THE EPHEBIC OATH

I WILL NOT BRING DISHONOR UPON MY ARMS, AND I WILL NOT DESERT THE COMRADE BY MY SIDE. I WILL DEFEND THE SACRED PLACES AND ALL THINGS HOLY, WHETHER ALONE OR WITH THE HELP OF MANY. I WILL LEAVE MY NATIVE LAND NOT LESS, BUT GREATER AND BETTER, THAN I FOUND IT. I WILL RENDER INTELLIGENT OBEDIENCE TO MY SUPERIORS, AND WILL OBEY THE ESTABLISHED ORDINANCES AND WHATSOEVER OTHER LAWS THE PEOPLE SHALL HARMONIOUSLY ESTABLISH. I WILL NOT SUFFER THE LAWS TO BE SET ASIDE OR DISOBEYED, BUT WILL DEFEND THEM ALONE OR WITH THE HELP OF ALL. AND I WILL RESPECT THE MEMORY OF THE FATHERS. THE GODS BE MY WITNESSES

The young men of Athens took this oath to the Commonwealth at the beginning of their second year of military service

There never was a time when men needed to think so seriously about the problems of national welfare as the present. It is plainer than ever that this is an economic question, that is, a question of economizing. It is the purpose of this book to examine the economic foundations of our national welfare and to point out some of the simpler and more direct methods of strengthening these foundations, to the end that our nation and all nations that aim at democracy and justice may prosper more and more.

In order that there may be real improvement our people must themselves understand the principles upon which national prosperity rests. People who do not govern themselves, but rely upon rulers to govern them, may ignore these questions; but people who rule themselves have no one to depend upon but themselves. They must therefore know for themselves the leading principles of this great subject.

The time to begin studying this subject in a systematic manner is when we first begin to think about public questions—that is, in early youth, for our youth are thinking about public questions and we could not stop them even if we wanted to. Much time is lost and much loose thinking results from postponing this study too long. Opinions are formed too hastily and with too little information, and when once formed they are hard to get rid of. No study can possibly be more important than that which will even slightly reduce the number of hasty and ill-founded opinions and train our future citizens in the habit of careful, painstaking study of public questions and of looking on many sides of each one before reaching a conclusion concerning it.