After a partial sketch and an ordinance quickly repealed，[3] the rulers discover that the University of Napoleon is a very good reigning tool， much better than that of which they had the management previous to 1789， much easier handled and more serviceable. It is the same with all social tools sketched out and half-fashioned by the Revolution and completed and set a-going by the Consulate and the Empire； each is constructed "by reason，" "according to principles，"and therefore its mechanism is simple； its pieces all fit into each other with precision； they transmit throughout exactly the impulsion received and thus operate at one stroke， with uniformity， instantaneously， with certitude， oil all parts of the territory； the lever which starts the machine is central and， throughout its various services， the new rulers hold this lever in hand. Apropos of local administration， the Duc d'Angoulême said in 1815，[4] "We prefer the departments to the provinces." In like manner， the government of the restored monarchy prefers the imperial University， sole， unique， coherent， disciplined and centralized， to the old provincial universities， the old scattered， scholastic institution， diverse， superintended rather than governed， to every school establishment more or less independent and spontaneous.
In the first place， it gains thereby a vast staff of salaried dependents， the entire teaching staff，[5] on which it has a hold through its favors or the reverse through ambition and the desire for promotion， through fear of dismissal and concern for daily bread. At first， 22，000 primary teachers， thousands of professors， directors， censors， principals， regents and subordinates in the 36 lycées， 368colleges and 1255 institutions and boarding-schools. After this， many hundreds of notable individuals， all the leading personages of each university circumscription， the administrators of 28 academies， the professors of the 23 literary faculties， of the 10 faculties of the sciences， of the 9 faculties of law， and of the 3 faculties of medicine. Add to these， the savants of the Collège de France and école Polytechnique， every establishment devoted to high， speculative or practical instruction： these are highest in repute and the most influential； here the heads of science and of literature are found.
Through them and their seconds or followers of every degree， in the faculties， lycées， colleges， minor seminaries， institutions， boarding schools， and small schools， beliefs or opinions can be imposed on， or suggested to， 2000 law students， 4000 medical students， 81，000thousand pupils in secondary education and 700，000 scholars in the primary department. Let us retain and make use of this admirable tool， but let us apply it to our own purposes and utilize it for our service.[6] Thus far， under the Republic and the Empire， its designers， more or less Jacobin， have moved it as they thought best， and therefore moved it to the "left". Let us now move， as it suits us， to the " right."[7] All that is necessary is to turn it in another direction and for good； henceforth，" the basis of education88]
shall be religion， monarchy， legitimacy and the charter."To this end， we， the dominant party， use our legal rights. In the place of bad wheels we put good ones. We purify our staff. We do not appoint or leave in place any but safe men. At the end of six years， nearly all the rectors， proviseurs and professors of philosophy， many other professors and a number of the censors，[9] are all priests. At the Sorbonne， M. Cousin has been silenced and M. Guizot replaced by M.
Durosoir. At the Collège de France we have dismissed Tissot and we do not accept M. Magendie. We "suppress" in block the Faculty of Medicine in order that， on reorganizing it， our hands may be free and eleven professors with bad notes be got rid of， among others Pinel， Dubois， de Jussieu， Desgenettes， Pelletan and Vauquelin. We suppress another center of insalubrities， the upper école Normale， and， for the recruitment of our educational body， we institute[10] at the principal seat of each academy a sort of university novitiate where the pupils， few in number， expressly selected， prepared from their infancy， will imbibe deeper and more firmly retain the sound doctrines suitable to their future condition.
We let the small seminaries multiply and fill up until they comprise 50，000 pupils. It is the bishop who founds them； no educator or inspector of education is so worthy of confidence. Therefore， we confer upon him "in all that concerns religion，"[11] the duty "of visiting them himself， or delegating his vicars-general to visit them，" the faculty "of suggesting to the， royal council of public instruction the measures which he deems necessary." At the top of the hierarchy sits a Grand-Master with the powers and title of M. de Fontanes and with an additional title， member of the cabinet and minister of public instruction， M. de Freyssinous， bishop of Hermopolis，[12] and， in difficult cases， this bishop， placed between his Catholic conscience and the positive articles of the legal statute， " sacrifices the law" to his conscience.[13] - This is the advantage which can be taken from the tool of public education. After 1850， it is to be used in the same way and in the same sense； after 1796， and later after 1875， it was made to work as vigorously in the opposite direction. Whatever the rulers may be， whether monarchists， imperialists or republicans， they are the masters who use it for their own advantage； for this reason， even when resolved not to abuse the instrument， they keep it intact； they reserve the use of it for themselves，[14] and pretty hard blows are necessary to sever or relax the firm hold which they have on the central lever.