---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God, a born extremist, is the diplomat's…"
description: "\"God, a born extremist, is the diplomat's worst enemy. Quite apart from the fact that His decrees are irrevocable, the Absolute will not allow anyone to..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/regis-debray-32256_absolutes_god-a-born-extremist-is-the-diplomat-s-w_2001187.jpg"
---

#  God, a born extremist, is the diplomat's worst enemy…

![“God, a born extremist, is the diplomat's worst enemy. Quite apart from the fact that His decrees are irrevocable, the Absolute will not allow anyone to relativize matters.” quote by Regis Debray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/regis-debray-32256_absolutes_god-a-born-extremist-is-the-diplomat-s-w_2001187.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/regis-debray-32256_absolutes_god-a-born-extremist-is-the-diplomat-s-w_2001187.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/regis-debray-32256_absolutes_god-a-born-extremist-is-the-diplomat-s-w_2001187.jpg)

> “God, a born extremist, is the diplomat's worst enemy. Quite apart from the fact that His decrees are irrevocable, the Absolute will not allow anyone to relativize matters.”

[Regis Debray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Absolute authority resists relativism, making diplomacy difficult when rigid doctrines dominate.

**In simple terms:** Rigid authority hinders diplomacy.

Key Takeaway

Seek flexibility in negotiations.

Themes

politics authority diplomacy

Mood

serious strategic

Type

political analytical

When to use this quote

- international negotiations
- policy making
- conflict mediation

Key Concepts

absolutism relativism conflict resolution

Questions to Reflect On

- How can diplomats navigate absolute regimes?
- What strategies mitigate inflexible policies?

A Different Perspective

Absolute power may be unavoidable in some regimes.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Diplomats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomats/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Extremist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremist/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Worst enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-enemy/)

## Related quotes

> [I would not despair unless I knew the irrevocable decree was passed; saw my misfortune recorded in the book of fate, and signed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-collier/i-would-not-despair-unless-i-knew-the-irrevocable-decree-was-passed/)

[Jeremy Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-collier/)

> [... The decrees of the Sovereign Ordainer, as related to fate and predestination, are of two kinds. Both are to be obeyed and accepted.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baha-u-llah/the-decrees-of-the-sovereign-ordainer-as-related-to-fate-and/)

[Bahá'u'lláh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baha-u-llah/)

> [Do not be afraid of the past. If people tell you that it is irrevocable, do not believe them. The past, the present and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/do-not-be-afraid-of-the-past-if-people-tell-you-that-it-is/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [It is as though the space between us were time: an irrevocable quality. It is as though time, no longer running straight before us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-as-though-the-space-between-us-were-time-an-irrevocable-quality/)

[William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/)

> [When women hear those words, an old, old memory is stirred and brought back to life. The memory is of our absolute, undeniable, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/when-women-hear-those-words-an-old-old-memory-is-stirred-and-brought/)

[Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/)

> [Certain people, in their eagerness to construct a world no external threat can penetrate build exaggeratedly high defense againts the outside world, againts new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/certain-people-in-their-eagerness-to-construct-a-world-no-external/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [I've always thought tests are a gift. And great tests are a great gift. To fail the test is a misfortune. But to refuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-ve-always-thought-tests-are-a-gift-and-great-tests-are-a-great-gift/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [Avoid making irrevocable decisions while tired or hungry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/avoid-making-irrevocable-decisions-while-tired-or-hungry/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [...true love is an irrevocable act - you can only give your heart away once - after that, you give as much as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/true-love-is-an-irrevocable-act-you-can-only-give-your-heart-away/)

[John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/)

> [In retrospect, each of the steps toward this abyss seemed irrevocable, and yet they had all been so small!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-blish/in-retrospect-each-of-the-steps-toward-this-abyss-seemed-irrevocable/)

[James Blish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-blish/)

> [It is hard to have patience with people who say ''There is no death'' or ''Death doesn't matter'.' There is death. And whatever is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-hard-to-have-patience-with-people-who-say-there-is-no-death-or/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [What astonishing changes a few years are capable of producing! I am told that even respectable characters speak of a monarchical form of government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/what-astonishing-changes-a-few-years-are-capable-of-producing-i-am/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [Time lost is time not filled, time left empty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/time-lost-is-time-not-filled-time-left-empty/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [The true sweetness of chess, if it ever can be sweet, is to see a victory snatched, by some happy impertinence, out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-true-sweetness-of-chess-if-it-ever-can-be-sweet-is-to-see-a/)

[H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/)

> [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/)

[Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/)

## More by Regis Debray

> [“Ni fetichiser ni stigmatiser: remplacer Versus par Verso.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/ni-fetichiser-ni-stigmatiser-remplacer-versus-par-verso/)

[Regis Debray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/)

> [“C est quand notre milieu (naturel ou culturel) commence a nous faire du mal qu on s avise de son existence, et plus il…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/c-est-quand-notre-milieu-naturel-ou-culturel-commence-a-nous-faire-du/)

[Regis Debray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/)

> [Machines will never be able to give the thinking process a model of thought itself, since machines are not mortal. What gives humans access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/machines-will-never-be-able-to-give-the-thinking-process-a-model-of/)

[Regis Debray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/)

> [We are never completely contemporaneous with our present. History advances in disguise; it appears on stage wearing a mask of the preceding scene, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/we-are-never-completely-contemporaneous-with-our-present-history/)

[Regis Debray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/)

> [Since the Cuban Revolution and since the invasion of Santo Domingo a state of emergency has existed in Latin America. The Marines shoot at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/since-the-cuban-revolution-and-since-the-invasion-of-santo-domingo-a/)

[Regis Debray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/)

> [Difference is not the opposite of harmony but its condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/difference-is-not-the-opposite-of-harmony-but-its-condition/)

[Regis Debray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/)

> [Truly, more than removing the partition between vectors and values, we would have needed to talk about strengthening crisscrossed lacings: an intertwined kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/truly-more-than-removing-the-partition-between-vectors-and-values-we/)

[Regis Debray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/)

> [The prime role of a leader is to offer an example of courage and sacrifice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/the-prime-role-of-a-leader-is-to-offer-an-example-of-courage-and/)

[Regis Debray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/)

> [Books were the sustenance of God. And His munitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/books-were-the-sustenance-of-god-and-his-munitions/)

[Regis Debray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/)

> [“religion is no longer the opium of the people but the vitamin pills of the feeble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/religion-is-no-longer-the-opium-of-the-people-but-the-vitamin-pills/)

[Regis Debray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/)

[Explore all 11 Regis Debray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/)

## More Absolutes quotes

> [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/)

[Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/)

> [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/)

[Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/)

> [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [ Their \[the U.S.’s\] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolute-figures-is-almost-25-times/)

[Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/)

> [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/)

[Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/)

> [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/)

Christy Nockels

> [Those are decisions only the Lord will make. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/)

[Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/)

> [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/)

[Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/)

> [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/)

[Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/)

> [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. But to one who has discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huangbo-xiyun/the-nature-of-the-absolute-is-neither-perceptible-nor-imperceptible/)

[Huangbo Xiyun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huangbo-xiyun/)

> [Joining a company is an act that calls for absolute loyalty in big matters and little ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-watson/joining-a-company-is-an-act-that-calls-for-absolute-loyalty-in-big/)

[Thomas Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-watson/)

> [In fine, a life of good or evil, the hope of Heaven or the despair of Hell, Faustus stands as a reminder that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-fine-a-life-of-good-or-evil-the-hope-of-heaven-or-the-despair-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

[Browse all 2,016 Absolutes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "God, a born extremist, is the diplomat's worst enemy. Quite apart from the fact that His decrees are irrevocable, the Absolute will not allow anyone to relativize matters.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Regis Debray"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/god-a-born-extremist-is-the-diplomat-s-worst-enemy-quite-apart-from/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Absolutes"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/god-a-born-extremist-is-the-diplomat-s-worst-enemy-quite-apart-from/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/regis-debray-32256_absolutes_god-a-born-extremist-is-the-diplomat-s-w_2001187.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/regis-debray-32256_absolutes_god-a-born-extremist-is-the-diplomat-s-w_2001187.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/regis-debray-32256_absolutes_god-a-born-extremist-is-the-diplomat-s-w_2001187.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“God, a born extremist, is the diplomat's worst enemy. Quite apart from the fact that His decrees are…” — Regis Debray",
                "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": "Regis Debray",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regis-debray/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "God, a born extremist, is the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/god-a-born-extremist-is-the-diplomat-s-worst-enemy-quite-apart-from/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regis-debray/god-a-born-extremist-is-the-diplomat-s-worst-enemy-quite-apart-from/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
