ions, and next, at the end of
the year, before the great public of grown-up men. Hence, the weekly
compositions, the register of ranks and names, every place being
numbered and proclaimed; hence, those annual and solemn awards of prizes
in each lycee and at the grand competition of all lycees, along with
the pomp, music, decoration, speeches and attendance of distinguished
personages. The German observer testifies to the powerful effect of a
ceremony of this kind[6160]:

"One might think one's self at the play, so theatrical was it;"

and he notices the oratorical tone of the speakers, "the fire of their
declamation," the communication of emotion, the applause of the public,
the prolonged shouts, the ardent expression of the pupils obtaining the
prizes, their sparkling eyes, their blushes, the joy and the tears of
the parents. Undoubtedly, the system has its defects; very few of the
pupils can expect to obtain the first place; others lack the spur and
are moreover neglected by the master. But the elite make extraordinary
efforts and, with this, there is success. "During the war times," says
again another German, "I lodged a good many French officers who knew one
half of Virgil and Horace by heart." Similarly, in mathematics, young
people of eighteen, pupils of the Polytechnic School, understand very
well the differential and integral calculus, and, according to the
testimony of an Englishman,[6161] "they know it better than many of the
English professors."

V. Military preparation and the cult of the Emperor.

This general preparation is specified and directed by Napoleon as a
policy, and, as he specially needs soldiers, the school, in his hands,
becomes the vestibule of the barracks. Right away the institution
received a military turn and spirit, and this form, which is essential
to him, becomes more and more restricted. In 1805, during four
months,[6162] Fourcroy, ordered by the Emperor, visits the new lycees
"with an inspector of reviews and a captain or adjutant-major, who
everywhere gives instruction in drill and discipline." The young have
been already broke in; "almost everywhere," he says on his return, "I
saw young people without a murmur or reflection obey even younger and
weaker corporals and sergeants who had been raised to a merited rank
through their good behavior and progress. He himself, although a
liberal, finds reasons which justify to the legislative body this
unpopular practice;[6163] he re