I began writing when I was still in the British Foreign Service, and it was then understood that even if you wrote about butterfly collecting, you used another name.
John Le CarreRead
After all, if you make your enemy look like a fool, you lose the justification for engaging him.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Engaging with one's enemy can undermine your own integrity if you make them appear foolish.
This quote suggests that when you demean your adversary to the point of foolishness, you compromise your own position and reasoning for confronting them. The act of engaging an enemy should be rooted in principles and dignity, rather than in the urge to humiliate, as this can ultimately diminish the moral high ground you seek to maintain.
Themes
EnemyFoolJustificationEngagementIntegrity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about conflict resolution, this quote could emphasize the importance of maintaining integrity.
More from John Le Carre
All quotes βIn every war zone that I've been in, there has been a reality and then there has been the public perception of why the war was being fought. In every crisis, the issues have been far more complex than the public has been allowed to know.
John Le CarreRead
The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the other catβs mat is a story.
John Le CarreRead
The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous.
John Le CarreRead
Coming home from very lonely places, all of us go a little mad: whether from great personal success, or just an all-night drive, we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen.
John Le CarreRead
If I had to put a name to it, I would wish that all my books were entertainments. I think the first thing you've got to do is grab the reader by the ear, and make him sit down and listen. Make him laugh, make him feel. We all want to be entertained at a very high level.
John Le CarreRead
Similar quotes
The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone.
Oswald ChambersRead
Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential.
Bruce LeeRead
Ah! realize your youth while you have it. Donβt squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar. These are the sickly aims, the false ideals, of our age. Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing.
Oscar WildeRead
Let no one trust so entirely to natural prudence as to persuade himself that it will suffice to guide him without help from experience.
Francesco GuicciardiniRead
He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; and he that dares not reason is a slave.
William DrummondRead
Great talents are the most lovely and often the most dangerous fruits on the tree of humanity. They hang upon the most slender twigs that are easily snapped off.
Carl JungRead