--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They deem him their worst enemy who tells…" description: "\"They deem him their worst enemy who tells them the truth.\" — Plato" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/plato-103_enemy_they-deem-him-their-worst-enemy-who-tell_2820537.jpg" --- # They deem him their worst enemy who tells them the truth. ![“They deem him their worst enemy who tells them the truth.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/plato-103_enemy_they-deem-him-their-worst-enemy-who-tell_2820537.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/plato-103_enemy_they-deem-him-their-worst-enemy-who-tell_2820537.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/plato-103_enemy_they-deem-him-their-worst-enemy-who-tell_2820537.jpg) > “They deem him their worst enemy who tells them the truth.” [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society labels truth‑tellers as enemies, highlighting fear of uncomfortable reality. **In simple terms:** Truth‑tellers are seen as threats. Key Takeaway Embrace honest discourse. Themes truth society fear Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - education - media - leadership Key Concepts philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - Why do people fear truth? - How can societies protect truth‑tellers? A Different Perspective Truth may be resisted due to discomfort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deem Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deem-worst-3585901/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Enemy Tells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-tells-991918/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plato/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) [Worst enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-enemy/) ## Related quotes > [“Who in the universe halts when the enemy tells them to?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-smith/who-in-the-universe-halts-when-the-enemy-tells-them-to/) [Sherwood Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-smith/) > [“They deem him their worst enemy who tells them the truth. -Plato, philosopher (427-347 BCE)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/they-deem-him-their-worst-enemy-who-tells-them-the-truth-plato/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“A friend tells you the truth, that your breath stinks and you need a bath. An enemy tells you that you look great and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/a-friend-tells-you-the-truth-that-your-breath-stinks-and-you-need-a/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [An enemy is anyone who tells the truth about you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/an-enemy-is-anyone-who-tells-the-truth-about-you/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [He who flatters a man is his enemy. he who tells him of his faults is his maker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/he-who-flatters-a-man-is-his-enemy-he-who-tells-him-of-his-faults-is/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [“You, there, girl! Halt!" Who in the universe ever halts when the enemy tells them to?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-smith/you-there-girl-halt-who-in-the-universe-ever-halts-when-the-enemy/) [Sherwood Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-smith/) > [I think sometimes your worst enemy is inside your head. All your insecurities, your ego, your fears, your expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-gerardo-mendez/i-think-sometimes-your-worst-enemy-is-inside-your-head-all-your/) [Luis Gerardo Mendez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-gerardo-mendez/) > [I control my life and I have never let success run away with me - I've taken it and ran. And the only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaka-khan/i-control-my-life-and-i-have-never-let-success-run-away-with-me-i-ve/) [Chaka Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaka-khan/) > [I'm my own worst enemy. I like to eat, and when people tell me to do something I do the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-arreola/i-m-my-own-worst-enemy-i-like-to-eat-and-when-people-tell-me-to-do/) [Chris Arreola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-arreola/) > [We're our own worst enemies a lot of the time, but I still blame men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/we-re-our-own-worst-enemies-a-lot-of-the-time-but-i-still-blame-men/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [Liberal Catholics are the worst enemies of the Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-ix/liberal-catholics-are-the-worst-enemies-of-the-church/) [Pope Pius IX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-ix/) > [I will negotiate with my worst enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-newsom/i-will-negotiate-with-my-worst-enemy/) [Gavin Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-newsom/) > [Sometimes worst enemies like a Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier that's what makes you fight so hard. Without them they never would have achieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/sometimes-worst-enemies-like-a-mohammed-ali-and-joe-frazier-that-s/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [It is never just disagreement but always intellectual dishonesty that is the apologist's worst enemy. And its apprentice is ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/it-is-never-just-disagreement-but-always-intellectual-dishonesty-that/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [That's your best friend and your worst enemy - your own brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/that-s-your-best-friend-and-your-worst-enemy-your-own-brain/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) ## More by Plato > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I do not think it is permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-do-not-think-it-is-permitted-that-a-better-man-be-harmed-by-a-worse/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-as-nobody-may-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [For let me tell you, that the more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-let-me-tell-you-that-the-more-the-pleasures-of-the-body-fade-away/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“What shall we say about those spectators, then, who can see a plurality of beautiful things, but not beauty itself, and who are incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-shall-we-say-about-those-spectators-then-who-can-see-a-plurality/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-that-nobody-will-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We must, if we are to be consistent, and if we re to have a real pedigree herd, mate the best of our men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-must-if-we-are-to-be-consistent-and-if-we-re-to-have-a-real/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) [Explore all 1,278 Plato quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## 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": "They deem him their worst enemy who tells them the truth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plato" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/they-deem-him-their-worst-enemy-who-tells-them-the-truth/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/they-deem-him-their-worst-enemy-who-tells-them-the-truth/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/plato-103_enemy_they-deem-him-their-worst-enemy-who-tell_2820537.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/plato-103_enemy_they-deem-him-their-worst-enemy-who-tell_2820537.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/plato-103_enemy_they-deem-him-their-worst-enemy-who-tell_2820537.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They deem him their worst enemy who tells them the truth.” — Plato", "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": "Plato", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "They deem him their worst enemy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/they-deem-him-their-worst-enemy-who-tells-them-the-truth/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/they-deem-him-their-worst-enemy-who-tells-them-the-truth/#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 } } ] } ```