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 THE
LEADERSHIP
CHALLENGE
WORKBOOK
 THE
LEADERSHIP
CHALLENGE
WORKBOOK
3RD EDITION

JAMES M. KOUZES
BARRY Z. POSNER
Copyright © 2012 by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner.

Published by Jossey-Bass
A Wiley Imprint
One Montgomery Street, Suite 1200, San Francisco, CA 94104-4594—www.josseybass.com

Author photo by John Brennan.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108
of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization
through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive,
Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the
publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River
Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing
this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents
of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No
warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies
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not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Readers should be aware that Internet Web sites
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written and when it is read.

Certain pages from this book are designed for use in a group setting and may be customized and reproduced for
educational/training purposes. The reproducible pages are designated by the appearance of the following copyright
notice at the foot of each page:

The Leadership Challenge Workbook, Third Edition. Copyright © 2012 by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner.
Published by Jossey-Bass, an Imprint of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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ISBN 978-1-118-18270-3 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-118-22732-9 (ebk.);

ISBN 978-1-118-24041-0 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-26504-8 (ebk.)

Printed in the United States of America

third edition

PB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 Contents

Introduction 1

1 How to Use This Workbook 7

2 The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership 11

3 Selecting Your Personal-Best Leadership Project 19

4 Model the Way 29

5 Inspire a Shared Vision 49

6 Challenge the Process 75

7 Enable Others to Act 91

8 Encourage the Heart 109

9 Reflecting on Your Personal-Best Leadership Project 127

10 The Challenge Continues 143

Acknowledgments 145
About the Authors 147

v
 INTRODUCTION

WHEN WE INTERVIEWED DON BENNETT for our first book, he said something
that we’ve never forgotten. Don is the first amputee to climb Mt. Rainier. That’s 14,410 feet
on one leg and two crutches.
“How did you make it to the top?” we asked Don.
“One hop at a time,” was his instant reply.
One hop at a time. One hop at a time. One hop at a time.
When you think about it, that’s how most extraordinary things are accomplished. As
much as you might desire it, you simply cannot leap to the top of a mountain. You can only
get there by taking it one step at a time—or, as in Don’s case, one hop at a time.
Yet we sometimes find ourselves simply paralyzed by the mere scale of the challenge. We
are challenged to do more with less, adapt quickly to changing circumstances, innovate on
the fly, deal with extreme uncertainty, and somehow still find time for our families and
friends. Sometimes it’s all just too overwhelming. But so is looking up to the top of that
mountain when you are at the bottom. That’s why Don would tell himself, as he looked just

1
 2

one foot ahead, “Anybody can hop from here to there.” And so he did—fourteen thousand
THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE WORKBOOK

four hundred ten times.

But Don had something else in mind when he looked up at the top of that mountain.
Despite what you might have heard about why people climb mountains, it’s not because
they’re there. When we asked Don to tell us why he wanted to be the first amputee to climb
Mt. Rainier, he told us it was because he wanted to demonstrate to other disabled people
that they were capable of doing more than they might have thought they could do. Don
had aspirations that went beyond individual glory and success. He was the one doing the
climbing, but he was not climbing just for himself. He was climbing for an entire commu-
nity. He had a vision of others doing great things.
And there’s another lesson we learned from Don that’s directly applicable to leading
others to make extraordinary things happen. We asked him, “What’s the most important
lesson you learned from this climb?” Without hesitation, he said, “You can’t do it alone.”
We produced The Leadership Challenge Workbook so that you can apply to your projects
the leadership lessons we have learned from Don Bennett—and from the thousands of
other leaders we have studied. This is a practical guide that is designed to help you use The
Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership®—the model of leadership derived from, and vali-
dated by, more than thirty years of research—as a tool for planning and preparing for your
next climb to the summit.
The Leadership Challenge Workbook is a one-hop-at-a-time guide for leaders. It’s a tool
that asks you to reflect on each essential element of leading and to act in ways that incre-
mentally create forward momentum. It asks you to think beyond your personal agenda and
imagine how your leadership efforts engage others’ desires. And because you can’t do it alone,
it also helps you involve others in the planning and the doing.

ARE YOU LEADING AT YOUR “PERSONAL BEST”?

When we began our research, we wanted to find out what practices characterize exemplary
leadership, so we created a question that framed everything else. The question we asked
everyone we studied was, “What did you do when you were at your ‘personal best’ as a
leader?” We did not want to know what the most famous and the most senior leaders did.
We wanted to know what leaders at all levels and in all contexts did.
 3

We asked people to tell us a story about one project they led that they considered their

I ntroduction
Personal-Best Leadership Experience—an experience that set their individual standard of
excellence. We collected thousands of stories of leaders performing at their peak, and we
looked for actions that were consistent across all the stories.
After many years—and several thousand quantitative and qualitative analyses—we found
that there are Five Practices that define exemplary leadership.
When operating at their best, leaders:

• Model the Way

• Inspire a Shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable Others to Act
• Encourage the Heart

You might already be familiar with The Five Practices from our book The Leadership
Challenge, which describes this research in detail. Or you might know The Five Practices
because you have used our 360-degree assessment instrument, the Leadership Practices
Inventory (LPI), to further your development as a leader. In case the practices are new to
you, we provide a brief overview in Chapter 2 of this workbook.
Whether you are familiar with our other work or not, we ask you to keep this in mind:
When you engage in The Five Practices more frequently than you do at present, you will be
more effective. We know from our research that those who Model, Inspire, Challenge,
Enable, and Encourage more frequently significantly increase their probability of making
extraordinary things happen, compared with those who do so less frequently. Exemplary
leadership, in other words, is not an accident of birth or circumstance. It’s a result of con-
scious and conscientious practice.

PROJECTS PROVIDE THE CONTEXT

Projects are how we tend to organize work these days. Projects create the context for our
goals, determine with whom we work, and set our schedules. We will be more specific in
Chapter 3 about what kind of project to select, but you might start thinking now about
 4

something you are currently leading or about to lead that could benefit from the application
THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE WORKBOOK

of exemplary practices.
One important point to keep in mind is that every new project you take on provides
you with an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to do things the same way you have always
done them, or it’s an opportunity for greatness—an opportunity to achieve another personal
standard of excellence. It all depends on how you approach the challenge.
No world-class athlete ever set foot on the playing field saying to himself or herself,
“Well, I think I’ll settle for performing at my average today.” The same is true of world-class
leaders. Every day is an opportunity to improve performance, and the most challenging
projects are the ones that create the most opportunity. Your next project is your chance to
create extraordinary results for your organization and to develop your leadership capabilities.
This workbook is designed to help you plan and prepare so that you can lead at your personal
best.

WHO SHOULD USE THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE

WORKBOOK?

This workbook is designed for anyone in a leadership role. Its purpose is to help you further
your abilities to lead others in making extraordinary things happen. Whether you are in the
private or public sector, an employee or a volunteer, a first-line supervisor or a senior execu-
tive, a student or a parent, you will find that this workbook applies to you. That’s because
leadership is not about being in a formal position. It’s about action. You can grant someone
the title of manager, but that does not make him or her a leader. Leadership is earned.
You get to be a leader in the eyes of others because of what you do. Leadership is about
having the courage and spirit to move from whatever circumstances you are in to a place of
making a difference in the world. This workbook is designed to help anyone who has the
desire to lead and the will to make a difference. It’s for anyone who is in a role that requires
mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations.

LEADERSHIP IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS

The next time you say to yourself, “Why don’t they do something about that?” look in
the mirror. Ask the person you see, “Why don’t you do something about that?” By accepting
 5

the challenge to lead, you come to realize that the only limits are those you place on

I ntroduction
yourself.
While our research has taught us many things about the practice of leadership, our
interaction with the thousands of individuals we have studied has taught us something vitally
important. It’s driven home the lesson that leadership is everyone’s business. We need more
leaders today, not fewer. We need more people to accept responsibility for bringing about
significant changes in what we do and how we do it. We need more people to answer the
call. The world is in great need of your talents.
We believe that you are capable of developing yourself as a leader far more than tradition
or mythology has ever assumed possible. Simply imagine yourself standing at the base of
Mt. Rainier, and then start climbing—one hop at a time.
We wish you great joy and success on your next leadership adventure. Onward and
upward!

Jim Kouzes, Orinda, California

Barry Posner, Santa Clara, California
May 2012
 CHAPTER 1

HOW TO USE THIS

WORKBOOK

THE BEST LEADERS are continually learning. They see all experiences as learning
opportunities. But there’s one condition. Rich insights only come from reflection and analy-
sis. Unexamined experiences yield no lessons. If you want to become a better leader, you
need to study your own performance and become more conscious about the choices that
you are making and how you are acting on your intentions.
The purpose of The Leadership Challenge Workbook is to help you become a better leader
by applying The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® to a project of your choice. As with
the learning of any new discipline, we will ask you to do some exercises that isolate specific
skills. This may seem a bit artificial at first, but it’s no different from any form of practice—
you are not actually in the game, but you know you are improving your capacity to play
the game.

7
 8

HOW THE WORKBOOK IS ORGANIZED

THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE WORKBOOK

In Chapter 2 we’ve provided a summary of The Five Practices model that resulted from our
thirty-plus years of research. If you’ve read The Leadership Challenge or have used the
Leadership Practices Inventory, you may not need to review the model, but it’s here if you
need a reminder. If you are not already familiar with The Five Practices, read this chapter
carefully—it provides the foundation for the work that you will be doing.
Chapter 3 offers some guidelines for choosing the right leadership project. To enable
you to focus your work, it’s essential that you select a real project to serve as the target of
your reflections, applications, and actions. In Chapters 4 through 8, you’ll apply The Five
Practices to that project. And in Chapter 9, which you’ll complete after your project is fin-
ished (or well underway), you will find questions that will help you reflect on the project’s
highs and lows and on what you learned—lessons you can then apply to your next Personal
Best Leadership Project.
As you progress through the activities, the workbook supports your success in three ways:

1. Reflection. We want you to think about how you approach leadership. The questions we
pose are designed to challenge your thinking and help you become more conscious
about how well you engage in each of The Five Practices. Contrary to myths about
leadership that assume you either have it or you don’t, we know from our research that
the very best leaders spend time examining what they have done as well as what they
are planning to do. Call it the “mental game of leadership.” The exercises in this work-
book ask you to be more reflective about what your experience can teach you about
leadership.
2. Application. We want you to apply the leadership practices and commitments to
your project. To do that, we provide exercises that help put The Five Practices of
Exemplary Leadership® to work. In some cases you will do this application alone. In
other cases, you will go out to talk to your team members and engage them in an
activity.
3. Implications. As a result of your reflections and applications, you will learn about your-
self, your team, your organization, and your project. At the end of each chapter, we ask
you to jot down the implications of what you have learned about leadership.
 9

GUIDELINES FOR COMPLETING THE WORKBOOK

H ow to U se T his W orkbook
It would be ideal if you could complete the entire workbook as a way of preparing everyone
for the project—somewhat like a series of warm-up exercises before playing the game. On
a practical level, that may not be possible. The way you use the workbook depends on the
nature of your project and your situation. Here are some suggestions:

• If you’re just starting, we recommend that you begin with Chapter 4 on Model the Way
and work your way through Chapter 8 on Encourage the Heart.
• If your project has been underway for some time, we recommend that you first read
through this workbook quickly, without completing all the activities. Then go back and
start with those worksheets that address immediate concerns. For example, your team
may have been working long hours and has not taken a break. You believe that they
need some recognition and celebration. In that case, start with Chapter 8, Encourage
the Heart. Or you may feel that conflicts have arisen because there is insufficient con-
sensus around shared values. In that instance, begin with Chapter 4 on Model the Way.
However, make sure you address all of The Five Practices and complete all the activities
as soon as you can. They are designed to improve the way you lead.
• You may find that you have already completed some of the activities that are in this
workbook. For instance, you and your team may have spent a lot of time identifying
and agreeing upon your shared values. If you have already done something equivalent
to what’s in this workbook, then just pause long enough to make sure you are comfort-
able with what you have done and do not need to revisit it. Then move on to the next
activity.
• You may decide that you want to start with a particular chapter—say Chapter 7 instead
of Chapter 4—because you think the activities in that chapter are more important to
your team right now. Or you may find that some questions are richer and more useful
to you than others. That’s okay with us. Start with the practice that most needs your
attention. We encourage you to proceed through this book in whatever way resonates
for you.
• No matter how you use the workbook, however, we urge you not to skip over any of
the leadership practices.
 10

At times you may find yourself saying, “I don’t know.” For example, we are going to
THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE WORKBOOK

ask, “Who’s on your project team?” Your answer today may be, “I don’t know. The team
members haven’t been selected yet.” That’s a perfectly acceptable response. If you are not
ready to answer a question or complete an activity, set the workbook aside and do what you
need to do so that you can respond or engage in action, or simply move on to the next
question or activity and come back when you are ready. What’s important is that you come
back to everything that you skip.
Becoming a better leader requires learning and doing something in each of The Five
Practices. You may be better at some than others, but you still have to develop your capacity
to execute in all of them. It’s like participating in a pentathlon. You can’t opt out of any of
the five events if you want to enter. You may feel that you are better prepared for some
of the events than for others, but you must still participate in all five.
 CHAPTER 2

THE FIVE PRACTICES OF

EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP

WE’VE BEEN CONDUCTING INTENSIVE RESEARCH on leadership since

1982. During that entire time, in selecting the people to interview and survey we
have consistently chosen not to focus on famous people in positions of power who make
headlines. Instead, we’ve always wanted to know what the vast majority of leaders do—those
ordinary people who make extraordinary things happen in organizations. We have concen-
trated our research on everyday people who lead project teams, manage departments,
administer schools, organize community groups, and volunteer for student and civic
organizations.
To conduct our research, we’ve asked thousands of people, in writing and in interviews,
to tell us about their Personal-Best Leadership Experiences. Each person was asked to select
a project, program, or significant event that represented a time he or she believed represented
his or her own “best practices” leadership experience—the one he or she personally recalled
when thinking about a peak leadership performance.

11
 12

Despite the differences in people’s individual stories, the Personal-Best Leadership

THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE WORKBOOK

Experiences that we read and listened to revealed similar patterns of action. We found that
when leaders are at their personal best, they engage in The Five Practices of Exemplary
Leadership®. They:

• Model the Way

• Inspire a Shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable Others to Act
• Encourage the Heart

Let’s take a brief look at each of these practices before you apply them to your project.

MODEL THE WAY

Titles are granted, but it’s your behavior that wins you respect. If you want to gain commit-
ment and achieve the highest standards, you must be a model of the behavior that you expect
of others.
To model effectively, you must first believe in something. As a leader, you are supposed
to stand up for your beliefs, so you had better have some beliefs to stand up for. The first
commitment you must make, then, is to clarify values by finding your voice and affirming
shared values and then expressing them in a style that is authentically your own.
Eloquent speeches about your personal values are not nearly enough. Your deeds are far
more important than your words when expressing how serious you are about what you say,
and your words and deeds must be consistent. Exemplary leaders set the example by aligning
actions with shared values. They go first. You go first by setting the example through daily
actions that demonstrate you are deeply committed to your beliefs. And you must take
the actions necessary to build consensus around shared values. You can’t impose your values
on others, no matter how hard you try or how much power you have. Unless values are
shared among all those who work together, intense commitment is impossible. What you
get is simply compliance.
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 VII.—S ICILY.
The Trinacria of the ancients, the island with the “three
promontories,” is clearly a dependency of the Italian peninsula, from
which it is separated by a narrow arm of the sea. The Strait of
Messina, where narrowest, is not quite two miles in width. It can be
easily crossed in barges, and, with the resources at our command, a
bridge might easily be thrown across it, similar enterprises having
succeeded elsewhere. It can hardly be doubted that before the close
of this century either a tunnel or a bridge will join Sicily to the
mainland, and human industry will thus restore in some way the
isthmus which formerly joined the Cape of Faro to the Italian
Aspromonte. We know nothing about the period when this rupture
took place, but to judge from the ancient name of the strait—
Heptastadion—it must have been much narrower in former times.107
{310}
 Fig. 113.—T HE S TRAIT OF M ESSINA. Μ
Scale 1 : 156,000.

From an historical point of view Sicily may still be looked upon as

a portion of the mainland, for the strait can be crossed almost as
easily as a wide river. On the other hand, it enjoys all the
advantages of a maritime position. Situate in the very centre of the
Me­di­ter­ra­nean, between the Tyrrhenian and the eastern basin, it
commands all the commercial high-roads which lead from the
Atlantic to the East. Its excellent harbours invite navigators to stay
on its coasts; its soil is {311} exceedingly fertile; the most varied
natural resources insure the existence of its inhabitants; and a genial
climate promotes the development of life. Hardly a district of Europe
appears to be in a more favourable position for supporting a dense
population in comfort. Sicily, indeed, is more densely populated and
wealthier than the neighbouring island of Sardinia or either of the
Neapolitan provinces, the Campania alone excepted, and rivals in
108
importance the provinces of Northern Italy.
Sicily, whenever it has been allowed to rejoice in the possession of
peace and freedom, has always recovered with wonderful rapidity;
and it would certainly now be one of the most prosperous countries
if wars had not so frequently devastated it, and the yoke of foreign
oppressors had not weighed so heavily upon it.
The triangular island of Sicily would possess great regularity of
structure if it were not for the bold mass of Mount Etna, which rises
above the shores of the Ionian Sea at the entrance of the Strait of
Messina. From its base to the summit of its crater, that huge
protuberance forms a region apart, differing from the rest of Sicily
not only geologically, but also with respect to its products,
cultivation, and inhabitants.

Fig. 114.—P ROFILE OF M OUNT E TNA. Μ

Ancient mariners mostly looked upon the Sicilian volcano as the

highest mountain in the world; nor did they err much as respects the
world known to them, for only at the two extremities of the Me­di­ter­‐
ra­nean, in Spain and Syria, do we meet with mountains exceeding
this one in height; and Mount Etna is not only remarkable from its
isolated position, but likewise by the beauty of its contours, the lurid
sheen of its incandescent lavas, and the column of smoke rising from
its summit. From whatever side we approach Sicily, its snowy head is
seen rising high above all the surrounding mountains. Its position in
the very centre of the Me­di­ter­ra­nean contributed in no small
measure to secure to it a pre-eminence amongst mountains. It was
looked upon as the “pillar of the heavens,” and at a later epoch the
Arabs only spoke of it as el Jebel , “the mountain,” which has been
corrupted by the people dwelling near it into “Mongibello.”
The mean slopes of Mount Etna, prolonged as they are by streams
of lava extending in every direction, are very gentle, and on looking
at a profile of this mountain it will hardly be believed that its aspect
is so majestic. It occupies, in fact, an area of no less than 460
square miles, and its base has a development of about 80 miles. The
whole of this space is bounded by the sea, and by the valleys of the
Alcantara and Simeto. A saddle, only 2,820 feet in height, connects
it in the north-west with the mountain system of the remainder of
Italy. Small cones of eruption are met with beyond the mass of the
volcano to the north {312} of the Alcantara, and streams of lava
having filled up the ancient valley of the Simeto, that river was
forced to excavate itself another bed through rocks of basalt, and
now descends to the sea in rapids and cascades.
An enormous hollow, covering an area of ten square miles, and
more than 3,000 feet in depth, occupies a portion of the western
slope of the volcano. This is the Val di Bove, a vast amphitheatre of
explosion, the bottom of which is dotted over with subsidiary craters,
and which rises in gigantic steps, over which, when the mountain is
in a state of eruption, pour fiery cascades of lava. Lyell has shown
that this Val di Bove is the ancient crater of Mount Etna, but that, at
some period not known to us, the existing terminal vent opened a
couple of miles farther west. The steep sides of the Val di Bove
enable us to gain a considerable insight into the history of the
volcano, for the various layers of lava may be studied there at
leisure. The cliffs upon which stands the town of Aci Reale afford a
similar opportunity for embracing at one glance a long period of its
history. These cliffs, over 300 feet in height, consist of seven distinct
layers of lava, successively poured forth from the bowels of Mount
Etna. Each layer consists nearly throughout of a compact mass,
affording no hold for the roots of plants, but their surfaces have
invariably been converted into tufa, or even mould, owing to
atmospheric agencies which operated for centuries after each
eruption. It has likewise been proved not only that these cliffs
increased in height in consequence of successive eruptions, but that
they were also repeatedly upheaved from below. Lines of erosion
resulting from the action of the waves can be distinctly traced at
various elevations above the present level of the Me­di­ter­ra­nean. The
lavas, too, have undergone a change of structure since they were
poured forth, as is proved by beautiful caverns enclosed by prismatic
columns of basalt, and by the islet of the Cyclops, near Aci Trezza.
During the last two thousand years Mount Etna has had more than
a hundred eruptions, some of them continuing for a number of
years. Hitherto it has not been possible to trace any regularity in
these eruptions. They appear to occur at irregular intervals, and the
quantity of lava poured forth from the principal or any subsidiary
cone varies exceedingly. The most considerable stream of lava of
which we have any record was that which overwhelmed the city of
Catania in 1669. It first converted the fields of Nicolosi into a fiery
lake, then enveloped a portion of the hill of Monpilieri, which for a
time arrested its progress, and finally divided into three separate
streams, the principal of which descended upon Catania. It swept
away a part of that town, filled up its port, and formed a promontory
in its stead. The quantity of lava poured forth on that occasion has
been estimated at 3,532 millions of cubic feet; and nearly 40 square
miles of fertile land, supporting a population of 20,000 souls, were
converted into a stony waste. The double cone of Monti Rossi, with
its beautiful crater now grown over with golden-flowered broom, was
formed by the ashes ejected during that great eruption. More than
700 subsidiary cones, similar to the Monti Rossi, are scattered over
the exterior slopes of Mount Etna, and bear witness to as many
eruptions. The most ancient amongst them have been nearly
obliterated in the {313} course of ages, or buried beneath streams of
lava, but the others still retain their conical shape, and rise to a
height of many hundred feet. Several amongst them are now
covered with forests, and the craters of others have been converted
into gardens—delightful cup-shaped hollows, where villas shine like
gems set in verdure.
 Fig. 115.—T HE L AVA S TREAM OF C ATANIA. Μ
Scale 1 : 200,000.

Most of these subsidiary cones lie at an elevation of between

3,300 and 6,500 feet above the sea, and it is there the internal
forces make themselves most strongly felt. As a rule the
subterranean activity is less violent near the summit, and during
most of the eruptions the great terminal crater merely serves as a
vent, through which the aqueous vapours and gases make their
escape. Fumaroles surrounding it convert the soil into a kind of pap,
and the substances which escape from them streak the scoriæ with
brilliant colours—scarlet, yellow, and emerald green. The internal
heat makes itself felt on many parts of the exterior slopes. It
converts loose rocks into a compact mass, far less difficult to climb
than are the loose cinders of Mount Vesuvius. Travellers ascending
the mountain need fear nothing from volcanic bombs. Showers of
stone are occasionally ejected from the principal vent, but this is
quite an exceptional occurrence. If it were not so, the small
structure above the precipices of the Val di Bove, which dates from
the {314} time of the Romans, and is known as the “Philosopher’s
Tower,” would long ago have been buried beneath débris. A
meteorological observatory might therefore be established with
safety on the summit of this mountain, and no better station could
be found for giving warning of approaching storms.

Fig. 116.—S UBSIDIARY C ONES OF M OUNT E TNA. Μ

The summit of Mount Etna, 10,866 feet in height, does not

penetrate the zone of perennial snow, and the heat emitted from the
subterranean focus soon melts the incipient glaciers which
accumulate in hollows. Nevertheless the upper half of the mountain
is covered with a shroud of white during a great part of the year. It
might be imagined that the snow and copious rains would give birth
to numerous rivulets descending from the slopes of the volcano; but
the small stones and cinders which cover the solid beds of lava
promptly absorb all moisture, and springs are met with only in a few
favoured spots. They are abundant on the lower slopes, or in the
immediate vicinity of the sea. One of these is the fountain of Acis,
which issues from the chaos of rocks which Polyphemus is said to
have hurled at the ships of sage Ulysses. Another gives birth to the
river Amenano, which rises in the town of Catania, and hastens in
silvery cascades towards its port. When we look at these clear
springs in the midst of black sands and burnt rocks we are able to
comprehend the fancy of the ancient Greeks, who regarded them as
divine beings, in whose honour they struck medals and raised
statues.
Though running streams are scarcely met with on the slopes of
Mount Etna, its cinders retain a sufficient quantity of moisture to
support a luxuriant vegetation. The mountain is clad with verdure
except where the surface of the lava is too compact to be penetrated
by the roots of plants. Only the highest regions, which are covered
with snow during the greater part of the year, are barren. It is {315} a
remarkable fact that the flora of the Alps should not be met with on
Mount Etna, although the temperature suits it exactly.
Formerly the volcano was surrounded by a belt of forests
occupying the zone between the cultivated lands and the region of
snow and cinders. Such is the case no longer. On the southern slope,
which is that usually ascended by tourists, there are no forests at all,
and only the trunk of some ancient oak is occasionally met with. On
the other slopes groves of trees are more frequent, particularly in
the north, where there remain a few lofty trees, which impart quite
an alpine character to the scenery. But the wood-cutters prosecute
their work of extermination without mercy, and it is to be feared that
the time is not very distant when even the last vestiges of the
ancient forests will have disappeared. The magnificent chestnuts on
the western slopes, amongst which could be admired until recently
the “tree of the hundred horses,” bear witness to the astonishing
fertility of the lava. If the cultivators of the soil only desired it, a few
years would suffice to restore to Mount Etna its ancient covering of
foliage.
The cultivated zone occupying the lower slopes of the mountains
presents in many places the appearance of a beautiful garden. There
are groves of olive, orange, lemon, and other fruit trees, in the midst
of which rise clumps of palms, and villas, churches, and monasteries
peep out from this mass of verdure. The fertility of the soil is so
great that it supports a population three or four times more
numerous than that in any other part of Italy. More than 300,000
inhabitants dwell on the slopes of a mountain which might be
supposed to inspire terror, and which actually bursts at intervals,
burying fertile fields beneath a fiery deluge. Town succeeds town
along its base like pearls in a necklace, and when a stream of lava
effects a breach in this chain of human habitations it is closed up
again as soon as the lava has had time to cool. From the rim of the
crater the mountain climber looks down with astonishment upon
these human ant-hills. The concentric zones of houses and verdure
contrast curiously with the snows and ashes occupying the centre of
the picture, and with the barren limestone rocks beyond the Simeto.
And this is only a small portion of the vast and marvellous prospect,
embracing a radius of 124 miles. Well may the beholder be
enchanted by the unrivalled spectacle of three seas, of a deeper blue
than the skies, washing the shores of Sicily, of Calabria, and of the
Æolian Islands.
Mount Pelorus, which forms a continuation of the chain of the
Aspromonte of Calabria, is of very inferior height to Mount Etna, but
it had existed for ages when the space now occupied by the volcano
was only a bay of the sea. It was formerly believed that a crater
existed on the highest summit of Pelorus dedicated to Neptune, and
now to the “Mother of God,” or Dinna Mare (3,600 feet), but such is
not the case. These mountains consist of primitive and transition
rocks, with beds of limestone and marble on their flanks. They first
follow the coast of the Ionian Sea, where they form numerous steep
promontories, and then, turning abruptly towards the west, run
parallel with that of the Æolian Sea. Their culminating point, near
the centre, is known as Madonia (6,336 feet), and the magnificent
forests which still clothe it impart to that part of the island {316} quite
a northern aspect, and we might almost fancy ourselves in the
Apennines or Maritime Alps. Limestone promontories of the most
varied profile advance into the blue waters of the sea, and render
this coast one of the most beautiful of the Me­di­ter­ra­nean. We are
seized with admiration when we behold the enormous quadrangular
block of Cefalù, the more undulating hill of Termini, the vertical
masses of Coltafano, and above all, near Palermo, the natural
fortress of Monte Pellegrino (1,970 feet), an almost inaccessible
rock, upon which Hamilcar Barca resisted for three years the efforts
of a Roman army to dislodge him. Monte San Giuliano (2,300 feet),
an almost isolated limestone summit, terminates this chain in the
west. It is the Eryx of the ancients, who dedicated it to Venus.
The mountains which branch off from this main chain towards the
south gradually decrease in height as they approach the sea. The
principal slopes of the island descend towards the Ionian and Sicilian
Seas, and all its perennial rivers—the Platani, Salso, and Simeto—
flow in these directions. The rivers on the northern slope are mere
fiumare , formidable after heavy rains, but lost in beds of shingle
during the dry season. The lakes and swamps of the island are
likewise confined to the southern slope of the mountains. Amongst
them are the pantani , and the Lake, or biviere , of Lentini, which is
the most extensive sheet of water in Sicily; the Lake of Pergusa, or
Enna, formerly surrounded by flowery meadows in which Proserpine
was seized by Pluto; the biviere of Terranova; and several marshy
tracts, the remains of ancient bays of the sea. This southern coast of
the island contrasts most unfavourably with the northern, for, in the
place of picturesque promontories of the most varied outline, we
meet with a monotonous sandy shore, devoid of all shade. Natural
harbours are scarce there, and during the winter storms vessels
frequenting it are exposed to much danger.
The southern slope of Sicily, to the south of the Madonia, consists
of tertiary and more recent rocks, abounding in fossil shells mostly
belonging to species still living in the neighbouring sea. In the hills
to the south of Catania these tertiary rocks alternate with strata of
volcanic origin, which are evidently derived from submarine
eruptions. This process is still going on between Girgenti and the
island of Pantellaria, where the submarine volcano of Giulia or
Ferdinandea occasionally rises above the surface of the sea. It was
seen in 1801, and thirty years later it had another eruption, resulting
in the formation of an island four miles in circumference, which was
examined by Jussieu and Constant Prévost. In 1863 it appeared for
the third time. But the waves of the sea have always washed away
the ashes and cinders ejected on these occasions, spreading them in
regular layers over the bottom of the sea, and thus producing an
alternation of strata similar to that observed at Catania. In 1840 the
summit of this submarine volcano was covered with only six feet of
water, but recently no soundings were obtained at a depth of fifty
fathoms.
 Fig. 117.—T HE M ACCALUBAS AND G IRGENTI. Μ
Scale 1 : 100,000.

This submarine volcano is not the only witness to the activity of

subterranean forces in Southern Italy. We meet there with mineral
springs discharging carbonic acid and other gases, which prove fatal
to the smaller animals venturing within their influence, and with a
naphtha lake near Palagonia, from which escape, {317} likewise,
irrespirable gases. A similar phenomenon may be witnessed in
connection with the Lake of Pergusa, which occupies an ancient
crater about four miles in circumference, and usually abounds in
tench and eels. From time to time, however, an escape of poisonous
gases appears to take place from the bottom of the lake, which kills
the fish, whose carcasses rise to the surface. Another of these
salses has made its appearance farther west, near the Palazzo
Adriano, {318} and, indeed, the whole of underground Sicily appears
to be in a state of chemical effervescence.
Next to Mount Etna the great centre of volcanic activity in Sicily
appears to be near Girgenti, at a place known as the Maccalubas .
The aspect of this spot changes with the seasons. In summer
bubbles of gas escape from small craters filled with liquid mud,
which occasionally overflows, and runs down the exterior slopes.
The rains of winter almost obliterate these miniature volcanoes, and
the plain is then converted into one mass of mud, from which the
gases escape. At the beginning of this century the soil was
occasionally shaken by earthquakes, and on these occasions jets of
mud and stones were ejected to a height of ten or twenty yards. The
Maccalubas appear now to be in a state of quiescence, for these
mud volcanoes also seem to have their regular periods of rest and
activity.
The deposits of sulphur, which constitute one of the riches of
Sicily, undoubtedly owe their existence to these subterranean lakes
of seething lava. These sulphur beds are met with in the tertiary
strata extending from Centorbi to Cattolica, in the province of
Girgenti. They date from the epoch of the Upper Miocene, and are
deposited upon layers of fossil infusoria exhaling a bituminous odour.
Geologists are not yet agreed on the origin of these sulphur beds,
but it is most likely that they are derived from sulphate of lime
carried to the surface by hot springs. In the same formation beds of
gypsum and of rock-salt are met with, and the latter may frequently
be traced from a saline effervescence known as occhi di sale (“eyes
of salt”).
Sicily, like Greece, enjoys one of the happiest climates. The heat
of summer is tempered by sea breezes which blow regularly during
the hottest part of each day. The cold of winter would not be felt at
all if it were not for the total absence of every comfort in the houses,
for ice is not known, and snow exceedingly rare. The autumn rains
are abundant, but there are many fine days even during that season.
The prevailing winds from the north and west are salubrious, but the
sirocco , which usually blows towards the south-east, is deadly,
especially when it reaches the northern coast. It generally blows for
three or four days, and during that time no one thinks of clarifying
wine, salting meat, or painting houses or furniture. This wind is the
great drawback to the climate. In some parts of Sicily the
exhalations from the swamps are dangerous, but this is entirely the
fault of man. It is owing to his neglect that Agosta and Syracuse
suffer from fevers, and that death forbids the stranger to approach
the ruins of ancient Himera.109
Temperature and moisture impart to the vegetation of the plains
and lower valleys a semi-tropical aspect. Many plants of Asia and
Africa have become acclimatized in Sicily. Groups of date-palms are
seen in the gardens, and the plains around Sciacca, almost African in
their appearance, abound in groves of dwarf palms, or giummare , to
which ancient Selinus was indebted for its epithet of Palmosa .
Cotton grows on the slopes of the hills up to a height of 600 feet
above the sea; bananas, sugar-cane, and bamboos do not require
the shelter of {319} greenhouses; the Victoria regia covers the ponds
with its huge leaves and flowers; the papyrus of the Nile, which is
not known anywhere else in Europe, chokes up the bed of the
Anapo, near Syracuse: formerly it grew also in the Oreto, near
Palermo, but it does so no longer. The cactus of Barbary (Cactus
opuntia ) has become the most characteristic plant of the coast
districts of Sicily, and is rapidly covering the most unpromising beds
of lava. These and other plants flourish most luxuriantly on the
southern slopes of Mount Etna, where the orange-tree bears fruit at
a height of 1,700 feet, and the larch ascends even to 7,400 feet.
These slopes facing the African sun are the hottest spots in Europe,
for the volcano shelters them from the winds of the north, whilst its
dark-coloured scoriæ and cinders absorb the rays of the mid-day
sun.
Those portions of Sicily which are clothed with trees or shrubs are
always green, for orange-trees, olive-trees, carob-trees, laurels,
mastic-trees, tamarisks, cypresses, and pines retain their verdure
even in winter, when nature wears a desolate aspect in our own
latitudes. There is no “season,” so to say, for with a little care all
kinds of vegetables can be had throughout the year. The gardens
around Syracuse are famous above all others, because of the striking
manner in which they contrast with the naked rocks surrounding
them. The most delightful amongst them is the Intagliatella , or
Latomia de’ Greci , which occupies an old quarry where Greek slaves
dressed the stones used in erecting the palaces of Syracuse. The
vegetation there is most luxuriant; the trunks of the trees rise above
masses of shrubs, their branches are covered with creeping plants,
flowers and ripening fruit cover the paths, and birds without number
sing in the foliage. This earthly paradise is surrounded by precipitous
walls of rock covered with ivy, or bare and white as on the day when
Athenian slaves were at work there.

Sicily lies on the high-road of all the nations who ever disputed the
command of the Me­di­ter­ra­nean, and its population consequently
consists of a mixture of the most heterogeneous elements.
Irrespectively of Sicani, Siculi, and other aboriginal nations, whose
position amongst the European family is uncertain, but who probably
spoke a language akin to that of the Latins, we know that
Phœnicians and Carthaginians successively settled on its shores, and
that the Greeks were almost as numerous there as in their native
country. Twenty-five centuries have passed since the Greeks founded
their first colony, Naxos, at the foot of Mount Etna. Soon afterwards
Syracuse, Leontini, Catania, Megara Hyblæa, Messina, and other
colonies sprang into existence, until the whole of the littoral region
was in the hands of the Greeks, the native populations being pushed
back into the interior. In Sicily the Greek met with the same climate,
and with rocks and mountains similar in aspect to those of his native
home. The “Marmorean” port and the wide bay of Syracuse, the
acropolis and Mount Hybla, do they not recall Attica or the
Peloponnesus? The fountain of Arethusa, on the island of Ortygia,
which is supplied through underground channels, reminds us of the
fountain of Erasinos and of many others in Hellas, which find their
way through fissures in the limestone rocks to the seashore. The
Syracusans said that the river Alpheus, enamoured of {320} the
nymph Arethusa, did not mingle its waters with those of the Ionian,
but found its way through subterranean channels to the coast of
Sicily, where it rose again at the side of the fountain dedicated to the
object of his adoration, bringing the flowers and fruits of beloved
Greece. This legend bears testimony to the great love which the
Greek bore his native land, whose very fountains and plants were
supposed to follow him into his new home.
If we may judge from the number of inhabitants with which the
principal towns were credited at that time, Sicily must have had a
population of several millions of Greeks. The Carthaginian merchants
and soldiers, on the other hand, though they were the masters of
portions of the island for two or three centuries, never settled upon
it, and only a few walls, coins, and inscriptions bear witness now of
their ever having been present. It has been very judiciously
remarked by M. Dennis that the most striking evidence of their reign
is presented in the desolate sites of the cities of Himera and Selinus.
At the same time we must not forget that the Carthaginians, by
intermingling with the existing population, materially affected the
ulterior destinies of the island. The Romans, who held Sicily for
nearly seven centuries, did so in a still higher degree. Vandals and
Goths likewise left traces behind them. The Saracens, themselves a
mixed race, imparted their Southern impetuosity to the Sicilians,
whilst their conquerors, the Normans, endowed them with the
daring and indomitable courage which at that period animated these
sons of the North. In 1071, when the Normans laid siege to Palermo,
no less than five languages were spoken on the island, viz. Arabic,
Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and vulgar Sicilian. But Arabic was the tongue
of the civilised inhabitants, and even during the dominion of the
Normans inscriptions upon palaces and churches were written in it.
It was at the court of King Roger that Edrisi wrote his “Geography,”
one of the great monuments of science. In 1223 the last Arabs were
made to emigrate to Naples, but by that time much Arab blood
already flowed through the veins of the inhabitants.
Later on, the character of the population was still further modified
by French, Germans, Spaniards, and Aragonese, and all this helped
to make them a people differing in appearance, manners, habits,
and feelings from their Italian neighbours. These islanders look upon
every inhabitant of the mainland as a foreigner. The absence of
roads on the island enabled the different groups of its population to
maintain their distinct idioms and character during a very long
period. The Lombards whom the Romans transplanted to Benevento
and Palermo spoke their native dialect long after it had become
extinct in Lombardy. Even now there are about 50,000 Sicilians who
speak this ancient Lombard tongue. At San Fratello, on a steep hill
on the northern coast, this idiom is spoken with the greatest purity.
Nor has the Italian wholly supplanted the vulgar Sicilian in the
interior of the island. We meet with many Greek and Arab words.
One of the most curious words is that of val , which is applied to
various districts of Sicily, and is supposed to have been derived from
vali , the Arab term for “governor.” The Sicilian idiom is less sonorous
than the Italian. Vowels standing between consonants are frequently
suppressed, and the o , and even the a and i (ee ), are {321} changed
into oo , which renders the speech hard and indistinct. The language
lends itself, however, admirably to poetry, and the Sicilian popular
songs are quite equal in natural grace and delicacy to the much-
admired rispetti of Tuscany.
Of all the emigrants who have settled on the island the Albanians
alone have not become merged in the general population. Locally
known as Greci, they still form separate communities, speaking their
own language and observing special religious rites, in several of the
towns of the interior, and more especially at Piana de’ Greci, which
occupies a commanding hill to the south of Palermo. Nor is the
fusion amongst the other races as complete as it appears to be at
the first glance. The population around Mount Etna, who are,
perhaps, more purely Greek in blood than the Greeks themselves,
are noted for their grace, gaiety, and sweetness of disposition. They
are the most intelligent portion of the population of Sicily. Those of
Trapani and San Giuliani are said to be the best-looking, and their
women delight the stranger by the regularity and beauty of their
features. The Palermitans, on the other hand, in whose veins flows
much Arab blood, are for the most part unprepossessing in their
appearance. They open their house but rarely to strangers, and
jealously shut up their women in its most retired part.
The most ferocious usages of war, piracy, and brigandage have
kept their ground longer at Palermo and its environs than anywhere
else. The laws of the omerta , or “men of heart,” make vengeance a
duty. A chi ti toglie il pane, e tu toglili la vita ! (“Take the life of him
who has taken your bread !”) is its fundamental principle; but in
practice Palermitan vengeance is far from possessing the simplicity
of the Corsican vendetta, for it is complicated by the most atrocious
cruelties. No less than four or five thousand Palermitans are said to
be affiliated to the secret league of the maffia , whose members
subsist upon every kind of roguery. Up to 1865 the brigands were
masters in the environs of that town. They virtually laid siege to the
town, separating it from its more distant suburbs. Strangers were
afraid to leave lest they should be murdered or captured by bandits;
and no farmer could harvest his corn or olives, or shear his sheep,
without paying toll to these highwaymen. More than ten years have
passed since then, but in spite of measures of exceptional severity
the maffia still exists.
The history of this association, which dates its origin back to the
time of the Norman kings, remains yet to be written. It has always
flourished most in time of political troubles, and consequent misery.
No doubt things have grown worse in the course of the last twenty
years; taxes have been increased, the conscription established, and
many abrupt changes, such as are inseparable from a new political
regimen, have been introduced. The people, accustomed to put up
with ancient abuses, have not yet learnt to bear the burdens
imposed in connection with the annexation of the island to the
kingdom of Italy. Nevertheless the Sicilians grow more Italian from
day to day. Community of language and of interests attaches the
island to the peninsula, and the time is not far distant when both
countries will gravitate in the same orbit. Italy is most highly
interested in establishing feelings of friendship with the inhabitants
of the island, and in developing its resources. The rapid increase of
the population, which is said to have {322} tripled since 1734, bears
witness to the great natural riches of the country; and what might
not be achieved if the barbarous processes now in force there were
superseded by the scientific methods of our own time?
Sicily was the favourite haunt of Ceres, and in the plain of Catania
this beneficent goddess taught man the art of cultivating the soil.
The Sicilians have not forgotten this teaching, for nearly half the
area is covered with corn-fields; but they have not improved their
system of cultivation since those fabulous times, and improvements
can hardly be effected as long as the restrictions imposed by the
feudal tenure introduced by the Normans are allowed to exist. The
agricultural implements are of a primitive kind, manure is hardly
known, and the fate of the crops depends entirely upon nature.
When travelling through the country districts of Sicily, we are struck
by not meeting with isolated houses. There are no villages, for all
the cultivators of the soil live in towns, and are content to travel
daily to their fields, which are occasionally at a distance of six miles.
Sometimes they pass the night there, in a cavern or a ditch covered
with boughs, and at harvest-time the labourers sleep in improvised
sheds. This absence of human habitations imparts an air of solemn
sadness to vast corn-fields covering valleys and slopes, and we
almost fancy we are wandering through a deserted country, and
wonder for whose benefit the crops are ripening.
Corn-fields cover a greater area than that devoted to the
cultivation of all other objects put together; nevertheless the latter
articles represent a higher pecuniary value. The orchards, vineyards,
and gardens near the towns are a far greater source of wealth than
the distant corn-fields. In former times wheat was the principal
article of export; now Sicily is no longer a granary, but promises to
become a vast emporium of fruit. Even now the crop of oranges
grown there, which consists of seven kinds, subdivided into four
hundred varieties, represents a value of £2,000,000 a year. The
marvellous gardens which surround Palermo are steadily increasing
at the expense of the ancient plantations of ash, and ascend the hills
to a height of 1,150 feet. Hundreds of millions of oranges are
exported annually to Continental Europe, England, and America, and
the inferior sorts are converted into essential oils, citric acid, or
citrate of lime. The last is used in printing stuffs, and Sicily enjoys a
monopoly in its manufacture.
Sicily likewise occupies a foremost place as a vine-growing
country, and supplies more than a fourth of the wine produced
throughout Italy. The cultivation of the vine, which is carried on to a
large extent by foreigners, is much better understood there than on
the neighbouring peninsula, and the wines exported from Marsala,
Syracuse, Alcamo, and Milazzo are justly held in high estimation.
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