He would prefer to retain the teaching "brother" in the public school and the "sister" in the hospital as nurse or as teacher in the school; both would cost less, and he is used to their dark dresses and their white caps; moreover, he is not ill-disposed towards his resident cure, who is a "good fellow." Nevertheless, in sum, the rule of the cure is not to his taste; he does not wish to have him back, and he distrusts priests, especially the aspect of their allies who now consist of the upper bourgeoisie and the nobles.

Hence, out of ten million electors, five or six millions, entertaining partial dislikes and mute reservations, continue to vote, at least provisionally, for anti-Christian radicals.

All this shows that, through an insensible and slow reaction, the great rural mass, following the example of the great urban mass, is again becoming pagan[5362]; for one hundred years the wheel turns in this sense, without stopping, and this is serious, still more serious for the nation than for the Church.
In France, the inner Christianity, has, for all that, through the dual effect of its Catholic and French envelope, grown warmer among the clergy especially among the regular clergy, but is has cooled off among the people and it is especially here that it is needed.
***** Post Scriptum: Taine died in 1893 not long after having written this.

Much has happened since and the struggle between "Lay Republicans" and the Catholic Church has continued.

In "QUID 2000," a French popular reference manual containing on page 515 some notes on the evolution of the Catholic religion in France, we can read the following: "1899-11-11 the police occupies l'Assomption, 6, rue Francois Ier.