M. de Lanneau thus wrote[23]： "I am nothing but a sergeant-major of languid and mangled classes . . . to the tap of a drum and under military colors."Against the encroachments of this institutional university there is no longer neither public nor private shelter， since even domestic education at home， is not respected. In 1808，[24] "among the old and wealthy families which are not in the system，" Napoleon selects ten from each department and fifty at Paris of which the sons from sixteen to eighteen must be compelled to go to Saint-Cyr and， on leaving it， into the army as second lieutenants.[25] In 1813， he adds 10，000 more of them， many of whom are the sons of Conventionalists or Vendéans， who， under the title of guards of honor， are to form a corps apart and who are at once trained in the barracks. All the more necessary is the subjection to this Napoleonic education of the sons of important and refractory families， everywhere numerous in the annexed countries.
Already in 1802， Fourcroy had explained in a report to the legislative corps the political and social utility of the future University.[26] Napoleon， at his discretion， may recruit and select scholars among his recent subjects； only， it is not in a lycée that he places them， but in a still more military school， at La Fléche， of which the pupils are all sons of officers and， so to say， children of the army. Towards the end of 1812， he orders the Roman prince Patrizzi to send his two sons to this school， one seventeen years of age and the other thirteen[27]； and， to be sure of them， he has them taken from their home and brought there by gendarmes. Along with these， 90 other Italians of high rank are counted at La Fléche， the Dorias， the Paliavicinis， the Alfieris， with 120 young men of the Illyrian provinces， others again furnished by the countries of the Rhine confederation， in all 360 inmates at 800 per annum. The parents might often accompany or follow their children and establish themselves within reach of them. This privilege was not granted to Prince Patrizzi； he was stopped on the road at Marseilles and kept there. - In this way， through the skilful combination of legislative prescriptions with arbitrary appointments， Napoleon becomes in fact， directly or indirectly， the sole head-schoolmaster of all Frenchmen old or newcomers， the unique and universal educator in his empire.
III. Napoleon's machinery.
His machinery. - The educating body. - How its member s come to realize their union. - Hierarchy of rank. - How ambition and amour-propre are gratified. - The monastic principle of celibacy. - The monastic and military principle of obedience. - Obligations contracted and discipline enforced. - The école Normale and recruits for the future university.
To effect this purpose， he requires a good instrument， some great human machine which designed， put together and set up by himself， henceforth works alone and of its own accord， without deviating or breaking down， conformably to his instructions and always under his eye， but without the necessity of his lending a hand and personally interfering in its predetermined and calculated movement. The finest engines of this sort are the religious orders， masterpieces of the Catholic， Roman and governmental mind， all managed from above according to fixed rules in view of a definite object， so many kinds of intelligent automatons， alone capable of working indefinitely without loss of energy， with persistency， uniformity and precision， at the minimum of cost and the maximum of effect， and this through the simple play of their internal mechanism which， fully regulated beforehand， adapts them completely and ready-made to this special service， to the social operations which a recognized authority and a superior intelligence have assigned to them as their function. -Nothing could be better suited to the social instinct of Napoleon， to his imagination， his taste， his political policy and his plans， and on this point he loftily proclaims his preferences.
"I know，" says he to the Council of State， "that the Jesuits， as regards instruction， have left a very great void. I do not want to restore them， nor any other body that has its sovereign at Rome."[28]