--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You could not fence with an antagonist…" description: "\"“You could not fence with an antagonist who met rapier thrust with blow of battle axe.”\" — L.M. Montgomery" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32b/l-m-montgomery-567_antagonist_you-could-not-fence-with-an-antagonist-w_1084698.jpg" --- # You could not fence with an antagonist who met rapier… ![“You could not fence with an antagonist who met rapier thrust with blow of battle axe.” quote by L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32b/l-m-montgomery-567_antagonist_you-could-not-fence-with-an-antagonist-w_1084698.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32b/l-m-montgomery-567_antagonist_you-could-not-fence-with-an-antagonist-w_1084698.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32b/l-m-montgomery-567_antagonist_you-could-not-fence-with-an-antagonist-w_1084698.jpg) > ““You could not fence with an antagonist who met rapier thrust with blow of battle axe.”” [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A metaphorical warning that confronting an opponent with a weak defense can lead to being overwhelmed by a stronger, unexpected force. **In simple terms:** Weak defenses invite stronger attacks. Key Takeaway Strengthen your defenses. Themes strategy conflict preparation Mood cautious strategic Type advisory thoughtful When to use this quote - business competition - personal disputes - negotiations Key Concepts military tactics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess opponent strength? - When is it wise to retreat? A Different Perspective May overstate danger. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antagonist/) [Debate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debate/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“Monstrous Sea is mine. I made it, not the other way around. It's not a parasite, or an obligation, or a destiny. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-zappia/monstrous-sea-is-mine-i-made-it-not-the-other-way-around-it-s-not-a/) [Francesca Zappia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-zappia/) > [A friend is someone who will back you up when you really need it. A Brother is someone who will skip down the road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-womble/a-friend-is-someone-who-will-back-you-up-when-you-really-need-it-a/) Victor Womble > [“MISS BATTLE-AXE: Bert, what”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/miss-battle-axe-bert-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In D&D, I love playing the first guy through the door - the guy with the battle-axe. 'Where are the bad guys? Just point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-posehn/in-d-d-i-love-playing-the-first-guy-through-the-door-the-guy-with-the/) [Brian Posehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-posehn/) > [“She practically threw the rapier into place, and drew the hunting knives without hesitation. My dear old friends. A wicked smile spread across her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/she-practically-threw-the-rapier-into-place-and-drew-the-hunting/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“I'm sorry. I use my rapier wit to hide my inner pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-m-sorry-i-use-my-rapier-wit-to-hide-my-inner-pain/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“I use my rapier wit to hide my inner pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-use-my-rapier-wit-to-hide-my-inner-pain/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“You’ll be sweating when I skin you alive and squish your eyeballs beneath my feet,” she muttered, picking up the rapier. “That’s the spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/you-ll-be-sweating-when-i-skin-you-alive-and-squish-your-eyeballs/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“The old man slowly unwrapped the shining blade and let the lamplight slip along it for a moment. Then he wrapped it up again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-old-man-slowly-unwrapped-the-shining-blade-and-let-the-lamplight/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“What's the point of having a rapier wit if I can't use it to stab people?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeph-jacques/what-s-the-point-of-having-a-rapier-wit-if-i-can-t-use-it-to-stab/) [Jeph Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeph-jacques/) > [My rapier wit hides my inner pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/my-rapier-wit-hides-my-inner-pain/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [What's the point of havin' a rapier wit if I can't use it to stab people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeph-jacques/what-s-the-point-of-havin-a-rapier-wit-if-i-can-t-use-it-to-stab/) [Jeph Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeph-jacques/) > [Evil is relative - and what I mean by that is that our villains are as complex, as deep and as compelling as any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/evil-is-relative-and-what-i-mean-by-that-is-that-our-villains-are-as/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [Self-love . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/self-love-is-the-sole-antagonist-of-virtue-leading-us-constantly-by/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [For me, in any story that I take, the antagonist is more interesting and multi-dimensional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vetrimaaran/for-me-in-any-story-that-i-take-the-antagonist-is-more-interesting/) [Vetrimaaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vetrimaaran/) ## More by L.M. Montgomery > [“The other day Nan said, 'Nothing can ever be quite the same for any of us again.' It made me feel rebellious. Why shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/the-other-day-nan-said-nothing-can-ever-be-quite-the-same-for-any-of/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“It's a very bad habit to put off disagreeable things...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/it-s-a-very-bad-habit-to-put-off-disagreeable-things/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Who was it said, ‘We forget because we must’? He was right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/who-was-it-said-we-forget-because-we-must-he-was-right/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I don't think it's any help that it's your habit. What would you think of a person who went about sticking pins and needles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-don-t-think-it-s-any-help-that-it-s-your-habit-what-would-you-think/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“What a splendid day! Isn't it good just to be alive on a day like this? I pity the people who aren't born yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/what-a-splendid-day-isn-t-it-good-just-to-be-alive-on-a-day-like-this/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I told you the Bible was more to be depended on than newspapers!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-told-you-the-bible-was-more-to-be-depended-on-than-newspapers/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“On a day like this there's no such word as fail in my bright lexicon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/on-a-day-like-this-there-s-no-such-word-as-fail-in-my-bright-lexicon/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I took the brooch because I was too overcome with irresistible temptation. I was imagining I was Lady Cordelia Fitzgerald, and I just had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-took-the-brooch-because-i-was-too-overcome-with-irresistible/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“…she made a poem on it at once, the lines singing themselves through her consciousness without effort. With one side of her nature she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/she-made-a-poem-on-it-at-once-the-lines-singing-themselves-through/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I think there are two kinds of TRUE THINGS-- true things that ARE, and true things that ARE NOT, but MIGHT be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-think-there-are-two-kinds-of-true-things-true-things-that-are-and/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“when the darkness is close to us it is a friend. But when we sorter push it away from us—divorce ourselves from it, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/when-the-darkness-is-close-to-us-it-is-a-friend-but-when-we-sorter/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Yesterday she had been all her own. Now she was this man's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/yesterday-she-had-been-all-her-own-now-she-was-this-man-s/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I suppose that's how it looks in prose. But it's very different if you look at it through poetry…and I think it's nicer…' Anne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-suppose-that-s-how-it-looks-in-prose-but-it-s-very-different-if-you/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Ilse and I hunted all over the old orchard today for a four-leaved clover and couldn't find one. Then I found one in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/ilse-and-i-hunted-all-over-the-old-orchard-today-for-a-four-leaved/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Nothing seems worthwhile. My very thoughts are old. I've thought them all before. What is the use of living after all, Anne?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/nothing-seems-worthwhile-my-very-thoughts-are-old-i-ve-thought-them/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) [Explore all 463 L.M. Montgomery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) ## More Antagonist quotes > [For me, in any story that I take, the antagonist is more interesting and multi-dimensional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vetrimaaran/for-me-in-any-story-that-i-take-the-antagonist-is-more-interesting/) [Vetrimaaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vetrimaaran/) > [Self-love . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/self-love-is-the-sole-antagonist-of-virtue-leading-us-constantly-by/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Evil is relative - and what I mean by that is that our villains are as complex, as deep and as compelling as any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/evil-is-relative-and-what-i-mean-by-that-is-that-our-villains-are-as/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [Remember that when you meet your antagonist, to do everything in a mild agreeable manner. Let your courage be keen, but, at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/remember-that-when-you-meet-your-antagonist-to-do-everything-in-a/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We honor revelation too highly to make it the antagonist of reason, or to believe that it calls us to renounce our highest powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/we-honor-revelation-too-highly-to-make-it-the-antagonist-of-reason-or/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [It almost seems as though this roiling world is conspiring to test our patience at every turn. In fact, it is. With this in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-almost-seems-as-though-this-roiling-world-is-conspiring-to-test/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Horror itself is a bit of a bullied genre, the antagonist being literary snobbery and public misconception. And I think good horror tackles our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kealan-patrick-burke/horror-itself-is-a-bit-of-a-bullied-genre-the-antagonist-being/) [Kealan Patrick Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kealan-patrick-burke/) > [I'm a filmmaker, and I was most influenced by Hitchcock's films. How he could plant such deep enriched characters and then make us care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-haggis/i-m-a-filmmaker-and-i-was-most-influenced-by-hitchcock-s-films-how-he/) [Paul Haggis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-haggis/) > [Because the character is a fiction, he's a composite of other contributors to the science that brought this enzyme therapy through the process. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/because-the-character-is-a-fiction-he-s-a-composite-of-other/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [If you have to be the antagonist, you often have a lot more creative powers. You have a lot more color to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-atherton/if-you-have-to-be-the-antagonist-you-often-have-a-lot-more-creative/) William Atherton > [“I mean, without the antagonist, there would be no story! It’d be like: ‘Once upon a time there was a girl who wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/i-mean-without-the-antagonist-there-would-be-no-story-it-d-be-like/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [“Alice started to understand why people found her repulsive. In stories, anyone who didn't look quite right, who wasn't a perfect human being, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-byng/alice-started-to-understand-why-people-found-her-repulsive-in-stories/) [Georgia Byng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-byng/) > [Error indeed has often prevailed by the assistance of power or force. Truth is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/error-indeed-has-often-prevailed-by-the-assistance-of-power-or-force/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We are the 1000 children of death. We're in-between, on the fence. Non-descript antagonists. I'm in-between, on the fence. Non-descript antagonist!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otep/we-are-the-1000-children-of-death-we-re-in-between-on-the-fence-non/) [Otep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otep/) > [From a real antagonist one gains boundless courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/from-a-real-antagonist-one-gains-boundless-courage/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Browse all 123 Antagonist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antagonist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You could not fence with an antagonist who met rapier thrust with blow of battle axe.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "L.M. 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