--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you have to fight old enemies, you…" description: "\"“If you have to fight old enemies, you should do it with your own old soldiers.”\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/anonymous-1_enemy_if-you-have-to-fight-old-enemies-you-sho_1797105.jpg" --- # If you have to fight old enemies, you should do it with… ![“If you have to fight old enemies, you should do it with your own old soldiers.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/anonymous-1_enemy_if-you-have-to-fight-old-enemies-you-sho_1797105.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/anonymous-1_enemy_if-you-have-to-fight-old-enemies-you-sho_1797105.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/anonymous-1_enemy_if-you-have-to-fight-old-enemies-you-sho_1797105.jpg) > ““If you have to fight old enemies, you should do it with your own old soldiers.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Confront past adversaries using familiar allies rather than strangers. **In simple terms:** Use old allies to fight old foes. Key Takeaway Leverage trusted partners in conflict. Themes strategy loyalty conflict resolution Mood skeptical pragmatic Type strategic cautionary When to use this quote - business negotiations - political disputes - personal grievances Key Concepts military tactics trust dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Are old allies always reliable? - What risks arise when reusing past partnerships? A Different Perspective Old allies may have changed motives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Old soldiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-soldiers/) [Soldiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldiers/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [The most difficult battles in life are those we fight within. - Old Chinese Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-most-difficult-battles-in-life-are-those-we-fight-within-old/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“So Anna did not blame the women of her time for what they had created; it was different only in kind from what she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-bahr/so-anna-did-not-blame-the-women-of-her-time-for-what-they-had-created/) [Howard Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bahr/) > [Old soldiers never die, they just lose their grip on reality after traumatic brain injuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/old-soldiers-never-die-they-just-lose-their-grip-on-reality-after/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [New ideas are not only the enemies of old ones; they also appear often in an extremely unacceptable form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/new-ideas-are-not-only-the-enemies-of-old-ones-they-also-appear-often/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The innovator has for enemies all who have done well under the old, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/the-innovator-has-for-enemies-all-who-have-done-well-under-the-old/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/because-the-innovator-has-for-enemies-all-those-who-have-done-well/) [Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-as-young-as-your-faith-as-old-as-your-doubt-as-young-as-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. 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They were like slightly sinister postcards from old enemies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-jewell/she-didn-t-need-little-chunks-of-home-they-were-like-slightly/) [Lisa Jewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-jewell/) > [“We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace - business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/we-had-to-struggle-with-the-old-enemies-of-peace-business-and-3/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“Whenever he felt the sharp pangs of homesickness he had come back here to his old enemies, where he didn't feel quite so out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/whenever-he-felt-the-sharp-pangs-of-homesickness-he-had-come-back/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“Unfortunately, wisdom and happiness are old enemies, and where one can be found, the other seldom lingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-colt/unfortunately-wisdom-and-happiness-are-old-enemies-and-where-one-can/) [K.J. Colt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-colt/) > [We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace - business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/we-had-to-struggle-with-the-old-enemies-of-peace-business-and-4/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Normally, if you have a huge category that leads a bear market all the way down to the bottom - like tech after 2000,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/normally-if-you-have-a-huge-category-that-leads-a-bear-market-all-the/) [Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-the-rule-in-war-if-our-forces-are-ten-to-the-enemy-s-one-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Fear is a man's worst enemy, but love is a man's most powerful weapon against anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-is-a-man-s-worst-enemy-but-love-is-a-man-s-most-powerful-weapon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [“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 > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [In this business, you find the enemy, then go after and destroy him. Everything else is rubbish!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rickenbacker/in-this-business-you-find-the-enemy-then-go-after-and-destroy-him/) [Eddie Rickenbacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rickenbacker/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) [Browse all 7,981 Enemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you have to fight old enemies, you should do it with your own old soldiers.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-to-fight-old-enemies-you-should-do-it-with-your-own-old/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-to-fight-old-enemies-you-should-do-it-with-your-own-old/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/anonymous-1_enemy_if-you-have-to-fight-old-enemies-you-sho_1797105.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/anonymous-1_enemy_if-you-have-to-fight-old-enemies-you-sho_1797105.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/anonymous-1_enemy_if-you-have-to-fight-old-enemies-you-sho_1797105.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you have to fight old enemies, you should do it with your own old soldiers.” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If you have to fight old...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-to-fight-old-enemies-you-should-do-it-with-your-own-old/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-to-fight-old-enemies-you-should-do-it-with-your-own-old/#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 } } ] } ```