342 MICHELET AT NERVl. 



secret juices, which, flowing easil}^ over the lips, will put 

 an end to life without disfiguring the bod\' and without 

 the shedding of blood, or an)' suffering beyond great thirst. 



To the Orientals the sea is still "The Night ot 

 Ab-\-sses". A feeling of terror is also the dominating note 

 in the descriptions of the sea which J. Michelet wrote in 

 the nriddle of the last centur\'. Ilis book ''I^a Mer", which 

 he dedicated to the sea, was as much read in its time 

 as were the other works of the great French historian 

 and philosopher. The sight of a sea-storm arouses terror 

 in Michelet, and it seems to him as though all Nature 

 were participating in this feeling. lie sees even the trees 

 straining awa^' from the sea to avoid destruction b\' the 

 annihilating wind which blows with irresistible force across 

 the nreasureless plain of ^^'aters. Michelet does not hear 

 in the turmoil of the waves tliose soothing harmonies 

 which appeal to the soul and have power to soften sorrow. 

 He hears in it onh' the eternal menace of coming storms. 



About the middle of last centur\' Michelet spent six 

 months in Nervi. ITe considered this ba\ one ot the most 

 sheltered and most beautiful in the world. One da^' he 

 hurries down to the sea to witness a rising storm. There 

 is no level beach here, onl\- a small path on the dark 

 rocks b\' the sea. This path runs up and down, often 

 \erticall\ o^■er the water, at some height. The objects 

 round can hardh be discerned because of the spra^- from 

 the waves, and whirlwinds clraw the thick \'eil ever closer. 

 What can be seen is full of terror. Rough shattered 

 \\-alls of rock, peaks, sharp ridges and sudden rifts, 

 all compel the angr\' ^vaves to leap on high with incred- 



