Dog days
The English do not like heat, at least not heat of the humid oppressiveness experienc- ed over the last few days. The English do, on the other hand, enjoy talking about the weather (with the exception of James Bond, whose author thought this was an Englishness his hero should do without). Judging from the amount of time they spend talking about it, they take more seriously than is nowadays common Montesquieu's view that of many factors, it is the empire of the climate which has the most important effect on national character. In L'Esprit des Lois this wonder- fully subtle author seemed to over- emphasise the theory, taking it from obscure contemporaries who had not done much empirical research to verify it. But whenever the weather changes in an un- characteristic way, one wonders whether he was right after all. Does it not become almost impossible to work in this heat? Does not the brain cease to function? Would not the English be very different if they lived and wrote in a sultry country? Does not this Note prove it?
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