hich the young man is about to enter,
the state of society to which he must adapt or resign himself, the human
struggle in which he must defend himself or keep erect is left out. For
this new life he is neither armed, equipped, drilled and hardened.
That solid common sense, that determination and those steady nerves,
indispensable tools in life, are not dispensed by our schools; quite the
contrary; far from qualifying him for his approaching independence the
schools disqualify him for it. Accordingly, his entrance into the world
and his first steps on the field of practical life are generally a
series of painful failures; as a consequence he remains bruised, often
for a long time, offended sometimes permanently crippled. This is a rude
and dangerous ordeal; the moral and mental balance is altered and
risks never being restored; his illusions vanish too suddenly and too
completely. His deceptions have been too great and his disappointment
too severe. Sometimes, among close friends, embittered and worn out like
himself, he is tempted to tell us:

"Through your education you have led us to believe, or you have let us
believe, that the world is made in a certain fashion. You have deceived
us. It is much uglier, more dull, dirtier, sadder and harder, at least
in our opinion and to our imagination: you judge us as overexcited and
disordered; if so, it is your fault. For this reason, we curse and scoff
at your world and reject your pretended truths which, for us, are lies,
including those elementary and primordial verities which you declare
are evident to common sense, and on which you base your laws, your
institutions, your society, your philosophy, your sciences and your
arts."

This is what our contemporary youth, through their tastes, opinions,
vague desires in letters, arts and life, have loudly proclaimed for the
past fifteen years.[63106] (Written in 1890.)

*****

POSTSCRIPT:

It is only fair to the French to note that they have, since the law
called Debre in 1959 allowed the Catholic schools to operate freely with
teachers paid by the state provided they,

* use qualified teachers,

* have a contract with the government submitting to inspection of their
buildings etc.,

* submit to government study programs,

* regular accepted hours etc. (SR.)

*****

[Footnote 6301: Ordinance of Oct. 4, 1814.]

[Footnote 6302: Liard, "L'Enseignement superieur pendant la
Restauration." (Rev. des deux Mondes, numb