France and the French [antikvár]

PREFACE TO TRAVELLERS' LIBRARY EDITION this comparatively short though comprehensive study of France and the French has, to my great gratification, met with general approbation, not only in Great Britain and in America, for which countries it was written, but in France itself, where many of the leading public men and foremost writers have expressed to me personally, and in the columns of the reviews and newspapers, their appreciation of my attempt at an interpretation of their country. Their endorsement is a sufficient guarantee of the general truth of my book, which is, I understand, to be presented in a French text to the French people. Indeed I know nothing in French or in English which presents in such compact form the essential facts about France, and since I believe that the peace of the world may hereafter largely depend on our understanding of the French, I am glad that my| publisher has decided to introduce this volume in a cheaper edition to a larger public. The French are a people not easily understood by Anglo-Saxons. They are at once logical and romantic; they are intellectually curious and conservative; they are idealistic and sceptical; they are patient and explosive; they are egalitarian and respectful of hierarchy; they are vivacious and industrious; they are vain and practical; they are brilliant and sober; and with all their love of play-acting and verbalism and the panache, they are, as we have seen since 1914, tenacious, serious, capable of imposing upon themselves an iron discipline. These are contradictory attributes, and it is no wonder that those who have not lived with them for many years are puzzled. They are puzzled when the French are dazzled by illusion, and they are again puzzled when the French are uncompromisingly logical. It is, of course, impossible to generalize about any nation, and I have here tried to show one after the other the various facets of the French. I am encouraged to believe that I have in part succeeded. An authoritative writer in the New 5