--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The nature of things is, I admit, a…" description: "\"The nature of things is, I admit, a sturdy adversary.\" — Edmund Burke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/edmund-burke-400_adversaries_the-nature-of-things-is-i-admit-a-sturdy_1328914.jpg" --- # The nature of things is, I admit, a sturdy adversary. ![“The nature of things is, I admit, a sturdy adversary.” quote by Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/edmund-burke-400_adversaries_the-nature-of-things-is-i-admit-a-sturdy_1328914.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/edmund-burke-400_adversaries_the-nature-of-things-is-i-admit-a-sturdy_1328914.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/edmund-burke-400_adversaries_the-nature-of-things-is-i-admit-a-sturdy_1328914.jpg) > “The nature of things is, I admit, a sturdy adversary.” [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The nature of things is a sturdy adversary, meaning reality resists our desires and requires effort to overcome. **In simple terms:** Reality resists our wishes. Key Takeaway Accept resistance as part of progress. Themes philosophy resilience politics Mood reflective serious Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - personal goals - scientific research - conflict resolution Key Concepts adversary nature human effort Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront a stubborn reality? - When is resistance beneficial? A Different Perspective May lead to fatalism if overemphasized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversaries/) [Adversary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversary/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [I can't dance. There's some things I have to admit I can't do, and dancing is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-kemp/i-can-t-dance-there-s-some-things-i-have-to-admit-i-can-t-do-and/) [Martin Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-kemp/) > [When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: 1. Admit it. 2. Learn from it, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-bryant/when-you-make-a-mistake-there-are-only-three-things-you-should-ever/) [Bear Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-bryant/) > [People who talk about their dreams are actually trying to tell you things about themselves they’d never admit in normal conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/people-who-talk-about-their-dreams-are-actually-trying-to-tell-you/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [“...because people who talk about their dreams are actually trying to tell you things about themselves they'd never admit in normal conversation. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/because-people-who-talk-about-their-dreams-are-actually-trying-to/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [I believe that everyone has a right to have an opinion about things or people, and fortunately, I have been lucky to have heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barun-sobti/i-believe-that-everyone-has-a-right-to-have-an-opinion-about-things/) [Barun Sobti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barun-sobti/) > [I am the nice adversary, the guy that's going to ask the tough questions and is not going to be happy with the quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/i-am-the-nice-adversary-the-guy-that-s-going-to-ask-the-tough/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [God has not given us the spirit of fear. That comes from the adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/god-has-not-given-us-the-spirit-of-fear-that-comes-from-the-adversary/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [The Adversary seldom loses when you play on his playing field. It's called the home court advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-wright/the-adversary-seldom-loses-when-you-play-on-his-playing-field-it-s/) [Randall Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-wright/) > [Superwoman is the adversary of the women's movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/superwoman-is-the-adversary-of-the-women-s-movement/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [It is wrong to follow the advice of an adversary; nevertheless it is right to hear it, that you may do the contrary; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/it-is-wrong-to-follow-the-advice-of-an-adversary-nevertheless-it-is/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [An exhausted man easily falls prey to the adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/an-exhausted-man-easily-falls-prey-to-the-adversary/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [Only way to eliminate the element of surprise is to know yourself and now your adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-st-pierre/only-way-to-eliminate-the-element-of-surprise-is-to-know-yourself-and/) [Georges St-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-st-pierre/) > [Historically, it is important to try to understand your adversary in order to figure out how they are thinking, what they will be doing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/historically-it-is-important-to-try-to-understand-your-adversary-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Edmund Burke > [It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-the-interest-of-the-commercial-world-that-wealth-should-be/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Many of the greatest tyrants on the records of history have begun their reigns in the fairest manner. But the truth is, this unnatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/many-of-the-greatest-tyrants-on-the-records-of-history-have-begun/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Wise men will apply their remedies to vices, not to names; to the causes of evil which are permanent, not to the occasional organs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/wise-men-will-apply-their-remedies-to-vices-not-to-names-to-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [My vigour relents. I pardon something to the spirit of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/my-vigour-relents-i-pardon-something-to-the-spirit-of-liberty/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The great must submit to the dominion of prudence and of virtue, or none will long submit to the dominion of thegreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-must-submit-to-the-dominion-of-prudence-and-of-virtue-or/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [What is it we all seek for in an election? To answer its real purposes, you must first possess the means of knowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-is-it-we-all-seek-for-in-an-election-to-answer-its-real-purposes/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Society is indeed a contract. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/society-is-indeed-a-contract-it-is-a-partnership-in-all-science-a/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [You can never plan the future by the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/you-can-never-plan-the-future-by-the-past/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The great inlet by which a colour for oppression has entered into the world is by one man's pretending to determine concerning the happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-inlet-by-which-a-colour-for-oppression-has-entered-into-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [By the disposition of a stupendous wisdom, moulding together the great mysterious incorporation of the human race, the whole, at one time, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/by-the-disposition-of-a-stupendous-wisdom-moulding-together-the-great/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Religion, to have any force upon men's understandings,--indeed, to exist at all,--must be supposed paramount to law, and independent for its substance upon any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/religion-to-have-any-force-upon-men-s-understandings-indeed-to-exist/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Explore all 595 Edmund Burke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## 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/) > [It is better to make friends than adversaries of a conquered race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-adversaries-of-a-conquered-race/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [“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/) [Browse all 446 Adversaries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversaries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The nature of things is, I admit, a sturdy adversary.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund Burke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-nature-of-things-is-i-admit-a-sturdy-adversary/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adversaries" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-nature-of-things-is-i-admit-a-sturdy-adversary/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/edmund-burke-400_adversaries_the-nature-of-things-is-i-admit-a-sturdy_1328914.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/edmund-burke-400_adversaries_the-nature-of-things-is-i-admit-a-sturdy_1328914.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/edmund-burke-400_adversaries_the-nature-of-things-is-i-admit-a-sturdy_1328914.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The nature of things is, I admit, a sturdy adversary.” — Edmund Burke", "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": "Edmund Burke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The nature of things is, I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-nature-of-things-is-i-admit-a-sturdy-adversary/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-nature-of-things-is-i-admit-a-sturdy-adversary/#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 } } ] } ```