--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Have I not destroyed my enemy when I have…" description: "\"Have I not destroyed my enemy when I have made him into my friend?\" — Abraham Lincoln" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/abraham-lincoln-88_destroyed_have-i-not-destroyed-my-enemy-when-i-hav_1510454.png" --- # Have I not destroyed my enemy when I have made him into my… ![“Have I not destroyed my enemy when I have made him into my friend?” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/abraham-lincoln-88_destroyed_have-i-not-destroyed-my-enemy-when-i-hav_1510454.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/abraham-lincoln-88_destroyed_have-i-not-destroyed-my-enemy-when-i-hav_1510454.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/abraham-lincoln-88_destroyed_have-i-not-destroyed-my-enemy-when-i-hav_1510454.png) > “Have I not destroyed my enemy when I have made him into my friend?” [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Transforming an enemy into a friend neutralates conflict and creates peace. **In simple terms:** Make enemies into friends. Key Takeaway Seek reconciliation over retaliation. Themes peace reconciliation conflict resolution Mood hopeful strategic Type historical inspirational When to use this quote - political negotiations - personal disputes - community building Key Concepts diplomacy psychology of forgiveness Questions to Reflect On - How can you extend an olive branch today? - What benefits arise from turning foes into allies? A Different Perspective Deep grudges may resist change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Inspiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring/) ## Related quotes > [“Unless you have completely destroyed your enemy, your survival is precarious”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/unless-you-have-completely-destroyed-your-enemy-your-survival-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [I have destroyed the enemy merely by marches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/i-have-destroyed-the-enemy-merely-by-marches/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [While it is often true that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, it seems like Yahoo's almost obsessive focus on Google is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-swisher/while-it-is-often-true-that-the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend-it/) [Kara Swisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-swisher/) > [If you treat people with dignity, respect and friendliness, you can turn enemies into friends. An enemy is nothing but a friend in disguise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/if-you-treat-people-with-dignity-respect-and-friendliness-you-can/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [Thou can'st not joke an enemy into a friend, but thou may'st a friend into an enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/thou-can-st-not-joke-an-enemy-into-a-friend-but-thou-may-st-a-friend/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Your enemy's enemy is your friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/your-enemy-s-enemy-is-your-friend/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [“If you know your enemy as you know your friend," her mother had said when she gave Mei the book, "then there is hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monk-and-nigel-ashland/if-you-know-your-enemy-as-you-know-your-friend-her-mother-had-said/) Monk and Nigel Ashland > [“ancient Sanskrit proverb "the enemy of my enemy is my friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/ancient-sanskrit-proverb-the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [Consider an enemy may become a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/consider-an-enemy-may-become-a-friend/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Do you wish to make of your enemy a friend? Then become a friend to your enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson-davis/do-you-wish-to-make-of-your-enemy-a-friend-then-become-a-friend-to/) Andrew Jackson Davis > [“An enemy of your enemy might be your friend. But a friend of your friend isn’t automatically your friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-enemy-of-your-enemy-might-be-your-friend-but-a-friend-of-your/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The problem with 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,' is that once the common enemy is gone, you usually end up fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/the-problem-with-the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend-is-that-once-the/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [“If the enemy of my enemy is my friend, then a friend of my enemy, is my enemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyreglide/if-the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend-then-a-friend-of-my-enemy-is-my/) Pyreglide > [“The enemy of my enemy is my friend . - Vincent”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-king/the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend-vincent/) [Penelope King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-king/) > [My enemy's enemy is my friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-grahame-smith/my-enemy-s-enemy-is-my-friend/) [Seth Grahame-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-grahame-smith/) ## More by Abraham Lincoln > [Elections belong to the people. 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Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-us-at-all-times-remember-that-all-american-citizens-are-brothers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If you wish to be a lawyer, attach no consequence to the place you are in, or the person you are with; but get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-you-wish-to-be-a-lawyer-attach-no-consequence-to-the-place-you-are/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [As we keep or break the Sabbath Day we nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope by which man rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/as-we-keep-or-break-the-sabbath-day-we-nobly-save-or-meanly-lose-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Tell the truth and you won't have so much to remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tell-the-truth-and-you-won-t-have-so-much-to-remember/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [With high hope for the future, no prediction is ventured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/with-high-hope-for-the-future-no-prediction-is-ventured/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I am glad to see that a system of labor prevails under which laborers can strike when they want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-glad-to-see-that-a-system-of-labor-prevails-under-which-laborers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-that-man-i-must-get-to-know-him-better/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and to the young, it comes with bitterest agony because it takes them unawares.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-this-sad-world-of-ours-sorrow-comes-to-all-and-to-the-young-it/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than I am. None who would do more to preserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-man-does-not-live-who-is-more-devoted-to-peace-than-i-am-none-who/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Explore all 1,437 Abraham Lincoln quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More Destroyed quotes > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Poetry fettered, fetters the human race. Nations are destroyed or flourish in proportion as their poetry, painting, and music are destroyed or flourish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/poetry-fettered-fetters-the-human-race-nations-are-destroyed-or/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [You know, I often thought that the gangster and the artist are the same in the eyes of the masses. 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Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [We all carry it within us: supreme strength, the fullness of wisdom, unquenchable joy. It is never thwarted, and cannot be destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/we-all-carry-it-within-us-supreme-strength-the-fullness-of-wisdom/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [Wars--and what is war except crime on a mass scale?--destroy rather than produce. The vandal that destroys a window causes not only the owner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-young/wars-and-what-is-war-except-crime-on-a-mass-scale-destroy-rather-than/) [Adam Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-young/) > ['Johnny' was a coping mechanism who could take those things which could have ordinarily destroyed me, by tweaking my past and throwing it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-vegas/johnny-was-a-coping-mechanism-who-could-take-those-things-which-could/) [Johnny Vegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-vegas/) > [Like Samson, I am ready to pull down the white man's temple, knowing full well that I will be destroyed by the falling rubble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/like-samson-i-am-ready-to-pull-down-the-white-man-s-temple-knowing/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Men will never rest till they've spoiled the earth and destroyed the animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-adams/men-will-never-rest-till-they-ve-spoiled-the-earth-and-destroyed-the/) [Richard Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-adams/) > [The triangle of truisms, of father, mother and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-triangle-of-truisms-of-father-mother-and-child-cannot-be/) [Gilbert K. 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