--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To get rid of an enemy one must love him." description: "\"To get rid of an enemy one must love him.\" — Leo Tolstoy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/leo-tolstoy-55_enemy_to-get-rid-of-an-enemy-one-must-love-him_1141830.png" --- # To get rid of an enemy one must love him. ![“To get rid of an enemy one must love him.” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/leo-tolstoy-55_enemy_to-get-rid-of-an-enemy-one-must-love-him_1141830.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/leo-tolstoy-55_enemy_to-get-rid-of-an-enemy-one-must-love-him_1141830.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/leo-tolstoy-55_enemy_to-get-rid-of-an-enemy-one-must-love-him_1141830.png) > “To get rid of an enemy one must love him.” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Transforming hostility into love neutralizes the enemy. **In simple terms:** Love defeats enemies. Key Takeaway Cultivate compassion toward adversaries. Themes conflict resolution empathy peace Mood reflective hopeful Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - personal relationships - political negotiations - team dynamics Key Concepts loving‑kindness psychology of hatred Questions to Reflect On - Can you love someone who harms you? - What limits does love face? A Different Perspective Love may be impractical against violent threats. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Life and love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [“I've always felt that the best way to get rid of any enemy is to make a friend of him. It's a policy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-e-talmadge/i-ve-always-felt-that-the-best-way-to-get-rid-of-any-enemy-is-to-make/) [Herman E. Talmadge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-e-talmadge/) > [Every traditional ways in politics that you get rid of an enemy has not worked on Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/every-traditional-ways-in-politics-that-you-get-rid-of-an-enemy-has/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [A third reason why we should love our enemies is that love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/a-third-reason-why-we-should-love-our-enemies-is-that-love-is-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The second song is called 'Easy As Life,' which really describes the complete conflict of the whole story, her struggle of being in love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-cox/the-second-song-is-called-easy-as-life-which-really-describes-the/) [Deborah Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-cox/) > [You can love a person dear to you with a human love, but an enemy can only be loved with divine love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/you-can-love-a-person-dear-to-you-with-a-human-love-but-an-enemy-can/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [In spite of death, he felt the need of life and love. He felt that love saved him from despair, and that this love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/in-spite-of-death-he-felt-the-need-of-life-and-love-he-felt-that-love/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Keep the peace at mind, because the mind is a playground for the enemy. Keep the love at heart, the enemy can't stand love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-anthony/keep-the-peace-at-mind-because-the-mind-is-a-playground-for-the-enemy/) [Markus Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-anthony/) > [“Incidentally, it helps to have enemies. While love is a beautiful emotion, far more empires have been built, books written, wrongs righted, fights won,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-garcia-martinez/incidentally-it-helps-to-have-enemies-while-love-is-a-beautiful/) [Antonio Garcia Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-garcia-martinez/) > [You can win over your enemy by Love... But I say:- Love is the biggest enemy of life when it hurts...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-win-over-your-enemy-by-love-but-i-say-love-is-the-biggest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“the most visible form of Jesus’s not-of-this-world kingdom is the radical, head-turning love of one’s enemies, even (or especially) when we are suffering at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preston-sprinkle/the-most-visible-form-of-jesus-s-not-of-this-world-kingdom-is-the/) [Preston Sprinkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preston-sprinkle/) > [If you're an enemy, I would love for you to be a fan, because I don't like enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-david-frank/if-you-re-an-enemy-i-would-love-for-you-to-be-a-fan-because-i-don-t/) [Jason David Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-david-frank/) > [“When we can see our own self, angry and hurting others, within every villain, then we can love. When we can see our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/when-we-can-see-our-own-self-angry-and-hurting-others-within-every/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) > [“Though I said that affection was the greatest enemy of love, I would never deny that it's a very good substitute. I'm not sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/though-i-said-that-affection-was-the-greatest-enemy-of-love-i-would/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“The mother was your friend, you see, but the woman was your enemy, and love between the sexes is strife. Do not think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/the-mother-was-your-friend-you-see-but-the-woman-was-your-enemy-and/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. Selfish, vain, stupid, trivial in everything—that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-you-only-knew-what-those-society-women-are-and-women-in-general-my/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To speak of it would be giving importance to that which has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-speak-of-it-would-be-giving-importance-to-that-which-has-none/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Once we're thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost, but it's only here that the new and the good begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/once-we-re-thrown-off-our-habitual-paths-we-think-all-is-lost-but-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. She was standing talking to a lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-she-was-there-by-the-rapture-and-the-terror-that-seized-on/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He was not to blame for being born with an irrepressible charachter and a mind some how constrained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-was-not-to-blame-for-being-born-with-an-irrepressible-charachter/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## 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": "To get rid of an enemy one must love him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Tolstoy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-get-rid-of-an-enemy-one-must-love-him/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-get-rid-of-an-enemy-one-must-love-him/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/leo-tolstoy-55_enemy_to-get-rid-of-an-enemy-one-must-love-him_1141830.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/leo-tolstoy-55_enemy_to-get-rid-of-an-enemy-one-must-love-him_1141830.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/leo-tolstoy-55_enemy_to-get-rid-of-an-enemy-one-must-love-him_1141830.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To get rid of an enemy one must love him.” — Leo Tolstoy", "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": "Leo Tolstoy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To get rid of an enemy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-get-rid-of-an-enemy-one-must-love-him/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-get-rid-of-an-enemy-one-must-love-him/#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 } } ] } ```