In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them.... I destroy them.
Orson Scott Card Ender's Game
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In "Ender's Game," the protagonist reflects on a profound realization about understanding one’s enemy. When you grasp the depth of someone else's motivations and beliefs, that comprehension fosters a sense of empathy and love towards them. This connection speaks to the idea that truly knowing another person creates a bond that transcends animosity, highlighting the intricate relationship between love and conflict.

However, this understanding can lead to a paradox where, upon loving the enemy, the individual feels justified in their destruction. The moment you recognize and empathize with your opponent, it can intensify the conflict, resulting in an internal struggle between compassion and the necessity of overcoming what they represent. This complex dynamic illustrates the intertwining of love and rivalry in human interactions.

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Ender's Game
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Orson Scott Card
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Other quotes in Ender's Game

If you could make them feel as you can make me feel, then perhaps they could forgive you.
Orson Scott Card Ender's Game
If you could make them feel as you can make me feel, then perhaps they could forgive you.
It was funny. The adults taking all this so seriously, and the children playingalong, playing along, believing it too until suddenly the adults went too far, tried too hard, and the childrencould see through their game.
Orson Scott Card Ender's Game
It was funny. The adults taking all this so seriously, and the children playingalong, playing along, believing it too until suddenly the adults went too far, tried too hard, and the childrencould see through their game.
Welcome to the human race. Nobody controls his own life, Ender. The best you can do is choose to be controlled by good people, by people who love you.
Orson Scott Card Ender's Game
Welcome to the human race. Nobody controls his own life, Ender. The best you can do is choose to be controlled by good people, by people who love you.
So what do we do now? asked Alai. The bugger war's over, and so's the war down there on Earth, and even the war here. What do we do now? We're kids, said Petra. They'll probably make us go to school. It's a law. You have to go to school till you're seventeen. They all laughed at that.
Orson Scott Card Ender's Game
So what do we do now? asked Alai. The bugger war's over, and so's the war down there on Earth, and even the war here. What do we do now? We're kids, said Petra. They'll probably make us go to school. It's a law. You have to go to school till you're seventeen. They all laughed at that.
Ender grinned back. Teacher, he said. Do you have a name? Mazer Rackham, said the old man.
Orson Scott Card Ender's Game
Ender grinned back. Teacher, he said. Do you have a name? Mazer Rackham, said the old man.
Peter, why do I get the idea that you are thinking of this as a golden opportunity for Peter Wiggin? For both of us, Val. Peter, you're twelve years old. I'm ten. They have a word for people our age. They call us children and they treat us like mice. But we don't think like other children, do we, Val? We don't talk like other children. And above all, we don't write like other children. For a discussion that began with death threats, Peter, we've strayed from the topic, I think.
Orson Scott Card Ender's Game
Peter, why do I get the idea that you are thinking of this as a golden opportunity for Peter Wiggin? For both of us, Val. Peter, you're twelve years old. I'm ten. They have a word for people our age. They call us children and they treat us like mice. But we don't think like other children, do we, Val? We don't talk like other children. And above all, we don't write like other children. For a discussion that began with death threats, Peter, we've strayed from the topic, I think.
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Other quotes in epiphany

But he saw now that he must remain alone, a "Liberal," scorned by all the noisier prophets for refusing to be a willing cat for the busy monkeys of either side. But at worst, the Liberals, the Tolerant, might in the long run preserve some of the arts of civilization, no matter which brand of tyranny should finally dominate the world.
Sinclair Lewis It Can't Happen Here
But he saw now that he must remain alone, a "Liberal," scorned by all the noisier prophets for refusing to be a willing cat for the busy monkeys of either side. But at worst, the Liberals, the Tolerant, might in the long run preserve some of the arts of civilization, no matter which brand of tyranny should finally dominate the world.
So I learned two things that night, and the next day, from him: the perfection of a moment, and the fleeting nature of it.
Margaret George The Memoirs of Cleopatra
So I learned two things that night, and the next day, from him: the perfection of a moment, and the fleeting nature of it.
In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them.... I destroy them.
Orson Scott Card Ender's Game
In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them.... I destroy them.
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