The delays, complications and frictions of a divided government were repugnant to him; he had no taste for and no comprehension of any but a concentrated government; he found it convenient to deal with but one man, a prefect of the spiritual order, as pliable as his colleague of the temporal order, a mitered grand functionary--such was the bishop in his eyes.

This is the reason why he did not oblige him to surround himself with constitutional and moderating authorities; he did not restore the ancient bishop's court and the ancient chapter; he allowed his prelates themselves to pen the new diocesan statute .-- Naturally, in the division of powers, the bishop reserved the best part to himself, the entire substance, and, to limit his local omnipotence, there remained simply lay authority.

But, in practice, the shackles by which the civil government kept him in its dependence, broke or became relaxed one by one.

Among the Organic Articles, almost all of them which subjected or repressed the bishop fell into discredit or into desuetude.

Meanwhile, those which authorized and exalted the bishop remained in vigor and maintained their effect.
Consequently, Napoleon's calculation, in relation to the bishop or in relation to the Pope, proved erroneous.