Coup de grâce Coup de grâce A coup de grâce (; French for "blow of mercy") is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent. Examples of "coup de grâce" include shooting the heart or head (typically the back of the skull) of a wounded, but still living, person during an execution or by humanely killing a suffering, mortally wounded soldier, in war, for whom medical aid is not available. In pre-firearms eras the wounded were finished with
The enemy of my enemy is my friend The enemy of my enemy is my friend The enemy of my enemy is my friend is an ancient proverb which suggests that two opposing parties can or should work together against a common enemy. The earliest known expression of this concept is found in a Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, the "Arthashastra", which dates to around the 4th century BC, while the first recorded use of the current English version came in 1884. In his "Arthashastra": , "The Source of Sovereign States", Kautilya writes: The idea that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" functioned in various guises as