Against all this his previous education has disarmed him. Instead of creating a moral force within him， the long and strict internat has maintained moral debility. He yields to opportunity， to example； he goes with the current， he floats without a rudder， he lets himself drift. As far as hygiene， or money， or sex， is concerned， his mistakes and his follies， great or small， are almost inevitable， while it is an average chance if， during his three， four or five years of full license， he does not become entirely corrupt.
IV. Cramming and Exams Compared to ApprenticeshipAnother vice of the system. - Starting-point of superior instruction in France. - Substitution of special State schools for free encyclopedic universities. - Effect of this substitution. -Examinations and competitions. - Intense， forced and artificial culture. - How it reaches an extreme. - Excess and prolongation of theoretical studies. - Insufficiency and tardiness of practical apprenticeship. - Comparison of this system with others， between France before 1789 and England and the United States. - Lost forces. -Mistaken use and excessive expenditure of mental energy. - The entire body of youth condemned to it after 1889.
Let us now consider another effect of the primitive institution， not less pernicious. On leaving the lycée after the philosophy class， the system supposes that a general education is fully obtained； there is not question of a second one， ulterior and superior， that of universities. In place of these encyclopedic universities， of which the object is free teaching and the free progress of knowledge， it establishes special State schools， separate from each other， each confined to a distinct branch， each with a view to create， verify and proclaim a useful capacity， each devoted to leading a young man along， step by step， through a series of studies and tests up to the title or final diploma which qualifies him for his profession， a diploma that is indispensable or， at least， very useful since， without it， in many cases， one has no right to practice his profession and which， thanks to it， in all cases， enables one to enter on a career with favor and credit， in fair rank， and considerably promoted. - On entering most careers called liberal， a first diploma is exacted， that of bachelor of arts， or bachelor of sciences， sometimes both， the acquisition of which is now a serious matter for all French youth， a daily and painful preoccupation. To this end， when about sixteen， the young man works， or， rather， is worked upon. For one or two years， he submits to a forced culture， not in view of learning and of knowing， but to answer questions well at an examination， or tolerably well， and to obtain a certificate， on proof or on semblance of proof， that he has received a complete classical education. - Next after this， at the medical or law school， during the four prescribed years， sixteen graduated inscriptions， four or five superposed examinations， two or three terminal verifications， oblige him to furnish the same proof， or semblance of proof， to verify， as each year comes round， his assimilation of the lessons of the year， and thus attest that， at the end of his studies， he possesses about the entire scope and diversity of knowledge to which he is restricted.
In the schools where the number of pupils is limited， this culture， carried still farther， becomes intense and constant. In the école Centrale and in the commercial or agronomic schools， in the Polytechnique or Normale， he is there all day and all night， - he is housed in a barracks. - And the pressure on him is twofold - the pressure of examinations and that of competition. On entering， on leaving， and during his stay there， not only at the end of each year but every six or three months， often every six weeks， and even every fortnight， he is rated according to his compositions， exercises and interrogatories， getting so many marks for his partial value， so many for his total value and according to these figures， classed at a certain rank among his comrades who are his rivals. To descend on the scale would be disadvantageous and humiliating； to ascend on the scale is advantageous and glorious. Driven by this motive， so strong in France， his principal aim is to go up or， at least， not to go down； he devotes all his energy to this； he expends none of it on either side or beyond； he allows himself no diversion， he abstains from taking any initiative； his restrained curiosity never ventures outside of the circle traced for him； he absorbs only what he is taught and in the order in which it is taught； he fills himself to the brim， but only to disgorge at the examination and not to retain and hold on to； he runs the risk of choking and when relieved， of remaining empty. Such is the régime of our Grande Ecoles. They are systematic， energetic and prolonged system of gardening； the State， the gardener-in-chief， receiving or selecting plants which it undertakes to turn out profitably， each of its kind. To this end， it separates the species， and ranges each apart on a bed of earth； and here， all day long， it digs， weeds， rakes， waters， adds one manure after another， applies its powerful heating apparatus and accelerates the growth and ripening of the fruit. On certain beds it plants are kept under glass throughout the year； in this way it maintains them in a steady， artificial atmosphere， forcing them to more largely imbibe the nutritive liquids with which it floods the ground， thus causing them to swell and become hypertrophied， so as to produce fruits or vegetables for show， and which it exposes and which bring it credit； for all these productions look well， many of them superb， while their size seems to attest their excellence； they are weighted beforehand and the official labels with which they are decorated announce the authentic weight.