The French cherish but one sentiment， honor： that sentiment， then， requires nourishing - they must have honors."A very few are satisfied with their own achievements； ordinary men are not even content with the approbation they perceive in the eyes of others： it is too intermittent， too reserved， too mute； they need fame that is brilliant and noisy； they want to hear the constant hum of admiration and respect whenever they appear or whenever their name is mentioned. Even this does not suffice； they are unwilling that their merit should rest in men's minds in the vague state of undefined greatness， but that it should be publicly estimated， have its current value， enjoy undisputed and measured rank on the scale above all other lesser merits. - The new institution affords complete satisfaction to all these exigencies of human and French nature. On the 14th of July， 1804，[45] the anniversary of the taking of the Bastille， Napoleon administers the oath to the legionaries and， after a solemn mass， distributes the insignia under the dome of the Invalides in the presence of the empress and the court； and again one month later， August 16， 1804， on the anniversary of the Emperor's birth， in the camp at Boulogne， facing the ocean and in full view of the flotilla assembled to conquer England， before one hundred thousand spectators and the entire army， to the roll of eighteen hundred drums. No ceremony， probably， was ever more exciting. The eminent surgeon， Larrey， then decorated， a man of austere virtue， spoke of it with emotion to the end of his life and never alluded that unique day but with a trembling voice. On that day， nearly all the men of superior and tried merit and talent in France[46] are proclaimed， each with the title proportionate his degree of eminence - chevaliers， officers， commanders， grand-officers， and， later on， grand-eagles； each on the same plane with his equals of a different class， ecclesiastics alongside of laymen， civilians alongside of soldiers； each honored by the company of his peers， Berthollet， Laplace and Lagrange alongside of Kellermann， Jourdan and Lefebvre， Otto and Tronchet alongside of Masséna， Augereau， Ney， Lannes， Soult and Davout ； four cardinals side by side with eighteen marshals， and likewise even down to corporal， and to Egyptian veterans blinded by ophthalmia on the banks of the Nile， comprising common soldiers who， through some brilliant achievement， had won a sword or a gun of honor， as， for instance， Coignet，[47] who， dashing ahead with fixed bayonet， kills five Austrian artillerymen and takes their cannon himself alone. Six years before this he was a stable-boy on a farm and could neither read nor write； he is now mentioned among the first of those promoted， a colleague and almost a comrade of Monge， the inventor of descriptive geometry， of de Fontanes， grand-master of the university， of marshals， admirals， and the highest dignitaries， all sharing in common an inestimable treasure， the legitimate heirs of twelve years'
accumulated glory by the sacrifice of so many heroic lives and all the more glorified because so few，[48] and because， in these days， a man did not obtain the cross by twenty years of plodding in a bureau， on account of routine punctuality， but by wonderful strokes of energy and audacity， by wounds， by braving death a hundred times and looking it in the face daily.
Henceforth， legally as well as in public opinion， they form the staff of the new society， its declared， verified notables， enjoying precedences and even privi1eges. On passing along the street the sentinel presents arms； a company of twenty-five soldiers attends their funeral procession； in the electoral colleges of the department or arrondissement they are electors by right and without being balloted for， simply by virtue of their rank. Their sons are entitled to scholarships in La Fléche， at Saint-Cyr， and in the lycées， and their daughters at Ecouen or Saint-Denis. With the exception of a title， as formerly， they lack nothing for filling the place of the old nobility， and Napoleon re-creates this title for their benefit. The title itself of chevalier， count， duke or prince carries along with an idea of social superiority； when announced in a drawing room， when it precedes the first sentence of an address， those who are present do not remain inattentive； an immemorial prejudice inclines them to award consideration or even deference. The Revolution tried in vain to destroy this power of words and of history； Napoleon does better： he confiscates it； he arrogates to himself the monopoly of it， he steals the trade-mark from the ancient Régime； he himself creates 48，000chevaliers， 1000t barons， 388 counts， 31 dukes and 4 princes.
Furthermore， he stamps with his own mark the old nobles whom he introduces into his nobility： he coins them anew and often with an inferior title； this or that duke is lowered a notch and becomes simply a count： taken at par or at a discount the feudal coin must， in order to pass， receive the imperial stamp which gives it its recognized value in modern figures.