The emergence of national education in France is often viewed as a struggle between spiritual and secular authorities, church and state. When one looks at the role of literature in education, however, a different picture appears. By assuming control over the teaching of French language and literature, the state claimed spiritual guardianship over the nation. The issue was therefore not so much of conflict between spiritual and secular forces, as the attempt by one institution to appropriate the spiritual authority of another. Situated at the intersection of history and literary criticism, this book casts new light on literary pedagogy, canon formation, and the relationship between culture and the modern French state.