Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that friends can sometimes be more dangerous than enemies due to betrayal or deceit.
This quote by Robert Greene highlights the complex dynamics of relationships, emphasizing that those close to us, often our friends, can pose greater risks than our enemies. While we may expect loyalty and support from friends, their potential to cause harm through betrayal or manipulation can be surprisingly destructive, leading to the realization that one must be vigilant, even among allies.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational speech addressing trust in relationships.
In a society where the roles everyone plays are obvious, the refusal to conform to any standard will excite interest. Be both masculine and feminine, impudent and charming, subtle and outrageous. Let other people worry about being socially acceptable; those types are a dime a dozen, and you are after a power greater than they can imagine.
When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike.
The moment people feel they know what to expect from you, your spell on them is broken. More: You have ceded them power.
The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.
The Nihilistic Troll might pretend to be acting in the service of some cause or leader, but don't be fooled. The cause and their supposedly strong convictions are simply a way to justify and provide cover for their abusive behavior.
Only create associations with positive affinities. Make this a rule of life and you will benefit more than from all the therapy in the world.
Throughout my career, from Jamaica to Nigeria, Pakistan to Switzerland, I've learned that effective diplomacy means more than shaking hands and staging photo ops. It means developing real, robust relationships. It means finding common ground and managing points of differentiation. It means doing genuine, old-fashioned, people-to-people diplomacy.
Man's objection to love is that it dies hard: women's, that when it is dead it stays dead.
Look to her, Moor, if thou has eyes to see. She has deceived her father, and may thee.
It only takes a second to call a girl fat and She'll take a lifetime trying to starve herself.. think before you act.
I have often said that domestic violence is characterised by silence: of the abused, of the abuser and of those who don't know how to intervene. But the media have the ability to break this corrosive silence: bringing us the voices of victims; shattering the taboo; and raising awareness of what we can all do to stop this heinous crime.
We can experience an erosion of self-esteem when we're lonely, as we come to believe that it's because we're not likable or because something is broken inside of us. And that can just compound that loneliness further and further.
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