PART 16
And with regard to the pusillanimity and cowardice of the inhabitants,
the principal reason the Asiatics are more unwarlike and of gentler
disposition than the Europeans is, the nature of the seasons, which
do not undergo any great changes either to heat or cold, or the like;
for there is neither excitement of the understanding nor any strong
change of the body whereby the temper might be ruffled and they be
roused to inconsiderate emotion and passion, rather than living as
they do always in the state. It is changes of all kinds which arouse
understanding of mankind, and do not allow them to get into a torpid
condition. For these reasons, it appears to me, the Asiatic race is
feeble, and further, owing to their laws; for monarchy prevails in
the greater part of Asia, and where men are not their own masters
nor independent, but are the slaves of others, it is not a matter
of consideration with them how they may acquire military discipline,
but how they may seem not to be warlike, for the dangers are not equally
shared, since they must serve as soldiers,
[p. 35] perhaps endure fatigue,
and die for their masters, far from their children, their wives, and
other friends; and whatever noble and manly actions they may perform
lead only to the aggrandizement of their masters, whilst the fruits
which they reap are dangers and death; and, in addition to all this,
the lands of such persons must be laid waste by the enemy and want
of culture. Thus, then, if any one be naturally warlike and courageous,
his disposition will be changed by the institutions. As a strong proof
of all this, such Greeks or barbarians in Asia as are not under a
despotic form of government, but are independent, and enjoy the fruits
of their own labors, are of all others the most warlike; for these
encounter dangers on their own account, bear the prizes of their own
valor, and in like manner endure the punishment of their own cowardice.
And you will find the Asiatics differing from one another, for some
are better and others more dastardly; of these differences, as I stated
before, the changes of the seasons are the cause. Thus it is with
Asia.
