Beth Moore., age 16, of Pamplin, Va., for her question:

Why is it important to study Julius Caesar in school?

Julius Caesar played a star role in the history of mankind. In his day he was just about the most important man alive. He controlled vast armies of Roman soldiers, his word was law. Country after country fell before his legions, The conquered peoples were forced to live under Roman law ‑ the law of Caesar. History at that time was made by him.

All this was some 2,000 years ago, We can read and study it as part of recorded history, Best of alls we can read on and see what happened after, We can see which of his plans worked out well for mankind and which ended in disaster.

This is why the study of history is so important, It helps us to see the long range results of this or that event, We can read back and see the mistakes that lead to f war and tyranny. We can see how nations got along together in the past, History, it is said= tends to repeat itself. A study of history shows how certain events got started time and again, When a strong man shouts that might is right we can expect trouble. When nations get together in mutual help and friendship we can expect good results. That is how history has shown us to repeat itself in the past,

Now why is it important to learn about this in school? Why should we have to know about a certain Roman who lived over 2,000 years ago? The answer is, in our democracies, ordinary men and women vote for those ‑who make our laws and deal with other nations, Our government is elected by its people.  And, not too far in the futures our government will be chosen by you and your schoolmates now studying the good and bad of past history.

This is surely very important, indeed, The more you know of the past the better you are able to judge the present and plan for the future. This is a good reason, but not the only good reason for studying history.

We may be quite sure that we live in the best of all possible times.  And so we do Wo may even get a little up petty about it and point proudly to what we have done, But let's not forget how and why these good times are possible, The groundwork was laid by people who came before us. Since long before Caesar's day there have been wise men who planned for our welfare, Much of Caesar's law was good enough to endure to the present time, History will teach us to respect the good judgement of past generations, And we hopes those who come after us will also feel that we have done a good job in making their history.

Best of all, there is enjoyment in studying history, We all love tales of other peoples times and places. History is full of such tales and all of them really true. So let’s get back to Caesar. Let's study his greatness and his faults. And while we do its we cannot help but imagine ourselves back in the glamorous days of the Roman Empire. The truth of history is usually far more exciting than any make‑believe.