Deliver Us From Evil

Alexander the Great illustrates the point. It is said that when he was dying at Babylon, Alexander crawled out of his tent on all fours at midnight, intending to drown himself in the Euphrates River. He hoped his body would be lost and that men would then believe that he was, in truth, immortal. But his attempt failed. His wife brought him back to die in his bed, and posterity would laugh at that attempt by one who conquered the world but lived under such a self-deluding and farcical notion.
Alexander could not accept his human limitations, and as he toyed with playing god he was dragged back to his chambers to die as a man, out of control. The Greeks had long believed that the very con–cept of human excellence could be pursued only if man’s purpose was first known. Purpose and performance had to be tied togethe

The Greeks have given to us our philosophical categories; the Ro–mans have given to us much in our legal categories; the Hebrews have provided a base for our moral categories; and the English have given us our very language and the principles of representative government. (One may add to England’s bequest architecture, institutes of learn–ing, and a wealth of other strengths.) Many who ignore this heritage do so, not so much out of willfulness, as from a chronic disinterest in history. A knowledge and appreciation of history is difficult for a cul–ture so enthralled by the moment, a culture that shuns the discipline of a larger context in any study.

The Jews were chosen to preserve traditions, and so that Messiah might arise; the Greeks were chosen for the realizing of art, science, and philosophy; the Romans were chosen for the developing of the state, law, and jurisprudence. And the Americans, too, have been appointed to a providential mission, continuing the work of Greece and Rome, but accomplishing yet more. The AmericanRepublic is to reconcile liberty with law.2