II. Napoleon's Educational Instruments.
Napoleon's aim. - University monopoly. - Revival and multitude of private schools. - Napoleon regards them unfavorably. - His motives. -Private enterprises compete with public enterprise. - Measures against them. - Previous authorization necessary and optional suppression of them. - Taxes on free education in favor of the university. - Decree of November， 1811. - Limitation of secondary teaching in private schools. - How the university takes away their pupils. - Day-schools as prescribed. - Number of boarders limited. - Measures for the restriction or assimilation of ecclesiastical schools. - Recruits forcibly obtained in prominent and ill-disposed families. - Napoleon the sole educator in his empire.
Such is the aim of Napoleon：[1]
"In the establishment of an educational corps，" he says to himself，[2] "my principal aim is to secure the means for directing political and moral opinions."Still more precisely， he counts on the new institution to set up and keep open for inspection a universal and complete police registry.
"This registry must be organized in such a way as to keep notes on each child after age of nine years."[3] Having seized adults he wants to seize children also， watch and shape future Frenchmen in advance；brought up by him， in his hands or in sight， they become ready-made a assistants， docile subjects and more docile than their parents.[4]
Amongst the latter， there are still to many unsubmissive and refractory spirits， too many royalists and too many republicans；domestic traditions from family to family contradict each other or vary， and children grow up in their homes only to clash with each other in society afterwards. Let us anticipate this conflict； let us prepare them for concord； all brought up in the same fashion， they will some day or other find themselves unanimous，[5] not only apparently， as nowadays through fear or force， but in fact and fundamentally， through inveterate habit and by previous adaptation of imagination and affection. Otherwise， "there will be no stable political state" in France；[6] "so long as one grows up without knowing whether to be a republican or monarchist， Catholic or irreligious， the State will never form a nation； it will rest on uncertain and vague foundations； it will be constantly exposed to disorder and change." - Consequently， he assigns to himself the monopoly of public instruction； he alone is to enjoy the right to manufacture and sell this just like salt and tobacco； "public instruction， throughout the Empire， is entrusted exclusively to the university. No school， no establishment for instruction whatever，"superior， secondary， primary， special， general， collateral， secular or ecclesiastic， "may be organized outside of the imperial university and without the authorization of its chief."[7]
Every factory of educational commodities within these boundaries and operating under this direction is of two sorts. Some of them， in the best places， interconnected and skillfully grouped， are national units founded by the government， or at its command， by the communes， -faculties， lycées， colleges， and small communal schools； others， isolated and scattered about， are private institutions founded by individuals， such as boarding-schools and institutions for secondary instruction， small free schools. The former， State undertakings， ruled， managed， supported and turned to account by it， according to the plan prescribed by it and for the object it has proposed， are simply a prolongation of itself； it is the State which operates in them and which， directly and entirely， acts through them： they enjoy therefore all its favor and the others all its disfavor. The latter， during the Consulate， revived or sprung up by hundreds， in all directions， spontaneously， under the pressure of necessity， and because the young need instruction as they need clothes， but haphazard， as required according to demand and supply， without any superior or common regulation - nothing being more antipathetic to the governmental genius of Napoleon：
"It is impossible，"[8] he says， "to remain longer as we are， since everybody can start an education shop the same as a cloth shop"and furnish as he pleases， or as his customers please， this or that piece of stuff， even of poor quality， and of this or that fashion， even extravagant or out of date： hence so many different dresses， and a horrible medley. One good obligatory coat， of stout cloth and suitable cut， a uniform for which the public authority supplies the pattern， is what should go on the back of every child， youth or young man； private individuals who undertake this matter are mistrusted beforehand. Even when obedient， they are only half-docile； they take their own course and have their own preferences， they follow their own taste or that of parents. Every private enterprise， simply because it exists and thrives， constitutes a more or less independent and dissenting group， Napoleon， on learning that Sainte-Barbe， restored under the direction of M. de Lanneau， had five hundred inmates， exclaims：[9] "How does it happen that an ordinary private individual has so many in his house？" The Emperor almost seems jealous； it seems as if he had just discovered a rival in one corner of his university domain； this man is an usurper on the domain of the sovereign； he has constituted himself a centre； he has collected around him clients and a platoon； now， as Louis XIV. said， the State must have no "platoons apart." Since M. de Lanneau has talent and is successful， let him enter the official ranks and become a functionary. Napoleon at once means to get hold of him， his house and his pupils， and orders M. de Fontaines， Grand-Master of the University， to negotiate the affair； M.