Except for these excesses and especially after they finish， when the government， from 1828 to 1848， ceases to be sectarian， and the normal play of the institution is no longer corrupted by political interference， the governed accept the University in block， just as their rulers maintain it： they also have motives of their own， the same as for submitting to other tools of Napoleonic centralization. -And first of all， as a departmental and communal institution， the university institution operates wholly alone； it exacts little or no collaboration on the part of those interested； it relieves them of any effort， dispute or care， which is pleasant. Like the local administration， which， without their help or with scarcely any， provides them with bridges， roads， canals， cleanliness， salubrity and precautions against contagious diseases， the scholastic administration， without making any demand on their indolence， puts its full service， the local and central apparatus of primary， secondary， superior and special instruction， its staff and material， furniture and buildings， masters and schedules， examinations and grades， rules and discipline， expenditure and receipts， all at its disposition. As at the door of a table d'h？te， they are told，"Come in and take a seat. We offer you the dishes you like best and in the most convenient order. Don't trouble yourself about the waiters or the kitchen； a grand central society， an intelligent and beneficent agency， presiding at Paris takes charge of this and relieves you of it. Pass your plate， and eat； that is all you need care about. Besides， the charge is very small."[15]
In effect， here as elsewhere， Napoleon has introduced his rigid economical habits， exact accounts and timely or disguised tax-levies.[16] A few additional centimes among a good many others inserted by his own order in the local budget， a few imperceptible millions among several hundreds of other millions in the enormous sum of the central budget， constitute the resources which defray the expenses of public education. Not only does the quota of each taxpayer for this purpose remain insignificant， but it disappears in the sum total of which it is only an item that he does not notice. -The parents， for the instruction of a child， do not pay out of their pockets directly， with the consciousness of a distinct service rendered them and which they indemnify，[17] but 12， 10， 3， or even 2francs a year； again， through the increasing extension of gratis instruction， a fifth， then a third，[18] and later one half of them are exempt from this charge.
For secondary instruction， at the college or the lycée， they take out of their purses annually only 40 or 50 francs； and， if their son is a boarder， these few francs mingle in with others forming the total sum paid for him during the year， about 700 francs，[19] which is a small sum for defraying the expenses， not only of instruction， but， again， for the support of the lad in lodging， food， washing， light， fire and the rest. The parents， at this rate， feel that they are not making a bad bargain； they are not undergoing extortion， the State not acting like a rapacious contractor. And better yet， it is often a paternal creditor， distributing， as it does， three or four thousand scholarships. If their son obtains one of these， their annual debt is remitted to them and the entire university provision of instruction and support is given to them gratis. In the Faculties， the payment of fees for entrance， examinations， grades and diplomas is not surprising， for the certificates or parchments they receive in exchange for their money are， for the young man， so many positive acquisitions which smooth the way to a career and serve as valuable stock which confers upon him social rank. Besides， the entrance to these Faculties is free and gratuitous， as well as in all other establishments for superior instruction. Whoever chooses and when he chooses may attend without paying a cent.
Thus constituted， the University seems to the public as a liberal， democratic， humanitarian institution and yet economical， expending very little. Its administrators and professors， even the best of them， receive only a small salary - 6000 francs at the Muséum and the Collége de France，[20] 7500 at the Sorbonne， 5000 in the provincial Faculties， 4000 or 3000 in the lycées， 2000， 1500 and 1200 in the communal colleges - just enough to live on. The highest functionaries live in a very modest way； each keeps body and soul together on a small salary which he earns by moderate work， without notable increase or decrease， in the expectation of gradual promotion or of a sure pension at the end. There is no waste， the accounts being well kept；there are no sinecures， even in the libraries； no unfair treatment or notorious scandals. Envy， notions of equality scarcely exist； there are enough situations for petty ambitions and average merit， while there is scarcely any place for great ambitions or great merit.
Eminent men serve the State and the public cheaply for a living salary， a higher rank in the Legion of Honor， sometimes for a seat in the Institute， or for European fame in connection with a university， with no other recompense than the satisfaction of working according to conscience[21] and of winning the esteem of twenty or thirty competent judges who， in France or abroad， are capable of appreciating their labor at its just value.[22]