THE SIGNIFICANCE OP THE GEOGRAPHY OP PALESTINE. 171 



^ On the other hand, in the case of the Israelites, their bodies 

 were trained to fight in a year, but for the work before them 

 their hearts were in their stomachs, and it took forty years to 

 allay the hankering after the flesh-pots of Egypt, and then 

 only by killing off all the old people who had formed their 

 habits in Egypt. Of the effect of early training on the mind I 

 will give a case in point. I was acquainted with a converted 

 Jew at Jerusalem, who told me that he was in great distress 

 because his conversion was only partial, in that for several 

 hours of the day his early habits influenced him and he returned 

 to his very strict order of Judaism ; during the remaining part 

 of the day he was an earnest Christian, and there seemed to be 

 no means of altering his habits. I looked upon him as being 

 really an earnest Christian, and he subsequently lost his life at 

 Safed in giving his testimony as a Christian. 



I may cite another instance of the effect of early habits. 



On board a troopship it is difficult to get soldiers to sing 

 hymns at a parade service, or in daylight, on Sundays — they are 

 too shy ; but get them together in the dark in any part of the 

 ship, and they will sing hymns together for hours with the 

 greatest fervour, returning in thought to their boyhood at home. 

 Then when a lantern is introduced, and they see each other, 

 the illusion vanishes and they are mute. 



(c) By Encountering Difficulties. 



Where there is grit in a nation there is no healthier method 

 of advancement than encountering obstacles. Eeading without 

 tears, and other approved methods of evading difficulties, are 

 not healthy methods. This is the secret of the Boy Scout 

 movement : the boys are taught to come up smiling to their 

 difficulties, tackle them and overcome them. 



We have two splendid examples of nations overcoming 

 obstacles, in Holland and Switzerland : the former in reclaiming 

 their land from the sea, and the latter in preserving themselves 

 free from the encroachments of the great nations surrounding 

 them. 



(d) Patriotism. — In a small degree. 



(4) GrEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS AFFECTING NATIONS. 



The physical features of a country may affect a nation by 

 means of its climate and food, by inducing industry or sloth, 

 and by affecting the temperament of a people by its 

 configuration. 



