.. as you get to know Europe
slowly, tasting the wines,
cheeses and characters of the
different countries you begin
to realise .. the spirit of
place. Just as one particular
vineyard will always give you
a special wine with discernible
characteristics so a Spain an
Italy, a Greece will always ..
express itself through the hu-
man being just as it does
through its wild flowers.
I don't believe the British
character, for example, or
the German has changed a jot
since Tacitus first described
it; and so long as people keep
getting born Greek or French
or Italian their culture produc-
tions will bear the unmistakable
signature of the place.
Greece, for example, cannot have
a single real Greek left after
hundreds of years of war and re-
settlement.. Yet if you want a bit
of real live Aristophanes you only
have to listen to the chaffering
of the barrowmen and peddlers in
the Athens Plaka. Even a reserved
British resident will begin using
his fingers in conversation..
Landscape and Character
The [Sunday] New York Times
June 12, 1960
Spirit of Place
Letters and Essays on Travel
Alan G. Thomas, editor
Leete's Island Books
New Haven, Connecticut
1969©
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