第1175章

Now， in the four Faculties of Law， Medicine， Science and Letters， there are this year 22，000 students； add to these the pupils of the special schools and those who study with the hope of entering them， in all probably 30，000. But there is no need of counting them； since the suppression of the one-year voluntariat， the entire body of youths capable of study， who wish to remain only one year in barracks and not remain there to get brutalized during three years， flocks to the benches of the lycée or to those of a Faculty.[83] The sole object of the young man is not， as before， to reach the baccalauréat； it is essential that he should be admitted， after a competition， into one of the special schools， or obtain the highest grades or diplomas in one of the Faculties； in all cases he is bound to successfully undergo difficult and multiplied examinations. At present time (1890)， there is no place in France for an education in the inverse sense， nor for any other of a different type. Henceforth， no young man， without condemning himself to three years of barrack life， can travel at an early age for any length of time， or form his mind at home by free and original studies， stay in Germany and follow speculative studies in the universities， or go to England or to America to derive practical instruction from factory or farm. Captured by our system， he is forced to surrender himself to the mechanical routine which fills his mind with fictitious tools， with useless and cumbersome acquisitions that impose on him in exchange an exorbitant expenditure of mental energy and which is very like to convert him into a mandarin.

V. Public instruction in 1890.

Public instruction since 1870. - Agreement between the Napoleonic and Jacobin conception. - Extension and aggravation of the system. - The deductive process of the Jacobin mind. - Its consequences. - In superior and in secondary instruction. - In primary instruction. -Gratuitous， obligatory and secular instruction.

Such is the singular and final result brought about by the institution of the year X (or 1801)， due to the intervention of the grossly leveling Jacobin spirit.[84] Indeed， since 1871， and especially since 1879， this spirit， through Napoleonic forms， has given breath， impulse and direction， and these forms suit it. On the principle that education belongs to the State， Napoleon and the old Jacobins were in accord； what he in fact established they had proclaimed as a dogma；hence the structure of his university-organisation was not objectionable to them； on the contrary， it conformed to their instincts. Hence， the reason why the new Jacobins， inheritors of both instinct and dogma， immediately adopted the existing system； none was more convenient， better calculated to meet their views， better adapted in advance to do their work. Consequently， under the third Republic，[85] as under anterior governments， the school machinery continues to turn and grind in the same rut. Through the same working of its mechanism， under the same impulse of its unique and central motor， conforming to the same Napoleonic and Jacobin idea of the teaching State， it is a formidable concept which， more intrusive every year， more widely and more rigorously applied， more and more excludes the opposite concept. This would be the remission of education to those interested in it， to those who possess rights， to parents， to free and private enterprises which depend only on personal exertions and on families， to permanent， special， local corporations， proprietary and organized under status， governed， managed， and supported by themselves. On this model， a few men of intelligence and sensibility， enlightened by what is accomplished abroad， try to organize regional universities in our great academic centers. The State might， perhaps， allow， if not the enterprise itself， then at least something like it， but nothing more. Through its right of public administration， through the powers of its Council of State， through its fiscal legislation， through the immemorial prejudices of its jurists， through the routine of its bureaus， it is hostile to a corporate personality. Never can such a project be considered a veritable civil personage； if the State consents to endow a group of individuals with civil powers， it is always on condition that they be subject to its narrow tutelage and be treated as minors and children.

- Besides， these universities， even of age， are to remain as they are， so many dispensaries of diplomas. They are no longer to serve as an intellectual refuge， an oasis at the end of secondary instruction， a station for three or four years for free curiosity and disinterested self-culture. Since the abolition of the volontariat for one year， a young Frenchman no longer enjoys the leisure to cultivate himself in this way； free curiosity is interdicted； he is too much harassed by a too positive interest， by the necessity of obtaining grades and diplomas， by the preoccupations of examinations， by the limitations of age； he has no time to lose in experiments， in mental excursions， in pure speculations. Henceforth， our system allows him only the régime to which we see him subject， namely the rush， the puffing and blowing， the gallop without stopping on a race-course， the perilous jumps at regular distances over previously arranged and numbered obstacles.

Instead of being restricted and attenuated， the disadvantages of the Napoleonic institution spread and grow worse， and this is due to the way in which our rulers comprehend it， the original， hereditary way of the Jacobin spirit.