Page:Montesquieu - The spirit of laws.djvu/429

Rh

OLITICAL servitude does not less depend on the nature of the climate, than that which is civil and domestic, and this we are going to make appear.

E have already observed that great heat enervates the strength and courage of men, and that in cold climates they have a certain vigor of body and mind which renders them capable of long, painful, great, and intrepid actions. This remark holds true not only between one nation and another; but even in the different parts of the same country. In the north of China, people are more couragious than those in the south; and those in the south of Corea , have less bravery than those in the north.

We ought not then to be astonished that the effeminacy of the people in hot climates, has almost always rendered them slaves; and that the bravery 2