--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our worst enemies here are not the…" description: "\"Our worst enemies here are not the ignorant and simple, however cruel; our worst enemies are the intelligent and corrupt\" — Graham Greene" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/graham-greene-441_enemies_our-worst-enemies-here-are-not-the-ignor_2690536.jpg" --- # Our worst enemies here are not the ignorant and simple… ![“Our worst enemies here are not the ignorant and simple, however cruel; our worst enemies are the intelligent and corrupt” quote by Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/graham-greene-441_enemies_our-worst-enemies-here-are-not-the-ignor_2690536.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/graham-greene-441_enemies_our-worst-enemies-here-are-not-the-ignor_2690536.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/graham-greene-441_enemies_our-worst-enemies-here-are-not-the-ignor_2690536.jpg) > “Our worst enemies here are not the ignorant and simple, however cruel; our worst enemies are the intelligent and corrupt” [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intelligence combined with corruption creates the most dangerous adversaries, surpassing simple ignorance in harm. **In simple terms:** Intelligent corruption is especially dangerous. Key Takeaway Guard against corrupt intellect in power. Themes corruption intelligence ethics Mood cautious critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political leadership - corporate governance - social justice Key Concepts power dynamics morality Questions to Reflect On - How does corrupt intelligence affect society? - What safeguards can prevent it? A Different Perspective Intelligence can mask malicious intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies/) [Enemies Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies-ignorant-2654107/) [Enemies Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies-intelligent-2654106/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) [Intelligent Corrupt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-corrupt-2654108/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) [Worst Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-enemies-391208/) [Worst enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-enemy/) ## Related quotes > [Are the worst enemies of society those who attack it or those who do not even give themselves the trouble of defending it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-le-bon/are-the-worst-enemies-of-society-those-who-attack-it-or-those-who-do/) [Gustave Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-le-bon/) > [Sometimes worst enemies like a Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier that's what makes you fight so hard. Without them they never would have achieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/sometimes-worst-enemies-like-a-mohammed-ali-and-joe-frazier-that-s/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [We're our own worst enemies a lot of the time, but I still blame men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/we-re-our-own-worst-enemies-a-lot-of-the-time-but-i-still-blame-men/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [Persons with a talent who never practice excellence are the worst enemies of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelly-mazloum/persons-with-a-talent-who-never-practice-excellence-are-the-worst/) [Nelly Mazloum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelly-mazloum/) > [We should sell them to our worst enemies, the Russians and the Cubans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/we-should-sell-them-to-our-worst-enemies-the-russians-and-the-cubans/) [Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/) > [A man's doubts and fears are his worst enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wrigley-jr/a-man-s-doubts-and-fears-are-his-worst-enemies/) [William Wrigley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wrigley-jr/) > [Your worst enemies are made when you ignore people. Those boys in America who shot dead classmates recently, didn't do that because they woke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/your-worst-enemies-are-made-when-you-ignore-people-those-boys-in/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Actors are their own worst enemies. They quite often will get in their own way, and I have to be encouraged, endlessly, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-purefoy/actors-are-their-own-worst-enemies-they-quite-often-will-get-in-their/) [James Purefoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-purefoy/) > [I think that we're our own worst enemies in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to doing work where you're criticized a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/i-think-that-we-re-our-own-worst-enemies-in-a-lot-of-ways-especially/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [Ever since I can remember, over-expectation and pressure have been my worst enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-akkineni/ever-since-i-can-remember-over-expectation-and-pressure-have-been-my/) [Akhil Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-akkineni/) > [Be assured those will be thy worst enemies, not to whom thou hast done evil, but who have done evil to thee. And those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/be-assured-those-will-be-thy-worst-enemies-not-to-whom-thou-hast-done/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Perhaps the enemies of liberty are such only because they judge it by its loud voice. If they knew its charms, the dignity that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/perhaps-the-enemies-of-liberty-are-such-only-because-they-judge-it-by/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [Dear Anorexia, You are my best friend, and my worst enemy at the same time You are my greatest achievement, and yet my most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dakota-blue-cicilline/dear-anorexia-you-are-my-best-friend-and-my-worst-enemy-at-the-same/) [Dakota Blue Cicilline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dakota-blue-cicilline/) > [The best revenge is to look good. Always dress like you're going to see your worst enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-revenge-is-to-look-good-always-dress-like-you-re-going-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We are our own worst enemy and make no mistake we are destroying ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/we-are-our-own-worst-enemy-and-make-no-mistake-we-are-destroying/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) ## More by Graham Greene > [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Hate is a lack of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/hate-is-a-lack-of-imagination/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“Knowledge was the great thing--not abstract knowledge in which Dr. Forester had been so rich, the theories which lead one enticingly on with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/knowledge-was-the-great-thing-not-abstract-knowledge-in-which-dr/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [With Your great schemes, You ruin our happiness like a harvester ruins a mouse's nest: I hate You, God, I hate You as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/with-your-great-schemes-you-ruin-our-happiness-like-a-harvester-ruins/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/heresy-is-only-another-word-for-freedom-of-thought/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“He had thought that home was something one possessed, but the things one had possessed were cursed with change; it was what one didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-had-thought-that-home-was-something-one-possessed-but-the-things/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Perhaps the comparison is closer to the Chinese cook who leaves hardly any part of a duck unserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/perhaps-the-comparison-is-closer-to-the-chinese-cook-who-leaves/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“He said, ‘Oh god, help her. Damn me, I deserve it, but let her live forever.’ This was the love he should have felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-said-oh-god-help-her-damn-me-i-deserve-it-but-let-her-live-forever/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“A police photograph is like a passport photograph: the intelligence which casts a veil over the crude common shape is never recorded by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/a-police-photograph-is-like-a-passport-photograph-the-intelligence/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [ “I tossed up whether I'd see \[the critic\] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-or-not-i-knew-too-well-the/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/success-is-more-dangerous-than-failure-the-ripples-break-over-a-wider/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“But we do not love people for what they do for us. Love happens to us; it isn't created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/but-we-do-not-love-people-for-what-they-do-for-us-love-happens-to-us/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) [Explore all 550 Graham Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## More Enemies quotes > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-k-hasan/) > [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/) > [“If it takes night to make day, pain to know pleasure, black to make white, then doesn't it stand to reason that the depth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-snyder/if-it-takes-night-to-make-day-pain-to-know-pleasure-black-to-make/) [Michael Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-snyder/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) > [Your greatest weapon is your enemies mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddha/your-greatest-weapon-is-your-enemies-mind/) [Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddha/) > [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Sometimes even paranoids have enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delmore-schwartz/sometimes-even-paranoids-have-enemies/) [Delmore Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delmore-schwartz/) > [When a husband brings his wife flowers for no reason, there's a reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-mcgee/when-a-husband-brings-his-wife-flowers-for-no-reason-there-s-a-reason/) [Molly McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-mcgee/) > [You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“Anyone who is portraying Israel as a friend is a servant of Israel. I warn some sides against turning enemies into friends and friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayed-hassan-nasrallah/anyone-who-is-portraying-israel-as-a-friend-is-a-servant-of-israel-i/) [Sayed Hassan Nasrallah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayed-hassan-nasrallah/) > [No accurate thinker will judge another person by that which the other person's enemies say about him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/no-accurate-thinker-will-judge-another-person-by-that-which-the-other/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Whoever will not love his enemies cannot know the Lord and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silouan-the-athonite/whoever-will-not-love-his-enemies-cannot-know-the-lord-and-the/) [Silouan the Athonite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silouan-the-athonite/) > [I play basketball hard-nosed and if you're not on my team, during that 48 minutes we're enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-barnes/i-play-basketball-hard-nosed-and-if-you-re-not-on-my-team-during-that/) [Matt Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-barnes/) > [“Enemies are people who's story you haven't heard, or who's face you haven't seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-butter/enemies-are-people-who-s-story-you-haven-t-heard-or-who-s-face-you/) [Irene Butter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irene-butter/) > [A sweet thing, perspective - a chance to see your enemies so small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/a-sweet-thing-perspective-a-chance-to-see-your-enemies-so-small/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) [Browse all 1,888 Enemies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our worst enemies here are not the ignorant and simple, however cruel; our worst enemies are the intelligent and corrupt", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Graham Greene" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/our-worst-enemies-here-are-not-the-ignorant-and-simple-however-cruel/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/our-worst-enemies-here-are-not-the-ignorant-and-simple-however-cruel/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/graham-greene-441_enemies_our-worst-enemies-here-are-not-the-ignor_2690536.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/graham-greene-441_enemies_our-worst-enemies-here-are-not-the-ignor_2690536.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/graham-greene-441_enemies_our-worst-enemies-here-are-not-the-ignor_2690536.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our worst enemies here are not the ignorant and simple, however cruel; our worst enemies are the intelligent…” — Graham Greene", "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": "Graham Greene", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our worst enemies here are not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/our-worst-enemies-here-are-not-the-ignorant-and-simple-however-cruel/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/our-worst-enemies-here-are-not-the-ignorant-and-simple-however-cruel/#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 } } ] } ```