--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our enemies are our outward consciences." description: "\"Our enemies are our outward consciences.\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/william-shakespeare-4_conscience_our-enemies-are-our-outward-consciences_1524546.jpg" --- # Our enemies are our outward consciences. ![“Our enemies are our outward consciences.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/william-shakespeare-4_conscience_our-enemies-are-our-outward-consciences_1524546.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/william-shakespeare-4_conscience_our-enemies-are-our-outward-consciences_1524546.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/william-shakespeare-4_conscience_our-enemies-are-our-outward-consciences_1524546.jpg) > “Our enemies are our outward consciences.” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our adversaries reflect our own moral conscience, exposing inner conflicts. **In simple terms:** Our enemies reveal our own conscience. Key Takeaway Examine how opposition mirrors personal values. Themes conflict conscience self-awareness Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - politics - personal relationships - legal disputes - creative work Key Concepts ethics psychology self-reflection Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize your own conscience in conflict? - Can enemies be misinterpreted? A Different Perspective Opponents may not truly represent internal moral struggles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Consciences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciences/) [Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies/) [Enemies Outward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies-outward-5642377/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Outward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outward/) [Outward Consciences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outward-consciences-1192925/) ## Related quotes > [Besides, they are our outward consciences, And preachers to us all, admonishing That we should drew us fairly for our end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/besides-they-are-our-outward-consciences-and-preachers-to-us-all/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There is no vice so simple but assumes some mark of virtue on his outward parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/there-is-no-vice-so-simple-but-assumes-some-mark-of-virtue-on-his/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [We must enter and take possession of the consciences of the children, of the consciences of the young, because they do belong, and should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarco-elias-calles/we-must-enter-and-take-possession-of-the-consciences-of-the-children/) [Plutarco Elias Calles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarco-elias-calles/) > [Men's consciences ought in no sort to be violated, urged, or constrained. 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So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another ones right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-ones-belief-but-it/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [I've worked with people who are much further to the left than I am and much further to the right than I am. 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