--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I say 'Crush your enemy', I don't…" description: "\"When I say 'Crush your enemy', I don't literally mean it.\" — Robert Greene" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/robert-greene-498_crush_when-i-say-crush-your-enemy-i-don-t-lite_2233406.png" --- # When I say 'Crush your enemy', I don't literally mean it. ![“When I say 'Crush your enemy', I don't literally mean it.” quote by Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/robert-greene-498_crush_when-i-say-crush-your-enemy-i-don-t-lite_2233406.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/robert-greene-498_crush_when-i-say-crush-your-enemy-i-don-t-lite_2233406.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/robert-greene-498_crush_when-i-say-crush-your-enemy-i-don-t-lite_2233406.png) > “When I say 'Crush your enemy', I don't literally mean it.” [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The phrase “Crush your enemy” is metaphorical, urging strategic dominance rather than literal violence. **In simple terms:** Metaphor for strategic dominance. Key Takeaway Use strategic tactics, not violence. Themes strategy conflict power dynamics Mood cautious strategic Type ethical pragmatic When to use this quote - business negotiations - political campaigns - personal rivalries Key Concepts psychology competition influence Questions to Reflect On - When is aggressive strategy justified? - How can you achieve goals ethically? A Different Perspective Literal interpretation can lead to unethical actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) [Crush Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush-enemy-1071949/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Enemy Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-don-1389113/) [Literally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literally/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Say Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-crush-3218275/) [Your](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your/) ## Related quotes > [I don't know what to say when I have a crush on somebody. I kind of lose my words. I really try to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-vega/i-don-t-know-what-to-say-when-i-have-a-crush-on-somebody-i-kind-of/) [Alexa Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-vega/) > [What about us? Can i see you again? You can say no. You'd crush all my hopes and dreams, but it's an option.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/what-about-us-can-i-see-you-again-you-can-say-no-you-d-crush-all-my/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [Law 15: Crush your enemy totally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-48-laws-of-power/law-15-crush-your-enemy-totally/) [The 48 Laws Of Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-48-laws-of-power/) > [It is easy to crush an enemy outside oneself but impossible to defeat an enemy within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/it-is-easy-to-crush-an-enemy-outside-oneself-but-impossible-to-defeat/) [Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/) > [Just because you're the enemy of my enemy don't mean you're my friend, Han thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cinda-williams-chima/just-because-you-re-the-enemy-of-my-enemy-don-t-mean-you-re-my-friend/) [Cinda Williams Chima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cinda-williams-chima/) > [If you have an enemy, then learn and know your enemy, don't just be mad at him or her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/if-you-have-an-enemy-then-learn-and-know-your-enemy-don-t-just-be-mad/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [“You're the enemy. 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But don't forget he is not your friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/love-your-enemy-but-don-t-forget-he-is-not-your-friend/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Even though he's my enemy I don't know anything about him. Am I afraid to know about him? Do I want to think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yumi-tamura/even-though-he-s-my-enemy-i-don-t-know-anything-about-him-am-i-afraid/) [Yumi Tamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yumi-tamura/) > [The first CD that I ever bought was 'Britney Spears.' It was at a 7-Eleven and I was like, 'Can I get this?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-jonas/the-first-cd-that-i-ever-bought-was-britney-spears-it-was-at-a-7/) [Joe Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-jonas/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) ## More by Robert Greene > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I'm afraid I'm just too intense to have soft ideas, you know, about what to read when you're trying to pass the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-m-afraid-i-m-just-too-intense-to-have-soft-ideas-you-know-about/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [You are facing death and danger and competition, but at any moment, you can decide to have a fearless mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/you-are-facing-death-and-danger-and-competition-but-at-any-moment-you/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Let me spell it out: with the psychotic boss, nothing you do is ever quite right. 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It is in their interest that you do not become self-reliant, and so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/remember-your-bosses-prefer-to-keep-you-in-dependent-positions-it-is/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I want to be able to write, that's my first love and I don't want to deviate from it even though I probably could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-want-to-be-able-to-write-that-s-my-first-love-and-i-don-t-want-to/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [It's sometimes hard to talk about politics and art. Obviously, I have my core beliefs, but I think art is best when it's troublesome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/it-s-sometimes-hard-to-talk-about-politics-and-art-obviously-i-have/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [If you change and adapt your persona, you are seen as inauthentic; if you stay the angry young man, you fade from attention or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/if-you-change-and-adapt-your-persona-you-are-seen-as-inauthentic-if/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Your energy, your spirit are important considerations. Feeling petty and frustrated can have reverberating consequences for your ability to think strategically and reach your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/your-energy-your-spirit-are-important-considerations-feeling-petty/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Fear creates its own self-fulfilling dynamic- as people give into it, they lose energy and momentum. Their lack of confidence translates into inaction that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/fear-creates-its-own-self-fulfilling-dynamic-as-people-give-into-it/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [What I like about the internet, what I see there is that its much more democratic. I have much more control, and if what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/what-i-like-about-the-internet-what-i-see-there-is-that-its-much-more/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [“It is hard for us to imagine now, but our earliest human ancestors who ventured out onto the grasslands of East Africa some six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/it-is-hard-for-us-to-imagine-now-but-our-earliest-human-ancestors-who/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [“Let us call this quality the Original Mind. This mind looked at the world more directly—not through words and received ideas. It was flexible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/let-us-call-this-quality-the-original-mind-this-mind-looked-at-the/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) [Explore all 511 Robert Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) ## More Crush quotes > [Mortals are such fragile things. Just tender feelings walking around exposed in their delicate shells...Easy to crush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/mortals-are-such-fragile-things-just-tender-feelings-walking-around/) [Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/) > [Each child’s story is worthy of telling. There shouldn’t be a sliding scale of death. 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Obviously I knew I wasn't but people were curiously desperate to suggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-radcliffe/i-had-to-smile-when-stories-emerged-questioning-whether-i-was-gay/) [Daniel Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-radcliffe/) > [I already know that u know that I like u, the question is Wat r u going to do with that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/i-already-know-that-u-know-that-i-like-u-the-question-is-wat-r-u/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“My mom believed that you make your own luck. Over the stove she had hung these old, maroon painted letters that spell out, “MANIFEST.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-laybourne/my-mom-believed-that-you-make-your-own-luck-over-the-stove-she-had/) [Emmy Laybourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-laybourne/) > [I'm very disturbed to find out that the leader of the Townies has a soul and I'm beginning to develop a bit of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-m-very-disturbed-to-find-out-that-the-leader-of-the-townies-has-a/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [“Connor Crane was currently the secret crush of half the female HHH population. And a couple of the males, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-halliday/connor-crane-was-currently-the-secret-crush-of-half-the-female-hhh/) [Gemma Halliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-halliday/) > [My dream would be to hear rocks at my window n to look out and see u just standing there, in the pouring rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blondie/my-dream-would-be-to-hear-rocks-at-my-window-n-to-look-out-and-see-u/) [Blondie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blondie/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. 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