--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is nothing worse than an enemy with…" description: "\"There is nothing worse than an enemy with imagination.\" — Sharon Kay Penman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/sharon-kay-penman-6725_creativity_there-is-nothing-worse-than-an-enemy-wit_945433.png" --- # There is nothing worse than an enemy with imagination. ![“There is nothing worse than an enemy with imagination.” quote by Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/sharon-kay-penman-6725_creativity_there-is-nothing-worse-than-an-enemy-wit_945433.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/sharon-kay-penman-6725_creativity_there-is-nothing-worse-than-an-enemy-wit_945433.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/sharon-kay-penman-6725_creativity_there-is-nothing-worse-than-an-enemy-wit_945433.png) > “There is nothing worse than an enemy with imagination.” [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination amplifies an enemy's threat, making them more dangerous than a physical foe. **In simple terms:** Imagining enemies makes them scarier. Key Takeaway Guard against overactive imagination. Themes psychology conflict perception Mood cautious reflective Type advice warning When to use this quote - personal relationships - political rivalry - online harassment Key Concepts cognitive bias threat amplification Questions to Reflect On - How does imagination shape perceived danger? - Can you limit imagined threats? A Different Perspective Imagination can be harmless if kept in check. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Enemy Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-imagination-1647908/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worse/) [Worse Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worse-enemy-1647909/) ## Related quotes > [A man has no worse enemy than himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/a-man-has-no-worse-enemy-than-himself/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Politics is the enemy of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/politics-is-the-enemy-of-the-imagination/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [If my accent betrayed my foreign birth, it also stamped me as an enemy, in the imagination of the producers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-lugosi/if-my-accent-betrayed-my-foreign-birth-it-also-stamped-me-as-an-enemy/) [Bela Lugosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-lugosi/) > [Demonstrate to the world there is 'No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy' than a U.S. Marine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/demonstrate-to-the-world-there-is-no-better-friend-no-worse-enemy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Defending the United States was important and there were few higher honours, yet ... was it worth making such a commitment when one’s political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/defending-the-united-states-was-important-and-there-were-few-higher/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“Sometimes the silence of your friends is worse than your enemy's words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/sometimes-the-silence-of-your-friends-is-worse-than-your-enemy-s-words/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Im My Best Friend, & Im My Worse Enemy...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trapboy/im-my-best-friend-im-my-worse-enemy/) [Trapboy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trapboy/) > [The flesh is a worse enemy than the devil himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-ambrose/the-flesh-is-a-worse-enemy-than-the-devil-himself/) [Isaac Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-ambrose/) > [The one thing worse than an enemy is a friend turned false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-reeve/the-one-thing-worse-than-an-enemy-is-a-friend-turned-false/) [Philip Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-reeve/) > [He has no worse enemy than himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/he-has-no-worse-enemy-than-himself/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [The dogmatist within is always worse than the enemy without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-dogmatist-within-is-always-worse-than-the-enemy-without/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Those who are not with Mr. Bush are against him. Worse, they are with the enemy. Which is odd, because I'm dead against Bush,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/those-who-are-not-with-mr-bush-are-against-him-worse-they-are-with/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“Women have been ignored but have been their own worse enemy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-stibbe/women-have-been-ignored-but-have-been-their-own-worse-enemy/) [Nina Stibbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-stibbe/) > [Imagine trying to live without air. Now imagine something worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/imagine-trying-to-live-without-air-now-imagine-something-worse/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [It's incredible how much stamina you can find when you're fighting and enemy in battle, even if that enemy is just in your imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/it-s-incredible-how-much-stamina-you-can-find-when-you-re-fighting/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) ## More by Sharon Kay Penman > [“Outside, the sky was clear, stars gleaming in its ebony vastness like celestial fireflies. It was bitterly cold, and Hywel's every breath trailed after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/outside-the-sky-was-clear-stars-gleaming-in-its-ebony-vastness-like/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“He'd never seen one so vibrant, though, or so vividly compelling... those glowing green eyes sparkling with sunlight and curiosity and silent laughter, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/he-d-never-seen-one-so-vibrant-though-or-so-vividly-compelling-those/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“We've schemed and fought and loved until we are so entangled in hearts and minds that there is no way to set us free.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/we-ve-schemed-and-fought-and-loved-until-we-are-so-entangled-in/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“You seem to forget, Dickon, that we are dealing with the Spider King. Louis realized, just as you have, that it would take more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/you-seem-to-forget-dickon-that-we-are-dealing-with-the-spider-king/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“I asked Simon if he’d ever feared that all our struggles, all our suffering might be in vain. Not a priest’s question, and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/i-asked-simon-if-he-d-ever-feared-that-all-our-struggles-all-our/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [In writing my historical novels, I have to rely upon my imagination to a great extent. I think of it as 'filling in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/in-writing-my-historical-novels-i-have-to-rely-upon-my-imagination-to/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“I once came upon a definition of history as ‘the process by which complex truths are transformed into simplified falsehoods’. That is particularly true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/i-once-came-upon-a-definition-of-history-as-the-process-by-which/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [My novels about medieval Wales were set in unexplored terrain; my readers did not know what lay around every bend in the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/my-novels-about-medieval-wales-were-set-in-unexplored-terrain-my/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“Otherwise, I’d like nothing better than…conversing with you. You’re such a deep, penetrating conversationalist, after all,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/otherwise-i-d-like-nothing-better-than-conversing-with-you-you-re/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [Poor Wales. So far from Heaven, so close to England.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/poor-wales-so-far-from-heaven-so-close-to-england/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“Richard grinned, very pleased with himself for having found a way to honor his mother, thwart his father, and serve God, while having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/richard-grinned-very-pleased-with-himself-for-having-found-a-way-to/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [I was actually born in New York City, but my family moved to Atlantic City when I was five, this being my dad's home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/i-was-actually-born-in-new-york-city-but-my-family-moved-to-atlantic/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“In time of war, the Devil makes more room in Hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/in-time-of-war-the-devil-makes-more-room-in-hell/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“You asked what the Londoners wanted of you, and he…he said ‘ballocks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/you-asked-what-the-londoners-wanted-of-you-and-he-he-said-ballocks/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [“...for he of all men knew how dangerously stubborn Henry Fitz Empress could be. There were faint bloodstains upon the tiles in Canterbury Cathedral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/for-he-of-all-men-knew-how-dangerously-stubborn-henry-fitz-empress/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) [Explore all 98 Sharon Kay Penman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is nothing worse than an enemy with imagination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sharon Kay Penman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/there-is-nothing-worse-than-an-enemy-with-imagination/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/there-is-nothing-worse-than-an-enemy-with-imagination/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/sharon-kay-penman-6725_creativity_there-is-nothing-worse-than-an-enemy-wit_945433.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/sharon-kay-penman-6725_creativity_there-is-nothing-worse-than-an-enemy-wit_945433.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/sharon-kay-penman-6725_creativity_there-is-nothing-worse-than-an-enemy-wit_945433.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is nothing worse than an enemy with imagination.” — Sharon Kay Penman", "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": "Sharon Kay Penman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is nothing worse than an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/there-is-nothing-worse-than-an-enemy-with-imagination/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/there-is-nothing-worse-than-an-enemy-with-imagination/#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 } } ] } ```