religion
and recalls our history." This opinion alone was enough to create a
revolt among her contemporaries. Almost all other interpretations of
_Faust_ were based on her conception.

At the time of its publication, her book was considered to have been
written in a political spirit, but her motive was far from that; it
was the action of a generous heart, a book as true and loyal to
the French as was ever a book written by a Frenchman. In her work
_Considerations sur la Revolution Francaise_ she expressed the most
advanced ideas on politics and government. The Revolution freed France
and made it prosper; "every absolute monarch enslaves his country, and
freedom reigns not in politics nor in the arts and sciences. Local and
provincial liberties have formed nations, but royalty has deformed the
nation by turning it to profit." Mme. de Stael found nothing to admire
in Louis XIV., and to Richelieu she attributed the destruction of
the originality of the French character, of its loyalty, candor,
and independence. In that work she advocated education, which she
considered a duty of the government to the people. "Schools must be
established for the education of the poor, universities for the study
of all languages, literatures, and sciences;" these ideas took root
after her death.

Mme. de Stael was a finished writer; because of its force, openness,
and seriousness, her style might be termed a masculine one; she wrote
to persuade and, as a rule, succeeded. Her grave defect seemed to be
in her inspirations, which were always superior to her ideas, and in
her sentiments, which she invariably turned to passions.

Few French writers have exercised such a great influence in so many
directions, and it became specially marked after her death; while
living, the gossip against her salon prevented her opinions from being
accepted or taking root. Her political influence was great at her
time and lasted some twenty years. Directly influenced by her were
Narbonne, De Montmorency, Benjamin Constant, and the Duc Victor de
Broglie, her son-in-law. By her and her father, the Globe, the orators
of the Academy and the tribune, and the politicians of the day, were
inspired. The greatest was Guizot, who interpreted and preached in the
spirit of Mme. de Stael. In history her influence was equally felt,
especially in Guizot's _Essays on the History of France_, and in his
_History of Civilization_, wherein civilization was considered as the
const