ANTISEPTIC SURGERY 159 



Excuse the freedom which is inspired by our common 

 love of science. 



Believe me, I am, with profound respect, 



Very sincerely yours, 



Joseph Lister. 



Lister's letter afforded Pasteur much gratifica- 

 tion. I do not know whether it was read before 

 the Academy of Medicine, but at any rate it should 

 have been. Other surgeons who were led to em- 

 ploy antiseptic methods were rewarded by an un- 

 usually high percentage of successful operations. 

 Pasteur pleaded for the employment of antisepsis 

 in surgery before the Academy of Medicine, and 

 the more open-minded members of this body came 

 to realize that there was much to be learned from 

 this non-medical member of their organization, for 

 he had much to tell them of micro-organisms, their 

 tenacity of life and means of spread. Antiseptic 

 surgery, the spontaneous generation of germs, and 

 the germ theory of disease provoked continued and 

 warm discussion. In the field in which he had car- 

 ried on investigations Pasteur had the advantage 

 of extensive and accurate knowledge based on most 

 carefully controlled experiments, and he took a 

 peculiar pleasure in defying his adversaries to 



