104 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
licence. Only a small proportion of the lycées (34 out of the 115), 
have this Classe; but with the exception of Aix they are to be found in 
all university towns. On the other hand, yet other lycées have classes 
which prepare specially for the less exacting mathematical entrance 
examinations of the Ecole Centrale, Ecole de Saint Cyr, Ecole Navale, 
etc. But the number of éléves who on first starting out deliberately 
try to pass examinations for these schools is small, in proportion to the 
number who eventually reach them after repeated but vain effort to 
get into the Ecole Polytechnique or the Ecole Normale Supérieure. 
Just what makes these two schools famous and peculiarly attractive 
will appear in a later section. It has been noticed that when the éléve 
has won his baccalauréat he may immediately matriculate into a uni- 
versity, and although it might be possible for him to keep pace with the 
courses, in mathematics, at least, it would be a matter of excessive 
difficulty. There is then in reality, between the baccalauréat and the 
first courses of the universities, a distinct break, bridged only by the 
Classes de Mathématiques Spéciales. 
The éléves who enter the préparatoire section of this class are, 
generally,' bacheliers leaving the classes de Mathématiques; in very 
rare instances, there are those who come from the classe de Philosophie. 
Natural science, history and geography, philosophy—indeed practically 
every study except those necessary for the end in view, have been 
dropped and from this time on to the agrégation and doctorat all 
energies are bent in the direction of intense specialization. This is 
the most pronounced characteristic of French education to-day. In 
mathematics, instruction now occupies 12 instead of 8 hours. New 
points of view, new topics and broader general principles are developed 
in algebra and analysis, trigonometry, analytical geometry and 
mechanics. Physics and chemistry are taught during six hours instead 
of five. Add to these, German, 2 hours; French literature, one hour; 
descriptive geometry, 4 hours; drawing, 4 hours. After one year of 
this preparatory training the éléve passes into the remarkable Classe 
de Mathématiques Spéciales. ' 
Eight years of strenuous training have made this class possible for 
the young man of 17 or 18 years of age, who is confronted with no less 
than 34 hours of class and laboratory work per week and no limit as 
to the number of hours expected in preparing for the classes! 
When first I looked over the programme it seemed a well nigh im- 
possible performance for one year. Surely no other country can show 
anything to compare with it. Although it would be of interest to 

! Pupils who are not bacheliers, but who are preparing to enter the Ecole 
Centrale, are also admitted into this class. 
