What does it mean to have your friends close, but your enemies closer???

Answer 1

It means that the only way to know what people are truly up too is to keep your eye on them. By keeping your "enemies closer than a friend" you know their every move, who they are, why they do things and what motivates them. Thus you can block many of their moves before they make them.

Answer 2

If your enemy is closer and you are forever aware of their presence, you will always watch how you react to them and how you answer them and basically you will be always on your toes around them. Once a snake, always a snake. You heard the story about the turtle who wanted to cross the river and needed the snake to help by riding on his back? Once they got across the river, the snake let the turtle know that he was still planning on eating him. The turtle wondered why the change in his decision, because before the move across the river the snake promised not to eat him. The snake replied.......You knew what I was when we met and that has not changed. Point. Still the enemy and enemy very rarely tell the truth or change their colors. True friends you can trust. Your enemies you keep closer by always remembering the type of personalities that they are. They never change their approach and their attitudes are always about what they can get over on someone else. Beware. Be smart. Stay cautious. Once you let your guard down around them, they stab you in the back. Smiling faces tell lies.

Answer 3

Naturally one keeps their friends close, so to "keep your enemies closer" is a play on words, meaning that in all practicality you have full and attentive knowledge of everything about your enemies, anything from always knowing where they are, to what they are planning. What it means is you work twice as hard in knowing your enemy as you do in maintaining your friends. I think it is a saying coined by a famous rapper who was always looking over his shoulder. Really, it's a saying the befits anyone who has a lot of enemies, who are always after them. LOL I feel like that a lot myself.

Answer 4

If you keep you enemies closer it means you know what they are doing almost all the time and they don't have a chance to stab you in the back.

Answer 5

It means that you need to know more about your enemies then your friends and to know where they are and what they are doing. Keep them close so you can keep an eye on them.

Answer 6

It is a saying from “Sun Tsu – Art of war” book There is whole philosophy behind that, but in simple, it’s means that you must keep your enemies on the aye all the time, and best way to do this is to be close to them. You don’t need to look at your friends all the time, because the wont hurt you on peepers, but you shod be ready for it by enemy. Modern way of saying that is “ don’t turn your back on enemy”. Luckily, today common people don’t have enemy of that kind. (they don’t, are they?)

Answer 7

Know everythign about them. Always keep your eyes on them.

That, and your friends are the most devistating to be hurt by. A backstabbing friend does more damage than an enemy. So keep your friends at arm's length.

Answer 8

It means your friends you can trust when your not watching them but you can never take your eye off your enemies

Answer 9

It's a saying that means its good to know your friends but you better know your enemies even better than your friends because your friends can't hurt you, and you can let down your guard with your friends,

but your enemies can hurt you and therefore,
know them better, to be one step ahead of them.

An example: Know the devil and his tactics and then he can't trip you up as well as he'd like.
Stay away from his play-grounds and you'll stay away from trouble.

Answer 10

It means you should keep a very close watch on those who would do you harm. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say. If you know what your enemies are up to, you can be prepared when they act.