--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is lamentable, that to be a good…" description: "\"It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/voltaire-173_enemy_it-is-lamentable-that-to-be-a-good-patri_481819.png" --- # It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must… ![“It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/voltaire-173_enemy_it-is-lamentable-that-to-be-a-good-patri_481819.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/voltaire-173_enemy_it-is-lamentable-that-to-be-a-good-patri_481819.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/voltaire-173_enemy_it-is-lamentable-that-to-be-a-good-patri_481819.png) > “It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good patriotism often demands hostility toward others, implying a conflict between national loyalty and universal humanity. **In simple terms:** Patriotism can clash with caring for all people. Key Takeaway Balance love for country with compassion for humanity. Themes patriotism ethics humanity Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type philosophical ethical political When to use this quote - political activism - global cooperation - community service - human rights advocacy Key Concepts nationalism moral conflict altruism Questions to Reflect On - Can one love their nation without harming others? - How to promote inclusive patriotism? A Different Perspective Patriotism may be misused to justify exclusion or aggression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Good Patriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-patriot-326474/) [Lamentable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lamentable-332053/) [Lamentable Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lamentable-good-4141340/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Patriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriot/) [Patriot Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriot-enemy-4141339/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) ## Related quotes > [But a good patriot, and a true politician, always considers how he shall make the most of the existing materials of his country. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/but-a-good-patriot-and-a-true-politician-always-considers-how-he/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [To be a good patriot, a man must consider his countrymen as God's creatures, and himself as accountable for his acting towards them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/to-be-a-good-patriot-a-man-must-consider-his-countrymen-as-god-s/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“there are many ignorant sentimentalists who believe that our government is deserving of our loyal cooperation and support, and that every good patriot with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-duane/there-are-many-ignorant-sentimentalists-who-believe-that-our/) [James Duane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-duane/) > [“She says a wedding is one of the most lamentable spectacles on earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-chopin/she-says-a-wedding-is-one-of-the-most-lamentable-spectacles-on-earth/) [Kate Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-chopin/) > [There are three sorts of lawyers - able, unable and lamentable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smith-surtees/there-are-three-sorts-of-lawyers-able-unable-and-lamentable/) [Robert Smith Surtees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smith-surtees/) > [I have always respected the freedom of expression. But the dissemination of false information is lamentable and subject to criminal penalties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ii-prince-of-monaco/i-have-always-respected-the-freedom-of-expression-but-the/) [Albert II, Prince of Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ii-prince-of-monaco/) > [There may be said to be three sorts of lawyers, able, unable, and lamentable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smith/there-may-be-said-to-be-three-sorts-of-lawyers-able-unable-and/) [Robert Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smith/) > [A wedding is one of the most lamentable spectacles on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-chopin/a-wedding-is-one-of-the-most-lamentable-spectacles-on-earth/) [Kate Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-chopin/) > [Nothing is more sterile or lamentable than the man content to live within himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-pinter/nothing-is-more-sterile-or-lamentable-than-the-man-content-to-live/) [Harold Pinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-pinter/) > [“how lamentable is the present Corruption of the World! how impure are the Channels through which Trade hath a Conveyance!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/how-lamentable-is-the-present-corruption-of-the-world-how-impure-are/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [Can there be a more lamentable picture than that of a Chancellor of the Exchequer seated on an empty chest by a pool of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-peel/can-there-be-a-more-lamentable-picture-than-that-of-a-chancellor-of/) [Robert Peel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-peel/) > [“There is no need to complain of particular grievances, for life in its entirety is lamentable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/there-is-no-need-to-complain-of-particular-grievances-for-life-in-its/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend; provided, of course, he really is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/he-was-a-great-patriot-a-humanitarian-a-loyal-friend-provided-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Let us meet four times a year in a grand temple with music, and thank God for all his gifts. There is one sun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/let-us-meet-four-times-a-year-in-a-grand-temple-with-music-and-thank/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." 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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 lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-lamentable-that-to-be-a-good-patriot-one-must-become-the-enemy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-lamentable-that-to-be-a-good-patriot-one-must-become-the-enemy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/voltaire-173_enemy_it-is-lamentable-that-to-be-a-good-patri_481819.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/voltaire-173_enemy_it-is-lamentable-that-to-be-a-good-patri_481819.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/voltaire-173_enemy_it-is-lamentable-that-to-be-a-good-patri_481819.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.” — Voltaire", "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": "Voltaire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is lamentable, that to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-lamentable-that-to-be-a-good-patriot-one-must-become-the-enemy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-lamentable-that-to-be-a-good-patriot-one-must-become-the-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 } } ] } ```