788. Nations are collective individualities that pass through the phases of infancy, maturity, and decline, just as individuals do. Does this truth, as proven by history, imply that the most advanced nations of this century will ultimately experience their decline and end, just like those of antiquity?
“Nations that only live a material life and whose greatness is based on force and territorial expansion are born, grow, and die, because the strength of a nation eventually becomes exhausted like that of an individual. Nations whose selfish laws are opposed to the progress of enlightenment and charity die because light kills darkness, and charity kills selfishness. That being said, nations and individuals also have a spiritual life, and those whose laws are in harmony with God’s eternal laws will continue to live and serve as a beacon for other nations.”
