rd the isthmus of Corinth it
becomes lower; but the Peloponnesus, on the other side of the isthmus,
is elevated about 2,000 feet above the sea level, like a citadel
crowned with lofty chains, abrupt and snowy, which fall
perpendicularly into the sea. The islands themselves scattered along
the coast are only submerged mountains whose summits rise above the
surface of the sea. In this diverse land there is little tillable
ground, but almost everywhere bare rock. The streams, like brooks,
leave between their half-dried channel and the sterile rock of the
mountain only a narrow strip of fertile soil. In this beautiful
country are found some forests, cypresses, laurels, palms, here and
there vines scattered on the rocky hillsides; but there are no rich
harvests and no green pasturages. Such a country produces wiry
mountaineers, active and sober.

=The Sea.=--Greece is a land of shores: smaller than Portugal, it has
as great a coast-line as Spain. The sea penetrates it to a great
number of gulfs, coves, and indentations; it is ordinarily surrounded
with projecting rocks, or with approaching islands that form a natural
port. This sea is like a lake; it has not, like the ocean, a pale and
sombre color; usually it is calm, lustrous, and, as Homer says, "of
the color of violets."

No sea lends itself better to navigation with small ships. Every
morning the north wind rises to conduct the barques of Athens to Asia;
in the evening the south wind brings them back to port. From Greece to
Asia Minor the islands are placed like stepping-stones; on a clear day
the mariner always has land in view. Such a sea beckons people to
cross it.

And so the Greeks have been sailors, traders, travellers, pirates, and
adventurers; like the Phoenicians, they have spread over all the
ancient world, carrying with them the merchandise and the inventions
of Egypt, of Chaldea, and of Asia.

=The Climate.=--The climate of Greece is mild. In Athens it freezes
hardly once in twenty years; in summer the heat is moderated by the
breeze from the sea.[46] Today the people still lie in the streets
from the month of May to September. The air is cool and transparent;
for many leagues could once be seen the crest of the statue of Pallas.
The contours of distant mountains are not, as with us, enveloped in
haze, but show a clear line against the clear sky. It is a beautiful
country which urges man to take life as a feast, for everything is
happy about him. "Walk