The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

INHABITANTS. 45
arenas, not to speak of the prestige conferred by a past of two thousand years ?
Still these young athletes of England do not yield to those of ancient Greece in
the courage, endurance, and earnestness with which they engage in their sports.
Their education, which unfortunately does not always tend to a proper balance
between mental and physical culture, undoubtedly braces the muscles, renders the
glance more calm, and develops energy. Thanks to this course of discipline, men
thus trained learn to depend upon themselves on every occasion. They brave
disease, fatigue, and danger ; dread neither high winds, cold, nor heat ; and though
left alone on the ocean or in the desert, are inflexible in the attainment of their
purpose, regretting neither parents, friends, nor the easy life of large towns, as
long as their work is unaccomplished. Conscious of their strength, they despise
cunning, tha,t resource of the feeble ; they boldly speak the truth, even to their
own detriment.
England, of all civilised countries, is the one where the number of truly
conscientious men, who guide their conduct by rules which they consider to be
just and honourable, is the largest. But in a country where personal dignity and
a love of truth are held in such high respect, it is only natural that hypocrites
should be numerous. The number of those who assume a virtue, though they
have it not, is undoubtedly large, but by this very act they do homage to the self-
respect which is the true characteristic of an Englishman, and this self-respect has
been more conducive to the upbuilding of British power than all the advantages
derived from a flourishing industry and extensive commerce.