Hibben's interest in the life of the nation was keen. In the little volume "The Higher Patriotism" (1915—translated into Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish) may be discerned the deeper reasons for his ardent advocacy of the Allies in the First World War. Against the doctrine that "there is no law above the state" his ethical sense rebelled, and he declared, "No more damnable doctrine was ever uttered" (p. 35). From 1914 to 1917 he stirred large audiences with his appeals for national preparedness, and during the war dedicated his own and the university's resources to national service. President Hibben, his wife, and daughter were in Europe when World War I began and returned to the United States aboard the "Campania" in September 1914.