160 SOCIAL EVOLUTION 



there was adequate protection from enemies, and yet com- 

 munication was still possible with other peoples and 

 civilizations. There was comparative safety without the 

 degree of isolation that precludes transmission of intel- 

 ligence and development of commerce. Communication 

 and commerce were undoubtedly more important factors 

 in the development of Greece than the general aspects 

 of nature which inspired confidence. Yet Buckle has 

 recognized a factor of environment which deserves con- 

 sideration. 



Heinrich von Treitschke, in his "Politik," ascribes 

 the absence of artistic and poetic development in Switzer- 

 land and the Alpine region to the overwhelming aspect 

 of nature whose majestic sublimity there paralyzes the 

 mind. 48 He cites the fact that, by contrast, the lower 

 mountains and hills of Swabia, Franconia and Thu- 

 ringia, where the scenery is milder, stimulating, but not 

 overpowering, have produced many poets and artists. 

 Moreover, the geographical distribution of awards made 

 by the Paris Salon of 1896, shows that art flourishes in 

 the river lowlands of France where nature is more ap- 

 pealing, rather than in the rough highlands of Savoy, 

 and the massive eastern Pyrenees. But this difference 

 might be explained on racial grounds because the popu- 

 lation of the lowlands is Teutonic and the peoples of the 

 highlands are Alpine and Celtic. 



Buckle believes that the sublime and terrible aspects 

 of nature in India exerting their depressing influence 

 upon the minds of the inhabitants for many centuries 

 have been a considerable factor in the development of 

 all that is inconsistent and superstitious in the Hindoo 

 culture. The threatening aspects of the external world 



48 See figure 58. 



