speak for him. Accordingly, if the conclusion is not written, whoever
knows how to read his thought may divine it. The work, such as it is,
is finished; it already contains his ideas in full; the intelligent
eye has only to follow them and to note their consequences and
combination.
André Chevrillon
Menthon, St-Bernard, October, 1893.
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BOOK FIFTH. The Church.

CHAPTER I. MORAL INSTITUTIONS

I. Napoleon's Objectives.

Centralization and moral institutions - Object of the State in
absorbing Churches. - Their influence on civil society.

After the centralizing and invading State has taken hold of local
societies there is nothing left for it but to cast its net over moral
societies[7], and this second haul is more important than the first
one; for, if local societies are based on the proximity of physical
bodies and habitations, the latter are formed out of the accord which
exists between minds and souls; in possessing these, the hold is no
longer on the outside but on the inside of man, his thought, his will;
the incentive within is laid hold of, and this directly; then only can
he be fully mastered, and disposed of at discretion. To this end, the
main purpose of the conquering State is the possession of the