is constant repugnance to this by the whole Council
of State, "marked disfavor, mute and inert opposition.... Each member
trembled at seeing himself classed, transported abroad," and, under
pretext of internal defense, used for foreign wars. "The Emperor,
absorbed with other projects, saw this plan vanish."]

CHAPTER II.

I. Primary Instruction.

Primary instruction.--Additional and special restrictions on
the teacher.--Ecclesiastical supervision.--Napoleon's
motives.--Limitation of primary instruction.--Ignorant
monks preferred.--The imperial catechism.

Such is secondary education, his most personal, most elaborate, most
complete work; the other two stories of the educational system, under
and over, built in a more summary fashion, are adapted to the middle
story and form, the three together, a regular monument, of which the
architect has skillfully balanced the proportions, distributed the
rooms, calculated the service and designed the facade and scenic effect.

"Napoleon," says a contemporary adversary,[6201] "familiar with power
only in its most absolute form, military despotism, tried to partition
France in two categories, one composed of the masses, destined to fill
the ranks of his vast army, and disposed, through the brutishness which
he was willing to maintain; to passive obedience and fanatical devotion;
the other, more refined by reason of its wealth, was to lead the former
according to the views of the chief who equally dominated both, for
which purpose it was to be formed in schools where, trained for a
servile and, so to say, mechanical submission, it would acquire relative
knowledge, especially in the art of war and with regard to a wholly
material administration; after this, vanity and self-interest were to
attach it to his person and identify it, in some way with his system of
government."

Lighten this gloomy picture one degree and it is true.[6202] As to
primary instruction, there was no State appropriation, no credit
inscribed on the budget, no aid in money, save 25,000 francs, allotted
in 1812, to the novices of the Freres Ignorantins and of which they
received but 4,500 francs;[6203] the sole mark of favor accorded to the
small schools is an exemption from the dues of the University.[6204] His
councillors, with their habits of fiscal logic, proposed to exact
this tax here as elsewhere; a shrewd politician, he thinks that its
collection would prove odious and