the spirit over the flesh, "_nos besoins sont nos forces_!"

The North German is hence more solid, gloomier, more retired, less
kindly. Here you may still find the athletic forms of Tacitus, with blue
eyes and yellow, or, more properly, red hair, which are rarer in the
south. In the north the men seem to me more handsome, in the south the
women. The South German is softer, and on the other hand his speech
harder. The North German, though without wine, writes many a noble
catch, which we in the south troll over our wine. The inhabitants of the
wine countries have fewer singers of wine than those of the beer
countries; the latter sing of it, the former are fonder of drinking it.
It is as with songs of love; one sings of his mistress, seldom of his
wife.

The North and South German bear the same relation to each other as beer
and schnaps to wine, as bilberries to grapes, as butter and cheese to
roast and dessert, as mountains and levels, as leagues and miles. In the
south or wine land prevails a lighter, sprightlier, tone of intercourse;
in the land of beer and schnaps with its moist air, all seems more
dubious and measured; and thus the moment of enjoyment passes over. The
sex is livelier in the south and more complaisant, without on that
account being more wanton. In the south there is everywhere more nature,
in nature herself as in man, and most of all with the sex. In the north
more culture and art, in the south more natural capability, as well as
more nature and life.

The southern climate is softer, hence the wine; and the loose, light,
fruitful soil compensates for the high, bare mountains. In the south we
are more advanced in gardening, agriculture, tillage, and cattle-breeding.
The south is not only richer in towns, palaces, and gardens, but also in