The text is a passage from a Greek historical or ethnographic discussion, likely from a 19th- or early 20th-century book/article, quoting or paraphrasing French consul Hyacinthe Hecquard (also spelled Hecquart/Hequard) on Albanian (Shqiptar/Skipetar) character and history.
Transcribed:
“…in the proportion and identity of these with the oldest [peoples] of the Greek-speaking [world?], he refers to these the origin of the Melissourgoi etc. of the Upper Albanian mountains and the Ferraris write about the origin of Europe, referring to various [things] the Albanians who are considered to be mixing the Macedonians and the ancient Dorian peoples.
The character of the Albanians in reality, as he says, is that they are warlike, but their courage, which they display towards their compatriots, and their bravery, which they display towards foreigners, is energetic and combative and does not know the hesitation of their great works either in war or in peace, as they were not distinguished in politics or in religion and were considered to see their fellow citizens, that they are zealous for the good and the common [good] of the homeland, the best among them politically and strategically appear more warlike.
Of the Albanians, Markos Botsaris [circled in red in the image] stands out in himself, who in his history of the struggles of Souli, and the other Albanians of Epirus and Greece likewise, and the Souliotes and Spartans, who showed [themselves] in the struggles for the Greek homeland, worthy of the best among the ancient and modern Greeks.
The warlike spirit is the distinguishing [feature] of the Skipetar [red box], it was not however without other virtues, and Hecquard considers them mixed with many virtues, while Christoforos Perraivos believes that there is no difference between Greeks and Albanians.”
The highlighted/red-boxed parts emphasize:
Markos Botsaris as an outstanding Albanian and Souliote hero who embodied Greek-Albanian shared valor.
The inherent warlike spirit (“πολεμικὸν πνεῦμα”) of Albanians (“Σκιπιετάρου” = Skipetars/Albanian highlanders) as their defining trait, tempered by other virtues.
Source
Hyacinthe (Louis) Hecquard’s 1858 book “Histoire et description de la haute Albanie ou Guégarie” (History and Description of High Albania or Ghegeria). Hecquard was the French consul in Shkodra (Scutari) and traveled extensively in northern Albania.
