Ruskin believed that Spenser, like Shakespeare, described perfect heroines but no flawless heroes ( Works, 18.118). He thought that Spenser was endowed with 'profound divinity and philosophy' ( Works, 10.396). Ruskin listed Spenser's writings, with those of Homer, Plato, Aeschylus, Herodotus, Dante, and Shakespeare as necessary components of any 'ideal' library ( Works, 15.226). Ruskin used Spenser's poetry to explain allegorical figures carved on buildings in The Stones of Venice (see Ruskin and Shakespeare).