The youth of Athens were accustomed to taking the following oath in the temple of Aglaura:
"I will fight for religion, for the laws, for the altars, and for our possessions, either alone, or with others; and will do the utmost of my endeavour to leave to posterity our country, at the least, in as good estate as I found it." -- Junius Brutus, Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos
It reminds me of Nehemiah's charge,
"And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses." - Nehemiah 4:14
Men are duty bound to fight for what God has given them responsibility over. They are under a moral obligation to give their lives in order to try to save the lives of those they are obligated to love: wife, children, nation, and Lord. Whether this means fighting the private temptation of selfishness in wanting to stay behind or the public temptation of timidity in wanting to fall back from the front line, it will always require fighting of some kind.
Gratitude requires its benefactors to battle. Grit embodies appreciation and secures for future generations the blessings it freely acknowledges by binding itself to serve in its defense.
We must work hard to honor our ancestors in order to bless our descendants.
"A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants.: -- Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay
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