Thus， beyond the universal ascendancy which his power and genius have conferred on him， he craves a personal， supplementary， and irresistible hold on everybody. Consequently，[59]"he carefully cultivates all the bad passions . . . . he is glad to find the bad side in a man， so as to get him in his power"； the thirst for money in Savary， the Jacobin defects of Fouché， the vanity and sensuality of Cambacérès， the careless cynicism and "the easy immorality" of Talleyrand， the "dry bluntness " of Duroc， the courtier-like insipidity of Maret， "the silliness" of Berthier； he brings this out， diverts himself with it， and profits by it. "Where he sees no vice， he encourages weaknesses， and， in default of anything better， he provokes fear， so that he may be ever and continually the strongest. .
. .He dreads ties of affection， and strives to alienate people from each other. . . . He sells his favors only by arousing anxiety； he thinks that the best way to attach individuals to him is to compromise them， and often， even， to ruin them in public opinion." - " If Caulaincourt is compromised，" said he， after the murder of the Duc d'Enghien， "it is no great matter， he will serve me all the better."Once that the creature is in his clutches， let him not imagine that he can escape or withhold anything of his own accord； all that he has belongs to him. Zeal and success in the performance of duty， punctual obedience within limits previously designated， is not enough； behind the functionary he claims the man. "All that may well be，" he replies， to whatever may be said in praise of him，[60] "but he does not belong to me as I would like." It is devotion which he exacts， and， by devotion， he means the irrevocable and complete surrender "of the entire person， in all his sentiments and opinions." According to him， writes a witness， "one must abandon every old habit， even the most trifling， and be governed by one thought alone，. that of his will and interests."[61] For greater security， his servitors ought to extinguish in themselves the critical sense. "What he fears the most is that， close to him or far off， the faculty of judging should be applied or even preserved.""His idea is a marble groove，" out of which no mind should diverge.[62] Especially as no two minds could think of diverging at the same time， and on the same side， their concurrence， even when passive， their common understanding， even if kept to themselves， their whispers， almost inaudible， constitute a league， a faction， and， if they are functionaries， "a conspiracy." On his return from Spain he declares， with a terrible explosion of wrath and threats，[63] "that the ministers and high dignitaries whom he has created must stop expressing their opinions and thoughts freely， that they cannot be otherwise than his organs， that treason has already begun when they begin to doubt， and that it is under full headway when， from doubt， they proceed to dissent." If， against his constant encroachments， they strive to preserve a last refuge， if they refuse to abandon their conscience to him， their faith as Catholics or their honor as honest men， he is surprised and gets irritated. In reply to the Bishop of Ghent， who， in the most respectful manner， excuses himself for not taking a second oath that is against his conscience， he rudely turns his back， and says， "Very well， sir， your conscience is a blockhead！"[64] Portalis， director of the publishing office，[65]
having received a papal brief from his cousin， the Abbé d'Astros， respected a confidential communication； he simply recommended his cousin to keep this document secret， and declared that， if it were made public， he would prohibit its circulation； by way of extra precaution he notified the prefect of police. But he did not specially denounce his cousin， have the man arrested and the document seized. On the strength of this， the Emperor， in full council of state， apostrophizes him to his face， and， "with one of those looks which go straight through one，"[66] declares that he has committed "the vilest of perfidies"； he bestows on him for half an hour a hailstorm of reproaches and insults， and then orders him out of the room as if a lackey who had been guilty of a theft. Whether he keeps within his function or not， the functionary must be content to do whatever is demanded of him， and readily anticipate every commission.
