The beautiful new veterans memorial near Old Main is a fitting tribute to the warrior virtues — duty, courage and supreme sacrifice.

On its face is an iconic Spartan inscription to these virtues in the face of the brutal reality of war.

But here it is important to remember Athens, Sparta’s rival. In Athens, there is the celebration of free discussion at the heart of the art of peace.

This freedom is the root of our intellectual traditions and the foundation of the university.

And Athens would say to Sparta what I say, too: You need a prior peace to tell you why you fight. War is episodic; peace is the foundation.

It is because this great hope is so that Athens today is celebrated and Sparta is just a heap of ruins.

John Harris State College