Throughout history moral deterioration in society has not only concerned thoughtful and spiritually-minded individuals but also brought great suffering to nations and peoples alike. The fall of imperial Rome is often ascribed to the replacement of the city's earlier morality, probity, and frugality by the sensuality, greed, cruelty, and irreligiousness of later centuries.
In a like manner, the children of Israel apparently early turned from the strict moral code of conduct given them by Moses, for the Bible puts these words into the mouth of that great leader (Deut. 32: 15): "Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation." Moses foresaw that as a result of this weakening of moral fiber corrective justice would cause the Israelites, until purified, to suffer trials.
Today, as surely as in the early days of Biblical history or in the latter days of great Rome, the inevitable and inescapable weaknesses which come with moral deterioration threaten the safety, happiness, and welfare of men and nations. As the wise man asked in likening immorality to a destructive fire, "Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?" (Prov. 6:28.) While in "King Lear" Shakespeare had Edgar warn,
