Now， among the forces expended， the most important to take into account is the time and attention of the pupil， the sum of his efforts， this or that quantity of mental energy； he has only a limited provision of this， and， not only is the proportion of this which the system consumes excessive， but， again， the application of it which the system enforces is not remunerative. The provision is exhausted and by a wrong use of it， with scarcely any profit. - In our lycées， the pupil sits at his task more than eleven hours a day； in a certain ecclesiastical college it is twelve hours， and， from the age of twelve years， through the necessity of being first in competition as well as for securing the greatest number of admissions through various examinations. - At the end of this secondary education there is a graduated scale of successive test， and first the baccalauréat. Fifty out of one hundred candidates fail and the examiners are indulgent.[76] This proves， first of all， that the rejected have profited by their studies； but it likewise proves that the program of the examination is not adapted to the general run of minds， nor to the native faculties of the human majority； that many young men capable of learning by the opposite method learn nothing by this one； that education， such as it is， with the kind and greatness of the mental labor it imposes， with its abstract and theoretical style， is beyond the capacity of the average mind. - Particularly， during the last year of classical studies， the pupils have had to follow the philosophy lectures： in the time of M. Laromiquière， this might be useful to them； in the time of M. Cousin， the course， so far， did but little harm； at the present day， impregnated with neo-Kantism， it injects into minds of eighteen， seventeen， and even sixteen years， a metaphysical muddle as cumbersome as the scholasticism of the fourteenth century， terribly indigestible and unhealthy for the stomachs of novices； the swallow even to bursting and throw it off at the examination just as it comes， entirely raw for lack of the capacity to assimilate it. - Often， after failure at the baccalauréat， or on entering the preparatory or Grande écoles， the young people go into， or are put into， what they call "a box" or an "oven" a preparatory internat， similar to the boxes in which silkworms are raised and to the ovens where the eggs are hatched. In more exact language it is a mechanical "gaveuse"[77] in which they are daily crammed； through this constant， forced feeding， their real knowledge is not increased， nor their mental vigor； they are superficially fattened and， at the end of the year， or in eighteen months， they present themselves on the appointed day， with the artificial and momentary volume they need for that day， with the bulk， surface， polish and all the requisite externals， because these externals are the only ones that the examination verifies and imposes.[78] Less harshly， but in the same manner and with the same object， operate the special education services which， inside our colleges and lycées， prepare young men for the école de Saint-Cyr and for the polytechnic， naval， central， normal， agricultural， commercial and forestry schools；in these too， the studies are cramming machines which prepare the pupil for examination purposes. In the like manner， above secondary education， all our special schools are public cramming machines；[79]
alongside of them are private schools advertised and puffed in the newspapers and by posters of the walls， preparing young men for the license degree in Law and for the third or fourth examinations in Medicine. Some day or other， others will probably exist to prepare them for Treasury inspectors， for the "Cour des Comptes，" for diplomacy， by competition， the same as for the medical profession， for a hospital surgeon and for aggregation in law， medicine， letters or sciences.
Undoubtedly， some minds， very active and very robust， withstand this régime； all they have been made to swallow is absorbed and digested.
After leaving school and having passed through all grades they preserve the faculty of learning， investigating and inventing intact， and compose the small élite of scholars， litterateurs， artists， engineers and physicians who， in the international exposition of superior talent， maintain France in its ancient rank.[80] - But the rest， in very great majority， nine out of ten at least， have lost their time and trouble， many years of their life and years that are useful， important and even decisive： take at once one-half or two-thirds of those who present themselves at the examinations， I mean the rejected， and then， among the admitted who get diplomas， another half or two-thirds that is to say， the overworked. Too much has been required of them by exacting that， on such a day， seated or before the blackboard， for two entire hours， they should be living repertories of all human knowledge； in effect， such they are， or nearly so， that day， for two hours； but， a month later， they are so no longer； they could not undergo the same examination； their acquisitions， too numerous and too burdensome， constantly drop of their minds and they make no new ones. Their mental vigor has given way， the fecund sap has dried up；the finished man appears， often a finished man content to be put away， to be married， and plod along indefinitely in the same circle， entrenched in his restricted vocation and doing his duty， but nothing more. Such are the average returns - assuredly， the profits do not make up for the expenses. In England and in America where， as before 1789 in France， the inverse method is followed， the returns are equal or superior，[81] and they are obtained with greater facility， with more certainty， at an age less tardy， without imposing such great and unhealthy efforts on the young man， such large expenditure by the State， and such long delays and sacrifices on families.[82]