is with great difficulty that prosperous communities are developed in
lands relatively barren of natural resources, or unusually severe in
climate.

A high and stable civilization has rarely arisen in the tropics,
because there the overabundance of Nature renders sustained work
unnecessary, while the hot, enervating climate tends to destroy
initiative and ambition. It is no accident that the greatest nations
of modern times are located chiefly within the stimulating temperate
zones, where Nature is richly endowed, but where, too, her treasures
are rarely bestowed upon those who do not struggle consistently for
them.

The second condition of national greatness is an intelligent and
industrious population, willing to abide by the law, and devoted to
the building of homes. The combination of an unpromising land and an
inferior population effectually prevents the rise of a high
civilization. And just as the choicest of men can do relatively little
in an unfriendly land, so the most promising of countries may be
despoiled or temporarily ruined by a slothful or lawless population.

From the standpoint of civilization, the best results are obtained
when a virile and law-abiding people exercise control over a land rich
in natural resources and possessed of a stimulating climate. France
and Great Britain in Europe, and Canada and the United States in North
America, are examples of great nations which have been built up in
such lands and by such peoples.

3. THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF NORTH AMERICA.--It will be interesting to
examine North America in the light of the two conditions of national