--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Always open all gates and roads to your…" description: "\"Always open all gates and roads to your enemies, and rather make for them a bridge of silver, to get rid of them. [Fr., Ouvrez toujours a vos ennemis t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb9/francois-rabelais-2038_bridges_always-open-all-gates-and-roads-to-your_611752.png" --- # Always open all gates and roads to your enemies, and… ![“Always open all gates and roads to your enemies, and rather make for them a bridge of silver, to get rid of them. [Fr., Ouvrez toujours a vos ennemis toutes les portes et chemin, et plutot leur faites un pont d'argent, afin de les renvoyer.]” quote by Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb9/francois-rabelais-2038_bridges_always-open-all-gates-and-roads-to-your_611752.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb9/francois-rabelais-2038_bridges_always-open-all-gates-and-roads-to-your_611752.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb9/francois-rabelais-2038_bridges_always-open-all-gates-and-roads-to-your_611752.png) > “Always open all gates and roads to your enemies, and rather make for them a bridge of silver, to get rid of them. \[Fr., Ouvrez toujours a vos ennemis toutes les portes et chemin, et plutot leur faites un pont d'argent, afin de les renvoyer.\]” [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates turning hostility into generosity, suggesting that offering a 'silver bridge' can neutralize enemies and transform conflict. **In simple terms:** Respond to enemies with generosity to defuse hostility. Key Takeaway Offer goodwill to transform adversarial relationships. Themes conflict resolution generosity strategy Mood thoughtful strategic Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - Negotiations - personal disputes - international diplomacy - team management Key Concepts rhetorical diplomacy psychology of forgiveness ethical leadership Questions to Reflect On - Can generosity truly change a hostile opponent? - When is firmness more appropriate? A Different Perspective May be unrealistic when enemies are unyielding or malicious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silver/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [A bridge of silver wings stretches from the dead ashes of an unforgiving nightmare to the jeweled vision of a life started anew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/a-bridge-of-silver-wings-stretches-from-the-dead-ashes-of-an/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [Golden bridge, silver bridge or diamond bridge; it doesn't matter! As long as the bridge takes you across the other side, it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/golden-bridge-silver-bridge-or-diamond-bridge-it-doesn-t-matter-as/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Civilizations fall because the people inside the Sanctuary throw open the gates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-whittle/civilizations-fall-because-the-people-inside-the-sanctuary-throw-open/) [Bill Whittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-whittle/) > [“When we free ourselves from physical disabilities, emotional disturbances, and mental distractions, we open the gates to our soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/when-we-free-ourselves-from-physical-disabilities-emotional/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [Nobody can open the gates of death without closing them again after him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/nobody-can-open-the-gates-of-death-without-closing-them-again-after/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [“common enemies make enemies become friends!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/common-enemies-make-enemies-become-friends/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [Enemies make you stronger, allies make you wiser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/enemies-make-you-stronger-allies-make-you-wiser/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I defeat my enemies when I make them my friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hh-the-dalai-lama/i-defeat-my-enemies-when-i-make-them-my-friends/) Hh the Dalai Lama > [“Your friends will believe in your potential, your enemies will make you live up to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-fargo/your-friends-will-believe-in-your-potential-your-enemies-will-make/) [Tim Fargo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-fargo/) > [“one of the ways to be successful in war is to make your enemies make all the gallant but useless sacrifices…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/one-of-the-ways-to-be-successful-in-war-is-to-make-your-enemies-make/) [L.E. 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Don't allow your enemies to be enemies. Make them something else, because otherwise they have a power over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-anthony-durham/no-make-something-different-from-war-don-t-allow-your-enemies-to-be/) [David Anthony Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-anthony-durham/) ## More by Francois Rabelais > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [If in your soil it takes, to heaven A thousand thousand thanks be given; And say with France, it goodly goes, Where the Pantagruelion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/if-in-your-soil-it-takes-to-heaven-a-thousand-thousand-thanks-be/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A child is not a vase to be filled, but a fire to be lit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/a-child-is-not-a-vase-to-be-filled-but-a-fire-to-be-lit/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A certain jollity of mind, pickled in the scorn of fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/a-certain-jollity-of-mind-pickled-in-the-scorn-of-fortune/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Indeed, said the monk, a mass, a matins, and vespers well rung are half-said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/indeed-said-the-monk-a-mass-a-matins-and-vespers-well-rung-are-half/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [I do not drink more than a sponge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-do-not-drink-more-than-a-sponge/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [ I recognize in \[my readers\] a specific form and individual property, which our predecessors called Pantagruelism, by means of which they never take anything… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-recognize-in-my-readers-a-specific-form-and-individual-property/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Tell the truth and shame the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/tell-the-truth-and-shame-the-devil/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Half the world does not know how the other half lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/half-the-world-does-not-know-how-the-other-half-lives/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [But where are the snows of last year? That was the greatest concern of Villon, the Parisian poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/but-where-are-the-snows-of-last-year-that-was-the-greatest-concern-of/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [The Lord forbid that I should be out of debt, as if indeed I could not be trusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/the-lord-forbid-that-i-should-be-out-of-debt-as-if-indeed-i-could-not/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Science sans conscience n' est que le ruine de l'âme. Knowledge without conscience is but the ruine of the soule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/science-sans-conscience-n-est-que-le-ruine-de-l-me-knowledge-without/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [I've often heard it said, as the common proverb goes, that a fool can teach a wise man well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-ve-often-heard-it-said-as-the-common-proverb-goes-that-a-fool-can/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [One falls to the ground in trying to sit on two stools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/one-falls-to-the-ground-in-trying-to-sit-on-two-stools/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Go, all of you poor people, in the name of God the Creator, and let him forever be your guide. 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You can then obtain the silence of a streetlight or a bridge; stop thinking; after that, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-you-walk-try-to-think-nothing-you-can-then-obtain-the-silence-of/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [Al Pacino and Jeff Bridges do it for me in a big way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-scanlon/al-pacino-and-jeff-bridges-do-it-for-me-in-a-big-way/) [Angela Scanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-scanlon/) > [Instead of building castles against your enemies, build bridges for them to come to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/instead-of-building-castles-against-your-enemies-build-bridges-for/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Each person is an island unto himself, in a very real sense; and he can only build bridges to other islands if he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/each-person-is-an-island-unto-himself-in-a-very-real-sense-and-he-can/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [The real test of a bridge player isn’t in keeping out of trouble, but in escaping once he’s in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sheinwold/the-real-test-of-a-bridge-player-isn-t-in-keeping-out-of-trouble-but/) [Alfred Sheinwold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sheinwold/) > [The law ... allows rich as well as poor to sleep under bridges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-law-allows-rich-as-well-as-poor-to-sleep-under-bridges/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Guys like Todd Bridges never overcame being a child star. 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