--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For true names in the mouth of an enemy…" description: "\"“For true names in the mouth of an enemy have power.”\" — Kate Danley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/kate-danley-26501_quote_for-true-names-in-the-mouth-of-an-enemy_2232562.jpg" --- # For true names in the mouth of an enemy have power. ![“For true names in the mouth of an enemy have power.” quote by Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/kate-danley-26501_quote_for-true-names-in-the-mouth-of-an-enemy_2232562.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/kate-danley-26501_quote_for-true-names-in-the-mouth-of-an-enemy_2232562.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/kate-danley-26501_quote_for-true-names-in-the-mouth-of-an-enemy_2232562.jpg) > ““For true names in the mouth of an enemy have power.”” [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Names spoken by adversaries can shape identity and influence outcomes. **In simple terms:** Enemy-given names affect power. Key Takeaway Mind the impact of labels. Themes identity power language Mood defensive reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - political discourse - bullying - branding Key Concepts psychology social influence Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when labeled negatively? - Can you reclaim a name? A Different Perspective Labels can be resisted or redefined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ## Related quotes > [So I hear my names in your mouth? hmm, why dont you do what you do best, and swallow it. (;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgann/so-i-hear-my-names-in-your-mouth-hmm-why-dont-you-do-what-you-do-best/) Morgann > [True names,” said September wonderingly. “These are all true names. Like, when your parents call you to dinner and you don’t come and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/true-names-said-september-wonderingly-these-are-all-true-names-like/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [At present our only true names are nicknames.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/at-present-our-only-true-names-are-nicknames/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [To be practical, any plan must take account of the enemy's power to frustrate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/to-be-practical-any-plan-must-take-account-of-the-enemy-s-power-to/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [“The enemy's power is rendered powerless in the presence of God's promises.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/the-enemy-s-power-is-rendered-powerless-in-the-presence-of-god-s/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [Don't let your enemies words control your emotions. An enemy should never have that much power over you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/don-t-let-your-enemies-words-control-your-emotions-an-enemy-should/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [When you have an enemy in your power, deprive him of the means of ever injuring you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/when-you-have-an-enemy-in-your-power-deprive-him-of-the-means-of-ever/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Truth is always the enemy of power. And power the enemy of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/truth-is-always-the-enemy-of-power-and-power-the-enemy-of-truth/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Balk the enemy's power; force him to reveal himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/balk-the-enemy-s-power-force-him-to-reveal-himself/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [An enemy should never have the power to make you hate yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/an-enemy-should-never-have-the-power-to-make-you-hate-yourself/) [SONYA PARKER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [“Great Light, the Enemy's power is so fragile! The devils can use only what we ourselves will give them. Do you see? Give them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-lawhead/great-light-the-enemy-s-power-is-so-fragile-the-devils-can-use-only/) [Stephen R. Lawhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-lawhead/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Kate Danley > [“Bloodshed for blood shed makes mourners of us all.  There is no joy in revenge, no taste of honeyed happiness found in the goblet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/bloodshed-for-blood-shed-makes-mourners-of-us-all-there-is-no-joy-in/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“I tried to focus on the question and not the fact his cooking was better than the majority of the intimate relationships I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/i-tried-to-focus-on-the-question-and-not-the-fact-his-cooking-was/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“My people celebrate the passing of the autumn season and the beginning of winter days. We look on our bountiful harvest—" "—your people shop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/my-people-celebrate-the-passing-of-the-autumn-season-and-the/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“Can it, elf, or I will crush your summer fruit into a nice dinner wine.” He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/can-it-elf-or-i-will-crush-your-summer-fruit-into-a-nice-dinner-wine/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“He watched them go, spreading out against the sky, like new constellations playing amongst the stars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/he-watched-them-go-spreading-out-against-the-sky-like-new/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“These are lessons that they have been taught since the dawn of time and, yet, they still fight and die, as if without care,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/these-are-lessons-that-they-have-been-taught-since-the-dawn-of-time/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“I woke up with Mac smothering my face.  I don’t know what it is about cats and the whole “the rest of the bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/i-woke-up-with-mac-smothering-my-face-i-don-t-know-what-it-is-about/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“I may not have all my priorities straight, but those ladies gave up getting laid to feed the hungry and care for the poor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/i-may-not-have-all-my-priorities-straight-but-those-ladies-gave-up/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“Watching your sadness is worse than dying.  Do not die while you are still alive, my love.  Do not fear to live and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/watching-your-sadness-is-worse-than-dying-do-not-die-while-you-are/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“She broke away and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Go forth knowing that all is set to right, all because of thy love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/she-broke-away-and-wiped-the-tears-from-his-cheeks-go-forth-knowing/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“Educational system in America is not as good as in China. You may be an idiot. It is hard to tell with you white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/educational-system-in-america-is-not-as-good-as-in-china-you-may-be/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“Just a donation request to support the brave public servants of Los Angeles during this time of budgetary shortfalls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/just-a-donation-request-to-support-the-brave-public-servants-of-los/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“so willing to engage in whatever it took to secure what he felt he deserved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/so-willing-to-engage-in-whatever-it-took-to-secure-what-he-felt-he/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“It was the steady march of one hundred years of unkindness which now took her love forever from the earth,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/it-was-the-steady-march-of-one-hundred-years-of-unkindness-which-now/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“The Wood did strange things to humans, especially humans who had a distant touch of the fae within. It turned them from ordinary people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/the-wood-did-strange-things-to-humans-especially-humans-who-had-a/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) [Explore all 21 Kate Danley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) ## 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": "“For true names in the mouth of an enemy have power.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kate Danley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/for-true-names-in-the-mouth-of-an-enemy-have-power/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/for-true-names-in-the-mouth-of-an-enemy-have-power/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/kate-danley-26501_quote_for-true-names-in-the-mouth-of-an-enemy_2232562.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/kate-danley-26501_quote_for-true-names-in-the-mouth-of-an-enemy_2232562.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/kate-danley-26501_quote_for-true-names-in-the-mouth-of-an-enemy_2232562.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For true names in the mouth of an enemy have power.” — Kate Danley", "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": "Kate Danley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For true names in the mouth...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/for-true-names-in-the-mouth-of-an-enemy-have-power/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/for-true-names-in-the-mouth-of-an-enemy-have-power/#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 } } ] } ```