ABSTRACT
As a German I venture to say a word upon the history of France. Great peoples and states have a double character – one national and the other in the context of world history. Their history, in a similar manner, presents a twofold aspect. So far as it forms an essential feature in the development of humanity generally or records a prevailing infl uence exercised upon that development, it awakens a curiosity which extends far beyond the limits of nationality; it attracts the attention and becomes an object of study even to those who are not natives of the lands whose story is narrated.
