The collective model of the nucleus, as expressed in A. Bohr's strong coupling approximation, is applied to the low levels of even-even nuclei. It yields the correct level order of the first few states, and predicts the qualitative regularities of the first excited energy surface which are observed experimentally. The approximation is shown to be much better for two or more extra nucleons than for one, but the first excited energy spacing is sensitive to second-order corrections even for many extra nucleons. Predicted nuclear distortions are larger than is reasonable (a) in the rare earth group, and (b) near doubly magic ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{208}$. An empirical way to correct for this discrepancy is to diminish the particle-to-surface coupling coefficient.A simple formula is given for computing an upper limit to the nuclear distortion from the first excited energy of even nuclei. After correction by a single adjustable parameter, this formula yields a fair correlation with quadrupole moments and a better correlation with isotope shifts in the region $50<N<126$. The energy level behavior beyond Pb gives a prediction of quadrupole moment and isotope shift behavior for $N>126$. Certain regularities in the levels of odd-even nuclei are also predicted.