Such， after 1812 and 1813， is the duration of Napoleon's triumphs and the ephemeral result of his greatest military and ecclesiastical achievements - Moskow， Lutzen， Bautzen and Dresden， the Council of 1811 and the Concordat of 1813. Whatever the vastness of his genius may be， however strong his will， however successful his attacks， his success against nations and churches never is， and never can be， other than temporary. Great historical and moral forces elude his grasp.
In vain does he strike， for their downfall gives them new life， and they rise beneath the blow. With Catholic institutions，[118] as with other powers， not only do his efforts remain sterile， but what he accomplishes remains inverse to the end he has in view. He aims to subjugate the Pope， and he led the Pope on to omnipotence He aims at the maintenance and strength of the Gallican spirit among the French clergy， and yet brings them under the rule of the ultramontane spirit.[119] With extraordinary energy and tenacity， with all his power， which was enormous， through the systematic and constant application of diverse and extreme measures， he labored for fifteen years to rend the ties of the Catholic hierarchy， take it to pieces， and， in sum， the final result of all is to tie them faster and hasten its completion.
_______________________________________________________________________Notes：
[1] Se preface to "The Modern Régime，" Vol. I.
[2] On some of the ideas above indicated see "The Modern Régime，" Vol.
I. p.120.
[3] An allusion to Malthusianism， practiced by many heads of families in France. M. Taine would probably have shown this practice contrary to national welfare. -Tr.
[4] Idolizing of children. (SR.)
[5] Cf. "Les carnets de voyage."
[6] On this idea see Volume I of "The Modern Régime，" page 332， to the end of the chapter. (Ed. Laff. II. pp. 592 to 605).
[7] Today this would probably be the media especially television.
[8] Memorial， IV.，259 (June 7 and 8， 1816)； V.， 323 (Aug. 17， 1816).
[9] Thibaudeau， p. 152 (Prairial 21， year X.
[10] Idem， IV.，259， (June 7 and 8， 1816). - Pelet de la Lozere， "Opinions de Napoléon au conseil d'état，" p 223， (March 4， 1806).
[11] "Discours， rapports et travaux sur le Concordat de 1801，" by Portalis (published by Fréderick Portalis)， p.10. - In his speech on the organization of cults (Germinal 15， year X)， Portalis， although a good Catholic， adopts the same idea， because he is a legist and one of the ancient Régime. "Religions， even false， have this advantage， that they are an obstacle to the introduction of arbitrary doctrines.
Individuals have a center of faith； governments have no fear of dogmas once known and which do not change. Superstition， so to say， is regulated， circumscribed and kept within bounds which it cannot， or dare not， go outside of."[12] Thibaudeau， p. 151 (Prairial 21， year X). "The First Consul combated at length the different systems of the philosophy on cults， natural religions， deism， etc. All that according to him， was mere ideology."[13] Pelet de la Lozère， p. 208 (May 22， 1804).
[14] Thibaudeau， p. 152 (Prairial 21， year X).
[15] Pelet de la Lozère， p， 223 (March 4， 1806).
[16] Roederer， "Oevres complètes，" III.， 334 (Aug. 18， 1800).
[17] What impression could this have made on Lenin？ Could he not have felt： "Perhaps Napoleon's logic was good at that time but now with electricity， the steam engine and modern industrialism it will be possible to do without the efficiency of capitalism and hence with its inequalities and egoism？ If so then we can recreate the equality dreamt of by Babeuf， Robespierre， Saint Just and the other ancient revolutionaries！！"[18] Ref.： "Where some people are very wealthy and others have nothing， the result will either be extreme democracy or absolute oligarchy， and despotism will come from either of these excesses."Aristotle. (SR.)[19] Pelet de la Lozère， p. 205 (February 11， 1804).
[20] Ibid.， p. 201.
[21] Pelet de la Lozère， p. 206， (Feb. 11， 1804).
[22] Mémorial， V.， 323 (Aug. 17， 1816).
[23] Pelet de la Lozère， p 201.
[24] Mémorial， V.， 353 (Aug. 17， 1816). Notes on "Les Quatre Concordants，" by M. de Pradt (Correspondence of Napoleon I.， xxx.， p.557).
[25] Bourrienne， "Mémoires，" V.， 232.
[26] Notes on "Les Quatre Concordats，" by M. de Pradt (Correspondence of Napoleon I.， XXX.， 638 and 639).
[27] Thibaudeau， p. 152 (Prairial 21， year X).
[28] Notes on "Les Quatre Concordats，" by M. de Pradt (correspondence， XXX.， 638).
[29] Count Boulay de La Meurthe， "Négotiations du concordat." (Extract from the correspondant，" 1882， on the religious state of France in November， 1800， and particularly on， the condition of the constitutional church， the latter being very poor， disunited， with no credit and no future.) The writer estimates the number of active priests at 8000， of which 2000 are constitutionnels and 6000 orthodox.
[30] Thibaudeau， p.152.