--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know as well as any one, [the devil] is…" description: "\"I know as well as any one, [the devil] is an adversary, whom if we resist, he will fly from us--but I seldom resist him at all; from a terror, that tho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/laurence-sterne-1405_adversaries_i-know-as-well-as-any-one-the-devil-is-a_1653656.jpg" --- # I know as well as any one, \[the devil\] is an adversary… ![“I know as well as any one, [the devil] is an adversary, whom if we resist, he will fly from us--but I seldom resist him at all; from a terror, that though I may conquer, I may still get a hurt in the combat--soinstead of thinking to make him fly, I generally fly myself.” quote by Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/laurence-sterne-1405_adversaries_i-know-as-well-as-any-one-the-devil-is-a_1653656.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/laurence-sterne-1405_adversaries_i-know-as-well-as-any-one-the-devil-is-a_1653656.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/laurence-sterne-1405_adversaries_i-know-as-well-as-any-one-the-devil-is-a_1653656.jpg) > “I know as well as any one, \[the devil\] is an adversary, whom if we resist, he will fly from us--but I seldom resist him at all; from a terror, that though I may conquer, I may still get a hurt in the combat--soinstead of thinking to make him fly, I generally fly myself.” [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The devil is a persistent adversary; resisting him is hard, so the speaker often yields, seeing resistance as a battle that may cause pain. **In simple terms:** Resisting temptation is tough; sometimes we give in. Key Takeaway Accept that struggle with temptation is part of human experience. Themes temptation inner conflict human frailty spiritual warfare Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal decision‑making - spiritual practice - mental health counseling Key Concepts self‑control psychology ethical dilemmas Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance self‑discipline with self‑compassion? - What strategies help you face inner challenges without self‑harm? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on resistance may cause guilt and anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversaries/) [Adversary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversary/) [Adversary Resist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversary-resist-680164/) [Combat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/combat/) [Conquer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquer/) [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Devil Adversary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil-adversary-680163/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Irreverence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irreverence/) [Know Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-devil-680165/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Resist Fly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resist-fly-680166/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Temptation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temptation/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [“Yes, the laws of self-preservation and of self-destruction are equally powerful in this world. The devil will hold his empire over humanity until a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/yes-the-laws-of-self-preservation-and-of-self-destruction-are-equally/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [I'm tired of people calling me a devil worshipper. It's kind of pointless you know. Because if the Devil did exist, he'd be worshipping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-m-tired-of-people-calling-me-a-devil-worshipper-it-s-kind-of/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [I know the devil is working against me. I already know my mission and what I'm really here to do. People may not see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyhi-the-prynce/i-know-the-devil-is-working-against-me-i-already-know-my-mission-and/) [Cyhi the Prynce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyhi-the-prynce/) > [I remember confuting one of Westminster's favourite maxims, "better the devil you know than the devil you don't". 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I can feel his smile against my mouth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-doller/how-do-i-know-you-re-not-the-devil-i-whisper-to-noah-my-lips-touching/) [Trish Doller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-doller/) > [It is better to deal with the devil we know than the devil we dont know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/it-is-better-to-deal-with-the-devil-we-know-than-the-devil-we-dont/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [“Please, baby, you had to know the Devil would be well endowed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/please-baby-you-had-to-know-the-devil-would-be-well-endowed/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“For the things I have done I know the devil saves a place for me in hell. So when I am to burn, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hinshelwood/for-the-things-i-have-done-i-know-the-devil-saves-a-place-for-me-in/) [Tom Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hinshelwood/) > [What's worse ...? The devil you don't know ... or the devil you do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/what-s-worse-the-devil-you-don-t-know-or-the-devil-you-do/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I know there is a God because in Rwanda I shook hands with the devil. I have seen him, I have smelled him and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rom-o-dallaire/i-know-there-is-a-god-because-in-rwanda-i-shook-hands-with-the-devil/) [Roméo Dallaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rom-o-dallaire/) > [“We don't know the Devil's side of the story, because God wrote all the books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-konrath/we-don-t-know-the-devil-s-side-of-the-story-because-god-wrote-all-the/) [J.A. Konrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-konrath/) > [It seems to me that the orthodox religions always know more about the Devil than I do and can describe him in more detail,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybil-leek/it-seems-to-me-that-the-orthodox-religions-always-know-more-about-the/) [Sybil Leek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybil-leek/) > [Does the devil know he is a devil?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/does-the-devil-know-he-is-a-devil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Laurence Sterne > [The insolence of base minds in success is boundless; and would scarce admit of a comparison, did not they themselves furnish us with one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-insolence-of-base-minds-in-success-is-boundless-and-would-scarce/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The world is ashamed of being virtuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-world-is-ashamed-of-being-virtuous/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Digressions incontestably are the sunshine; they are the life, the soul of reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/digressions-incontestably-are-the-sunshine-they-are-the-life-the-soul/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [I was acquainted once with a gallant soldier who assured me that his only measure of courage was this: upon the first fire, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/i-was-acquainted-once-with-a-gallant-soldier-who-assured-me-that-his/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [A man's body and his mind, with the utmost reverence to both I speak it, are exactly like a jerkin and a jerkin's lining;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/a-man-s-body-and-his-mind-with-the-utmost-reverence-to-both-i-speak/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [When the affections so kindly break loose, Joy, is another name for Religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/when-the-affections-so-kindly-break-loose-joy-is-another-name-for/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Sweet pliability of man's spirit, that can at once surrender itself to illusions, which cheat expectation and sorrow of their weary moments! - long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/sweet-pliability-of-man-s-spirit-that-can-at-once-surrender-itself-to/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Philosophy has a fine saying for everything.-For Death it has an entire set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/philosophy-has-a-fine-saying-for-everything-for-death-it-has-an/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Dear sensibility! Source inexhausted of all that's precious in our joys, or costly in our sorrows! Eternal fountain of our feelings! 'tis here I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/dear-sensibility-source-inexhausted-of-all-that-s-precious-in-our/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The best friends in the world may differ sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-best-friends-in-the-world-may-differ-sometimes/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Beauty has so many charms, one knows not how to speak against it; and when it happens that a graceful figure is the habitation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/beauty-has-so-many-charms-one-knows-not-how-to-speak-against-it-and/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The best hearts are ever the bravest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-best-hearts-are-ever-the-bravest/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Hail! the small courtesies of life, for smooth do ye make the road of it, like grace and beauty, which beget inclinations to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/hail-the-small-courtesies-of-life-for-smooth-do-ye-make-the-road-of/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [There are a thousand unnoticed openings, continued my father, which let penetrating eye at once into a man's soul; and I maintain it, added…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/there-are-a-thousand-unnoticed-openings-continued-my-father-which-let/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [“Button-holes! there is something lively in the very idea of 'em - and trust me, when I get amongst 'em - you gentry with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/button-holes-there-is-something-lively-in-the-very-idea-of-em-and/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) [Explore all 244 Laurence Sterne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) ## More Adversaries quotes > [In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/in-all-matters-of-opinion-our-adversaries-are-insane/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Inanimate objects are sometimes parties to litigation. A ship has a legal personality, a fiction found useful for maritime purposes. The corporation sole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/inanimate-objects-are-sometimes-parties-to-litigation-a-ship-has-a/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [There were various aspects of Sun Tzu's approach that appealed to Ho Chi Minh: a) to learn to understand both the enemy and yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-duiker/there-were-various-aspects-of-sun-tzu-s-approach-that-appealed-to-ho/) [William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-duiker/) > [Marriage, in my view, should be a balanced stalemate between equal adversaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/marriage-in-my-view-should-be-a-balanced-stalemate-between-equal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If an adversary didn't target our power plants but they did target the core routers, the backbones that tie our internet connections together, entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-an-adversary-didn-t-target-our-power-plants-but-they-did-target/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [It's like I'm married to the silencer, Until I file for divorce and release my ex-calibers. Do art with your arteries, place that for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharoahe-monch/it-s-like-i-m-married-to-the-silencer-until-i-file-for-divorce-and/) [Pharoahe Monch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharoahe-monch/) > [Educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to the humanizing of international relations. Man's capacity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/educational-exchange-can-turn-nations-into-people-contributing-as-no/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [Obama is hardly the first president to seek rapprochement with our adversaries and reconciliation with our enemies, of course. But his determination to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-f-hayes/obama-is-hardly-the-first-president-to-seek-rapprochement-with-our/) [Stephen F. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-f-hayes/) > [It is better to make friends than adversaries of a conquered race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/it-is-better-to-make-friends-than-adversaries-of-a-conquered-race/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [“The most courageous act in politics is to try to understand your opponent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-most-courageous-act-in-politics-is-to-try-to-understand-your/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [My adversary is the world of finance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-hollande/my-adversary-is-the-world-of-finance/) [Francois Hollande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-hollande/) > [Often GOP political strategy seems like the human wave theory of the Chinese military translated to politics. 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They can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/we-should-seek-after-spiritual-gifts-they-can-lead-us-to-god-they-can/) [Dallin H. 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