--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whatever the number of a man's friends…" description: "\"Whatever the number of a man's friends, there will be times in his life when he has one too few; but if he has only one enemy, he is lucky indeed if he..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/anonymous-1_enemy_whatever-the-number-of-a-man-s-friends-t_2404404.jpg" --- # Whatever the number of a man's friends, there will be… ![“Whatever the number of a man's friends, there will be times in his life when he has one too few; but if he has only one enemy, he is lucky indeed if he has not one too many.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/anonymous-1_enemy_whatever-the-number-of-a-man-s-friends-t_2404404.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/anonymous-1_enemy_whatever-the-number-of-a-man-s-friends-t_2404404.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/anonymous-1_enemy_whatever-the-number-of-a-man-s-friends-t_2404404.jpg) > “Whatever the number of a man's friends, there will be times in his life when he has one too few; but if he has only one enemy, he is lucky indeed if he has not one too many.” [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. Friends may be many, but a single enemy can be more damaging; having few enemies is fortunate. **In simple terms:** Few enemies are better than many friends. Key Takeaway Value peace over many relationships. Themes friendship conflict social dynamics Mood reflective pragmatic Type social psychological When to use this quote - workplace - personal life - community groups Key Concepts trust betrayal social networks Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle a lone opponent? - Can you turn an enemy into an ally? A Different Perspective Even a single adversary can cause significant stress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [God has a plan for your life and the enemy has a plan for your life. Be wise enough to realize which to battle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-has-a-plan-for-your-life-and-the-enemy-has-a-plan-for-your-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The life of the enemy . Whoever lives for the sake of combating an enemy has an interest in the enemy's staying alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-life-of-the-enemy-whoever-lives-for-the-sake-of-combating-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Have you ever noticed how many men in the Bible failed in the second half of life? Our enemy is so cunning that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-aldrich/have-you-ever-noticed-how-many-men-in-the-bible-failed-in-the-second/) Joseph C. Aldrich > [ “\[T\]his is an enemy for life, as well as an enemy of life.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/t-his-is-an-enemy-for-life-as-well-as-an-enemy-of-life/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Life has a complex plan that involves you and me. While we dream, work and organize, life makes its own tweaks—and many times circumstances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-buckley/life-has-a-complex-plan-that-involves-you-and-me-while-we-dream-work/) [Jaime Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-buckley/) > [Daily life is the enemy of greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/daily-life-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“In the battle for your life everyone is an enemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-t-alli/in-the-battle-for-your-life-everyone-is-an-enemy/) Jennifer T. Alli > [There is love of course. And then there's life, its enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-anouilh/there-is-love-of-course-and-then-there-s-life-its-enemy/) [Jean Anouilh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-anouilh/) > [“A man cannot be friends with why .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-gratton/a-man-cannot-be-friends-with-why/) [Tessa Gratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-gratton/) > [Clothes do not make the man; friends and engagement with life do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perry-brass/clothes-do-not-make-the-man-friends-and-engagement-with-life-do/) [Perry Brass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perry-brass/) > [The very flexibility and ease which make men's friendships so agreeable while they endure, make them the easier to destroy and forget. And a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-very-flexibility-and-ease-which-make-men-s-friendships-so/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Man has three friends on whose company he relies. First, wealth - which goes with him only while good fortune lasts. Second, his relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-talmud/man-has-three-friends-on-whose-company-he-relies-first-wealth-which/) [The Talmud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-talmud/) > [To arrive at perfection, a man should have very sincere friends or inveterate enemies; because he would be made sensible of his good or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes/to-arrive-at-perfection-a-man-should-have-very-sincere-friends-or/) [Diogenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes/) > [Whenever a man's friends begin to compliment him about looking young, he may be sure that they think he is growing old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/whenever-a-man-s-friends-begin-to-compliment-him-about-looking-young/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [No man can be friends with a woman he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her. Sex is always out there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/no-man-can-be-friends-with-a-woman-he-finds-attractive-he-always/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) ## 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. ... 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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": "Whatever the number of a man's friends, there will be times in his life when he has one too few; but if he has only one enemy, he is lucky indeed if he has not one too many.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whatever-the-number-of-a-man-s-friends-there-will-be-times-in-his/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whatever-the-number-of-a-man-s-friends-there-will-be-times-in-his/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/anonymous-1_enemy_whatever-the-number-of-a-man-s-friends-t_2404404.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/anonymous-1_enemy_whatever-the-number-of-a-man-s-friends-t_2404404.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/anonymous-1_enemy_whatever-the-number-of-a-man-s-friends-t_2404404.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whatever the number of a man's friends, there will be times in his life when he has one too few; but if he…” — 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": "Whatever the number of a man's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whatever-the-number-of-a-man-s-friends-there-will-be-times-in-his/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whatever-the-number-of-a-man-s-friends-there-will-be-times-in-his/#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 } } ] } ```