff (414 BC) [tr. Anon. (1812), Ramage (1864)]

Dave — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 16:10:48 +0000

EPOPS: You’re mistaken: men of sense often learn from their enemies. Prudence is the best safeguard. This principle cannot be learned from a friend, but an enemy extorts it immediately. It is from their foes, not their friends, that cities learn the lesson of building high walls and ships of war. And this lesson saves their children, their homes, and their properties.

CHORUS [LEADER]: It appears then that it will be better for us to hear what they have to say first; for one may learn something at times even from one’s enemies.

Aristophanes (c. 450-c. 388 BC) Athenian comedic playwright
The Birds, l. 375ff (414 BC) [tr. Anon. (1812), Ramage (1864)]
(Source)

Alt. trans. [Hickie (1853)]:
EPOPS: Yet, certainly, the wise learn many things from their enemies; for caution preserves all things. From a friend you could not learn this, but your foe immediately obliges you to learn it. For example, the states have learned from enemies, and not from friends, to build lofty walls, and to possess ships of war. And this lesson preserves children, house, and possessions.
CHORUS [LEADER]: It is useful, as it appears to me, to hear their arguments first; for one might learn some wisdom even from one's foes.

Alt. trans. [O'Neill (1938)]:
EPOPS: The wise can often profit by the lessons of a foe, for caution is the mother of safety. It is just such a thing as one will not learn from a friend and which an enemy compels you to know. To begin with, it's the foe and not the friend that taught cities to build high walls, to equip long vessels of war; and it's this knowledge that protects our children, our slaves and our wealth.
LEADER OF THE CHORUS: Well then, I agree, let us first hear them, for that is best; one can even learn something in an enemy's school.

Machiavelli, Niccolo -- The Prince, ch. 3 (1513) [tr. Gilbert (1959)]

Dave — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 16:33:59 +0000

We observe that men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries — for heavy ones they cannot; hence an injury done to a man should be such that it does not fear revenge.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) Italian politician, philosopher, political scientist
The Prince, ch. 3 (1513) [tr. Gilbert (1959)]
(Source)

Dayan, Moshe -- In Newsweek (17 Oct 1977)

Dave — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 02:06:21 +0000

If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.

Moshe Dayan (1915-1981) Israeli military leader and politician
In Newsweek (17 Oct 1977)

Rice, Anne -- The Witching Hour, Part 2 (1990)

Dave — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 15:45:22 +0000

Ah, Stefan, give me a man or woman who has read a thousand books and you give me an interesting companion. Give me a man or woman who has read perhaps three and you give me a dangerous enemy indeed.

Anne Rice (b. 1941) American author [b. Howard Allen Frances O'Brien]
The Witching Hour, Part 2 (1990)
(Source)

Petrarch -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 23:50:58 +0000

Man has no greater enemy than himself. I have acted contrary to my sentiments and inclination; throughout our whole lives we do what we never intended, and what we proposed to do, we leave undone.

Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) Italian scholar and poet [a.k.a. Petrarch]
(Attributed)
(Source)

Quoted in Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann, An Examination of the Advantages of Solitude and of Its Operations, ch. 5 (1783) [tr. F.S. (1808)].

Bacon, Francis -- Sacred Meditations [Meditationes Sacræ], “Of the Exaltation of Charity” (1597)

Dave — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 00:21:27 +0000

For a man to love again where he is loved, it is the charity of publicans contracted by mutual profit and good offices; but to love a man’s enemies is one of the cunningest points of the law of Christ, and an imitation of the divine nature.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
Sacred Meditations [Meditationes Sacræ], “Of the Exaltation of Charity” (1597)

Verne, Jules -- The Mysterious Island, Part 3, ch. 16 (1874)

Dave — Fri, 20 May 2016 15:20:11 +0000

He who is mistaken in an action which he sincerely believes to be right may be an enemy, but retains our esteem.

[Celui qui se trompe dans une intention qu’il croit bonne, on peut le combattre, on ne cesse pas de l’estimer.]

Jules Verne (1828-1905) French novelist, poet, playwright
The Mysterious Island, Part 3, ch. 16 (1874)
(Source)

Baruch, Bernard -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 07 Mar 2016 17:16:22 +0000

No man can humiliate me or disturb me. I won’t let him.

Bernard Baruch (1870-1965) American businessman and statesman
(Attributed)

Quoted in Dale Carnegie, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1948). When asked by Carnegie if he was troubled by his enemies' attacks.

Bradley, Omar -- Testimony, Senate Committees on Armed Services and Foreign Relations (15 May 1951)

Dave — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 21:25:53 +0000

I am under no illusion that our present strategy of using means short of total war to achieve our ends and oppose communism is a guarantee that a world war will not be thrust upon us. But a policy of patience and determination without provoking a world war, while we improve our military power, is one which we believe we must continue to follow. … Under present circumstances, we have recommended against enlarging the war from Korea to also include Red China. The course of action often described as a limited war with Red China would increase the risk we are taking by engaging too much of our power in an area that is not the critical strategic prize. Red China is not the powerful nation seeking to dominate the world. Frankly, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this strategy would involve us in the wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and with the wrong enemy.

Omar Bradley (1893-1981) American general
Testimony, Senate Committees on Armed Services and Foreign Relations (15 May 1951)

Kissinger, Henry -- Years of Upheaval, ch. 12 (1982)

Dave — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 13:45:43 +0000

If crisis management requires cold and even brutal measures to show determination, it also imposes the need to show the opponent a way out. Grandstanding is good for the ego but bad for foreign policy. […] Many wars have started because no line of retreat was left open.

Henry Kissinger (1923-2024) German-American diplomat
Years of Upheaval, ch. 12 (1982)
(Source)

Milligan, Spike -- Puckoon, ch. 6 [Mrs. Doonan] (1963)

Dave — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 12:45:24 +0000

Money couldn’t buy friends, but you got a better class of enemy.

Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (1918-2002) Anglo-Irish comedian, writer, actor
Puckoon, ch. 6 [Mrs. Doonan] (1963)
(Source)

The phrase, usually in the present tense, became a popular one of his, as in Norma Farnes, Memories of Milligan, "Spike on Spike" (2011): "Money can't buy you friends, but it does get you a better class of enemy," or the variant "Money can't buy you friends, but you get a better class of enemy."

Lewis, C.S. -- Mere Christianity, ch. 7 “Forgiveness” (1952)

Dave — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:20:59 +0000

Even while we kill and punish we must try to feel about the enemy as we feel about ourselves — to wish that he were not bad, to hope that he may, in this world or another, be cured: in fact, to wish his good. That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good, not feeling fond of him nor saying he is nice when he is not.

C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) English writer, literary scholar, lay theologian [Clive Staples Lewis]
Mere Christianity, ch. 7 “Forgiveness” (1952)
(Source)

See Matthew 5:43-45.

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 1252 (1725)

Dave — Wed, 20 May 2015 13:45:58 +0000

If evil Men speak good, or good Men evil of thee; examine thy Actions, and suspect thy self: But if evil Men speak evil of thee; hold it as an Honor, and by way of Thankfulness love them; but upon condition, that they continue to hate thee.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 1252 (1725)
(Source)

Lerner, Max -- Column, New York Star (9 Jan 1949)

Dave — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 12:47:40 +0000

A President is best judged by the enemies he makes when he has really hit his stride.

Maxwell "Max" Lerner (1902-1992) American journalist, columnist, educator
Column, New York Star (9 Jan 1949)

Reprinted in "The Education of Harry Truman," pt. 4, The Unfinished Country (1959).

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- “The Chance for Peace,” speech to American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington (16 Apr 1953)

Dave — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 17:52:00 +0000

The way chosen by the United States was plainly marked by a few clear precepts, which govern its conduct in world affairs.

First: No people on earth can be held, as a people, to be enemy, for all humanity shares the common hunger for peace and fellowship and justice.

Second: No nation’s security and well-being can be lastingly achieved in isolation but only in effective cooperation with fellow-nations.

Third: Any nation’s right to form of government and an economic system of its own choosing is inalienable.

Fourth: Any nation’s attempt to dictate to other nations their form of government is indefensible.

And fifth: A nation’s hope of lasting peace cannot be firmly based upon any race in armaments but rather upon just relations and honest understanding with all other nations.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
“The Chance for Peace,” speech to American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington (16 Apr 1953)

Also known as the "Cross of Iron" speech.

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1786-05-06) to C. W. F. Dumas

Dave — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 13:58:57 +0000

Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it. But the temper and folly of our enemies may not leave this in our choice.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1786-05-06) to C. W. F. Dumas
(Source)

Keillor, Garrison -- “Congress’s Shameful Retreat From American Values,” Chicago Tribune (4 Oct 2006)

Dave — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 13:50:45 +0000

If the government can round up someone and never be required to explain why, then it’s no longer the United States of America as you and I always understood it. Our enemies have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. They have made us become like them.

Garrison Keillor (b. 1942) American entertainer, author
“Congress’s Shameful Retreat From American Values,” Chicago Tribune (4 Oct 2006)
(Source)

Thoreau, Henry David -- Journal (22 Mar 1842)

Dave — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 13:05:08 +0000

I have not succeeded if I have an antagonist who fails. It must be humanity’s success.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American philosopher and writer
Journal (22 Mar 1842)

Kennedy, Robert F. -- “On the Mindless Menace of Violence,” speech, City Club of Cleveland (5 Apr 1968)

Dave — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 13:03:18 +0000

When you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies, to be met not with cooperation but with conquest; to be subjugated and mastered. We learn, at the last, to look at our brothers as aliens, men with whom we share a city, but not a community; men bound to us in common dwelling, but not in common effort. We learn to share only a common fear, only a common desire to retreat from each other, only a common impulse to meet disagreement with force.

Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968) American politician
“On the Mindless Menace of Violence,” speech, City Club of Cleveland (5 Apr 1968)
(Source)

Shakespeare, William -- Henry V, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 80ff (4.1.80-83) (1599)

Dave — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 11:50:56 +0000

FLUELLEN: If the enemy is an ass and a fool and a prating coxcomb, is it meet, think you, that we should also, look you, be an ass and a fool and a prating coxcomb, in your own conscience now?

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry V, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 80ff (4.1.80-83) (1599)
(Source)

Hazlitt, William -- “Common Places” (22), Literary Examiner (Sep-Dec 1823)

Dave — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 15:09:11 +0000

Abuse is an indirect species of homage.

William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English writer
“Common Places” (22), Literary Examiner (Sep-Dec 1823)

Hayden, Teresa Nielsen -- Making Light, “Commonplaces”

Dave — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 12:25:08 +0000

Just because you’re on their side doesn’t mean they’re on your side.

Teresa Nielsen Hayden (b. 1956) American editor, writer, essayist
Making Light, “Commonplaces”
(Source)

Gide, André -- Journal (10 Feb 1943) [tr. O’Brien (1951)]

Dave — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 12:58:33 +0000

It is essential to persuade the soldier that those he is being urged to massacre are bandits who do not deserve to live; before killing other good, decent fellows like himself, his gun would fall from his hands.

André Gide (1869-1951) French author, Nobel laureate
Journal (10 Feb 1943) [tr. O’Brien (1951)]

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 782 (1725)

Dave — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:25:58 +0000

‘Tis much safer for thee to reconcile an Enemy than conquer him. Victory may deprive him of his Power for the present; but Reconciliation disarms his Will.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 782 (1725)
(Source)

Fromm, Erich -- The Art of Loving, ch. 5 (1956)

Dave — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:32:32 +0000

The lack of objectivity, as far as foreign nations are concerned, is notorious. From one day to another, another nation is made out to be utterly depraved and fiendish, while one’s own nation stands for everything that is good and noble. Every action of the enemy is judged by one standard — every action of oneself by another. Even good deeds by the enemy are considered a sign of particular devilishness, meant to deceive us and the world, while our bad deeds are necessary and justified by our noble goals, which they serve.

Erich Fromm (1900-1980) American psychoanalyst and social philosopher
The Art of Loving, ch. 5 (1956)
(Source)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Quoted in David Halberstam, book review, New York Times (1971-10-31)

Dave — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:28:17 +0000

It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Quoted in David Halberstam, book review, New York Times (1971-10-31)
(Source)

Review of the just-published Lyndon Johnson, Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency 1963-1969, regarding the difficulty for him to fire FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover. Halberstam notes this as a Johnson quotation not found in the book, complaining that it's far too sanitized a retelling of Johnson's presidency. This is generally accepted as the earliest printed mention of the quotation.

James, William -- “The Moral Equivalent of War” (1906)

Dave — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:53:57 +0000

At the present day, civilized opinion is a curious mental mixture. The military instincts and ideals are as strong as ever, but they are confronted by reflective criticisms which sorely curb their ancient freedom. Innumerable writers are showing up the bestial side of military service. Pure loot and mastery seem no longer morally allowable motives, and pretexts must be found for attributing them solely to the enemy.

William James (1842-1910) American psychologist and philosopher
“The Moral Equivalent of War” (1906)
(Source)

Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament -- Matthew 5: 43-45 (Jesus) [JB (1966)]

Dave — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:22:11 +0000

You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike.

[Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη, “Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου” καὶ μισήσεις τὸν ἐχθρόν σου. ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν διωκόντων ὑμᾶς, ὅπως γένησθε υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς, ὅτι τὸν ἥλιον αὐτοῦ ἀνατέλλει ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθοὺς καὶ βρέχει ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ ἀδίκους.]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
Matthew 5: 43-45 (Jesus) [JB (1966)]
(Source)

This passage is paralleled in Luke 6:27-28. "Love your neighbor" comes from Leviticus 19:18.

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
[KJV (1611)]

You have heard that it was said, "Love your friends, hate your enemies." But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil.
[GNT (1976)]

You have heard how it was said, You will love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike.
[NJB (1985)]

You have heard that it was said, You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous.
[CEB (2011)]

You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. [NRSV (2021 ed.)]

Machiavelli, Niccolo -- The Discourses on Livy, Book 3, ch. 48 (1517) [tr. Detmold (1882)]

Dave — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 00:35:21 +0000

Any manifest error on the part of an enemy should make us suspect some stratagem.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) Italian politician, philosopher, political scientist
The Discourses on Livy, Book 3, ch. 48 (1517) [tr. Detmold (1882)]

Sun-Tzu -- The Art of War, ch. 6

Dave — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:01:02 +0000

When the enemy is at ease, be able to weary him; when well fed, to starve him; when at rest, to make him move. Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.

Sun-Tzu (fl. 6th C. AD) Chinese general and philosopher [a.k.a. Sun Wu]
The Art of War, ch. 6

Bible, Vol. 1. Old Testament -- Book 20. Proverbs 24:17ff (Prov 24:17-18) [tr. RJPS (2023 ed.)]

Dave — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:58:42 +0000

If your enemies fall, do not exult;
If they trip, let your heart not rejoice,
Lest GOD see it and be displeased,
And avert God’s wrath from them.

The Bible (The Old Testament) (14th - 2nd C BC) Judeo-Christian sacred scripture [Tanakh, Hebrew Bible], incl. the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonicals)
Book 20. Proverbs 24:17ff (Prov 24:17-18) [tr. RJPS (2023 ed.)]
(Source)

Alternate translations:

Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
[KJV (1611)]

Should your enemy fall, do not rejoice, when he stumbles do not let your heart exult; for fear that at the sight Yahweh will be displeased and turn his anger away from him.
[JB (1966)]

Don't be glad when your enemies meet disaster, and don't rejoice when they stumble. The Lord will know if you are gloating, and he will not like it; and then maybe he won't punish them.
[GNT (1976)]

Should your enemy fall, do not rejoice, when he stumbles do not let your heart exult: for fear that Yahweh will be displeased at the sight and turn his anger away from him.
[NJB (1985)]

When your enemies fall, don’t rejoice.
When they stumble, don’t let your heart be glad,
or the Lord will see it and be displeased,
and he will turn his anger from them.
[CEB (2011)]

Do not rejoice when your enemies fall,
and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble,
lest the Lord see it and be displeased
and turn away his anger from them.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 878 (1725)

Dave — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:07:16 +0000

Pray for thy Enemy, for if thou beest a good Man thyself, thou canst not but rejoice to see thy worst Enemy become a good Man, too.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 878 (1725)
(Source)

Jung, Carl -- “General Aspects of Dream Psychology” (1916) [tr. R. Hull (1960)]

Dave — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:37:42 +0000

The real existence of an enemy upon whom one can foist off everything evil is an enormous relief to one’s conscience. You can then at least say, without hesitation, who the devil is; you are quite certain that the cause of your misfortune is outside, and not your own attitude.

Carl Jung (1875-1961) Swiss psychologist
“General Aspects of Dream Psychology” (1916) [tr. R. Hull (1960)]

Lec, Stanislaw -- Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]

Dave — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:41:23 +0000

The face of the enemy frightens me only when I see how much it resembles mine.

Stanislaw Lec (1909-1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]

Stewart, Jon -- Commencement Address, College of William & Mary (2004-05-20)

Dave — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:56:17 +0000

We declared war on terror — it’s not even a noun, so, good luck. After we defeat it, I’m sure we’ll take on that bastard ennui.

Jon Stewart (b. 1962) American satirist, comedian, and television host. [b. Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz]
Commencement Address, College of William & Mary (2004-05-20)
(Source)

Sun-Tzu -- The Art of War, “Offensive Strategy” (31) [tr. S. Griffith (1963)]

Dave — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:28:08 +0000

Know the enemy, know yourself; in a hundred battles you will not be in peril.

Sun-Tzu (fl. 6th C. AD) Chinese general and philosopher [a.k.a. Sun Wu]
The Art of War, “Offensive Strategy” (31) [tr. S. Griffith (1963)]

Alt trans:

"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle." [cited ch. 3, last sentence.]
"If you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle."
"Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know thy enemy but not yourself, wallow in defeat every time."
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."
Literal translation: "Know [the] other, know [the] self, hundred battles without danger; not knowing [the] other but know [the] self, one win one loss; not knowing [the] other, not knowing [the] self, every battle must [be] lost."

Gay, John -- “The Shepherd’s Dog and the Wolf,” pt. 1, ll. 33-34 (1727)

Dave — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:29:28 +0000

An open foe may prove a curse,
But a pretended friend is worse.

John Gay (1685-1732) English poet and playwright
“The Shepherd’s Dog and the Wolf,” pt. 1, ll. 33-34 (1727)
(Source)

See Franklin (1740).

Twain, Mark -- Story (1905), “The War Prayer”

Dave — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:59:17 +0000

“You heard these words: ‘Grant us the victory, O Lord our God!’ That is sufficient. The whole of the uttered prayer is compact into those pregnant words. Elaborations were not necessary. When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory — must follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen!
“O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle — be Thou near them! With them — in spirit — we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it — for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.
(After a pause.) “Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits!”

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Story (1905), “The War Prayer”
(Source)

A mysterious man speaking to a church congregation gathered to pray for the victory of their local men going off to war.

The story was originally written after the Spanish-American War and during the Philippine-American War. It was rejected at the time by Harper's Bazaar on 1905-03-22 as "too radical" and "not quite suited to a woman's magazine." He was further discouraged by his family, friends, and publishers from publishing something so "sacrilegious."

It's frequently claimed that the story was eventually published in Harper's Magazine, Vol 80, No. 798 (1916-11), during World War I. In reality, that issue only contains Part 7 (the last installment) of his The Mysterious Stranger (a different story).

It was not published until collected in Europe and Elsewhere (1923) [ed. Paine].

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1779-03-27) to Patrick Henry

Dave — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 10:25:44 +0000

But is an enemy so execrable that tho in captivity his wishes and comforts are to be disregarded and even crossed? I think not. It is for the benefit of mankind to mitigate the horrors of war as much as possible.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1779-03-27) to Patrick Henry
(Source)

Hobbes, Thomas -- Leviathan, Part 1, ch. 13 (1651)

Dave — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 18:22:57 +0000

Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of Warre, where every man is Enemy to every man; the same is consequent to the time, wherein men live without other security, than what their own strength, and their own invention shall furnish them withall. In such condition, there is no place for Industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain; and consequently no Culture of the Earth; no Navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by Sea; no commodious Building; no Instruments of moving, and removing such things as require much force; no Knowledge of the face of the Earth; no account of Time; no Arts; no Letters; no Society; and which is worst of all, continuall feare, and danger of violent death; And the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) English philosopher
Leviathan, Part 1, ch. 13 (1651)
(Source)

Gracián, Baltasar -- The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 84 (1647) [tr. Jacobs (1892)]

Dave — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 19:04:47 +0000

A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.

[Al varón sabio más le aprovechan sus enemigos que al necio sus amigos.]

Baltasar Gracián y Morales (1601-1658) Spanish Jesuit priest, writer, philosopher
The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 84 (1647) [tr. Jacobs (1892)]
(Source)

See also Aristophanes. (Source (Spanish)). Alternate translations:

The wise man draws more advantage from his Enemies, than the fool does from his Friends.
[Flesher ed. (1685)]

To a wise man, his enemies avail him more, than to a fool, his friends.
[tr. Fischer (1937)]

The wise person finds enemies more useful than the fool finds friends.
[tr. Maurer (1992)]

Coffin, William Sloane -- The Courage to Love, Introduction (1982)