Such is the terminal fruit of the new Régime； military duty is here the counterpart， and as it were， the ransom of political right； the modern citizen may balance one with the other like two weights in the scale. On the one side， he may place his prerogative as sovereign， that is to say， in point of fact， the faculty every four years of giving one vote among ten thousand for the election or non-election of one deputy among six hundred and fifty； on the other side， he may place his positive， active service， three， four or five years of barrack life and of passive obedience， and then twenty-eight days more， then a thirteen-days' summons in honor of the flag， and， for twenty years， at each rumor of war， anxiously waiting for the word of command which obliges him to shoulder his gun and slay with his own hand， or be slain. He will probably end by discovering that the two sides of the scales do not balance and that a right so hollow is poor compensation for so heavy a burden.
Of course， in 1789， he foresaw nothing like that； he was optimistic， pacific， liberal， humanitarian； he knew nothing of Europe nor of history， nothing of the past nor of the present. When the Constituent Assembly constituted him a sovereign， he let things go on； he did not know what he engaged to do， he had no idea of having allowed such a heavy claim against him. But， in signing the social contract， he made himself responsible； in 1793， the note came due and the Convention collected it.[63] Then comes Napoleon who put things in order.
Henceforth， every male， able-bodied adult must pay the debt of blood；no more exemptions in the way of military service：[64] all young men who had reached the required age drew lots in the conscription and set out in turn according to the order fixed by their drafted number.[65]
But Napoleon is an intelligent creditor； he knows that this debt is "most frightful and most detestable for families，" that his debtors are real， living men and therefore different in kind， that the head of the State should keep these differences in mind， that is to say their condition， their education， their sensibility and their vocation；that， not only in their private interest， but again in the interest of the public， not merely through prudence but also through equity， all should not be indistinguishably restricted to the same mechanical pursuit， to the same manual labor， to the same prolonged and indefinite servitude of soul and body. Already， under the Directory， the law had exempted young married men and widowers or divorced persons who were fathers.[66] Napoleon also exempts the conscript who has a brother in the active army， the only son of a widow， the eldest of three orphans， the son of a father seventy-one years old dependent on his labor， all of whom are family supports. He joins with these all young men who enlist in one of his civil militias， in his ecclesiastical militia or in his university militia， pupils of the école Normale， ignorantin brothers， seminarians for the priesthood， on condition that they shall engage to do service in their vocation and do it effectively， some for ten years， others for life， subject to a discipline more rigid， or nearly as rigid， as military discipline.[67]
Finally， he sanctions or institutes volunteer substitutes， through private agreement between a conscript and the able-bodied， certified volunteer substitute for whom the conscript is responsible.[68] If such a bargain is made between them it is done freely， knowing what they are about， and because each man finds the exchange to his advantage； the State has no right to deprive either of them uselessly of this advantage， and oppose an exchange by which it does not suffer.
So far from suffering it often gains by it. For， what it needs is not this or that man， Peter or Paul， but a man as capable as Peter or Paul of firing a gun， of marching long distances， of resisting inclemencies， and such are the substitutes it accepts. They must all be[69] "of sound health and robust constitution，" and sufficiently tall； as a matter of fact， being poorer than those replaced， they are more accustomed to privation and fatigue； most of them， having reached maturity， are worth more for the service than youths who have been recruited by anticipation and too young； some are old soldiers： and in this case the substitute is worth twice as much as the new conscript who has never donned the knapsack or bivouacked in the open air.
Consequently， those who are allowed to obtain substitutes are "the drafted and conscripts of all classes， . . . unable to endure the fatigues of war， and those who shall be recognized of greater use to the State by continuing their labors and studies than in forming a part of the army. . . ."[70]