But even that is a danger. For， naturally， the teaching State finds with regret that its clients diminish； it does not view the rival favorably which takes away so many of its pupils. Naturally also， in case of an electoral struggle， the Church favors the party which favors it， the effect of which is to expose it to ill-will and， in case of political defeat， to hostilities. Now， the chances are， that， should hostile rulers， in this case， attempt to strike it in its most vulnerable point， that of teaching， they might set aside liberty， and even toleration， and adopt the school machine of Napoleon in order to restore it as best they could， enlarge it， derive from it for their own profit and against the Church， whatever could be got out of it， to use with all their power according to the principles and intentions of the Convention and the Directory. Thus， the compromise accepted by Church and State is simply a provisional truce； to-morrow， this truce will be broken； the fatal French prejudice which erects the State into a national educator is ever present； after a partial and brief slackening of its energy， it will try to recover its ascendancy and recommence its ravages. - And， on the other hand， even under this régime， more liberal than its predecessor， real liberty is much restricted； instead of one monopoly， there are two. Between two kinds of establishments， one secular， resembling a barracks， and the other ecclesiastical， resembling a seminary or convent， parents may choose and that is all. Ordinarily， if they prefer one， it is not because they consider it good， but because， in their opinion， the other is worse， while there is no third one at hand， built after a different type， with its own independent and special character， adapting itself to their tastes and accommodating itself to their necessities.
In the early years of the century there were thousands of secondary schools of every kind and degree， everywhere born or reborn， spontaneous， local， raised up through the mutual understanding of parents and masters， and， consequently， subject to this understanding， diverse， flexible， dependent on the law of supply and demand， competitive， each careful to keep its own patrons， each compelled， like every other private enterprise， to adjust its working to the views and faculties of its clients. It is very probable that， if these had been allowed to exist， if the new legislator had not been radically hostile to permanent corporations， endowments， and mortmain titles； if， through the jealous intervention of his Council of State and the enormous levies of his fiscal system， the government had not discouraged free associations and the free donations to which they might have been entitled， the best of these secondary schools would have survived： those which might have been able to adapt themselves to their surroundings would have had the most vitality； according to a well-known law， they would have prospered in branching off， each in its own sense and in its own way. - Now， at this date， after the demolitions of the Revolution， all pedagogic roads were open and， at each of their starting-points， the runners were ready， not merely the secular but， again， independent ecclesiastics， liberal Gallicans， surviving Jansenists， constitutional priests， enlightened monks， some of them philosophers and half-secular in mind or even at heart， using Port-Royal manuals， Rollin's "Traité des études " and Condillac's "Cours d'Etudes，" the best-tried and most fecund methods of instruction， all the traditions of the seventeenth century from Arnauld to Lancelot and all the novelties of the eighteenth century from Locke to Jean-Jacques Rousseau， all wide-awake or aroused by the demands of the public and by this unique opportunity and eager to do and to do well. In the provinces[38] as at Paris， people were seeking， trying and groping. There was room and encouragement for original， sporadic and multiple invention， for schools proportionate with and suited to various and changing necessities， Latin， mathematical or mixed schools， some for theoretical science and others for practical apprenticeship， these commercial and those industrial， from the lowest standpoint of technical and rapid preparation up to the loftiest summits of speculative and prolonged study.
On this school world in the way of formation， Napoleon has riveted his uniformity， the rigorous apparatus of his university， his unique system， narrow， inflexible， applied from above. We have seen with what restrictions， with what insistence， with what convergence of means， what prohibitions， what taxes， what application of the university monopoly， and with what systematic hostility to private establishments！ - In the towns， and by force， they become branches of the lycée and imitate its classes； in this way Sainte-Barbe is allowed to subsist at Paris and， until the abolition of the monopoly， the principal establishments of Paris， Massin， Jauffrey， Bellaguet， existed only on this condition， that of becoming auxiliaries， subordinates and innkeepers for lycée day-scholars； such is still the case to-day for the lycées Bossuet and Gerson. In the way of education and instruction the little that an institution thus reduced can preserve of originality and of pedagogic virtue is of no account.
- In the country， the Oratoriens who have repurchased Juilly are obliged，[39] in order to establish a free and durable school of "Christian and national education，" to turn aside the civil law which interdicts trusts and organize themselves into a "Tontine Society" and thus present their disinterested enterprise in the light of an industrial and commercial speculation， that of a lucrative and well-attended boarding school. Still at the present day similar fictions have to be resorted to for the establishment and duration of like enterprises.[40]