As no other outlet for them is allowed by the State it owes them this one； since it invites them and reduces everybody to competing under its direction it is bound to be an impartial arbiter； since the quality of citizen， in itself and through it alone， confers the right to make one's way， all citizens indifferently must enjoy the right of succeeding in any employment， the very highest， and without any distinction as to birth， fortune， cult or party. There must be no more preliminary exclusions； no more gratuitous preferences， undeserved favors， anticipated promotions； no more special favors. - Such is the rule of the modern State： constituted as it is， that is to say， monopolizer and omnipresent， it cannot violate this rule for any length of time with impunity. In France， at least， the good and bad spirits of equality agree in exacting adherence to it： on this point， the French are unanimous； no article of their social code is more cherished by them； this one flatters their amour-propre and tickles their imagination； it exalts hope， nourishes illusion， intensifies the energy and enjoyment of life. - Thus far， the principle has remained inert， powerless， held in suspension in the air， in the great void of speculative declarations and of constitutional promises. Napoleon brings it down to the ground and renders it practical； that which the assemblies had decreed in vain for ten years he brings about for the first time and in his own interest. To exclude a class or category of men from offices and promotion would be equivalent to depriving one's self gratuitously of all the talents it contains， and， moreover， to incurring， besides the inevitable rancor of these frustrated talents， the sullen and lasting discontent of the entire class or category. The First Consul would do himself a wrong were he to curb his right to choose： he needs every available capacity， and he takes them where he finds them， to the right， to the left， above or below， in order to keep his regiments full and enroll in his service every legitimate ambition and every justifiable pretension.
Under the monarchy， an obscure birth debarred even the best endowed men from the principal offices. Under the Consulate and the Empire the two leading personages of the State are Lebrun， Maupeou's old secretary， a productive translator，[8] a lawyer， formerly councilor in a provincial court of justice， then third-consul， then Duc de Plaisance and arch-chancellor of the Empire and Cambacérès， second-consul， then Duc de Parme and arch-chancellor of the Empire， both of them being princes. Similarly， the marshals are new men and soldiers of fortune， a few of them born in the class of inferior nobles or in the ordinary bourgeois class， mostly among the people or even amongst the populace， and， in its lowest ranks， Masséna， the son of a wine-dealer， once a cabin-boy and then common soldier and non-commissioned officer for fourteen years； Ney， son of a cooper， Lefebvre， son of a miller， Murat， son of a tavern-keeper， Lannes， son of an hostler， and Augereau， son of a mason and a female dealer in fruit and vegetables.