--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Always abandon your enemies, and never…" description: "\"“Always abandon your enemies, and never abandon your friends.”\" — Jon Evans" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/jon-evans-27097_abandon_always-abandon-your-enemies-and-never-ab_3096715.png" --- # Always abandon your enemies, and never abandon your friends. ![“Always abandon your enemies, and never abandon your friends.” quote by Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/jon-evans-27097_abandon_always-abandon-your-enemies-and-never-ab_3096715.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/jon-evans-27097_abandon_always-abandon-your-enemies-and-never-ab_3096715.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/jon-evans-27097_abandon_always-abandon-your-enemies-and-never-ab_3096715.png) > ““Always abandon your enemies, and never abandon your friends.”” [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates never abandoning friends while consistently opposing enemies. **In simple terms:** Stay loyal to friends, oppose foes. Key Takeaway Balance loyalty with strategic opposition. Themes loyalty strategy relationships conflict Mood cautious pragmatic Type philosophical strategic When to use this quote - friendship maintenance - conflict resolution - political campaigning Key Concepts trust principles political tactics Questions to Reflect On - When should loyalty be questioned? - How to handle friends who become adversaries? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on loyalty can blind judgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ## Related quotes > [“Friends don’t abandon friends in their time of need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-n-joy/friends-don-t-abandon-friends-in-their-time-of-need/) [E.N. Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-n-joy/) > [What makes us so often discontented with those who transact business for us is that they almost always abandon the interest of their friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/what-makes-us-so-often-discontented-with-those-who-transact-business/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“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/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) > [“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 > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [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/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik ## More by Jon Evans > [Governments are scared of software.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/governments-are-scared-of-software/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [The tech industry used to be home to a disproportionate number of misfits and weirdos. Geeks. Nerds. People who needed to know how machines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/the-tech-industry-used-to-be-home-to-a-disproportionate-number-of/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [I've been a software engineer, a novelist, a journalist, and a manager - and managing developers is easily the trickiest thing I've ever done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/i-ve-been-a-software-engineer-a-novelist-a-journalist-and-a-manager/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [“Humans serve cats as dogs serve humans. And sometimes, I fear, as ineptly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/humans-serve-cats-as-dogs-serve-humans-and-sometimes-i-fear-as-ineptly/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [Every time you log in to Facebook, every time you click on your News Feed, every time you Like a photo, every time you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/every-time-you-log-in-to-facebook-every-time-you-click-on-your-news/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [In theory, the Internet should bring us all closer together and slowly eliminate our differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/in-theory-the-internet-should-bring-us-all-closer-together-and-slowly/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [To succeed in the tech industry, you start businesses, make money, and make smart investments. But to succeed in the tech community, you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/to-succeed-in-the-tech-industry-you-start-businesses-make-money-and/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [I don't mind that Bill Gates is a mega zillionaire; he's done a lot of really interesting and innovative stuff. I do mind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/i-don-t-mind-that-bill-gates-is-a-mega-zillionaire-he-s-done-a-lot-of/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [To inflict cruelties on defenceless creatures, or condone such acts, is to abuse one of the cardinal tenets of a civilized society - reverence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/to-inflict-cruelties-on-defenceless-creatures-or-condone-such-acts-is/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [It is probable that Facebook boasts the broadest, deepest, and most comprehensive dataset of human information, interests, and activity ever collected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/it-is-probable-that-facebook-boasts-the-broadest-deepest-and-most/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [“The Labyrinth, a walled garden where humans tortured plants and flowers into growing in straight lines and sharp corners so unnatural that it hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/the-labyrinth-a-walled-garden-where-humans-tortured-plants-and/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [Traditional technical interviews are terrible for everyone. They're a bad way for companies to evaluate candidates. They're a bad way for candidates to evaluate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/traditional-technical-interviews-are-terrible-for-everyone-they-re-a/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [Basically, a manager's job is to make other people more productive. What's one really good way to do that? Do the work that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/basically-a-manager-s-job-is-to-make-other-people-more-productive/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [It is a truth universally acknowledged, in the enlightened liberal semi-socialist California circles in which I often move, that Uber is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/it-is-a-truth-universally-acknowledged-in-the-enlightened-liberal/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) > [The great irony of management is that the higher up you go, the less actual control you have. When you are but a humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/the-great-irony-of-management-is-that-the-higher-up-you-go-the-less/) [Jon Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) [Explore all 21 Jon Evans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/) ## More Abandon quotes > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [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/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-give-up-because-things-are-hard-but-work-harder-when-you-think/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) Browse all 1,142 Abandon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Always abandon your enemies, and never abandon your friends.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jon Evans" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/always-abandon-your-enemies-and-never-abandon-your-friends/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abandon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/always-abandon-your-enemies-and-never-abandon-your-friends/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/jon-evans-27097_abandon_always-abandon-your-enemies-and-never-ab_3096715.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/jon-evans-27097_abandon_always-abandon-your-enemies-and-never-ab_3096715.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/jon-evans-27097_abandon_always-abandon-your-enemies-and-never-ab_3096715.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Always abandon your enemies, and never abandon your friends.” — Jon Evans", "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": "Jon Evans", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-evans/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Always abandon your enemies, and never...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/always-abandon-your-enemies-and-never-abandon-your-friends/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-evans/always-abandon-your-enemies-and-never-abandon-your-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 } } ] } ```