226 LIFE OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF 



provocations. The contemptuous word meteque was 

 resuscitated. 



One newspaper especially led a furious propaganda 

 and hesitated at no means of overwhelming its 

 victims, one of whom was Metchnikoff. 



Those coarse attacks might have been ignored 

 with the contempt which they deserved had they not 

 been echoed by a writer in a serious publication. 

 Dr. Roux then wrote a reply in the same paper, and 

 the campaign ceased. 



A proverb says with truth, " Slander away ! some- 

 thing will always stick." And it was thus in this 

 case. Metchnikoff was reproached with having made 

 money by his scientific discoveries. The story of his 

 whole life and the fact that he left no fortune should 

 suffice to answer this calumny, yet I am obliged to 

 dwell on it, though I should have preferred not to do 

 so. The incident is too characteristic of Metchnikoff 

 to be omitted in this biography, which must be a 

 faithful testimony. The calumny was based on a real 

 fact, but the interpretation of it was absolutely false. 

 After Metchnikoff 's experiments on the lactic bacillus, 

 a notion of the hygienic power of pure sour milk 

 began to spread among the public. A manufacturer 

 had the idea of preparing it on a large scale, according 

 to the new scientific principles, and wished to form 

 a company to that effect ; he asked Metchnikoff to 

 recommend to him some one whom he could entrust 

 with the technical work of preparing the pure curded 

 milk. It happened that we were just then trying to 

 find a post for a young couple in whom we were 

 interested, and whose child was my husband's god- 

 daughter. He trained his protege in the technique 

 required, and was therefore able to recommend him. 



