Summary

In Chapter 12, Jacob travels from France to Greece, where he revels in thoughts about the Greek civilization. He thinks of the ancient Greeks in idyllic terms, imagining their civilization and their art to be far superior to those of modern day. In the dining room of his hotel in Patras, Greece, he finds a copy of The Daily Mail, which is a London newspaper. He thinks somewhat bitterly upon his acquaintances back in London, who seemed to have nothing meaningful to say when he told them about his intended trip to Greece. He thinks about social life in London, where he now concludes that people mindlessly follow the fashions of the day and share no truly meaningful communications with one another. However, he does think fondly on Bonamy, “who couldn't love a woman and never read a foolish book” (140).

After Patras, Jacob travels...