During the first quarter， and even the first half， of the (19th)century， the system remained almost unobjectionable； it had not yet pushed things to excess. Down to 1850 and later， all that was demanded of the young， in their examinations and competitions， was much less the extent and minutia of knowledge than proofs of intelligence and the promise of capacity： in a literary direction， the main object was to verify whether the candidate， familiar with the classics， could write Latin correctly and French tolerably well； in the sciences， if he could， without help， accurately and promptly solve a problem； if， again unaided， he could readily and accurately to the end， state a long series of theorems and equations without divergence or faltering；in sum， the object of the test was to verify in him the presence and degree of the mathematical or literary faculty. - But， since the beginning of the century， the old subdivided sciences and the new consolidated sciences have multiplied their discoveries and， necessarily， all discoveries end in finding their way into public instruction. In Germany， for them to become installed and obtain chairs， encyclopedic universities are found， in which free teaching， pliant and many-sided， rises of itself to the level of knowledge.[62]
With us， for lack of universities， they have had only special schools[63]； here only could a place be found for them and professors obtained. Henceforth， the peculiar character of these schools has changed： they have ceased to be strictly special and veritably professional. - Each school， being an individuality， has developed apart and on its own account； its aim has been to install and furnish under its own roof all the general， collateral， accessory and ornamental studies which， far or near， could be of service to its own pupils. No longer content with turning out competent and practical men， it has conceived a superior type， the ideal model of the engineer， physician， jurist， professor or architect. To produce this extraordinary and desirable professional， it has designed some excessively difficult impressive lectures.[64] To be able to make use of these， it has given the young man the opportunity not only to acquire abstract， multiple， technical knowledge， and information， but also the complementary culture and lofty general ideas， which render the specialist a true savant and a man of a very broad mind.
To this end， it has appealed to the State. The State， the contractor for public instruction， the founder of every new professional chair， appoints the occupant， pays the salary and， when in funds， is not ill-disposed， for it thus gains a good reputation， an increase of granting power and a new functionary. Such is the why and wherefore， in each school， of the multiplication of professorships： schools of law， of medicine， of pharmacy， of charters， of fine arts， polytechnic， normal， central， agronomic and commercial schools， each becoming， or tending to become， a sort of university on a small scale， bringing together within its walls the totality of teachings which， if the student profits by them， renders him in his profession an accomplished personage. Naturally， to secure attendance at these lectures， the school， in concert with the State， adds to the exigencies of its examinations， and soon， for the average of intellects and for health， the burden imposed by it becomes too heavy. Particularly， in the schools to which admission is gained only through competitions the extra load is still more burdensome， owing to the greater crowd striving to pass； there are now five， seven and even eleven candidates for one place.[65] With this crowd， it has been found necessary to raise and multiply the barriers， urge the competitors to jump over them， and to open the door only to those who jump the highest and in the greatest number. There is no other way to make a selection among them without incurring the charge of despotism and nepotism. It is their business to have sturdy legs and make the best of them， then to submit to methodical training， to practice and train all year and for several years in succession， in order to pass the final test， without thinking of any but the barriers in front of them on the race-course at the appointed date， and which they must spring over to get ahead of their rivals.
At the present day[66]， after the complete course of classical studies， four years in school no longer suffice for obtaining the degrees of a doctor in medicine or doctor in law. Five or six years are necessary. Two years are necessary between the baccalauréat ès-lettres and the various licenses ès-lettres or sciences， and from these to the corresponding aggrégations two， three years， and often more. Three years of preparatory studies in mathematics and of desperate application lead the young man to the threshold of the école Polytechnique； after that， after two years in school and of no less sustained effort， the future engineer passes three not less laborious years at the école des Ponts et Chaussées or des Mines， which amounts to eight years of professional preparation.[67] Elsewhere， in the other schools， it is the same thing with more or less excess. Observe how days and hours are spent during this long period.[68] The young men have attended lecture-courses， masticated and re-masticated manuals， abbreviated abridgments， learned by heart mementos and formulae， stored their memories with a vast multitude of generalities and details. Every sort of preliminary information， all the theoretical knowledge which， even indirectly， may serve them in their future profession or which is of service in neighboring professions， are classified in their brains， ready to come forth at the first call， and， as proved by the examination， disposable at a minute； they possess them， but nothing otherwise or beyond. Their education has all tended to one side； they have undergone no practical apprenticeship.