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Vilmos Voigt
(pp. 70-71). The several regions of France are described as being very different
from one another.
She has not one, but two seas: the Ocean and the Mediterranean, offering thus
contacts also with Spain, Africa, and Egypt ... She has occupied several other prov¬
inces: Lombardy, Naples, Sicily, etc. The hospitality of her inhabitants is graceful;
they do not measure from which country someone comes, but according to the spirit
and merits of the individual ... They give citizenship not only to noblemen, but also
to anyone who asks for it. French maintain the privileges of the nobility, but accept
the role of commerce (and of the middle social class) as well ... In France people do
not use the competition to select officials. They do not break the joy of the spirit,
and are not afraid of excelling knowledge (pp. 72, 77, 81-82)
(In order to show how erudite the style of Barclay is, I quote here his statement
in Latin: quae nec Gallis certe deest, laetitia capacis animi exuberans, eique non efficta
prudentia fraenum imponens [p. 88]). As for their weaknesses, French persons gos¬
sip, especially at the theatre and banquets (p. 93). Overall the spirit of the “Galls”
(Gallorum animus) is positive. There is nothing more comfortable in human society
than to accept the traditions of the state, in a decent form (Nec aliquid in humana
societate felicius quam consuetudinis tam politae erecta, virilisque suavitas {p. 94]).
We might add here that the book includes similar summaries about the other
chapters. But instead of repeating them all here, I want to show only some of the
remarks by Barclay as regards other Europeans.
Chapter IV concerns the British Isles and speaks about the three groups of their
inhabitants: the English, Scottish, and Irish. Their basic and characteristic feature
is their “insularity”: the country is more typical of an island than is Sicily, Crete, or
Cyprus. In Wales and Scotland, there still live more of the ancient inhabitants than
of the later invading Saxons and English. Picts were also a very old population. The
land is best for pasture and not for agriculture. Barclay also describes the feudal rank
titles. The spirit of the Englishmen is grave (p. 107), and they tend to be seamen.
Their laws originally came with the Normans from Normandy and were practiced
first in the French language (Gallica lingua). English people use mathematics, ge¬
ometry, and astronomy for pragmatic purposes and their religion coincides with
reason. There are three major trends in the religion, and their followers struggle
fiercely with each other. The main controversies in the religion are concerning the
relation between the Father and the Son and about the form of the communion
(p. 115). The mob, especially when drunken, tends to attack the foreigners (p. 116).
On the other hand, immigrants can defend themselves also before the judges. In the
same chapter there is a concise description of Scotia and Hibernia: the Scots “never
give up hope” and the Irish “stick to their vices” and do not like to work, focusing
instead on the future (pp. 129-130). In Chapter IV, there is no direct or detailed
comparison of the three peoples.
Germans and the Low Countries (referred to as Belgii) are the topic of Chap¬
ter V. The core of the region is the river Rhine, fluctuating from the Alps to the