Therefore Napoleon could find the outlines of his construction in the political， legislative， and judicial organizations extending from Diocletian to Constantine， and beyond these down to Theodosius. At the base， popular sovereignty；[35] the powers of the people delegated unconditionally to one man. This omnipotence conferred， theoretically or apparently， through the free choice of citizens， but really through the will of the army. No protection against the Prince's arbitrary edict， except a no less arbitrary rescript from the same hand. His successor designated， adopted， and qualified by himself. A senate for show， a council of state for administration； all local powers conferred from above； cities under tutelage. All subjects endowed with the showy title of citizen， and all citizens reduced to the humble condition of taxpayers and of people under control. An administration of a hundred thousand officials taking all services into its hands， comprising public instruction， public succor， and public supplies of food， together with systems of worship. This was at first pagan cults， and after Constantine， the Christian cult. All these services were classified， ranked， co-coordinated， carefully defined in such a way as not to encroach on each other， and carefully combined in such a way as to complete each other. An immense hierarchy of transferable functionaries was kept at work from above on one hundred and eighty square leagues of territory； thirty populations of different race and language-Syrians， Egyptians， Numidians， Spaniards， Gauls， Britons， Germans， Greeks， Italians - subject to the same uniform Régime. The territory was divided like a checker-board， on arithmetical and geometrical principles， into one hundred or one hundred and twenty small provinces； old nations or States dismembered and purposely cut up so as to put an end forever to natural， spontaneous， and viable groups. A minute and verified census taking place every fifteen years to correctly assign land taxes. An official and universal language； a State system of worship， and， very soon， a Church and State orthodoxy.
A systematic code of laws， full and precise， admirable for the rule of private life， a sort of moral geometry in which the theorems， rigorously linked together， are attached to the definitions and axioms of abstract justice. A scale of grades， one above the other， which everybody may ascend from the first to the last； titles of nobility more and more advanced， suited to more and more advanced functions；spectabiles， illustres， clarissimi， perfectissimi， analogous to Napoleon's Barons， Counts， Dukes， and Princes. A programme of promotion once exhibiting， and on which are still seen， common soldiers， peasants， a shepherd， a barbarian， the son of a cultivator (colon)， the grandson of a slave， mounting gradually upward to the highest dignities， becoming patrician， Count， Duke， commander of the cavalry， C？sar， Augustus， and donning the imperial purple， enthroned amid the most sumptuous magnificence and the most elaborate ceremonial prostrations， a being called God during his lifetime， and after death adored as a divinity， and dead or alive， a complete divinity on earth.[36]
So colossal an edifice， so admirably adjusted， so mathematical， could not wholly perish； its hewn stones were too massive， too nicely squared； too exactly fitted， and the demolisher's hammer could not reach down to its deepest foundations. - This one， through its shaping and its structure， through its history and its duration， resembles the stone edifices which the same people at the same epoch elevated on the same soil， the aqueducts， amphitheatres， and triumphal arches， the Coliseum， the baths of Diocletian and of Caracalla.
The medieval man， using their intact foundations and their shattered fragments， built here and there， haphazard， according to the necessities of the moment， planting his Gothic towers between Corinthian columns against the panels of walls still standing.[37]
But， under his incoherent masonry， he observed the beautiful forms， the precious marbles， the architectural combinations， the symmetrical taste of an anterior and superior art； he felt that his own work was rude. The new world， to all thinking minds， was miserable compared with the old one； its languages seemed a patois (crude dialect)， its literature mere stammering or driveling， its law a mass of abuses or a mere routine， its feudality anarchy， and its social arrangements， disorder. - In vain had the medieval man striven to escape through all issues， by the temporal road and by the spiritual road， by the universal and absolute monarchy of the German Cesars， and by the universal and absolute monarchy of the Roman pontiffs. At the end of the fifteenth century the Emperor still possessed the golden globe， the golden crown， the scepter of Charlemagne and of Otho the Great， but， after the death of Frederick II.， he was nothing more than a majesty for show； the Pope still wore the tiara， still held the pastoral staff and the keys of Gregory VII. and of Innocent III.， but， after the death of Boniface VIII.， he was nothing more than a majesty of the Church. Both abortive restorations had merely added ruins to ruins， while the phantom of the ancient empire alone remained erect amid so many fragments. Grand in its outlines and decorations， it stood there， august， dazzling， in a halo， the unique masterpiece of art and of reason， as the ideal form of human society. For ten centuries this specter haunted the medieval epoch， and nowhere to such an extent as in Italy.[38]