The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-02-13

high wall which separates him from the rest Of the
world it pays all the persons he secs, not only
the president and professors but the chaplain, ush
ers porters tailors and cooks IL is the State that
supplies him with books, clothes him in uniform
gives him his food, prescrbes his studies, and
dictates his recrestions He is aware that the
State does as much for all the students 10 the
sixty lyceums and four hundred communal COL
leges of France, and that they all wear the same
uniform, eat the same food, pursue the same
studies, and exercise at precisely the same hours
with himself When he takes his regular walks on
Thursdays and Sundays, under the guardianship
of an usher, he visits the palaces or public build
ings; they are State property. Or he prone
nades the fortifcations they are planned by
State engineers, and erected at public expense
Or he graifes his curiosity by entering the mu-
seums or galleries Of public paintings they are
got up by the State, and taken care of by its Off
Gers. Or he goes to church the immense pile
belongs to the State, and the priest who officates
at the altar is Government functiouary. In the
street he sees policemen, civil engineers, penny
postmen, and soldiers, oil uniformed like himself
and all equally depending on the State
As he grows older, he becomes liable to the
conscriptiou he is told that the State has a right
10 the services Of his whole life and is reasonable
enough to limit her demands TO seven years un-
paid service in the army, either in garrison, in
preserving order, or in battling with the Arabs
on the sunny plains of Africa.
IL we consider his studies, we fud the same
tendency. They are chiefly classical and mathe-
NAUTICAL The models commended TO him are
found among the heroes of ancient times. Leon
idas, who died to save his country from the tread
of foreign invader; Soloa, who attempted by a
wise code TO gain the supremacy in Greece for his
native city Lycurgus, who sacrificed his own
love of power, in order to organize a nation Of
conquerors. His fervent admiration is divided
between the Spsrtans, who sacrificed property
esse, home, and family affections, for the aggran-
dizement of the State; the Romans, who muir.
INJURED at neither hardship nor crime, provided
Rome could become the mistress Of the world and
st. Louis, Lo6fs XIV and Napoleon who bore
the banner of France proudly aloft over all the
blood-stained fields in Europe, Africa, and the
Holy Land. Nothing for the individual, every
! thing for the State, is a maxim incorporated with
his very nature, by all the tendencies of his edu-
cation.
He is patriotic, for he has always heard the
praises of patriots
He believes in the omnipoteuee OF the State
for he has never known of anything performed
except by its orders.
He loves equality for be and his comrades have
always been subjected to its regime
| He is stranger TO religious influences, for
boys do not learn pety away from the family fire.
side. A college chaplain, who catechses once a
week, is poor substitute for God-fearng pa
rents.
He knows little Of the affections which make
the family relations inestimable, for he has been
absent for many long years from his fathers
hearth
As to individual liberty and personal rights,
he has as little conception of them as Georgia
slave Make the latter free and his greatest
| ambition is to become = master; put the former
into Office, and he brushes the liberty Of his fell
low citizens under the pretext Of the "necessi-
ties of administration France is ruled like O
nation Of schoolboys
Many express surprise at the general preva-
lence Of Socialist ideas among the educated classes
in France; but If this were not the case, the
Catholics would have the right to cry miracle :
Royalists are almost as deeply imbued with the
doctrine of State omnipotence as their opponents
witness the recent vote Of the Assembly for es-
tabishing free bath-houees at the gensral ex-
pense. The colleges are so many Socialist nur-
| series
| A delicate matter connected with these iustitu.
tions, and which we would willingly avoid, re-
mains to be treated We refer to the discipline
Point, where the pupils are so much older From
rising up in the morning to lying down ut night
the children are under the watchful eye of ush
ers, who are compelled by their orders to be re
lentless. The professor too, is armed with grea
power pencil note by him on the roll book, op
poste students name is all that is necessary Il
hand the culprit over to the tender meroies o
the censor-a sort of college sheriff-whose duty
IL is to execute all orders for punishment. For
merly the rod was used This was done away
with at the February revolution-the young stu
dents claiming that young republicans should moi
be logged but detention, tasks, prohibition Of
amusements, and even imprisonment, still remain
and are employed with merciess rgor. A stu
dent protects himself by the only arms left the
feeble against the strong-deceit, artifce, dupl.
city, and fssehood. lie learns at an early age Ia
| take the most hardy liberties with the reality OF
things; and before he quits college he is passed
muster in the art which Paul attributes TO the
| Isle Of Crete.
This art is not lost in after life If we may Judge
| from the numerous facts of our every day obser-
walton. In what other country are there so many
| bare faced apostaces among eminent political
men Where else would such men rs dc Falloux,
Odillon Barrot and Alexis de Tocqueville pledge
their sacred honor to the many inexact state
ments made during the progress Of the Koran ex-
petition Mr.. Louvet very respectable man,
aud of distinguished family, but condemned for
some article he had written, has just published
letter to complain of having been placed among
ordinary criminals. From these insults, he tells
us, apparently without suspecing that he had
done wrong, that he protected himself by passing
himself of for n thief condemned for the third
time The same dim sense OF the moral obliga-
ton to veracity is perceptble in the literary pro-
auctions OF the gravest authors Some Of the
lo., 1;ata ka tbo;r horoaa cnt ha
Gordian knot of difficulties by bouncing lies-a
resource not yet discovered by our English or
American writer's Nor is il at all uncommon for
an author TO buy some work in manuscript, and
palm it off on the public rs his own Or he will
take some work already published, make In II
few corrections, and put his own name on the title
page Take, for instance Guizots translation Of
Shakespeare: the whole is the production OF
Letourneur, but NJ. Guizot has suppressed this
name altogether in the title, contening himself
with acknowledging in preface his obligations
TO the veritable author The book Is sold as
Guzops. Nearly half Of some Of Alexander Du-
mass most popular novels Is due TO the pen Of M.
Mackay, well known to the literary men Of Paris
His works on Italy and his translation Of Italian
authors are written by M Fiorentini, sub-cdtor
Of one Of the daily papers, and n native OF
Naples And why may we not mention, In this
connection, the historical works Of LamartiDe.
and particularly that Of the last Revolution I'm
doubtedly, IL Is oil from his own pen, for who
could initiate his rich and melodious prose But
many Of the facts are the coinage Of his own exu-
berant imagination. For instance: that striking
scene In the Hotel dc VRe. which describes
Louis Blanc In a swoop, pallid as n corpse, and
borne mys,eriously along over the heads Of the
crowd toward Lamartine Little Louis denies
ever having figured in public in so interesting a
manner. In another place, Lamartine introduces,
with great rhetorical skill the effect on the crowd
gathered along the quays, Of the venerable np-
pearance, long white hair and majestic counte-
nance Of Arago, with whom be was walkinf.
This eloquent passage is the subject Of many