--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is good to be taught even by an enemy" description: "\"It is good to be taught even by an enemy\" — Ovid" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/ovid-276_enemy_it-is-good-to-be-taught-even-by-an-enemy_2406349.png" --- # It is good to be taught even by an enemy ![“It is good to be taught even by an enemy” quote by Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/ovid-276_enemy_it-is-good-to-be-taught-even-by-an-enemy_2406349.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/ovid-276_enemy_it-is-good-to-be-taught-even-by-an-enemy_2406349.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/ovid-276_enemy_it-is-good-to-be-taught-even-by-an-enemy_2406349.png) > “It is good to be taught even by an enemy” [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning from an enemy can be valuable, offering insight and growth despite opposition. **In simple terms:** Even enemies can teach valuable lessons. Key Takeaway Embrace lessons from all sources. Themes learning adversary wisdom growth Mood cautious thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - negotiations - personal development - strategic planning Key Concepts philosophy conflict resolution psychology Questions to Reflect On - What can you learn from those who oppose you? - How do you discern useful advice from hostile sources? A Different Perspective Enemy teachings may be biased or manipulative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-taught-388135/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Taught Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-enemy-3001057/) ## Related quotes > [It is lawful to be taught by an enemy. Fas est ab hoste doceri.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-lawful-to-be-taught-by-an-enemy-fas-est-ab-hoste-doceri/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Right it is to be taught even by the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/right-it-is-to-be-taught-even-by-the-enemy/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [All the lessons you need to learn in life, he said, will be taught to you by your enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-johnson/all-the-lessons-you-need-to-learn-in-life-he-said-will-be-taught-to/) [Adam Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-johnson/) > [It might be good to be taught the basics like your stance when you first start playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-trump/it-might-be-good-to-be-taught-the-basics-like-your-stance-when-you/) [Judd Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-trump/) > [My mom is still whispering in my ear, 'Look as good as you can.' She taught me that being the best you can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanine-pirro/my-mom-is-still-whispering-in-my-ear-look-as-good-as-you-can-she/) [Jeanine Pirro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanine-pirro/) > [I want to thank my daughter, who told me, 'If you don't win, Dad, you're still good,' ... who taught me how to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-foxx/i-want-to-thank-my-daughter-who-told-me-if-you-don-t-win-dad-you-re/) [Jamie Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-foxx/) > [“We were taught to be good, and we were taught to be careful. But in this world, sometimes, I do not think we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-bennett/we-were-taught-to-be-good-and-we-were-taught-to-be-careful-but-in/) [Marguerite Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-bennett/) > [My father left his piano at the house when he left, and I wasn't allowed to play it when he was there because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince/my-father-left-his-piano-at-the-house-when-he-left-and-i-wasn-t/) [Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince/) > [“Some wars are about bombing. For the people of the Baltics, this war was about believing. In 1991, after fifty years of brutal occupation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/some-wars-are-about-bombing-for-the-people-of-the-baltics-this-war/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [My knowledge of pain, learned with the sabre, taught me not to be afraid. And just as in dueling when you must concentrate on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-skorzeny/my-knowledge-of-pain-learned-with-the-sabre-taught-me-not-to-be/) [Otto Skorzeny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-skorzeny/) > [Troy was a sweet, good man. We just were never destined to be married. We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/) [Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-k-hasan/) > [What's good in the hood?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-mcmahon/what-s-good-in-the-hood/) [Vince McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-mcmahon/) ## More by Ovid > [Every woman thinks herself attractive; even the plainest is satisfied with the charms she deems that she possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/every-woman-thinks-herself-attractive-even-the-plainest-is-satisfied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [It is some alleviation to ills we cannot cure to speak of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-some-alleviation-to-ills-we-cannot-cure-to-speak-of-them/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Time is generally the best doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/time-is-generally-the-best-doctor/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [It is convenient that there be gods, and, as it is convenient, let us believe there are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-convenient-that-there-be-gods-and-as-it-is-convenient-let-us/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I hate a woman who offers herself because she ought to do so, and cold and dry thinks of her sewing when making love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-hate-a-woman-who-offers-herself-because-she-ought-to-do-so-and-cold/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [The sea's vast depths lie open to the fish; Wherever the breezes blow the bird may fly; So to the brave man every land's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/the-sea-s-vast-depths-lie-open-to-the-fish-wherever-the-breezes-blow/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Rare is the virtue that's not ruled by Fortune, That stands unshaken even when Fortune flees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/rare-is-the-virtue-that-s-not-ruled-by-fortune-that-stands-unshaken/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Thus all things altered. Nothing dies. And here and there the unbodied spirit flies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/thus-all-things-altered-nothing-dies-and-here-and-there-the-unbodied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [How little is the promise of the child fulfilled in the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/how-little-is-the-promise-of-the-child-fulfilled-in-the-man/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Judgement of beauty can err, what with the wine and the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/judgement-of-beauty-can-err-what-with-the-wine-and-the-dark/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Leave war to others; 'tis Protesilaus' part of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/leave-war-to-others-tis-protesilaus-part-of-love/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Remove but the temptations of leisure, and the bow of Cupid will lose its effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/remove-but-the-temptations-of-leisure-and-the-bow-of-cupid-will-lose/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) [Explore all 771 Ovid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "It is good to be taught even by an enemy", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ovid" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-good-to-be-taught-even-by-an-enemy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-good-to-be-taught-even-by-an-enemy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/ovid-276_enemy_it-is-good-to-be-taught-even-by-an-enemy_2406349.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/ovid-276_enemy_it-is-good-to-be-taught-even-by-an-enemy_2406349.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/ovid-276_enemy_it-is-good-to-be-taught-even-by-an-enemy_2406349.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is good to be taught even by an enemy” — Ovid", "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": "Ovid", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is good to be taught...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-good-to-be-taught-even-by-an-enemy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-good-to-be-taught-even-by-an-enemy/#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 } } ] } ```