LOUIS PASTEUR, 19 



A second striking feature in Pasteur's life was its dramatic 

 character. One hardly looks for the dramatic in the achievement 

 of scientific results. But Pasteur was a Frenchman, and, although 

 thoroughly modest, he was, like other Frenchmen, alive to the 

 advantage of public demonstrations. As we look through his life 

 we can see him taking many and many an opportunity of present- 

 ing his scientific results in as dramatic a style as possible. Meet- 

 ing with opposition almost constantly during the years of his 

 active investigations, time and time again he planned public tests 

 in which his results should be brought before the public eye for 

 demonstration in such a fashion as to appeal in a striking manner 

 to the world. No other scientist has ever achieved so many 

 brilliant public successes. 



We must above all things learn from Pasteur's life that, after 

 all, the chief reason that his reputation advanced so rapidly in the 

 comparatively few years of his active work, was in no small 

 measure the fact, that he had the wisdom to see that it is to the 

 application of science to practical life, that the world in general 

 gives the greatest admiration. There is ever a tendency among 

 scientists to belittle one of their number who attempts to apply to 

 practical life the results of research. In spite of every plea that 

 may be made for pure science, it is the application of science to 

 the life of man that has the greatest interest to mankind. As we 

 look through Pasteur's life and study the growth of his wide repu- 

 tation, we shall find that his reputation was largely founded upon 

 the brilliant epochs in his history, where he applied to practical 

 subjects the results of the scientific investigation. The advance 

 in his reputation came at those occasions, when the public learned 

 of his work, because it had been applied to something that 

 interested the world. The homage that the world has given to 

 Pasteur testifies to the value of practical science, testifies to the 

 truth of the position that pure science is of value to man 

 chiefly as it can be applied to facts which influence practical life. 

 While, then, applied science is frequently mentioned with a slight 

 disdain by the modern advanced scientist, it is well to remember 

 that Pasteur, whose reputation as a scientist has perhaps outranked 

 that of any man of the last fifty years, made his reputation and 

 achieved his world-wide fame, because he applied to the practical 



