764 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



knew how to do it, they would confound the sentimental objections 

 of the anti-vivisectionists, and would declare that their own sufferings 

 deserve a higher consideration than the sufferings of a few animals. 



The physiologist in his exiDeriments is inspired by a humane senti- 

 ment — by love, not only for the present, but for future generations as 

 well, of mankind, for his purpose is to discover some of the truths that 

 may contribute to the relief of man. The immediate consequence, the 

 practical end, may often escajje him, but he is not concerned with them ; 

 for he long ago in his own mind identified science with the love of 

 man. He has acquired a conviction that science and the love of his 

 fellows are the same thing, and that every scientific conquest is a step 

 in the way of social progress. I do not believe that any experimenter 

 would say, on giving curare to a rabbit, or in cutting the marrow of a 

 dog, or in poisoning a frog, " This experiment is destined to help cure 

 or relieve some man's disease." He would not think of that, but would 

 say, " I am going to dissipate an obscurity, to seek out a new fact " ; 

 and this scientific curiosity, the only thought that animates him, can 

 be explained in no other way than as a consequence of the exalted 

 ideal he has conceived of science. 



This is why we pass our days in nauseous dissecting-rooms, sur- 

 rounded by groaning beings, in the midst of blood and suffering, 

 bent over palpitating viscera. We love science for itself, for the 

 grand results it is destined to give, and we surrender ourselves with 

 passion to the disinterested investigation of the truth that is hidden 

 in things, convinced that this truth will in time become the salvation 

 and hope of our brethren. 



No parity can be established between the results obtained and the 

 price they cost. A few sufferings of animals while so many other ani- 

 mals are suffering are as nothing in comparison with the results of a 

 scientific discovery. Must we, when a great result is to be secured, 

 charge up an account of the suffering or the death of a small number 

 of individuals ? We may suppose, for instance, that the magnificent 

 work of constructing the canal across the Isthmus of Panama will cost, 

 in consequence of the necessity of extensive labors in an unhealthy 

 country, the lives of several hundred or even of a few thousand coolies. 

 Must we, then, give up making the canal ? By it we would shorten 

 the route of many thousand ships. Most certainly the facility given 

 to commerce, the greater wealth and prosperity that will be conferred 

 on all mankind, will compensate for the death and sickness of these 

 poor, obscure laborers. It is the same in war. If a general in the 

 course of a battle believes it necessary to carry a redoubt, he will not 

 hesitate to give the signal for the assault, even if he knows that the 

 struggle will cost the liVes of a thousand men. He will sacrifice a few 

 squads, for the safety of the whole army, without any hesitation. By 

 the same rule, a people has a right to make war in defense of its inde- 

 pendence, although every war is accompanied by thousands of deaths 



