friends and enemies

It's nice to have friends. Friends lighten the load. They hem and stitch and cushion the known universe. They make things gentler, perhaps, and more credible. It's nice to have friends.

But thinking it over, it's nice to have enemies as well. They too hem and stitch and help to define the known universe. They too are "meaningful" ... in the sense that they are "full of meaning." Notwithstanding their boisterous acidity, it's nice to have enemies.

And with that in mind, perhaps there is some usefulness in the old English proverb, "With friends like these, who needs enemies?"