He gives twelve of the sixty episcopal thrones to former schismatics；he wants them to take their places boldly； he relieves them from ecclesiastical penitence and from any humiliating recantation； he takes care that， in the other forty-eight dioceses， the priests who formerly took the civic oath shall be employed and well treated by their superiors who， at the same epoch， refused to take the civic oath. On the other hand， all the exclusions， inequalities and distinctions of the monarchy remain abolished. Not only are the Calvinist and even Israelite cults legally authorized， the same as the Catholic cult， but， again， the Protestant consistories and Jewish synagogues[6] are constituted and organized on the same footing as the Catholic churches. Pastors and rabbis likewise become functionaries under the same title as bishops and cure's； all are recognized or sanctioned by the government and all equally benefit by its patronage：
it is an unique thing in Europe to find the small churches of the minority obtaining the same measure of indifference and good will from the State as the great church of the majority， and， henceforth， in fact as in law， the ministers of the three cults， formerly ignored， tolerated or proscribed， enjoy their rank， titles and honors in the social as well as in the legal hierarchy， equally with the ministers of that cult which was once the only one dominant or allowedSimilarly， in the civilian status， no inferiority or discredit must legally attach to any condition whatever， either to plebeian， villager， peasant or poor man as such， as formerly under the monarchy；nor to noble， bourgeois， citizen， notable or rich man， as recently under the Republic. Each of these two classes is relieved of its degradation； no class is burdened by taxation or by the conscription beyond its due； all persons and all property find in the government， in the administration， in the tribunals， in the gendarme， the same reliable protection. - So much for equity and the true spirit of equality. - Let us now turn around and consider envy and the bad spirit of equality. The plebiscite， undoubtedly， as well as the election of deputies to the Corps Legislatif are simply comedies； but， in these comedies， one r？le is as good as another and the duke of the old or new pattern， a mere figurant among hundreds and thousands of others， votes only once like the corner-grocer. Undoubtedly， the private individual of the commune or department， in institutions of charity， worship or education， is deprived of any independence， of any initiation， of any control， as the State has confiscated for itself all collective action； but the classes deprived of this are especially the upper classes， alone sufficiently enlightened and wealthy to take the lead， form projects and provide for expenditure： in this usurpation， the State has encroached upon and eaten deeper into the large body of superior existences scattered about than into the limited circle where humbler lives clamber and crawl along； nearly the entire loss， all perceptible privation， is for the large landed proprietor and not for his hired hands， for the large manufacturer or city merchant and not for their workmen or clerks，[7] while the clerk， the workman， the journeyman， the handicraftsman， who grumble at being the groundlings， find themselves less badly off since their masters or patrons， fallen from a higher point， are where they are and they can elbow them.
Now that men are born on the ground， all on the same level， and are confined within universal and uniform limits， social life no longer appears to them other than a competition， a rivalry instituted and proclaimed by the State， and of which it is the umpire； for， through its interference， all are comprised within its enclosure and shut up and kept there； no other field is open to run on； on the contrary， every career within these bounds， indicated and staked out beforehand， offers an opportunity for all runners： the government has laid out and leveled the ground， established compartments， divided off and prepared rectilinear lists which converge to the goal； there， it presides， the unique arbiter of the race， exposing to all competitors the innumerable prizes which it proposes for them. - These prizes consist of offices， the various employments of the State， political， military， ecclesiastical， judiciary， administrative and university， all the honors and dignities which it dispenses， all the grades of its hierarchy from the lowest to the highest， from that of corporal， college-regent， alderman， office - supernumerary， assistant priest up to that of senator， marshal of France， grand master of the university， cardinal， and minister of State. It confers on its possessor， according to the greater or lesser importance of the place， a greater or lesser portion of the advantages which all men crave and seek for money， power， patronage， influence， consideration， importance and social pre-eminence； thus， according to the rank one attains in the hierarchy， one is something， or of some account； outside of the hierarchy， one is nothing.
Consequently， the faculty for getting in and advancing one's self in these lists is the most precious of all： in the new Régime it is guaranteed by the law as a common right and is open to all Frenchmen.
