And the fame of England’s great queen rests on the influence which radiated from her character, as well as upon the power she wielded with so much wisdom and ability.  Influence is greater than power in the lapse of ages.  Politicians may wield power for a time; but the great statesmen, like Burke and Canning, live in their ideas.  Warriors and kings, and ministers of kings, have power; but poets and philosophers have influence, for their ideas go coursing round the world until they have changed governments and institutions for better or for worse,—­like those of Paul, of Socrates, of Augustine, of Dante, of Shakspeare, of Bacon, yea, of Rousseau.  Some few favored rulers and leaders of men have had both power and influence, like Moses, Alfred, and Washington; and Elizabeth belongs to this class.  Her influence was for good, and it permeated English life and society, like that of Victoria, whose power was small.

As a queen, however, more than a woman, Elizabeth is one of the great names of history.  I have some respect for the critical verdict of Francis Bacon, the greatest man of his age,—­if we except Shakspeare,—­and one of the greatest men in the history of all nations.  What does he say?  He knew her well, perhaps as well as any modern historian.  He says:—­

“She was a princess, that, if Plutarch were now alive to write by parables, it would puzzle him to find her equal among women.  She was endowed with learning most singular and rare; and as for her government, I do affirm that England never had forty-five years of better times, and this, not through the calmness of the season, but the wisdom of her regimes.  When we consider the establishment of religion, and the constant peace of the country, the good administration of justice, the flourishing state of learning, the increase of wealth, and the general prosperity, amid differences in religion, the troubles of neighboring nations, the ambition of Spain, and the opposition of Home, I could not have chosen a more remarkable combination of learning in the prince with felicity of the people.”

I can add nothing to this comprehensive verdict:  it covers the whole ground.  So that for virtues and abilities, in spite of all defects, I challenge attention to this virgin queen.  I love to dwell on her courage, her fortitude, her prudence, her wisdom, her patriotism, her magnanimity, her executive ability, and, more, on the exalted services she rendered to her country and to civilization.  These invest her name with a halo of glory which shall blaze through all the ages, even as the great men who surrounded her throne have made her name illustrious.