Many have heard the phrase “United we stand, divided we fall.” Perhaps it is best known from a speech given by Abraham Lincoln on June 16, 1858, at the Illinois Republican State Convention. But it is clearly an ancient Biblical precept well worth remembering.

In a recent article analyzing the crisis in the Ukraine, former German Defense Secretary Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg called for coordinated action by EU and the U.S., and he criticized their lethargy and dis-unified front. He also called for greater German leadership in the crisis: “My fellow countrymen will not be happy to hear this, but Germany will have to play a core role in this process.

The deadliest plague ever to hit mankind killed between 30-50 million people during the 6th century AD—nearly one half of the Earth’s population (Times of Malta, January 28, 2014). “Some 800 years later, the Black Death wiped out 50 million Europeans between 1347 and 1351” (ibid.).