Not only were the scholarships at the Louis the Great School high, but the quality of the instruction had always been recognized as good. Its predecessor was a Jesuit church school known as the "Clermont School", founded in 1563, which, from its very inception, had attracted the displeasure of the University of Paris because of its practice of offering free tuition to day students.
For more than two hundred years, the School of Louis the Great struggled against the University of Paris. In 1762, the University of Paris was victorious when the Paris Assembly passed a resolution expelling the Jesuit administrators and placing the school under the control of the University of Paris, which was renamed the École Louis the Great in a bid to kiss the ass of the then King Louis XV. The University of Paris seemed to have won this bicentennial marathon. What the University of Paris never expected, however, was that it was from this high school, under its own control, that the real rival of the University of Paris would emerge.
In 1766, the School of Louis the Great began to set up a teacher's qualification examination, and thereafter, in order to help candidates, the school opened a corresponding teacher training college. This teacher training college was the forerunner of what was later to become one of France's most prestigious universities, the École Normale Supérieure de Paris.
It was such a high school that Joseph now wished to enroll in.
Generally speaking, it was quite difficult for a student from the provinces to pass the qualifying exams for Louis the Great's school. First of all, the student had to be recommended by the bishop of one of the local dioceses, and then there was the fact that he had to be able to pass the school's selection process. But these were not particularly big problems for Joseph. Being the godson of Bishop Mignonette, getting a recommendation wasn't difficult, and passing the selection wasn't difficult for a traveler who had done a master's degree in the latter days. It was only the expense of attending this school that was the roadblock before Joseph.
After the University of Paris took control of the School of Louis the Great, the original policy of not charging for walk-ins was dead in the water. Honestly, though, today's fees aren't that high, almost nominal. But the thing is, Paris is expensive for a hundred things, and it's not easy to live there. To be a day student in Paris, you have to spend a lot of money just on lodging and food. Although the Louis the Great school scholarships were high, no one got a scholarship immediately upon entering the school. So today Joseph was in dire need of a start-up fund.
Joseph knew his father didn't have much money on hand. Carlo had been Pauli's adjutant in his day and had fought the French for the independence of Corsica. Later, although he submitted to the French, in order to keep his noble status, he had to go and curry favor with the governor of Corsica, which cost him a lot of his savings. He had six other children to raise nowadays and should not be able to get much money.
Joseph then wrote a letter to Bishop Migneaud asking for his help. He knew that Bishop Migneaud belonged to the Society of Jesus who sympathized with the Jesuits (by this time, the Jesuits had been outlawed by Pope Clément XIV. But its influence remained, and many of Bishop Mignonette's styles were clearly influenced by the Jesuits), so in his letter he specifically called the School of Louis the Great the "School of Clermont". The letter also referred to Louis the Great's school as the "School of Clermont" and hinted at an interest in theology.
Soon after, Bishop Mignonette wrote back to Joseph. The bishop praised Joseph's piety, but he also told Joseph that he was not advocating that Joseph should enter the arms of the Church now.
"My son, there are many paths that God has ordained for man, and becoming a priest is not the only path that is in accordance with God's will. I think you are still too young now, and it may not be right to make such a decision too soon. Perhaps you should experience some more things, such as love, wealth, and power. After that, perhaps you will truly understand what kind of path God has prepared for you.
Also, I am very supportive of your wish to get an education in a better school. Son, you know that in my heart, you are my son. What father is not filled with joy to see his son so advanced. At this point in time, when he reaches out to you for help, what father would not be willing to reach out and give him a hand? But as you know, I am not a very rich man, so for the time being I can only get one hundred and fifty francs, which I hope will be of some help to you.
Considering that you are only a child of eleven, (which I am sometimes apt to overlook) and that it is such a long way to Paris. It is really reassuring for me to go to such a faraway place alone. Brother Alfonso happened to be going to Paris on some business, and I counted the days, and they were not very far from the time you intended to leave for Paris, so I asked him to bring you the one hundred and fifty francs, and to go with you to Paris.
In Paris, the cost of living is so high that, under normal circumstances, one hundred and fifty francs will not support you for very long at all. Unless you live in one of those neighborhoods full of lower class people. Actually, it's not so bad to live there. When I was young, I lived in a place like that, where you can see a darkness that is darker than darkness, and find a whiteness that is whiter than whiteness in that darkness. A place like that can give you a lot of insight and even refine your soul. If you are a little older, a sixteen year old, then I think you can go to that kind of place to live for a while. But now ... the law and order there is very chaotic, leaving you there nowadays is like leaving a little lamb in a wolf s den. So, I found a place for you.
Between the Latin Quarter and the city gate of St. Marceau, there is a Franciscan chapel, and the priest of the present church there, Father Jean-Jacques, is a friend of mine, and I think that he can provide you with a humble, but comparatively safe hut ..."
It was also on the same day that Joseph received this letter that his younger brother, Napoleon, received an offer of enrollment at the Military Academy in Brienne. The ten year old Napoleon was happy to say goodbye to his brother and prepare to run off to the school he had his heart set on.
"O my foolish brother." Seeing Napoleon's happy face, Joseph couldn't help but jump in again, "Do you think the crows are white at the Brienne Military Academy? I'm sure it's just like here inside that Brienne Military Academy, full of fools who think they're noble, you're just jumping from one fire pit into another."
"Sancho, what do you know? I went to the military school at Brienne to learn knowledge; what has that to do with whether there are fools there or not? Is it because there are all fools there that the sum of the interior angles of a triangle is not one hundred and eighty degrees in their books? What does any of this matter as long as useful knowledge is learned?"
"Of course it matters." Joseph said, "O my foolish brother, even a Damascus knife takes a hammer and anvil to shape. Where do you go to forge your sword when you are surrounded by a mess? So remember to write to me often when you get there, so that I can teach you well. Saves you from rusting and rotting in the middle of a pit of muck."
"You're the biggest rotten pit in the world." Napoleon's mouth was still hard.
"Hahahahaha ...," Joseph laughed heartlessly.
After sending Napoleon away, another half-month passed, and it was almost time for the exams at Louis the Great's school. And at this time, the priest Alfonso, whom Bishop Minimère had mentioned in his letter, also arrived at the Lycée d'Orton.
Having taken his leave of absence from the school, Joseph followed the Reverend Alfonso on the stagecoach to Avignon.
It was already May, one of the most beautiful seasons of the year. The stagecoach came out of Marseilles and sped along the main road to Paris, the warm spring wind blowing in through the windows and sweeping into the carriage the stray scents of the wild flowers that bloomed by the roadside. Looking out from the carriage, on both sides of the road, and in the interstices of the dark green wheat fields, flowers of all colors bloomed, those of deep pink were talus herbs, mauve were mescaline, and there were red and yellow wild moonflowers. Occasionally a few small lilacs could be seen along the roadside, swaying their dark purple inflorescences in the spring breeze.
There were six people in the carriage, including Joseph. A cleric, a child, two middle-aged men in their thirties dressed as merchants, and a young couple. Except for the lady, they were all men in pants. (In France, the nobles always wore tight, short overpants and stockings below the knee; the commoners wore pants.)
A few people sat in the carriage, not having much to do anyway, and made casual small talk.
"Father, are you also traveling to Paris?" A thin merchant asked.
"I'm going to Notre Dame for some business." Friar Alfonso replied, "This is our bishop's godson, who is going to Paris to take the entrance exams for Louis the Great's school. I am traveling the same way as he is, and I happen to be taking him."
"Ah, it's not easy to leave home at such a young age to study in Paris." The skinny merchant said.
"Studying in Paris can cost a lot of money." The other merchant chimed in, "I'm afraid it costs several hundred francs a year."
"It doesn't cost much to study at Louis the Great's school." The husband of the young couple spoke up, "The School of Louis the Great has high scholarships, but it has high requirements for its students, the first is to have a recommendation from the church, and the second is to be able to pass the selection for admission."
Saying this, he then turned to Joseph and said, "Son, what subjects are you good at?"
Joseph then replied, "I can read and write Latin, and in addition I am fond of mathematics and natural philosophy."
"Mathematics is the language in which God created the world. Natural philosophy is another way for us to get closer to God." The young man said, "It is good that you can love these."
"There is only one way to approach God, and that is through the Church, sir!" Alfonso said gravely.
"You are right." The skinny merchant hurriedly agreed, while drawing a cross on his chest.
"The Church and the Bible are certainly the only way to get closer to God." That young man also hurriedly retracted his previous words, but he added somewhat less willingly, "However, isn't this world precisely the work of God? The praise of the world is, in the final analysis, the praise of the Heavenly Lord."
"I like that." Joseph interjected.
Alfonso had originally planned to say something else, but after hearing Joseph's words, he stopped speaking.