Flitch of bacon custom the same, and that this led to the custom of married couples who actually succeeded in living in harmony for a given period being rewarded with a piece of boar meat. Guerber states that it is this tradition that became the "flitch of bacon" custom after converting boar meat into bacon. "The flitch of bacon", subtitled "The custom of Dunmow: a tale of English home" is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth first published in 1854. The central plot of the story is the flitch at Dunmow and the scheming by the leading character to be awarded it by marrying
What Is a Nation? Language, by contrast, "invites us but does not force us, to unite". Countries which share the Spanish or English language don't merge with one another, while the people of Switzerland speak several languages. Modern nationhood also cannot be based on religion, which Renan observes, is currently practiced according to individual belief. "You can be French, English, German, yet Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or practicing no religion". Mutuality of interests is fine for corporations and their affiliates, but nationality is based on sentiment. Geography merely leads us astray, and often to violence: "Mountains don't know how to carve out countries". Renan concludes