132 On the existence of Lactic Acid in Living Bodies. 



aus denen er die Gegenwart der Milchs'aure im Harn er- 

 schlossen hat, n'aher beachtet, so ergiebt sich aus keinem der- 

 selben ein Beweis, dass sie einen Bestandtheil des frischen 

 Harns ausmacht." 



In the two papers of MM. Enderlin and Liebig which have 

 been cited, lactic acid was merely a pretext. All the experi- 

 ments were directed to the purpose of not finding lactic acid ; 

 and the principal intention was evidently that of showing that 

 the data which I had published were inexact. Did they wish 

 simply to revenge themselves for the opposition which I offered; 

 or did they hope that by treating one of my labours in this 

 way, that I should be induced to make a kind of confession in 

 order to avoid the censure of the Giessen school with respect 

 to my other labours? I shall not decide this question. 



M. Liebig attained his end, that of causing it to be believed 

 for some years that living bodies contained no lactic acid. 

 And who could have imagined that this scientific farce would 

 have terminated by M. Liebig himself discovering that lactic 

 acid exists in the animal fluids, when I had proved it forty 

 years before him ? 



M. Pelouze had indicated a reaction, by means of oxide of 

 copper and hydrate of lime, by which the presence of lactic 

 acid might be discovered. M. Boussingault employed this 

 reaction to prove that an acid which he found in urine was 

 lactic acid. But for the purpose of also destroying this reac- 

 tion, before having ascertained the presence of lactic acid, 

 M. Liebig caused it to be proved by M. Schlieper, one of his 

 pupils in the Giessen laboratory, that M. Pelouze had deceived 

 himself, and that his method was inapplicable. I have satisfied 

 myself that the reaction described by M. Pelouze for the de- 

 tection of lactic acid is perfectly correct; but I have at the 

 same time found, that if proper precautions be not adopted, 

 the end may be completely missed. 



After M. Liebig was convinced by his own experiments 

 that living bodies contain lactic acid, he did not endeavour to 

 excuse the errors which he and his pupils had committed re- 

 specting the existence of this acid. Instead of this, he did all 

 that he could to reduce the labours of his predecessors to mere 

 attempts of insufficient reactions and unfounded hypotheses, 

 in order to appropriate the whole of the discovery to himself. 

 This mode of acting is unprecedented in the annals of science. 

 M. Liebig has endeavoured not to be surpassed in this respect. 



found. How curious, that in the absence of all proofs on the part of the 

 opponents of lactic acid, I should now demonstrate to them its existence 

 in the flesh of oxen, fowls, calves and sheep."— Phil. .Mag., vol. xxx. 1807, 

 p. 412. 



