Enemies

At the NY Times, a feature on the possible emotional benefits for children of having enemies. The core finding is that those students who hated someone who also hated them were ranked by teachers and peers as more popular and better adjusted.

My elder daughter had a bitter enemy for a while, and I always told her that the noble Romans thought a man needed both friends and enemies to be great: friends for support, and enemies to struggle against, to measure oneself against, and to point out one's faults. I was half kidding, but maybe I was right.