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II. THE SWEDISH PEOPLE.
The Swedes also exercise at home this noble justice, which is one of the
firmest pillars of society and often palliates deficiencies in its organization.
Ignorance of this fact often leads to a more unfavourable conception of the
social condition of Sweden, both in ancient and modern times, than is
really warranted by the facts.
Another aspect of this humanity is the decided aversion shown by Swedes
to all hinds of litigiousness. In no country is so little sympathy shown to
insistence on more legal rights, as opposed to what is equitable and fair.
A characteristic trait of the Swedish character is a genius for
organization. To this is undoubtedly to be ascribed the stability which the
structure of Swedish society has exhibited for generations. Joined to this is
a rare capacity for obeying without sacrificing personal dignity, and an
equalty rare capacity for commanding without arrogance and overbearing.
There are many young Swedish engineers in distant lands who have
hundreds or thousands of workpeople under them, and who by dint of
quiet tact and a judicious combination of firmness and moderation, obtain
from their subordinates that willing obedience which smooths the relations
between employer and employed and produces work of the best quality.
Swedes are known for their courtesy, their willingness to oblige, and
their hospitality. On great occasions the Swede loves magnificience and
pomp, and is rather inclined to lapse into rhetoric. It must be confessed
that lie is often disposed to be theatrical, though only on the surface, and
on appropriate occasions. When the call arises, we see him quietly setting
himself to do his duty, and ready to sacrifice himself for the good of his
county: the whole course of Swedish historj^ proves this.
The most deeply-seated feature of the Swedish character, the key to
all the rest, is the passionate love of nature. It is this that has given birth
to Swedens great scientists, her inventors, and her explorers; it is this thai
has produced lyric poets, her folk-songs, her singers; it is this that has
given its peculiar flight to Swedish fancy. But this feeling for nature
has diverted attention from psychological spheres; hence the nature-loving
Swede is too often a poor judge of character. This explains whjr Sweden
can boast of eminent scienties and engineers, but not of great diplomatists
or merchants; why she possesses a rich lyric literature, but scarcely any
dramatic.
If the Swede loves nature, it is because nature in Sweden is lovable.
Swedish scenery is not majestically imposing, like that of Norway; but then it has
not the repelling and owerpowering character of the Norwegian landscape; nor
is it enervating, like that of more fertile countries, nor forbidding, like the
desert and the steppe: in its peculiar combination of bracing vigour and soft
idyllic loveliness, it is, in the strictest sense of the word, inviting. This feeling is
shared by all: less conscious no doubt, among the uneducated, but present there
all the same. This ardent attachment to nature, which in certain cases leads
to license and coarseness, is on the other hand, the vital source of the
imperishable health and vigour of the Swedish race; a health and vigour which over
and over again has stood the test of struggle and stress, and even defied the
wanton recklessness with which the Swede often plays havoc with the energies of
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