--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is curious how often one prefers his…" description: "\"It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.\" — Gore Vidal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/gore-vidal-466_curious_it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his_27960.jpg" --- # It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his… ![“It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/gore-vidal-466_curious_it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his_27960.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/gore-vidal-466_curious_it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his_27960.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/gore-vidal-466_curious_it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his_27960.jpg) > “It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People tend to value opposition over companionship because conflict feels more stimulating or affirming than harmony. **In simple terms:** Preference for adversaries over allies Key Takeaway Conflict can be more engaging than camaraderie Themes human nature psychology relationships conflict validation social dynamics Mood reflective cynical thoughtful Type observation aphorism When to use this quote - political rivalry - workplace competition - personal relationships - online debates Key Concepts cognitive bias social comparison emotional intensity Practical Applications - critical thinking exercises - conflict resolution training Questions to Reflect On - Why do we find opposition more memorable? - How can we cultivate appreciation for supportive relationships? A Different Perspective Some may argue that true friendship provides deeper fulfillment than antagonism, challenging the notion that conflict is inherently more rewarding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“Friends may be enemies, and enemies, friends. Lacking the ability to see into another’s mind and read the motivations that lie within, no man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-myandee/friends-may-be-enemies-and-enemies-friends-lacking-the-ability-to-see/) [Shaun Myandee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-myandee/) > [The difference between your enemies and your friends your enemies envy you because ur completing your friends envy u because ur succeeding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-b/the-difference-between-your-enemies-and-your-friends-your-enemies/) [Terri B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-b/) > [“Enemies can also be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-zhang/enemies-can-also-be-friends/) Wendy Zhang > [Them against me, me against them, me against enemies, me against friends somehow they both seem to become one, a sea full of sharks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/them-against-me-me-against-them-me-against-enemies-me-against-friends/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [“My enemies are everywhere, and my friends are fools.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/my-enemies-are-everywhere-and-my-friends-are-fools/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“He prefers his adventures second hand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/he-prefers-his-adventures-second-hand/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [My man prefers meat over the bone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-man-prefers-meat-over-the-bone/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Whoever prefers Allah to all others, Allah will prefer him to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/whoever-prefers-allah-to-all-others-allah-will-prefer-him-to-others/) [Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/) > [Everybody prefers to see a nut - they're more fascinating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/everybody-prefers-to-see-a-nut-they-re-more-fascinating/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [“King prefers Queen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lada-eliseeva/king-prefers-queen/) Lada Eliseeva > [“Will Cooper prefers the whole Lake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/will-cooper-prefers-the-whole-lake/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“Experience prefers humility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/experience-prefers-humility/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Defeat prefers reactionist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/defeat-prefers-reactionist/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Is there really anyone, besides Rudy Giuliani, who prefers the new Times Square?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/is-there-really-anyone-besides-rudy-giuliani-who-prefers-the-new/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“God prefers rightousness over peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/god-prefers-rightousness-over-peace/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The New York Times is the worst in that hardly anybody can write English over there. Most of it reads like slight translations from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-new-york-times-is-the-worst-in-that-hardly-anybody-can-write/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Curious quotes > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [“The process of becoming curious is the movement away from simply living by what and how, and moving into the beautifully ambiguous and possibility-laden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-tygrett/the-process-of-becoming-curious-is-the-movement-away-from-simply/) Casey Tygrett > [Real breakthroughs are not found because you want to develop some new technology, but because you are curious and want to find out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-zeilinger/real-breakthroughs-are-not-found-because-you-want-to-develop-some-new/) [Anton Zeilinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-zeilinger/) > [I don't know what successful journaling really looks like... I think it really does look so different for everyone who does it, I'm always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracie-abrams/i-don-t-know-what-successful-journaling-really-looks-like-i-think-it/) [Gracie Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracie-abrams/) > [“So curious you must be. Like little calves poking their heads through the fence with big eyes and a headful of curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carew-papritz/so-curious-you-must-be-like-little-calves-poking-their-heads-through/) [Carew Papritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carew-papritz/) > [Our world is drowning in a sea of self-centeredness. You can make yourself quite unique right away by leaving this ocean of selfishness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bytheway/our-world-is-drowning-in-a-sea-of-self-centeredness-you-can-make/) [John Bytheway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bytheway/) > [Be curious not judge mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/be-curious-not-judge-mental/) Unknow > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [International friendly games are not worth the lives of the silk worms who perish to make the pennants. They do not even have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-baker/international-friendly-games-are-not-worth-the-lives-of-the-silk/) [Danny Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-baker/) > [Natural history is not taught in seminary. This is curious, as most people in pastoral ministry are about 567 times more likely to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/natural-history-is-not-taught-in-seminary-this-is-curious-as-most/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [Easy, Curious George! Get your grubby hands off of that wheel!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cena/easy-curious-george-get-your-grubby-hands-off-of-that-wheel/) [John Cena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cena/) > [We want to explore. We're curious people. Look back over history, people have put their lives at stake to go out and explore ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-collins/we-want-to-explore-we-re-curious-people-look-back-over-history-people/) [Eileen Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-collins/) > [When I think about unique insight, what I think about is here's your opportunity to tell me something that I don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-seibel/when-i-think-about-unique-insight-what-i-think-about-is-here-s-your/) [Michael Seibel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-seibel/) Browse all 2,160 Curious quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gore Vidal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Curious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/gore-vidal-466_curious_it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his_27960.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/gore-vidal-466_curious_it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his_27960.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/gore-vidal-466_curious_it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his_27960.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.” — Gore Vidal", "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": "Gore Vidal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is curious how often one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/#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 } } ] } ```