"You have no enemies, you say?"

A poem by Charles Mackay (English Chartist poet, 1814–1889) on those who say they "have no enemies" ...

You have no enemies, you say?
Alas, my friend, the boast is poor,
He who has mingled in the fray
Of duty, that the brave endure,
Must have made foes.
If you have none,
Small is the work that you have done.
You’ve hit no traitor on the hip,
You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip,
You’ve never set the wrong to right.
You’ve been a coward in the fight.

[Hat tip Lisa Van Damme]

.