--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who lives by fighting with an enemy…" description: "\"He who lives by fighting with an enemy has an interest in the preservation of the enemy's life.\" — Friedrich Nietzsche" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/friedrich-nietzsche-15_enemy_he-who-lives-by-fighting-with-an-enemy-h_2306148.jpg" --- # He who lives by fighting with an enemy has an interest in… ![“He who lives by fighting with an enemy has an interest in the preservation of the enemy's life.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/friedrich-nietzsche-15_enemy_he-who-lives-by-fighting-with-an-enemy-h_2306148.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/friedrich-nietzsche-15_enemy_he-who-lives-by-fighting-with-an-enemy-h_2306148.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/friedrich-nietzsche-15_enemy_he-who-lives-by-fighting-with-an-enemy-h_2306148.jpg) > “He who lives by fighting with an enemy has an interest in the preservation of the enemy's life.” [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treating an opponent with respect and preserving their life can lead to deeper understanding and less perpetual conflict. **In simple terms:** Respecting enemies can be strategic. Key Takeaway Consider humane approaches in rivalry. Themes ethics conflict humanity Mood analytical serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - negotiations - legal disputes - military engagements - personal disputes Key Concepts strategic empathy moral philosophy peace studies Questions to Reflect On - When is it wise to show mercy? - How does empathy change power dynamics? A Different Perspective Preserving an enemy may empower them further or be seen as weakness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [It's incredible how much stamina you can find when you're fighting and enemy in battle, even if that enemy is just in your imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/it-s-incredible-how-much-stamina-you-can-find-when-you-re-fighting/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [We spend our lives fighting to get people very slightly more stupid than ourselves to accept truths that the great men have always known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/we-spend-our-lives-fighting-to-get-people-very-slightly-more-stupid-2/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [For want of self-restraint many men are engaged all their lives in fighting with difficulties of their own making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/for-want-of-self-restraint-many-men-are-engaged-all-their-lives-in/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [“Our greatest warriors,' Terayama-san said, 'believe that they are already dead. They live as if their lives are over, and so fighting holds no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zo-marriott/our-greatest-warriors-terayama-san-said-believe-that-they-are-already/) [Zoë Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zo-marriott/) > [Death is not the enemy. A life lived without love is the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-shadyac/death-is-not-the-enemy-a-life-lived-without-love-is-the-enemy/) [Tom Shadyac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-shadyac/) > [Fretting grief the enemy of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/fretting-grief-the-enemy-of-life/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [“Soldiering, my dear madam, is the coward's art of attacking mercilessly when you are strong, and keeping out of harm's way when you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/soldiering-my-dear-madam-is-the-coward-s-art-of-attacking-mercilessly/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [That is the whole secret of successful fighting. Get your enemy at a disadvantage; and never, on any account, fight him on equal terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/that-is-the-whole-secret-of-successful-fighting-get-your-enemy-at-a/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Catholics and Protestants are fighting with one another... while the enemy of Aryan humanity and all Christendom is laughing up his sleeve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/catholics-and-protestants-are-fighting-with-one-another-while-the/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [I think this idea of fighting the enemy within is sort of more interesting than fighting an external enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-hawley/i-think-this-idea-of-fighting-the-enemy-within-is-sort-of-more/) [Noah Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-hawley/) > [Some call it begging for attention, I call it fighting against the enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hailey-lopez/some-call-it-begging-for-attention-i-call-it-fighting-against-the/) Hailey Lopez > [We're fighting an enemy that is far different than any we have got before. It's a nontraditional kind of war, and I think we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-huntsman-jr/we-re-fighting-an-enemy-that-is-far-different-than-any-we-have-got/) [Jon Huntsman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-huntsman-jr/) > [“Soldiering, my dear madam, is the coward’s art of attacking mercilessly when you are strong, and keeping out of harm’s way when you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-bing/soldiering-my-dear-madam-is-the-coward-s-art-of-attacking-mercilessly-2/) [Stanley Bing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-bing/) > [I am sure care's an enemy to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-am-sure-care-s-an-enemy-to-life/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Everyone in the world as their homes are the most safe. But when enemy of his own life, a mellitus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/everyone-in-the-world-as-their-homes-are-the-most-safe-but-when-enemy/) Mak\_786 ## More by Friedrich Nietzsche > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## 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": "He who lives by fighting with an enemy has an interest in the preservation of the enemy's life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-who-lives-by-fighting-with-an-enemy-has-an-interest-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-who-lives-by-fighting-with-an-enemy-has-an-interest-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/friedrich-nietzsche-15_enemy_he-who-lives-by-fighting-with-an-enemy-h_2306148.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/friedrich-nietzsche-15_enemy_he-who-lives-by-fighting-with-an-enemy-h_2306148.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/friedrich-nietzsche-15_enemy_he-who-lives-by-fighting-with-an-enemy-h_2306148.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He who lives by fighting with an enemy has an interest in the preservation of the enemy's life.” — Friedrich Nietzsche", "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": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He who lives by fighting with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-who-lives-by-fighting-with-an-enemy-has-an-interest-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-who-lives-by-fighting-with-an-enemy-has-an-interest-in-the/#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 } } ] } ```