第1011章

"Every man called to take part in affairs was selected by him；"[31] it is through him that they retain their place； he controls their promotion and by sponsors whom he knows. "A minister could not have dismissed a functionary without consulting the emperor， while the ministers could all change without bringing about two secondary changes throughout the empire. A minister did not appoint even a second-class clerk without presenting a list of several candidates to the emperor and， opposite to it， the name of the person recommending him." All， even at a distance， felt that the master's eyes were on them. "I worked，" says Beugnot，[32] "from night to morning， with singular ardor； I astonished the natives of the country who did not know that the emperor exercised over his servitors， however far from him they might be， the miracle of the real presence. I thought I saw him standing over me as I worked shut up in my cabinet." - "Under him，" writes Roederer， "there is no man of any merit who， as a reward for long and difficult labor， does not feel himself better compensated by a new task than by the most honorable leisure." Never did positions less resemble sinecures. Never was the happiness of successful candidates or the misery of unsuccessful candidates better justified.

Never the compliance， the difficulty， the risks of a required task have been compensated more fairly by the enjoyment of the allocated rewards nor moderated the bitterness of the frustrated pretensions.[33] Never were public functions assigned or fulfilled in a way to better satisfy the legitimate craving for advancement， the dominant desire of democracy and of the century， and in a way to better disarm the bad passions of democracy and of the century， consisting of an envious leveling， anti-social rancor and the inconsolable regrets of the man who has failed. Never did human competition encounter a similar judge， so constant， so expert and so justified. - He is himself conscious of the unique part he plays. His own ambition， the highest and most insatiate of all， enables him to comprehend the ambition of others； to place everywhere the man who suits the post in the post which suits the man - this is what he has done for himself and what he does for others. He knows that in this lies his power， his deep-seated popularity， his social utility.

"Nobody，" says Napoleon，[34] "is interested in overthrowing a government inwhich all the deserving are employed."Then， again， comes his significant exclamation at the end， his summary of modern society， a solemn grandiose figure of speech found in the legendary souvenirs of a glorious antiquity， a classic reminiscence of the noble Olympian games，"Henceforth， all careers are open to talent！"IV. The Struggle for Office and Title.

Competition and prizes. - Multitude of offices. - How their number is increased by the extension of central patronage and of the French territory. - Situation of a Frenchman abroad. - It gives him rank. -Rapidity of promotion. - Constant elimination and multiplicity of vacancies in the army. - Preliminary elimination in the civil service.

- Proscription of cultivated men and interruption of education during the Revolution. - General or special instruction rare in 1800.- Small number of competent candidates. - Easy promotion due to the lack of competitors. - Importance and attraction the prizes offered. - The Legion of Honor. - The imperial nobility. - Dotations and majorities.

- Emulation.

Let us now consider the career which he thus opens to them and the prizes he offers. These prizes are in full view， ranged along each racecourse， graduated according to distances and more and more striking and magnificent. Every ambition is provided for， the highest as well as the lowest， and these are countless； for they consist of offices of every grade in the civil and military hierarchies of a great centralized State whose intervention is universal， under a government which systematically tolerates no authority or influence outside of itself and which monopolizes every species of social importance for its own functionaries.[35] - All these prizes， even the smallest and most insignificant， are awarded by it. In the first place， Napoleon has two or three times as many offices to bestow， on the soil of old France alone， as the former kings； for， even in the choice of their staff of officials， the latter were not always free；in many places they did not have， or no longer had the right of appointment. At one time， this right be longed from time immemorial to provincial or municipal corporations， laic or ecclesiastic， to a certain chapter， abbey or collegiate church， to a bishop in his diocese， to the seignior in his seignory. At another time the king， once possessing the right， had surrendered or alienated it， in whole or in part through gratuitous favor and the concession of a survivorship or for money and through the sale of an office； in brief， his hands were tied fast by hereditary or acquired privileges There are no privileges now to fetter the hands of the First Consul. The entire civil organization dates from him. The whole body of officials is thus of his own selection， and under him it is much more numerous than that of the ancient Régime； for he has extended the attributions of the State beyond all former bounds. Directly or indirectly， he appoints by hundreds of thousands the mayors and councilors of municipalities and the members of general councils， the entire staff of the administration， of the finances， of the judicature， of the clergy， of the University， of public works and of public charity.