Enemies Quotes – 45 Sayings About Opponents and Rivals

Are you looking for the best quotes about enemies, opponents and rivals? Then you've come to the right place! An enemy can be a person who bullies us, hurts us and actively wants to harm us. It can just as easily be, for example, the Fear of the future be an enemy or adversary to be defeated.

Enemies, opponents, competitors, rivals and adversaries can really have many faces in our everyday lives. We have to actively deal with them in order to successfully master personal battles, conflicts and duels.

In this article, I would therefore like to give you a collection of the best short wisdom, aphorisms and quotes about enemies, opponents and rivals. Just let them inspire you. Let's go!

My please: Keep in mind that many of the quotes about enemies and opponents have been translated into English from other languages. I cannot guarantee that it is the original quote in each case. Therefore, double check them before you share them. If you like and share any of the quotes in the internet, please link this elaborately created collection. Thank you for your support!

The 45 best quotes about enemies, opponents and rivals

In the complex world of human relationships, the The terms "enemy" and "opponent" are actually too different.h to be lumped together.

After all, enemies are people who actively seek to harm us. Since they threaten us, we are in a relationship of deep hostility towards them. Opponents, on the other hand rather in a competition, game or debate towards each other without malicious intentions. It is a relationship that is defined by rules, often even by mutual respect.

But the terms are united by the basic concept of opposition or confrontation. Both are in the context of a conflict, a dispute. That is why I have combined the respective quotes in the following list. Just let yourself be inspired to deal fairly with enemies and opponents.

Enemies Quotes 1 - 10

1. "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend." (Martin Luther King)
2. "Truth never triumphs - its opponents just die out." (Max Planck)
3. "Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to discover your mistakes." (Antisthenes)
4. "Nothing is as dangerous as an ignorant friend; a wise enemy is to be preferred." (Jean de La Fontaine)
5. "Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults." (Benjamin Franklin)
6. "Opponents often need each other more than friends, for without wind, the mills won't run." (Hermann Hesse)
7. "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." (Napoleon Bonaparte)
8. "The best weapon against an enemy is another enemy." (Friedrich Nietzsche)
9. "One true friend adds more to our happiness than a thousand enemies add to our unhappiness." (Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach)
10. "As well as you want to do good, you can be sure to find enemies." (Voltaire)

Tip: In a separate blog post, I have written some beautiful Examples of good deeds in everyday life put together. Take a look and let yourself be inspired to do positive things.

Enemies Quotes 11 - 20

11. "Opponents believe they can disprove us by repeating their opinions and paying no attention to ours." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
12. "You don't fall over your mistakes. You always fall over your enemies who take advantage of those mistakes." (Kurt Tucholsky)
13. "Intelligent love of the enemy assumes that peace can only be maintained together with the enemy." (Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker)
14. "Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much." (Oscar Wilde)
15. "Challenges are like opponents in the ring. You never turn your back on them!" (Wladimir Klitschko)
16. "The enemy is within the gates; it is with our own luxury, our own folly, our own criminality that we have to contend." (Marcus Tullius Cicero)
17. "Five enemies of peace inhabit with us - avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace." (Petrarch)
18. "Pity is the enemy's weapon in its own ranks." (Unknown)
19. "Mans only real enemies are his own negative thoughts." (Albert Einstein)
20. "It is better to surround yourself with reliable enemies than with unreliable friends."(John Steinbeck)

Tip: Do you want to intensify your friendships? Use these questions to get to knowto have deeper and longer conversations in the future.

Enemies Quotes 21 - 30

21. "It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways." (Buddha)
22. "Books have the same enemies as people: fire, humidity, animals, weather, and their own content." (Paul Valéry)
23. "The noble: «I will!» has no worse enemy than the cowardly, self-deceiving: «Yes, if I would!»" (Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach)
24. "The happy slaves are the bitterest enemies of freedom." (Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach)
25. "In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher." (Dalai Lama)
26. "Your friends call themselves sincere. The enemies are." (Arthur Schopenhauer)
27. "Belief in a bigger and better future is one of the most powerful enemies of contemporary freedom." (Aldous Huxley)
28. "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." (Sun Tzu)
29. "You have to live with your enemies because you can't have everyone as a friend." (Alexis Clérel de Tocqueville)
30. "If you want to make peace with your enemy, then work with him. Then he will become your partner." (Nelson Mandela)

Tip: I have also brought you a collection of the best Quotes about peace put together. Be sure to take a look and let it inspire you too.

Enemies Quotes 31 - 40

31. "He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy." (Socrates)
32. "Every dictator is an enemy of freedom, an opponent of law." (Demosthenes)
33. "Opponents often need each other more than friends, for without wind, the mills won't run." (Henry Thomas Buckle)
34. "Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." (John F. Kennedy)
35. "Better is the enemy of good." (Voltaire)
36. "Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy." (Isaac Newton)
37. "If your opponent praises you, that is a cause for concern; if he scolds you, then you might be on the right path." (August Bebel)
38. "A man with no enemies is a man with no character." (Paul Newman)
39. "The biggest enemy of quality is the hurry." (Henry Ford)
40. "My friend is important, but also my enemy can be helpful to me. If a friend shows me what I can do, an enemy teaches me what I should do." (Friedrich Schiller)

Enemies Quotes 41 - 45

41. "The more you love yourself, the more you become your greatest enemy." (Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach)
42. "Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up." (Rocky Balboa)
43. "Don't tell your friendwhat your enemy should not know." (Arthur Schopenhauer)
44. "It's right to learn, even from the enemy." (Ovid)
45. "One cannot be too careful in the choice of one's enemies." (Oscar Wilde)

Can you think of any other sayings about enemies or opponents? Then always come up with your ideas in the comments!

FAQ: Frequently asked questions about enmities and opponents

Use the best enemy quotes for inspiration!

With the help of the quotes and sayings, we have now embarked on a short journey into the world of enmities and duels in life. We have a Variety of perspectives that shape our relationships and extend to the deep, inner struggles that are deeply rooted in our own being.

Simply let the quotes inspire you and see them as an opportunityto take a closer look at the meaning of enemies and adversaries in your life. Perhaps you will find in these words the opportunity to build bridges where you thought there were insurmountable divides. Or the decisive motivation to win a competition.

Do you have any questions, suggestions or other inspiring quotes about enmities and rivalries? Then just write me a comment.

Always remain respectful,

PS: Xenophobia is certainly also a social enemy. What you can do against racismI would now like to give you a few tips in the linked blog article.