--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is better to make friends than…" description: "\"It is better to make friends than adversaries of a conquered race.\" — Benjamin Haydon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/benjamin-haydon-17054_adversaries_it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-advers_96052.png" --- # It is better to make friends than adversaries of a… ![“It is better to make friends than adversaries of a conquered race.” quote by Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/benjamin-haydon-17054_adversaries_it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-advers_96052.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/benjamin-haydon-17054_adversaries_it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-advers_96052.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/benjamin-haydon-17054_adversaries_it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-advers_96052.png) > “It is better to make friends than adversaries of a conquered race.” [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cultivating friendships with formerly opposed peoples fosters lasting peace more than hostility. **In simple terms:** Friendship over enmity Key Takeaway Peace through alliance Themes politics ethics conflict resolution humanity Mood hopeful pragmatic Type maxim advice When to use this quote - post‑conflict societies - colonial contexts - diplomatic negotiations Key Concepts post‑war reconciliation social cohesion Practical Applications - peacebuilding workshops - historical analysis Questions to Reflect On - Why are friendships more stable than forced peace? - What risks arise when former enemies become allies? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversaries/) [Adversaries Conquered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversaries-conquered-1179562/) [Conquered Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquered-race-1179561/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends/) [Friends Adversaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-adversaries-1179560/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Make Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-friends-284705/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) ## Related quotes > [You can make more friends in two months by becoming more interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/you-can-make-more-friends-in-two-months-by-becoming-more-interested/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Everybody loves me but I can't make everybody my close friend. I don't make friends easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mumtaz/everybody-loves-me-but-i-can-t-make-everybody-my-close-friend-i-don-t/) [Mumtaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mumtaz/) > [It wasn't until the second half of my first year that I realized you have to try to make friends and meet people at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/it-wasn-t-until-the-second-half-of-my-first-year-that-i-realized-you/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [“If you wanna make friends at the ATM, do the creep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-wanna-make-friends-at-the-atm-do-the-creep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Set your goals high; make friends with different kinds of people; enjoy simple pleasures. Stand on high ground; sit on level ground; walk on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-ka-shing/set-your-goals-high-make-friends-with-different-kinds-of-people-enjoy/) [Li Ka-shing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-ka-shing/) > [Blood doesn't make us family. Just like smiles and handshakes doesn't make us friends!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blood-doesn-t-make-us-family-just-like-smiles-and-handshakes-doesn-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It was always hard for me to really make friends, but that's just because I like to stay home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/it-was-always-hard-for-me-to-really-make-friends-but-that-s-just/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [When you make friends with fear, it can’t rule you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/when-you-make-friends-with-fear-it-can-t-rule-you/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Neither old people nor sour people seem to make friends easily; for there is little that is pleasant in them...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/neither-old-people-nor-sour-people-seem-to-make-friends-easily-for/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [If all we've got to look forward to is disloyalty and treachery, why do we even make friends?" "Again, human nature. Hoping for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/if-all-we-ve-got-to-look-forward-to-is-disloyalty-and-treachery-why/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [I make friends with people really easily - that's one of my best qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-faustino/i-make-friends-with-people-really-easily-that-s-one-of-my-best/) [David Faustino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-faustino/) > [I'm not trying to make friends, I'm just trying to make money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-leary/i-m-not-trying-to-make-friends-i-m-just-trying-to-make-money/) [Kevin O'Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-o-leary/) > [A big part of why I wanted to go to college is to meet people and make friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-cosgrove/a-big-part-of-why-i-wanted-to-go-to-college-is-to-meet-people-and/) [Miranda Cosgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-cosgrove/) > [A sense of humor saves your life, and being able to make friends wherever you go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-o-mara/a-sense-of-humor-saves-your-life-and-being-able-to-make-friends/) [Jason O'Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-o-mara/) > [Yeah, we really ought to be trying to make friends with people like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yeah-we-really-ought-to-be-trying-to-make-friends-with-people-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Benjamin Haydon > [There surely is in human nature an inherent propensity to extract all the good out of all the evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/there-surely-is-in-human-nature-an-inherent-propensity-to-extract-all/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [Fortunately for serious minds, a bias recognized is a bias sterilized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/fortunately-for-serious-minds-a-bias-recognized-is-a-bias-sterilized/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [It is highly convenient to believe in the infinite mercy of God when you feel the need of mercy, but remember also his infinite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/it-is-highly-convenient-to-believe-in-the-infinite-mercy-of-god-when/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [One of the surest evidences of an elevated taste is the power of enjoying works of impassioned terrorism, in poetry, and painting. The man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/one-of-the-surest-evidences-of-an-elevated-taste-is-the-power-of/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [Genius in poverty is never feared, because nature, though liberal in her gifts in one instance, is forgetful in another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/genius-in-poverty-is-never-feared-because-nature-though-liberal-in/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [No man, perhaps, is so wicked as to commit evil for its own sake. Evil is generally committed under the hope of some advantage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/no-man-perhaps-is-so-wicked-as-to-commit-evil-for-its-own-sake-evil/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [Men of genius are often considered superstitious, but the fact is, the fineness of their nerve renders them more alive to the supernatural than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/men-of-genius-are-often-considered-superstitious-but-the-fact-is-the/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [Men who have reached and passed 45, have a look as if waiting for the secret of the other world, and as if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/men-who-have-reached-and-passed-45-have-a-look-as-if-waiting-for-the/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [If men would only take the chances of doing right because it is right, instead of the immediate certainty of the advantage of doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/if-men-would-only-take-the-chances-of-doing-right-because-it-is-right/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [The greatest geniuses have always attributed everything to God, as if conscious of being possessed of a spark of His divinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/the-greatest-geniuses-have-always-attributed-everything-to-god-as-if/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [Beware of the beginnings of vice. Do not delude yourself with the belief that it can be argued against in the presence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/beware-of-the-beginnings-of-vice-do-not-delude-yourself-with-the/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [This is an age of intellectual sauces, of essence, of distillation. We have conclusions without deductions, abridgments of history and abridgments of science without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/this-is-an-age-of-intellectual-sauces-of-essence-of-distillation-we/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [We are a compound of both here and hereafter; we shall be made responsible for the actions of both while here. Anything beyond this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/we-are-a-compound-of-both-here-and-hereafter-we-shall-be-made/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [There must be more malice than love in the hearts of all wits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/there-must-be-more-malice-than-love-in-the-hearts-of-all-wits/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [The only legitimate artists in England are the architects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/the-only-legitimate-artists-in-england-are-the-architects/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) [Explore all 38 Benjamin Haydon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) ## More Adversaries quotes > [In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/in-all-matters-of-opinion-our-adversaries-are-insane/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Inanimate objects are sometimes parties to litigation. A ship has a legal personality, a fiction found useful for maritime purposes. The corporation sole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/inanimate-objects-are-sometimes-parties-to-litigation-a-ship-has-a/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [There were various aspects of Sun Tzu's approach that appealed to Ho Chi Minh: a) to learn to understand both the enemy and yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-duiker/there-were-various-aspects-of-sun-tzu-s-approach-that-appealed-to-ho/) [William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-duiker/) > [Marriage, in my view, should be a balanced stalemate between equal adversaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/marriage-in-my-view-should-be-a-balanced-stalemate-between-equal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If an adversary didn't target our power plants but they did target the core routers, the backbones that tie our internet connections together, entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-an-adversary-didn-t-target-our-power-plants-but-they-did-target/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [It's like I'm married to the silencer, Until I file for divorce and release my ex-calibers. Do art with your arteries, place that for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharoahe-monch/it-s-like-i-m-married-to-the-silencer-until-i-file-for-divorce-and/) [Pharoahe Monch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharoahe-monch/) > [Educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to the humanizing of international relations. Man's capacity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/educational-exchange-can-turn-nations-into-people-contributing-as-no/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [Obama is hardly the first president to seek rapprochement with our adversaries and reconciliation with our enemies, of course. But his determination to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-f-hayes/obama-is-hardly-the-first-president-to-seek-rapprochement-with-our/) [Stephen F. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-f-hayes/) > [“The most courageous act in politics is to try to understand your opponent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-most-courageous-act-in-politics-is-to-try-to-understand-your/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [My adversary is the world of finance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-hollande/my-adversary-is-the-world-of-finance/) [Francois Hollande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-hollande/) > [Often GOP political strategy seems like the human wave theory of the Chinese military translated to politics. Where Beijing uses masses of soldiers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/often-gop-political-strategy-seems-like-the-human-wave-theory-of-the/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [Our ability to fall in love requires enough comfort with our masculinity to join it with someone's femininity and feel enhanced. .. . If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/our-ability-to-fall-in-love-requires-enough-comfort-with-our/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [You negotiate in bad faith if you do not forgive your adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/you-negotiate-in-bad-faith-if-you-do-not-forgive-your-adversary/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [We should seek after spiritual gifts. They can lead us to God. They can shield us from the power of the adversary. They can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/we-should-seek-after-spiritual-gifts-they-can-lead-us-to-god-they-can/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [While the President leads his potential adversaries in almost every state, his support is soft. He is seen as honest, sincere, just, and friendly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-teeter/while-the-president-leads-his-potential-adversaries-in-almost-every/) [Robert Teeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-teeter/) [Browse all 446 Adversaries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversaries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is better to make friends than adversaries of a conquered race.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benjamin Haydon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-adversaries-of-a-conquered-race/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adversaries" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-adversaries-of-a-conquered-race/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/benjamin-haydon-17054_adversaries_it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-advers_96052.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/benjamin-haydon-17054_adversaries_it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-advers_96052.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/benjamin-haydon-17054_adversaries_it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-advers_96052.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is better to make friends than adversaries of a conquered race.” — Benjamin Haydon", "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": "Benjamin Haydon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is better to make friends...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-adversaries-of-a-conquered-race/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-adversaries-of-a-conquered-race/#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 } } ] } ```