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11 - Louis Pasteur by Albert Keim, Louis Lumet · Louis Pasteur

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  Speaker 1: Section eleven of Louis Pasteur by Albert Kaim and Louis Lumey,
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  Speaker 1: translated by Frederick Taber Cooper. This LibriVox recording is in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain recording by Pamela and Agami, Chapter seven,
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  Speaker 1: The Sovereignty of Genius, Part two. Pasteur was succeeded in
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  Speaker 1: the Academie Francis by Gaston Paris, the restorer of the
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  Speaker 1: old national literature of France, and on the occasion of
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  Speaker 1: his reception, the illustrious scientist j Bertand, who responded to
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  Speaker 1: his address, told some delicious anecdotes of Pasteur, his works
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  Speaker 1: and his character. Already illustrious, he said, but not yet celebrated.
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  Speaker 1: Pastor was appointed to express before the statue of Teynard
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  Speaker 1: the homage of the ex col Normal. He was scheduled
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  Speaker 1: to speak among the very last of the orators. When
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  Speaker 1: he arose to make his address, the crowd, the re
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  Speaker 1: of eloquence continued to applaud that had ceased to listen,
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  Speaker 1: without wasting time by relating, for the fifteenth occasion, trivial
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  Speaker 1: anecdotes and doubtful legends, without even mentioning hydrogen peroxide. Pastor
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  Speaker 1: paid teena the admirable tribute of dwelling only on his kindliness,
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  Speaker 1: recalling only his sense of justice. From the opening words,
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  Speaker 1: his earnest and effective phrases penetrated to the very heart,
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  Speaker 1: and while even the remotest hearers followed him with close attention,
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  Speaker 1: tears of emotion filled the eyes. Of all occasions such
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  Speaker 1: as that were rare. It was only when he was
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  Speaker 1: forced to it that Pastor showed the brilliance of his mind.
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  Speaker 1: One day at the Academy of Sciences, two contradictory spirits
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  Speaker 1: were raising objections unworthy of attention regarding certain discoveries. After
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  Speaker 1: a crushing reply, Pastor, apostrophising them both together, said to
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  Speaker 1: the one, do you know what you lack? You lack
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  Speaker 1: the power of observation, And to the other, and you
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  Speaker 1: the power of reasoning? A murmur arose. The academy was
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  Speaker 1: protesting against the lack of courtesy in this form of speech.
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  Speaker 1: Pastor at once interrupted himself. The heat of the discussion
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  Speaker 1: carried me away. He said, I regret my impetuosity. I
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  Speaker 1: beg that my colleagues will accept my sincere apology. His
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  Speaker 1: extreme simplicity and frankness pleased the members when Suddenly, he added,
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  Speaker 1: I have acknowledged myself at fault. I have willingly made
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  Speaker 1: my excuses. May I not be permitted to plead an
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  Speaker 1: extenuating circumstance? It is this that what I said was true,
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  Speaker 1: And after a moment's reflection, he added, absolutely true. A
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  Speaker 1: unanimous and appreciative laugh. Enlive in the academy, and like
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  Speaker 1: sensible persons, the two adversaries joined in. In accordance with
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  Speaker 1: Renault's express desire, Pastor frequently attended the meetings of the
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  Speaker 1: Academie Francaise. He sometimes went there in the company of
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  Speaker 1: Monsieur Durey, the Minister of Public Instruction, who had encouraged
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  Speaker 1: his early efforts. For it happened that one of them
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  Speaker 1: lived at the e coll Normal in the Rudome, and
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  Speaker 1: the other in the Rue de Medicis. On Thursday, when
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  Speaker 1: they had taken a modest fiacre to drive to the institute,
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  Speaker 1: it happened to be Durey, who, upon arriving at the destination,
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  Speaker 1: tendered a five franc piece to the coachman. No change,
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  Speaker 1: said the latter. Then keep the whole piece and memory
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  Speaker 1: of the occasion you have driven the leading scientist of
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  Speaker 1: the century Pasteur immediately put his hand in his pocket,
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  Speaker 1: drew out a brand new crown, and said, here, my friend,
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  Speaker 1: take this also, because you have driven the greatest minister
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  Speaker 1: of the Second Empire. The coachman looked somewhat bewildered, but
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  Speaker 1: eminently happy, while the two academicians entered the court of
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  Speaker 1: the Palais Mazarin still laughing. Four pasteur One homage succeeded another.
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  Speaker 1: The town of Auberenna, saved from ruin by his discoveries
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  Speaker 1: in regard to the disease of silkworms, presented him in
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  Speaker 1: May of eighteen eighty two with a work of art
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  Speaker 1: in which the microscope was portrayed as rendering possible the
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  Speaker 1: cultivation of healthy silkworms. Next it was nim which awarded
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  Speaker 1: him a medal for his vaccine against anthrax, And next Montpellier,
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  Speaker 1: where the Agricultural Society organized a solemn meeting for the
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  Speaker 1: purpose of thanking him for having vanquished antrax and to
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  Speaker 1: beg him to cure the rot of the full. He
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  Speaker 1: had become the great magician, but he had against him
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  Speaker 1: certain beloved brethren, who, either in good faith or otherwise
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  Speaker 1: combated the doctrine of microbes and he had to sustain
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  Speaker 1: some hard contest against the doubting peters of the Academy
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  Speaker 1: of Medicine. On the other hand, the German school, with
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  Speaker 1: doctor Kach at its head, disputed his discoveries, going so
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  Speaker 1: far as to deny wholly the value of his observations.
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  Speaker 1: But he was so certain of the positive results he
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  Speaker 1: had obtained that he sent his pupil Tuilliers as a
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  Speaker 1: delegate to Germany with virulent cultures of anthrax as well
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  Speaker 1: as attenuated viruses, thus carrying his experiments into the territory
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  Speaker 1: of the enemy. He suffered from such ill will, and
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  Speaker 1: from all these quarrels ceaselessly renewed. His resentment, however, was
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  Speaker 1: so by the admiration he received from the great majority
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  Speaker 1: of scientists. The Academy of Sciences, having taken the initiative,
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  Speaker 1: the learned society subscribed toward a medal to be presented
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  Speaker 1: to him, containing his profile modeled by Alfe Dubois, with
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  Speaker 1: this inscription to Louis Pasteur from his colleagues, his friends,
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  Speaker 1: and his admirers. This token was presented to him on
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  Speaker 1: the twenty fifth of January eighteen eighty two, and Pasteur
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  Speaker 1: had the pleasure of seeing his old teacher Dumas heading
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  Speaker 1: the delegation, which consisted of bossingau Boulet, Ganmain, d'ubray, Berton,
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  Speaker 1: Tisn and Devenne, and of hearing him deliver the presentations
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  Speaker 1: speech Duma whom, as an obscure youth he had listened
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  Speaker 1: to at the Sorbann leaving the lecture room, moved to
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  Speaker 1: the point of tears. The government did not remain insensible
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  Speaker 1: to the enthusiastic movement and recognition of the discoveries of Pasteur.
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  Speaker 1: Upon the second report by Paul Bert, the French chambers
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  Speaker 1: raised Pasteur's pension to twenty five thousand francs, in imitation
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  Speaker 1: of Germany, which had accorded Jenner two hundred and fifty
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  Speaker 1: thousand francs in eighteen oh two and five hundred thousand
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  Speaker 1: in eighteen oh seven for his vaccine against smallpox. Paul
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  Speaker 1: Beher's report summed up Pastor's works as follows. They can
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  Speaker 1: be classed, he wrote, in three series. They constitute three
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  Speaker 1: great discoveries. The first may be formulated as follows. Each
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  Speaker 1: fermentation is the product of the development of a special microbe.
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  Speaker 1: The second may be formulated each infectious disease, or at
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  Speaker 1: least those which have been studied by Monsieur Pasteur, or
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  Speaker 1: as immediate disciples, is produced by the development of some
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  Speaker 1: special microbe within the organism. The third may be expressed
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  Speaker 1: as follows. The microbe of an infectious disease, if cultivated
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  Speaker 1: under certain specified conditions, becomes attenuated in respect to its
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  Speaker 1: harmful qualities. It has been converted from a virus into
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  Speaker 1: a vaccine. As practical consequences of the first discovery, Monsieur
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  Speaker 1: Pasteur has given rules for the manufacture of vinegar and beer,
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  Speaker 1: and he has shown how beer and wine may be
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  Speaker 1: preserved from those secondary fermentations which turn them sour cause
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  Speaker 1: la mayer la grece lapouse, and prevent their transportation and
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  Speaker 1: often even their preservation on the spot where they are produced.
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  Speaker 1: As practical consequences of the second discovery, Monsieur Pasteur has
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  Speaker 1: prescribed the rules to be followed in order to protect
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  Speaker 1: our flocks and herds from the contamination of antras and
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  Speaker 1: our silkworms from the maladies which destroy them. On the
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  Speaker 1: other hand, our surgeons have succeeded under its guidance in
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  Speaker 1: almost completely doing away with a resiphilis and other purulent
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  Speaker 1: infections which formerly caused the death of so many patients
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  Speaker 1: after operations. As practical consequences of the Third Discovery, Monsieur
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  Speaker 1: Pasteur has prescribed the rules to be followed in order
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  Speaker 1: to save the horses, cattle and sheep, and in point
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  Speaker 1: of fact, has saved them from the disease of antrax,
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  Speaker 1: which annually caused their death in France to the value
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  Speaker 1: of twenty million francs. Swine also are now protected from
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  Speaker 1: rouget which decimated them, and the barn door fowl from
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  Speaker 1: the chicken cholera, which caused terrible ravages among them. And
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  Speaker 1: now there is every reason to hope that hide turophobia
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  Speaker 1: also will soon be conquered. The motion calling for an
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  Speaker 1: increase of the national recompense was passed unanimously. But a
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  Speaker 1: ceremony even dearer to Pastor's heart than this grateful homage
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  Speaker 1: of an entire people was in preparation in the little
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  Speaker 1: town of his birth. On the fourteenth of July eighteen
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  Speaker 1: eighty three, a commemorative tablet was placed upon the house
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  Speaker 1: in which Pastor was born, and Monsieur Kemphen, director of
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  Speaker 1: the Bozar, who had been delegated by the government said
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  Speaker 1: at its inauguration, in the name of the Government of
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  Speaker 1: the Republic, I salute this inscription, which recalls the fact
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  Speaker 1: that on the twenty seventh of December eighteen twenty two,
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  Speaker 1: there was born in this little street, one who was
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  Speaker 1: destined to become one of the greatest scientists of a century,
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  Speaker 1: whose greatness lies in science, and one who, by his
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  Speaker 1: admirable labors, has augmented the glory of his life native land,
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  Speaker 1: and won the gratitude of all humanity. Pastor spoke in reply.
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  Speaker 1: In his address, reveals the great qualities of his generous heart,
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  Speaker 1: his extreme personal modesty, and the pride which he cherished
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  Speaker 1: on behalf of science alone. Gentlemen, he said, I am
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  Speaker 1: deeply moved by the honor done me by the town
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  Speaker 1: of dol But permit me, while expressing my appreciation, to
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  Speaker 1: utter a protest against this excess of glory. In according
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  Speaker 1: me a homage which is rendered only to the illustrious dead.
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  Speaker 1: You are usurping in advance the judgment of posterity. Will
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  Speaker 1: posterity ratify your decision? And ought you not? Monsieur de
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  Speaker 1: Mayor have prudently advised the municipal council not to pass
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  Speaker 1: such a hasty resolution. But having made my protest, gentlemen,
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  Speaker 1: against this public proof of an admiration which I do
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  Speaker 1: not deserve, allow me to say that I am touched
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  Speaker 1: and moved to the bottom of my soul. Your sympathetic
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  Speaker 1: tribute has united in this commemorative tablet the two great
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  Speaker 1: things which have formed at once the passion and the
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  Speaker 1: charm of my life, my love of science and my
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  Speaker 1: attachment to the paternal hearth. Oh, my father and my mother,
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  Speaker 1: Oh my dear lost ones, who lived so modestly in
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  Speaker 1: this little house. It is you to whom I owe everything.
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  Speaker 1: Your enthusiasm, my valiant mother, you passed on to me.
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  Speaker 1: If I have always associated the greatness of science with
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  Speaker 1: the greatness of my native land, it is because I
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  Speaker 1: was impregnated with the sentiments which you inspired in me.
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  Speaker 1: And you, my dear father, whose life was as hard
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  Speaker 1: as your own heartcraft, it is you who taught me
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  Speaker 1: what can be done by patience and long effort. It
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  Speaker 1: is you to whom I owe tenacious persistence in the
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  Speaker 1: daily task. Not only did you have those qualities of
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  Speaker 1: price which result in useful lives, but you also had
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  Speaker 1: admiration for great men and great deeds, to aim higher
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  Speaker 1: and higher, to learn more and more, to seek constantly
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  Speaker 1: to rise. Such were the things you taught me. I
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  Speaker 1: can still see you at the close of your laborious day,
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  Speaker 1: reading in the evening the account of some battle from
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  Speaker 1: one of the volumes of contemporary history, which recalled to
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  Speaker 1: your mind the glorious epoch of which you had been
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  Speaker 1: witnessed while teaching me to read. You also took pains
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  Speaker 1: to teach me the greatness of France. My blessings on
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  Speaker 1: you both, my dear parents, for all that you have done,
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  Speaker 1: and let me pass on to you the homage which
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  Speaker 1: has to day been paid to this house. Gentlemen, I
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  Speaker 1: thank you for having permitted me to say publicly what
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  Speaker 1: has been in my thoughts for sixty years. I thank
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  Speaker 1: you for this festival, and you're welcome. And I thank
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  Speaker 1: the town of Dole, which never loses sight of any
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  Speaker 1: of her children, and which has held me in such
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  Speaker 1: affectionate memory. But the honors paid to his genius, whether
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  Speaker 1: of a private or public character, failed to turn him
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  Speaker 1: aside from his laborious task. At the beginning of the
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  Speaker 1: month of August eighteen eighty three, at which time a
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  Speaker 1: formidable epidemic of cholera had broken out in Egypt. He
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  Speaker 1: sent out a small band of his pupils, Monsieur Roux, Nocack,
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  Speaker 1: Strauss and Tuilliers, for the purpose of studying the frightful
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  Speaker 1: malady and seeking some means of checking its ravages. Tuilliers
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  Speaker 1: was destined to die during this scientific expedition, stricken down
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  Speaker 1: by the scourge and the fullness of youth and hope,
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  Speaker 1: he was only twenty six years of age. Through the
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  Speaker 1: pious cares of the pastor institute, his medallion has been
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  Speaker 1: placed upon one of the walls of the garden in
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  Speaker 1: testimony of his valor and devotion. The studies pursued by
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  Speaker 1: Pastor and his pupils were at this epoch extended to
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  Speaker 1: every malady of microbic origin, but more particularly to hydrophobia,
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  Speaker 1: that terror of the country districts, in which the illustrious
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  Speaker 1: scientist was determined to vanquish by the combined power of
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  Speaker 1: genius and persistence. He was interrupted for a few weeks
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  Speaker 1: by the obligation of representing France at the celebration of
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  Speaker 1: the tri centenary of the University of Edinburgh in company
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  Speaker 1: with Messieurs Cajo, Gerard de Lesseps, Guizot and Eugen Guillomme.
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  Speaker 1: In London, the French delegates found a private parlor car
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  Speaker 1: awaiting them thanks to mystery Junger, a Scotch brewer, who
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  Speaker 1: wished in this manner to thank Pastor for his studies.
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  Speaker 1: In relation to it was a recognition of the fine
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  Speaker 1: generosity of the French savant, who had enriched commerce and
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  Speaker 1: manufactures to the extent of millions, while refusing to retain
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  Speaker 1: anything for himself. And that is one of the brightest
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  Speaker 1: sides of the glory of France. End of Section eleven.