„Talán nem pusztítom el úgy is az ellenségeimet, ha a barátaimmá teszem őket?”
Eredeti
Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?
His response when "accused of treating his opponents with too much courtesy and kindness, and when it was pointed out to him that his whole duty was to destroy them", as quoted in More New Testament Words (1958) by William Barclay; either this anecdote or Lincoln's reply may have been adapted from a reply attributed to Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund:
:* Some courtiers reproached the Emperor Sigismond that, instead of destroying his conquered foes, he admitted them to favour. “Do I not,” replied the illustrious monarch, “effectually destroy my enemies, when I make them my friends?”
::* "Daily Facts" in The Family Magazine Vol. IV (1837), p. 123 http://books.google.de/books?id=aW0EAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA123&dq=destroy; also quoted as simply in "Do I not effectually destroy my enemies, in making them my friends?" in The Sociable Story-teller (1846)
Disputed
Abraham Lincoln 77
amerikai jogász, politikus, az Amerikai Egyesült Államok 16… 1809–1865Hasonló idézetek
„A legrosszabb ellenséged lehet a legjobb barátod, és a legjobb barátod a legrosszabb ellenséged.”
„Nincsenek ellenségei, de a barátai nagyon nem kedvelik.”
„Könnyebb megbocsátani az ellenségnek, mint megbocsátani egy barátnak.”
„A magányra nem az ellenségei ítélik az embert, hanem a barátai.”
Eredeti: To forgive is not to forget. (...) There is no merit in loving an enemy when you forget him for a friend.