The Politics of Friendship. Jacques Derrida

And share and separate even the concept of this haunting at work in the language of our time.

      Hence, every time, a concept bears the phantom of the other. The enemy the friend, the friend the enemy.

      In order to hear and understand this Blakeian vocative (Do be my Enemy for Friendships sake), one would have to do justice one day to the incessant return of his ghosts – of which there are so many in Blake – as well as to the infinite partition of all his divided spectres. Respect for the spectre, as Mary Shelley would say.

      Singularly, to all the spectres of Jerusalem: ‘Half Friendship is the bitterest Enmity…’ ‘his Spectre also divided.… But still the Spectre divided, and still his pain increas’d!/In pain the Spectre divided.… And thus the spectre spoke: Wilt thou still go on to destruction? Till thy life is all taken away by this deceitful Friendship?’²⁰