--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So long as all is ordered for attack, and…" description: "\"So long as all is ordered for attack, and that alone, leaders will instinctively increase the number of enemies that they may give their followers some..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/william-butler-yeats-350_ahimsa_so-long-as-all-is-ordered-for-attack-and_872110.png" --- # So long as all is ordered for attack, and that alone… ![“So long as all is ordered for attack, and that alone, leaders will instinctively increase the number of enemies that they may give their followers something to do.” quote by William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/william-butler-yeats-350_ahimsa_so-long-as-all-is-ordered-for-attack-and_872110.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/william-butler-yeats-350_ahimsa_so-long-as-all-is-ordered-for-attack-and_872110.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/william-butler-yeats-350_ahimsa_so-long-as-all-is-ordered-for-attack-and_872110.png) > “So long as all is ordered for attack, and that alone, leaders will instinctively increase the number of enemies that they may give their followers something to do.” [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leaders create conflict to give followers purpose, inflating enemies to justify action. **In simple terms:** Leaders stir conflict to keep people busy. Key Takeaway Be aware of manufactured threats. Themes leadership conflict motivation control Mood skeptical reflective Type critical analytical When to use this quote - political strategy - military planning - corporate management - social movements Key Concepts political psychology group dynamics purpose Questions to Reflect On - Do you notice when challenges are created to keep you occupied? - How does this affect your sense of agency? A Different Perspective Leaders may also seek genuine threats, not just manufactured ones. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ahimsa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahimsa/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Followers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/followers/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) ## Related quotes > [Ahimsa can be practiced only towards those that are inferior to you in every way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-can-be-practiced-only-towards-those-that-are-inferior-to-you/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [A votary of ahimsa always prays for ultimate deliverance from the bondage of the flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-votary-of-ahimsa-always-prays-for-ultimate-deliverance-from-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [To his enemies the householder must be a hero. Them he must resist. That is the duty of the householder. He must not sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/to-his-enemies-the-householder-must-be-a-hero-them-he-must-resist/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Ahimsa means infinite love, which again means infinite capacity for suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-means-infinite-love-which-again-means-infinite-capacity-for/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Hinduism with its message of ahimsa is to me the most glorious religion in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/hinduism-with-its-message-of-ahimsa-is-to-me-the-most-glorious/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [It is against the spirit of ahimsa to overawe even one person into submission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-is-against-the-spirit-of-ahimsa-to-overawe-even-one-person-into/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Dharma is one and one only. Ahimsa means moksha, and moksha is the realization of Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/dharma-is-one-and-one-only-ahimsa-means-moksha-and-moksha-is-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Khadi has been conceived as the foundation and the image of ahimsa. A real khadi-wearer will not utter an untruth. A real khadi-wearer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/khadi-has-been-conceived-as-the-foundation-and-the-image-of-ahimsa-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If our ahimsa is not of the brave but of the weak, and if it will bend the knee before himsa, Gandhism deserves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-our-ahimsa-is-not-of-the-brave-but-of-the-weak-and-if-it-will-bend/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Strictly speaking, no activity and no industry is possible without a certain amount of violence, no matter how little. Even the very process of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/strictly-speaking-no-activity-and-no-industry-is-possible-without-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Ahimsa is an attribute of the brave. Cowardice and ahimsa don't go together any more that water and fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-is-an-attribute-of-the-brave-cowardice-and-ahimsa-don-t-go/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Ahimsa is not mere negative non-injury. It is positive, cosmic love. It is the development of a mental attitude in which hatred is replaced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/ahimsa-is-not-mere-negative-non-injury-it-is-positive-cosmic-love-it/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [Which religion gives the greatest joy to God? That which inspires human beings to practice Ahimsa and compassion to all creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vallabha-acharya/which-religion-gives-the-greatest-joy-to-god-that-which-inspires/) Vallabha Acharya > [Whatever strength the masses have is due entirely to ahimsa, however imperfect or defective its practice might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/whatever-strength-the-masses-have-is-due-entirely-to-ahimsa-however/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [ If you kill me, you kill yourself." \[...\] He only wanted to convey to Janegg the truth of ahimsa, which is that all beings… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-zindell/if-you-kill-me-you-kill-yourself-he-only-wanted-to-convey-to-janegg/) [David Zindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-zindell/) ## More by William Butler Yeats > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [You know what the Englishman's idea of compromise is? He says, Some people say there is a God. Some people say there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/you-know-what-the-englishman-s-idea-of-compromise-is-he-says-some/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast, Drowning love's lonely hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/beloved-let-your-eyes-half-close-and-your-heart-beat-over-my-heart/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [That toil of growing up; The ignominy of boyhood; the distress Of boyhood changing into man; The unfinished man and his pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/that-toil-of-growing-up-the-ignominy-of-boyhood-the-distress-of/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I see a schoolboy when I think of him, With face and nose pressed to a sweet-shop window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-see-a-schoolboy-when-i-think-of-him-with-face-and-nose-pressed-to-a/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Only God, my dear, Could love you for yourself alone And not your yellow hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/only-god-my-dear-could-love-you-for-yourself-alone-and-not-your/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [We can only begin to live when we conceive life as Tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/we-can-only-begin-to-live-when-we-conceive-life-as-tragedy/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I know that I shall meet my fate somewhere among the clouds above; those that I fight I do not hate, those that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-know-that-i-shall-meet-my-fate-somewhere-among-the-clouds-above/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Great literature has always been written in a like spirit, and is, indeed, the Forgiveness of Sin, and when we find it becoming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/great-literature-has-always-been-written-in-a-like-spirit-and-is/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Where the wave of moonlight glosses The dim gray sands with light, Far off by furthest Rosses We foot it all the night, Weaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/where-the-wave-of-moonlight-glosses-the-dim-gray-sands-with-light-far/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [His element is so fine Being sharpened by his death, To drink from the wine-breath While our gross palates drink from the whole wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/his-element-is-so-fine-being-sharpened-by-his-death-to-drink-from-the/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [We poets would die of loneliness but for women, and we choose our men friends that we may have somebody to talk about women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/we-poets-would-die-of-loneliness-but-for-women-and-we-choose-our-men/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/love-is-created-and-preserved-by-intellectual-analysis-for-we-love/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Who dreamed that beauty passes like a dream? For these red lips, with all their mournful pride, Mournful that no new wonder may betide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/who-dreamed-that-beauty-passes-like-a-dream-for-these-red-lips-with/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) [Explore all 652 William Butler Yeats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## More Ahimsa quotes > [Ahimsa can be practiced only towards those that are inferior to you in every way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-can-be-practiced-only-towards-those-that-are-inferior-to-you/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Whatever strength the masses have is due entirely to ahimsa, however imperfect or defective its practice might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/whatever-strength-the-masses-have-is-due-entirely-to-ahimsa-however/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Which religion gives the greatest joy to God? That which inspires human beings to practice Ahimsa and compassion to all creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vallabha-acharya/which-religion-gives-the-greatest-joy-to-god-that-which-inspires/) Vallabha Acharya > [Ahimsa is not mere negative non-injury. It is positive, cosmic love. It is the development of a mental attitude in which hatred is replaced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/ahimsa-is-not-mere-negative-non-injury-it-is-positive-cosmic-love-it/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [Ahimsa is an attribute of the brave. Cowardice and ahimsa don't go together any more that water and fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-is-an-attribute-of-the-brave-cowardice-and-ahimsa-don-t-go/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Strictly speaking, no activity and no industry is possible without a certain amount of violence, no matter how little. Even the very process of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/strictly-speaking-no-activity-and-no-industry-is-possible-without-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If our ahimsa is not of the brave but of the weak, and if it will bend the knee before himsa, Gandhism deserves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-our-ahimsa-is-not-of-the-brave-but-of-the-weak-and-if-it-will-bend/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Khadi has been conceived as the foundation and the image of ahimsa. A real khadi-wearer will not utter an untruth. A real khadi-wearer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/khadi-has-been-conceived-as-the-foundation-and-the-image-of-ahimsa-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Dharma is one and one only. Ahimsa means moksha, and moksha is the realization of Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/dharma-is-one-and-one-only-ahimsa-means-moksha-and-moksha-is-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [It is against the spirit of ahimsa to overawe even one person into submission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-is-against-the-spirit-of-ahimsa-to-overawe-even-one-person-into/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Hinduism with its message of ahimsa is to me the most glorious religion in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/hinduism-with-its-message-of-ahimsa-is-to-me-the-most-glorious/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Ahimsa means infinite love, which again means infinite capacity for suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-means-infinite-love-which-again-means-infinite-capacity-for/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [To his enemies the householder must be a hero. Them he must resist. That is the duty of the householder. He must not sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/to-his-enemies-the-householder-must-be-a-hero-them-he-must-resist/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [A votary of ahimsa always prays for ultimate deliverance from the bondage of the flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-votary-of-ahimsa-always-prays-for-ultimate-deliverance-from-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [ If you kill me, you kill yourself." \[...\] He only wanted to convey to Janegg the truth of ahimsa, which is that all beings… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-zindell/if-you-kill-me-you-kill-yourself-he-only-wanted-to-convey-to-janegg/) [David Zindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-zindell/) [Browse all 138 Ahimsa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahimsa/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So long as all is ordered for attack, and that alone, leaders will instinctively increase the number of enemies that they may give their followers something to do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Butler Yeats" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/so-long-as-all-is-ordered-for-attack-and-that-alone-leaders-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ahimsa" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/so-long-as-all-is-ordered-for-attack-and-that-alone-leaders-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/william-butler-yeats-350_ahimsa_so-long-as-all-is-ordered-for-attack-and_872110.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/william-butler-yeats-350_ahimsa_so-long-as-all-is-ordered-for-attack-and_872110.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e3/william-butler-yeats-350_ahimsa_so-long-as-all-is-ordered-for-attack-and_872110.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So long as all is ordered for attack, and that alone, leaders will instinctively increase the number of…” — William Butler Yeats", "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": "William Butler Yeats", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "So long as all is ordered...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/so-long-as-all-is-ordered-for-attack-and-that-alone-leaders-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/so-long-as-all-is-ordered-for-attack-and-that-alone-leaders-will/#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 } } ] } ```