Note 299 — Chapter V · CAPITAL CITIES OF GREECE.—SPARTA.
Reading edition
Cf. Chateaub. Itin. i. 112. Similar, also, is the testimony of Mr. Douglas. “The mixture of the romantic with the rich, which still diversifies its aspect, and the singularly picturesque form of all its mountains, do not allow us to wonder that even Virgil should generally desert his native Italy for the landscape of Greece; whoever has viewed it in the tints of a Mediterranean spring, will agree with me in attributing much of the Grecian genius to the influence of scenery and climate.” Essay, &c. p. 52.