Politics · 25 · The Soldier
States need citizens willing to die
Pericles' funeral oration honored Athenians who gave their lives for the city. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address followed the pattern. 1 Maccabees praises Judas for choosing honorable death.
Statehood requires triumph; triumph requires sacrifice.
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Under Paris's Arc de Triomphe lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Horace wrote that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. Christianity, too, holds up sacrificial death as a path to eternal life.
Bible reference: 1 Maccabees 9:10
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 396–399
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