The Corner

Athens, Jerusalem, and The Forests

Regarding the incompleteness of the “Athens and Jerusalem” narrative, a

reader points to an authority:

“Jornandes the Goth called the north of Europe the forge of the human race.

I should rather call it the forge where those weapons were framed which

broke the chains of southern nations. In the north were formed those valiant

people who sallied forth and deserted their countries to destroy tyrants and

slaves, and to teach men that, nature having made them equal, reason could

not render them dependent, except where it was necessary to their

happiness.”

From Montesquieu, “The Spirit of Laws

John Derbyshire — Mr. Derbyshire is a former contributing editor of National Review.
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