--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We often give our enemies the means for…" description: "\"We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.\" — Aesop" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/aesop-1073_destruction_we-often-give-our-enemies-the-means-for_3196066.jpg" --- # We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction. ![“We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.” quote by Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/aesop-1073_destruction_we-often-give-our-enemies-the-means-for_3196066.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/aesop-1073_destruction_we-often-give-our-enemies-the-means-for_3196066.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/aesop-1073_destruction_we-often-give-our-enemies-the-means-for_3196066.jpg) > “We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.” [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Providing enemies with tools can backfire, leading to one’s own ruin. **In simple terms:** Giving enemies power can destroy you. Key Takeaway Guard what you give to adversaries. Themes trust danger self‑destruction Mood cautious reflective Type moral practical When to use this quote - business negotiations - political strategy - personal relationships Key Concepts strategic thinking psychology conflict Questions to Reflect On - When is sharing with an opponent justified? - How can you protect yourself while cooperating? A Different Perspective Sometimes sharing resources is necessary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ## Related quotes > [“Love your enemies" means love the ones that hate you, not love the ones you hate cause there is no way to have love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-bida/love-your-enemies-means-love-the-ones-that-hate-you-not-love-the-ones/) [Brooke Bida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-bida/) > [You got Enemies? That means you actually stood up for something GOOD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-got-enemies-that-means-you-actually-stood-up-for-something-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Peace for us means the destruction of Israel. We are preparing for an all-out war, a war which will last for generations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasser-arafat/peace-for-us-means-the-destruction-of-israel-we-are-preparing-for-an/) [Yasser Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasser-arafat/) > [The nearest I can make it out, "Love your Enemies" means, "Hate your Friends"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-nearest-i-can-make-it-out-love-your-enemies-means-hate-your/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [If you have too many enemies, it means that you are either too good or too evil!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-have-too-many-enemies-it-means-that-you-are-either-too-good-or/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Marx was wrong: It is not only the 'means of production' that shape societies, but the means of destruction. In our own time, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/marx-was-wrong-it-is-not-only-the-means-of-production-that-shape/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [“Why do the peoples more and more exhaust their strength in accumulating means of destruction which are valueless even to accomplish the ends for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-bliokh/why-do-the-peoples-more-and-more-exhaust-their-strength-in/) Ivan Bliokh > [Fascism means first of all defending your nation against the dangers that threaten it. It means the destruction of these dangers and the opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/fascism-means-first-of-all-defending-your-nation-against-the-dangers/) [Corneliu Zelea Codreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/) > [Peace for us means the destruction of Israel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasser-arafat/peace-for-us-means-the-destruction-of-israel/) [Yasser Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasser-arafat/) > [The sovereign state has in our times become a lethal danger to human civilization because technical developments enable it to employ an infinite number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-lous-lange/the-sovereign-state-has-in-our-times-become-a-lethal-danger-to-human/) [Christian Lous Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-lous-lange/) > [“We are our own worst enemy and make no mistake we are destroying ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/we-are-our-own-worst-enemy-and-make-no-mistake-we-are-destroying/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [Enemies' promises were made to be broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/enemies-promises-were-made-to-be-broken/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“The haft of the arrow had been feathered with one of the eagles own plumes. We often give our enemies the means of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-haft-of-the-arrow-had-been-feathered-with-one-of-the-eagles-own/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [The planet Earth, though not threatened with destruction by man-made global warming, is by no means indestructible. There are many unpredictable events within our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/the-planet-earth-though-not-threatened-with-destruction-by-man-made/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [“Never let your Enemies become your Advocates.” by A. K. Hasan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-hasan/never-let-your-enemies-become-your-advocates-by-a-k-hasan/) A.K. Hasan ## More by Aesop > [“Lay not the blame on me, O sailor, but on the winds. By nature I am as calm and safe as the land itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/lay-not-the-blame-on-me-o-sailor-but-on-the-winds-by-nature-i-am-as/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [It is in vain to expect our prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/it-is-in-vain-to-expect-our-prayers-to-be-heard-if-we-do-not-strive/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Beware of a wolf in sheep's clothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/beware-of-a-wolf-in-sheep-s-clothing/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Better a long life of toil than a short one of ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/better-a-long-life-of-toil-than-a-short-one-of-ease/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Don't let your special character and values, the secret that you know and no one else does, the truth - don't let that get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/don-t-let-your-special-character-and-values-the-secret-that-you-know/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Every man carries two bags about him, one in front and one behind, and both are full of faults. The bag in front contains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/every-man-carries-two-bags-about-him-one-in-front-and-one-behind-and/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [It pays to be content with your lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/it-pays-to-be-content-with-your-lot/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/be-content-with-your-lot-one-cannot-be-first-in-everything/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Equals make the best friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/equals-make-the-best-friends/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [once upon a time all the rivers combined to protest against the action of the sea in making their waters salt. "When we come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/once-upon-a-time-all-the-rivers-combined-to-protest-against-the/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [In union there is strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/in-union-there-is-strength/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“Be content with your lot; once cannot be first in everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/be-content-with-your-lot-once-cannot-be-first-in-everything/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [False friends leave you in times of trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/false-friends-leave-you-in-times-of-trouble/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/better-beans-and-bacon-in-peace-than-cakes-and-ale-in-fear/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“The Sun is bad enough even while he is single, drying up our marshes with his heat as he does. But what will become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-sun-is-bad-enough-even-while-he-is-single-drying-up-our-marshes/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) [Explore all 297 Aesop quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) ## More Destruction quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Perhaps the greatest and least visible form of impoverishment caused by the Corporate State is the destruction of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/perhaps-the-greatest-and-least-visible-form-of-impoverishment-caused/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hundreds of millions of human beings on our planet increasingly suffer from unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the destruction of their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-kung/hundreds-of-millions-of-human-beings-on-our-planet-increasingly/) [Hans Kung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-kung/) > [Away with you, water, destruction of wine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catullus/away-with-you-water-destruction-of-wine/) [Catullus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catullus/) > [Some voluntary castaways there will always be, whom no fostering kindness and no parental care can preserve from self-destruction; but if any are lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/some-voluntary-castaways-there-will-always-be-whom-no-fostering/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is there some lesson on how to be friends? I think what it means is that central to living a life that is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/is-there-some-lesson-on-how-to-be-friends-i-think-what-it-means-is/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“We're on the eve of destruction. Men have lost all sense of honor. Power has become their faith instead of faith being their power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atiq-rahimi/we-re-on-the-eve-of-destruction-men-have-lost-all-sense-of-honor/) Atiq Rahimi [Browse all 3,161 Destruction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aesop" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/we-often-give-our-enemies-the-means-for-our-own-destruction/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destruction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/we-often-give-our-enemies-the-means-for-our-own-destruction/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/aesop-1073_destruction_we-often-give-our-enemies-the-means-for_3196066.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/aesop-1073_destruction_we-often-give-our-enemies-the-means-for_3196066.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/aesop-1073_destruction_we-often-give-our-enemies-the-means-for_3196066.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.” — Aesop", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aesop", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We often give our enemies the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/we-often-give-our-enemies-the-means-for-our-own-destruction/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/we-often-give-our-enemies-the-means-for-our-own-destruction/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```