In "L'Itinéraire de Paris à Jérusalem" he is compelled to cut out "a good deal of declamation on courts， courtiers and certain features calculated to excite misplaced allusions." The censorship interdicts the " Dernier des Abencerrages，" where" it finds too warm an interest in the Spanish cause." One must read the entire register to see it at work and in detail， to feel the sinister and grotesque minutia with which it pursues and destroys， not alone among great or petty writers but， again， among compilers and insignificant abbreviators， in a translation， in a dictionary， in a manual， in an almanac， not only ideas but suggestions， echoes， semblances and oversights in thinking， the possibilities of awakening reflection and comparison ：
* every souvenir of the ancient régime， this or that mention of Kléber or Moreau， or a particular conversation of Sully and Henry IV.；* "a game of loto，[59] which familiarizes youth with the history of their country，" but which says too much about "the family of the grand-dauphin of Louis XVI. and his aunts"；* the general work of the reveries of Cagliostro and of M. Henri de Saint-Mesmin， very laudatory of the Emperor， excellent "for filling the soul of Frenchmen with his presence， but which must leave out three awkward comparisons that might be detected by the malevolent or the foolish；"* the "translation into French verse of several of David's psalms，"which are not dangerous in Latin but which， in French， have the defect of a possible application， through coincidence and prophecy， to the Church as suffering， and to religion as persecuted；and quantities of other literary insects hatched in the depths of publication， nearly all ephemeral， crawling and imperceptible， but which the censor， through zeal and his trade， considers as fearsome dragons whose heads must be smashed or their teeth extracted.
After the next brood they prove inoffensive， and， better still， are useful， especially the almanacs，[60] "in rectifying on various points the people's attitudes. It will probably be possible after 1812 to control their composition， and they are filled with anecdotes， songs and stories adapted to the maintenance of patriotism and of devotion to the sacred person of His Majesty and to the Napoleonic dynasty." -To this end， the police likewise improves， orders and pays for dramatic or lyric productions of all kinds， cantatas， ballets， impromptus， vaudevilles， comedies， grand-operas， comic operas， a hundred and seventy-six works in one day， composed for the birth of the King of Rome and paid for in rewards to the sum of 88，400 francs.
Let the administration look to this beforehand so as to raise up talent and have it bear good fruit. "Complaints are made because we have no literature；[61] it is the fault of the minister of the interior. Napoleon personally and in the height of a campaign interposes in theatrical matters. Whether far away in Prussia or at home in France， he leads tragic authors by the hand， Raynouard， Legouvé， Luce de Lancival； he listens to the first reading of the "Mort d'Henri IV." and the "états de Blois." He gives to Gardel， a ballet-composer， "a fine theme in the Return of Ulysses." He explains to authors how dramatic effect should， in their hands， become a political lesson； for lack of anything better， and waiting for these to comprehend it， he uses the theatre the same as a tribune for the reading to the spectators of his bulletins of the grand army.
On the other hand， in the daily newspapers， he is his own advocate， the most vehement， the haughtiest， the most powerful of polemics. For a long time， in the "Moniteur，" he himself dictates articles which are known by his style. After Austerlitz， he has no time to do this， but he inspires them all and they are prepared under his orders. In the "Moniteur" and other gazettes， it is his voice which， directly or by his spokesmen， reaches the public； it alone prevails and one may divine what it utters！ The official acclaim of every group or authority in the State again swell the one great， constant， triumphant adulatory hymn which， with its insistence， unanimity and violent sonorities， tends to bewilder all minds， deaden consciences and pervert the judgment.
"Were it open to doubt，" says a member of the tribunate，[62] "whether heaven or chance gives sovereigns on earth， would it not be evident for us that we owe our Emperor to some divinity？"Another of the choir then takes up the theme in a minor key and thus sings the victory of Austerlitz：
"Europe， threatened by a new invasion of the barbarians， owes its safety to the genius of another Charles Martel."Similar cantatas follow， intoned in the senate and lower house by Lacépède， Pérignon and Garat， and then， in each diocese， by the bishops， some of whom， in their pastoral letters， raise themselves up to the technical considerations of military art， and， the better to praise the Emperor， explain to their parishioners the admirable combinations of his strategic genius.
And truly， his strategy is admirable， lately against Catholic ideas and now against the secular mind. First of all， he has extended， selected and defined his field of operations， and here is his objective point， fixed by himself：
"On public affairs， which are my affairs in political， social and moral matters， on history， and especially on actual history， recent and modern， nobody of the present generation is to give any thought but myself and， in the next generation， everybody will follow my example."[63]