by Hippolyte A. Taine

by Hippolyte A. Taine

Text Transcriber's Note: The numbering of Volumes, Books, Chapters and Sections are as in the French not the American edition. Annotations by the transcriber are initialled SR. Svend Rom, April 2000.

HTML Producer's Note: Footnote numbering has been changed to include as a prefix to the original footnote number, the book and chapter numbers. A table of contents has been added with active links. David Widger, June 2008

Please note that all references to earlier Volumes of the Origines of Contemporary France are to the American edition. Since there are no fixed page numbers in the Gutenberg edition these page numbers are only approximate. (SR).

CONTENTS

PREFACE

BOOK FIRST. NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.

CHAPTER I. HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE OF HIS CHARACTER AND GENIUS.

I. Napoleon's Past and Personality.
II. The Leader and Statesman
III. His acute Understanding of Others.
IV. His Wonderful Memory.
V. His Imagination and its Excesses.

CHAPTER II. HIS IDEAS, PASSIONS AND INTELLIGENCE.

I. Intense Passions.
II. Will and Egoism.
III. Napoleon's Dominant Passion: Power.
IV. His Bad Manners.
V. His Policy.
VI. Fundamental Defaults of his System.

BOOK SECOND. FORMATION AND CHARACTER OF THE NEW STATE.

CHAPTER I. THE INSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT

I. The Institution of Government.
II. Default of previous government.
III. In 1799, the undertaking more difficult and the materials worse.
IV. Motives for suppressing the election of local powers.
V. Reasons for centralization.
VI. Irreconcilable divisions.
VII. Establishment of a new Dictatorship.

CHAPTER II. PUBLIC POWER

I. Principal service rendered by the public power.
II. Abusive Government Intervention.
III. The State attacks persons and property.
IV. Abuse of State powers.
V. Final Results of Abusive Government Intervention

CHAPTER III. THE NEW GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION.

I. Precedents of the new organization.
II. Doctrines of Government.
III. Brilliant Statesman and Administrator.
IV. Napoleon's barracks.
V. Modeled after Rome.

BOOK THIRD. OBJECT AND MERITS OF THE SYSTEM.

CHAPTER I. RECOVERY OF SOCIAL ORDER.

I. Rule as the mass want to be ruled.
II. The Revolution Ends.
III. Return of the Emigrés.
IV. Education and Medical Care.
V. Old and New.
VI. Religion
VII. The Confiscated Property.
VIII. Public Education.

CHAPTER II. TAXATION AND CONSCRIPTION.

I. Distributive Justice in Allotment of Burdens and Benefits.
II. Equitable Taxation.
III. Formation of Honest, Efficient Tax Collectors
IV. Various Taxes.
V. Conscription or Professional soldiers.

CHAPTER III. AMBITION AND SELF-ESTEEM.

I. Rights and benefits.
II. Ambitions during the Ancient Regime.
III. Ambition and Selection.
IV. Napoleon, Judge-Arbitrator-Ruler.
IV. The Struggle for Office and Title.
V. Self-esteem and a good Reputation.

BOOK FOURTH. DEFECT AND EFFECTS OF THE SYSTEM.

CHAPTER I. LOCAL SOCIETY.

I. Human Incentives.
II. Local Community.
III. Essential Public Local Works.
IV. Local associations.
V. Local versus State authority.
VI. Local Elections under the First Consul.
VII. Municipal and general councillors under the Empire.
VIII. Excellence of Local Government after Napoleon.

CHAPTER II. LOCAL SOCIETY SINCE 1830.

I. Introduction of Universal suffrage.
II. Universal suffrage.
III. Equity in taxation.
IV. On unlimited universal suffrage.
V. Rural or urban communes.
VI. The larger Communes.
VII. Local society in 1880.
VIII. Final result in a tendency to bankruptcy.