---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Get your enemy to read your works in…"
description: "\"Get your enemy to read your works in order to mend them, for your friend is so much your second self that he will judge too like you.\" — Alexander Pope"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/alexander-pope-235_enemy_get-your-enemy-to-read-your-works-in-ord_1467680.png"
---

#  Get your enemy to read your works in order to mend them…

![“Get your enemy to read your works in order to mend them, for your friend is so much your second self that he will judge too like you.” quote by Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/alexander-pope-235_enemy_get-your-enemy-to-read-your-works-in-ord_1467680.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/alexander-pope-235_enemy_get-your-enemy-to-read-your-works-in-ord_1467680.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/alexander-pope-235_enemy_get-your-enemy-to-read-your-works-in-ord_1467680.png)

> “Get your enemy to read your works in order to mend them, for your friend is so much your second self that he will judge too like you.”

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

One should let others critique their work, as close friends reflect our own flaws, helping us improve.

**In simple terms:** Let friends critique you to improve.

Key Takeaway

Seek honest feedback from trusted peers.

Themes

self-improvement critique friendship

Mood

thoughtful reflective

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- writing
- creative projects
- personal development
- team collaboration

Key Concepts

self-awareness reflection growth

Questions to Reflect On

- Who can you trust to give you honest feedback?
- How do you handle criticism from a close friend?

A Different Perspective

Friends may be biased or overly harsh, limiting objectivity.

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[Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/)

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[Ben Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-horowitz/)

> [Wartime CEO is too busy fighting the enemy to read management books written by consultants who have never managed a fruit stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-horowitz/wartime-ceo-is-too-busy-fighting-the-enemy-to-read-management-books-2/)

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> [IHate Friends That Are Like Two Face ! There Your Friend One Second Then There Your Enemy ! WTF ? That Shit Is Wrong !!! Who Agree's ???](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winter-tubby/ihate-friends-that-are-like-two-face-there-your-friend-one-second/)

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> [In my friend, I found my second self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-my-friend-i-found-my-second-self/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [A friend is a second self, so that our consciousness of a friend's existence...makes us more fully conscious of our own existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-friend-is-a-second-self-so-that-our-consciousness-of-a-friend-s/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [A friend is a second self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-friend-is-a-second-self/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Sister is our first friend and second mother...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunny-gupta/sister-is-our-first-friend-and-second-mother/)

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> [In a friend you find a second self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-norton/in-a-friend-you-find-a-second-self/)

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> [A friend is, as it were, a second self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-friend-is-as-it-were-a-second-self/)

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## More by Alexander Pope

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> [Let such teach others who themselves excel, And censure freely who have written well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/let-such-teach-others-who-themselves-excel-and-censure-freely-who/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [For I, who hold sage Homer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/for-i-who-hold-sage-homer-s-rule-the-best-welcome-the-coming-speed/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [Like following life through creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/like-following-life-through-creatures-you-dissect-you-lose-it-in-the/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [When two people compliment each other with the choice of anything, each of them generally gets that which he likes least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/when-two-people-compliment-each-other-with-the-choice-of-anything/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [Such labour'd nothings, in so strange a style, Amaze th' unlearn'd and make the learned smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/such-labour-d-nothings-in-so-strange-a-style-amaze-th-unlearn-d-and/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/charms-strike-the-sight-but-merit-wins-the-soul/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/)

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## More Enemy quotes

> [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/)

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> [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/)

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