At the head of the Government the philosopher desired to enthrone an august personage, the Grand Elector, who was to be selected by the Senate.

This Grand Elector was to nominate two Consuls, one for peace, the other for war; they were to nominate the Ministers of State, who in their turn selected the agents of power from the list of Notabilities of the Nation.

The two Consuls and their Ministers administered the executive affairs.

The Senate, sitting in dignified ease, was merely to safeguard the constitution, to elect the Grand Elector, and to select the members of the _Corps Legislatif_ (proper) and the Tribunate.
Distrust of the former almost superhuman activity in law-making now appeared in divisions, checks, and balances quite ingenious in their complexity.

The Legislature was divided into three councils: the _Corps Legislatif_, properly so called, which listened in silence to proposals of laws offered by the Council of State and criticised or orally approved by the Tribunate.[131] These three bodies were not only divided, but were placed in opposition, especially the two talking bodies, which resembled plaintiff and defendant pleading before a gagged judge.