, little families, among that very class in society
which by cultivating the sentiment of honor should leaven the
practical, materialistic temper of the multitude. At the present time,
when the burghers amass in trade far greater fortunes than the
aristocracy possess, when the learned secure greater power by
intellectual vigor, when the demagogues grow mightier by the command
of votes, titles alone carry little weight, and the virtues of honor,
of chivalry, of elegance, can with difficulty display their example.

No argument can ever restore general confidence in the institution of
primogeniture, but it dies hard, even in England. In the United
States the absolute liberty of testamentary disposition enables a
wealthy father to found a family almost as perfectly as if the right
of entail existed, and the bulk of large fortunes is constantly left
by will to the most capable son, in order that he may keep up the
family name, the family estates, and the family pride. But under the
provisions of the Code Napoleon such a course is impossible. As the
lawgiver did not hesitate to contravene his own legislation in the
case of the Jews, so he again disregarded it in order to consolidate
that aristocracy of which he hoped to make another strong prop to his
throne; for he already had the Church and the people. "The code," he
said, "was made for the welfare of the people; and if that welfare
demands other measures, we must take them." This was not difficult,
because the imperial power had gradually shaped two instruments
wherewith to act: one was the laws sanctioned by the legislature and
pertaining ordinarily to abstract questions of jurisprudence; the
other was the Emperor's personal decrees, which, though discussed by
the council of state, were the expression of the Emperor's will, and
covered in their scope the whole field of authority.

It was by the latter course that he had intended to create the new
nobility. Ostensibly the measure was to be the last blow of the ax at
the root of feudalism. The new dignities carried no privilege with
them; they were, it was explained, a sort of civic crown to which any
one might aspire, and their creation was therefore in no way
derogatory to the principle of equality. The holders might become too
independent and self-reliant, they might even display a class spirit;
but the Emperor felt himself to be striving upward, these creatures of
his would have to run fast before they could outstrip t