History WorthyOpponent / Literature

* The ''{{Sharpe}}'' books often included this type of character among the French ranks. Often, the character would be a portrayal of a real French officer whom the author respected. In a military context, this character [[JustifiedTrope makes more sense]].
* In the ''AubreyMaturin'' books, several French officers (Captain, later Admiral, Christy-Palliere and his nephew, and Admiral de Linois, for example) are this to Jack Aubrey and his men. Also, Captain Lawrence of the U.S.S. ''Chesapeake''.

* In ''Literature/WolfHall'', Thomas Cromwell genuinely likes and respects Catharine of Aragon and her daughter Mary for their refusal to slink away quietly when Henry VIII throws them over for Anne Boleyn, even though Cromwell is the one who made it possible for Henry to do that and Catherine's recalcitrance the source of many ongoing problems with Europe.

* ConanTheBarbarian and his arch-enemy, the mighty wizard ThothAmon. In "Shadows in the Skull", forty years of bitter enmity and a chase half across the world culminate with Conan (and his son Conn) killing Thoth-Amon on the shore of what would become the Indian Ocean. Afterwards, Conan muses "He was the greatest of all the foes I have overcome. I shall miss the old scoundrel, in a way". It is worth noting that in the original RobertEHoward Conan stories, he and Thoth-Amon were no foes at all. They occasionally run across each other, each having his own separate agenda, and in some cases even did each other an unintended good turn. It was only the later continuators of the Conan saga, LinCarter and LSpragueDeCamp, who felt that the original Conan lacked an arch-enemy and that Thoth-Amon would fit the role.

* In ''Literature/WolfHall'', Thomas Cromwell genuinely likes and respects Catharine of Aragon and her daughter Mary for their refusal to slink away quietly when Henry VIII throws them over for Anne Boleyn, even though Cromwell is the one who made it possible for Henry to do that and Catherine's recalcitrance the source of many ongoing problems with Europe.

* Patrius in the ''FarsalaTrilogy''.

* Erich Von Stalhein in the Biggles books is of a similar mould. A clear-cut case of MyCountryRightOrWrong with a stubborn sense of honour and no particular loyalty to any of the regimes he serves under, except perhaps ImperialGermany, he eventually ends up [[spoiler: betrayed and imprisoned by his Soviet superiors in East Germany and imprisoned on Sakhali precisely because of this trope.]]

* In ''Literature/HaloGhostsOfOnyx'', as an [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Elite]] Fleet Master Voro Nar 'Mantakree recognizes SPARTAN-II Kurt as a fellow warrior and kindred spirit, and as such prepares to grant him an honorable death via energy sword. Kurt does ''not'' share sentiment, and promptly [[spoiler:detonates two nukes [[TakingYouWithMe killing himself]] along with [[DyingMomentOfAwesome Voro Nar 'Mantakree and his entire taskforce]]]].

* Martel is portrayed this way in ''TheElenium'', despite his betrayal of the Pandion Knights. Before the final duel, he espresses a similar sentiment about Kurik. [[spoiler:When Martel is killed, Sparhawk and Sephrenia both mourn over him, and Martel calls them "the only two people that I ever loved"]]

* Jelaudin in ''[[{{Conqueror}} Bones of the Hills]]''--having survived the fall of Samarkand, he understands the Mongols' tactics and is able to counter them. Genghis Khan privately admits a grudging respect for him. Just to drive the point home, his life after the loss of Samarkand is a compressed repeat of Genghis' own. When he dies, Genghis himself comments on his courage and honour.

* Emeth, the good Calormene from Creator/CSLewis's ''TheLastBattle'', tells Peter that he'd be glad to have him either for an enemy or for a friend, and that there's a Calormene poet who wrote, "A noble friend is the best gift and a noble enemy the next best." (Possibly, he sought to invoke a legend about the RealLife Muslim conqueror Saladin, who was famous for his "noble" treatment of Christian enemies.)

* In ''Literature/WolfHall'', Thomas Cromwell genuinely likes and respects Catharine of Aragon and her daughter Mary for their refusal to slink away quietly when Henry VIII throws them over for Anne Boleyn, even though Cromwell is the one who made it possible for Henry to do that and it's the source of many ongoing problems with Europe.

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* ConanTheBarbarian and his arch-enemy, the mighty wizard ThothAmon. In "Shadows in the Skull", forty years of bitter enmity and a chase half across the world culminate with Conan (and his son Conn) killing Thoth-Amon on the shore what would once become the Indian Ocean. Afterwards, Conan muses "He was the greatest of all the foes I have overcome. I shall miss the old scoundrel, in a way". It is worth noting that in the original RobertEHoward Conan stories, he and Thoth-Amon were no foes at all. They occasionally run across each other, each having his own separate agenda, and in some cases even did each other an unintended good turn. It was only the later continuators of the Conan saga, LinCarter and LSpragueDeCamp, who felt that the original Conan lacked an arch-enemy and that Thoth-Amon would fit the role.

* ConanTheBarbarian and his arch-enemy, the mighty wizard ThothAmon. In "Shadows in the Skull", forty years of bitter enmity and a chase half across the world culminate with Conan (and his son Conn) killing ThothAmon on the shore what would be once the Indian Ocean. Afterwards, Conan muses "He was the greatest of all the foes I have overcome. I shall miss the old scoundrel, in a way". It is worth noting that in the original RobertEHoward Conan stories, he and Thoth-Amon were no foes at all. They occasionally run across each other, each having his own separate agenda, and in some cases even did each other an unintended good turn. It was only the later continuators of the Conan saga, LinCarter and LSpragueDeCamp, who felt that the original Conan lacked an arch-enemy and that Thoth-Amon would fit the role.

* The Norwegian detective Literature/HarryHole and Rudolf Asayev, the urbane, intellectual and utterly ruthless drug lord Hole confronts in "Phantom", the ninth book of the series. When Hole finally unmasks Asayev and they come face to face, Asayev congratulates Hole for the ingenious way Hole escaped the fiendish trap which Asayev had set for him an hour earlier, and says "I really like you, Harry, what I heard of you was not exaggerated". The two then engage in a long philosophical conversation, discuss the moral merits of drug-pushing vs. police work and the complicated relations both of them have with their relative sons, and Asayev tells Hole quite a bit of his life story - and all while talking, both of them prepare their hidden weapons and get ready to kill the other one by surprise. The confrontation, when it comes, ends with Asayev severely wounded and Hole in possession of Asayev's knife - whereupon Asayev whispers: "The iron. Bless me with my iron, my boy. It's burning. For both of our sakes, bring this to an end." Harry Hole, however, cannot bring himself to kill Asayev. Only when Asayev provokes Harry beyond measure by threatening to kill Harry's son by slow torture does he do it.

* In [[Literature/TechnicHistory People of the Wind]] Ythrians and Terrans are worthy opponents of each other, and in the Flandry era of the TechnicHistory series several Meresians are as well. In this series and elsewhere Creator/PoulAnderson tends to prefer that the antigonist side has at least one admirable person on it, even if sympathy on the whole is a blatantly against them.

* In [[TechnicHistory People of the Wind]] Ythrians and Terrans are worthy opponents of each other, and in the Flandry era of the TechnicHistory series several Meresians are as well. In this series and elsewhere Creator/PoulAnderson tends to prefer that the antigonist side has at least one admirable person on it, even if sympathy on the whole is a blatantly against them.

* In BernardNewman's SecondWorldWar thriller ''Literature/MaginotLineMurder'' the idiosyncratic French detective PapaPontivy and his British partner (the writer's namesake) are confronted with a mutilated corpse found in a fortress of the MaginotLine in the tense time of July 1939, just prior to the outbreak of war. With virtually no shred of proof, Pontivy follows his hunch - that a French officer with a seemingly impeccable record is in fact a German spy, who had committed the murder in order to protect his secret. Gradually Pontivy and Newman do find pieces of evidence pointing to a highly resourceful spy, whose true name was Schmidt, who originally enlisted in the FrenchForeignLegion, took the identity of a French officer killed while on colonial duty in Morocco, came to Metropolitan France and gained an appointment to the sensitive Maginot Line - there to start a major espionage and sabotage network. The more Pontivy and Newman discover of him, the greater their respect and indeed admiration for a man who was able to carry out to perfection such an elaborate masquerade over years upon years, alone among his country's enemies. This is reflected in the dialogue when they finally come to arrest him. "What can I say? You won, Monsieur Pontivy. Take me, I have to pay for my failure. But don't hold me in contempt. All that I did, I did for my country". "I don't contempt you, I admire your courage. That is why I came to arrest you in person. (...) I am not too happy about this business. You are too good for the guillotine. You have served your country with great courage, it is not your fault that you failed. I can't regard you as a common murderer." - "Thank you". -" I have here your pistol, with a single bullet in the chamber. If you want, we can go out and leave you alone in this room". - "I am not afraid, but it is sad to die alone. I don't suppose you would want to shake the hand of a German spy?" - "I would not shake the hand of a German spy, but gladly would I shake the hand of a brave man!" Pontivy and Newman shake the doomed man's hand and leave. When the fatal shot rings out, the tough Pontivy wipes a tear, muttering "There goes a man! I wish we could have let him escape...". Adding to the story's poignant end is the fact that a few months after it was published in London, Germany launched its great armored offensive, effortlessly bypassing the supposedly impregnable Maginot Line and occupying France. Thus, the present-day reader knows that but for Pontivy's gallant gesture, the spy Schmidt would have spent a few months in a French prison and then been liberated by his country's army in June 1940.

* This is how the Nadir ruler Ulric views Druss the Legend, [[NounVerber Deathwalker]], in ''Legend'' by Creator/DavidGemmell. [[spoiler:When Druss falls, Ulric gives him an epic funeral pyre, and honourably accepts some of Druss's allies on the walls to the ceremony.]]

* The Norwegian detective Literature/HarryHole and Rudolf Asayev, the urbane, intellectual and utterly ruthless drug lord Hole confronts in "Phantom", the ninth book of the series. When Hole finally unmasks Asayev and they come face to face, Asayev congratulates Hole for the ingenious way Hole escaped the fiendish trap which Asayev had set for him an hour earlier, and says "I really like you, Harry, what I heard of you was not exaggerated". The two then engage in a long philosophical conversation, discuss the moral merits of drug-pushing vs. police work and the complicated relations both of them have with their relative sons, and Asayev tells Hole quite a bit of his life story - and all while talking, both of them prepare their hidden weapons and get ready to kill the other one by surprise. The confrontation, when it comes, ends with Asayev severely wounded and Hole in possession of Asayev's knife - whereupon Asayev whispers: "The iron. Bless me with my iron, my boy. It�s burning. For both of our sakes, bring this to an end.� Harry Hole, however, cannot bring himself to kill Asayev. Only when Asayev provokes Harry beyond measure by threatening to kill Harry's son by slow torture does he do it.

* In BernardNewman's SecondWorldWar thriller ''Literature/MaginotLineMurder'' the idiosyncratic French detective PapaPontivy and his British partner (the writer's namesake) are confronted with a mutilated corpse found in a fortress of the MaginotLine in the tense time of July 1939, just prior to the outbreak of war. With virtually no shred of proof, Pontivy follows his hunch - that a French officer with a seemingly impeccable record is in fact a German spy, who had committed the murder in order to protect his secret. Gradually Pontivy and Newman do find pieces of evidence pointing to a highly resourceful spy, whose true name was Schmidt, who originally enlisted in the FrenchForeignLegion, took the identity of a French officer killed while on colonial duty in Morocco, came to Metropolitan France and gained an appointment to the sensitive Maginot Line - there to start a major espionage and sabotage network. The more Pontivy and Newman discover of him, the greater their respect and indeed admiration for a man who was able to carry out to perfection such an elaborate masqararde over years upon years, alone among his country's enemies. This is reflected in the dialogue when they finally come to arrest him. "What can I say? You won, Monsieur Pontivy. Take me, I have to pay for my failure. But don't hold me in contempt. All that I did, I did for my country". "I don't contempt you, I admire your courage. That is why I came to arrest you in person. (...) I am not too happy about this business. You are too good for the guillotine. You have served your country with great courage, it is not your fault that you failed. I can't regard you as a common murderer." - "Thank you". -" I have here your pistol, with a single bullet in the chamber. If you want, we can go out and leave you alone in this room". - "I am not afraid, but it is sad to die alone. I don't suppose you would want to shake the hand of a German spy?" - "I would not shake the hand of a German spy, but gladly would I shake the hand of a brave man!" Pontivy and Newman shake the doomed man's hand and leave. When the fatal shot rings out, the tough Pontivy wipes a tear, muttering "There goes a man! I wish we could have let him escape...". Adding to the story's poignant end is the fact that a few months after it was published in London, Germany launched its great armored offensive, effortlessly bypassing the supposedly impregnable Maginot Line and occupying France. Thus, the present-day reader knows that but for Pontivy's gallant gesture, the spy Schmidt would have spent a few months in a French prison and then been liberated by his country's army in June 1940.

* In BernardNewman's SecondWorldWar thriller ''Literature/MaginotLineMurder'' the idiosincratic French detective PapaPontivy and his British partner (the writer's namesake) are confronted with a mutilated corpse found in a fortress of the MaginotLine in the tense time of July 1939, just prior to the outbreak of war. With virtually no shred of proof, Pontivy follows his hunch - that a French officer with a seemingly impeccable record is in fact a German spy, who committed the murder to protect his secret. Gradually Pontivy and Newman do find pieces of evidence pointing to a highly resourceful spy, whose true name was Schmidt, who originally enlisted in the French Foreign Legion, took the identity of a French officer killed while on colonial duty in Morocco and then came to Metropolitan France and gained an appointment to the sensitive Maginot Line, there to start a major espionage and sabotage network. The more Pontivy and Newman discover of him, the greater their respect and indeed admiration for a man who was able to carry out to perfection such an elaborate masqararde over years upon years, alone among his country's enemies. This is reflected in the dialogue when they finally come to arrest him. "What can I say? You won, Monsieur Pontivy. Take me, I have to pay for my failure. But don't contempt me. All that I did, I did for my country". "I don't contempt you, I admire your courage". That is why I came to arrest you in person. (...) I am not too happy about this business. You are too good for the guillotine. You have served your country with great courage, it is not your fault that you failed. I can't regard you as a common murderer.". - "Thank you". -" I have here your pistol, with a single bullet in the chamber. If you want, we can go out and leave you alone in this room". -"I am not afraid, but it is sad to die alone. I don't suppose you would want to shake the hand of a German spy?" - "I would not shake the hand of a German spy, but gladly I would shake the hand of a brave man!" Pontivy and Newman shake the doomed man's hand and leave. When the fatal shot rings out, the tough Pontivy wipes a tear, muttering "There goes a man! I wish we could have let him escape...". Adding to the story's poignant end is the fact that a few months after it was published in London, Germany launched its great armored offensive, bypassing the Maginot Line and occupying France. Thus, the present-day reader knows that but for Pontivy's gallant gesture, the spy Schmidt would have spent a few months in a French prison and then been liberated by his country's army in June 1940.

* The Canim from ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series consider one of these better to have than a friend.
** Specifically, they have a term for "trusted enemy", which is ''gadara''. To be a ''gadara'' is to be highly respected, both as an opponent and a peer; for example, a ''gadara'' can enter his own ''gadara's'' camp and expect to not be attacked by the guards, as only ''gadara'' can spill their blood. ''Gadara'' are, however, still ''technically'' enemies, just [[FriendlyEnemy friendly ones.]] Warmaster Varg considers his own ''son'' as ''gadara'' to him, and vice versa.
* Subverted in the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse''; Han Solo tells his [[EvilTwin evil cousin]], Thrackan, that the Emperor's enemies mourned him as a worthy opponent, though Han knows full well that news of Palpatine's death provoked dancing in the streets.
** General Han Solo and Admiral Teren Rogriss, respectively the New Republic and Imperial commanders responsible for ending Warlord Zsinj, have a great respect for each others' talents and ethics, seeing their counterpart as an enemy, but a far preferable one to the skilled by cruel Warlord. In ''Solo Command'', this extends to [[EnemyMine a brief sort of truce]] where Rogriss brings an [[NoWarpingZone Interdictor cruiser]] into battle alongside Solo's fleet in a trap that nearly destroys Zsinj's own flagship. (Since the admiral working with the New Republic in this way is technically treason, [[GuileHero Solo arranges for its escort]] to be composed of captured Star Destroyers so the crew is none the wiser.) The two also share information on Zsinj's tactics, worlds, and holdings -- including an extensive corporate empire that [[OffscreenVillainDarkMatter funds all of his other projects]] -- that allows their respective intelligence agencies to dismantle his support.

** Ganner Rhysode becomes this to the Yuuzhan Vong during and after his LastStand in ''[[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/NewJediOrder Traitor]]'', with the Vong military refusing to use explosives or gas against him in spite of him killing hundreds of their number because it would be dishonorable to deny such a mighty enemy personal combat. After his death, the Vong's martial caste are left in awe and respect of his strength and bravery, and he becomes part of the pantheon of the Jeedai Heresy in the form of the Ganner, an invincible giant with a sword of light who guards the underworld's gates. Said gates are inscribed in Basic, not Yuuzhan Vong, with Ganner's battle cry: NONE SHALL PASS.
* Jelaudin in ''[[{{Conqueror}} Bones of the Hills]]'' - having survived the fall of Samarkand, he understands the Mongols' tactics and is able to counter them. Genghis Khan privately admits a grudging respect for him. Just to drive the point home, his life after the loss of Samarkand is a compressed repeat of Genghis' own. When he dies, Genghis himself comments on his courage and honour.

* [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Harry Dresden]] and Gentleman Johnny Marcone seem to invoke this trope even though they seem to end up working together more often than not. Both mistrust yet respect the other's accomplishments. Marcone seems to always keep his word and, in ''Small Favor'', refused to be rescued before the twelve year old Archive. [[spoiler:Also, when Harry found out about the comatose girl, he told Marcone that he could keep the Shroud of Turin for three days as long as he mailed it back afterward.]]
** Harry also earned this status with the Erlking, Faerie Lord of goblins and master of TheWildHunt. He initially pissed off the Erlking by trying to bind him in place to save the world (long story, involving ghosts, ghouls, necromancers, and a couple of very important books) and the Erlking intended to kill Harry for the offense, but then Harry [[spoiler: raised a freaking T-Rex zombie and rode it to war]], which impressed the Erlking so much that he put off the impending wizard-killing until their next meeting. When they ''do'' meet again, the Erlking sarcastically refers to Harry as a "guest" and Harry [[SacredHospitality latches onto that like a bulldog]], further impressing the Erlking with his quick mind and PolitenessJudo.
** Subverted with Paolo Ortega. When he attempts to resolve the conflict between the White Council and Red Court with a TrialByCombat between Harry and himself, Harry is initially impressed by his seeming desire to end the war with as little bloodshed as possible. However, other characters warn Harry that vampires don't live to be [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Ortega's age]] by acting honorably, and if Ortega's playing nice, it's only because [[PragmaticVillainy it suits his purposes to do so]]. Sure enough, it's later revealed that Ortega has ulterior motives in wanting to end the war, and when Harry gets the upper hand during their duel, he immediately throws his facade out the window and cheats.

* Cao Cao and Liu Bei in ''RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms''. They began on the same side, but were forced apart as Cao Cao ceased to believe that the Han was worth saving as anything but a puppet, and Liu Bei wished to restore the throne to its former glory. Cao Cao would declare to Liu Bei that they were the only two true heroes in all of the land, a hero here being defined (in text) as [[{{Ubermensch}} "ones who cherish lofty designs in their bosoms and have plans to achieve them. They have all-embracing schemes, and the whole world is at their mercy."]]