22 



NA TURE 



[July 7, 1923 



The Pasteur Centenary Celebrations. 



''I^'HE national celebrations which took place 

 ■^ throughout France on May 24 - June i in 

 honour of Louis Pasteur are unique in history, for 

 never before has such a splendid tribute been paid to 

 the memory of a man of science. 



The invitations to attend the celebrations were 

 issued jointly by the rector and council of the Uni- 

 versity of Paris and the rector and council of the 

 University of Strasbourg. The celebrations began 

 on May 24 in Paris with an evening reception tendered 

 by the President of the Republic at the Palace of the 

 Elysee, where a large and distinguished company 

 consisting of diplomatic and scientific representatives 

 from practically all parts of the world were assembled . 



On the morning of May 25 Dr. Roux and his 

 colleagues at the Institut Pasteur held a reception, 

 after which the visitors defiled before the tomb of 

 Pasteur, which was decked with floral tributes. 

 Among these, there being many, may be mentioned 

 the wreaths sent by the British Government and the 

 Royal Society, the latter resting at the foot of the 

 monument. Afterwards bronze commemorative 

 medals were distributed among the guests, who had 

 signed their names in a volume which will afford a 

 valuable record of the occasion. Driving homeward 

 along the Boulevard Pasteur, the vehicles conveying 

 the guests halted for a short time in the Place Pasteur 

 before the beflagged monument of Pasteur. In the 

 afternoon the British delegates were summoned by 

 invitations from the University of Paris and Associa- 

 tion France-Grande-Bretagne to the " Salle des 

 Autorites " at the Sorbonne, where a tablet com- 

 memorating the meeting of Lister and Pasteur was 

 unveiled and the British Ambassador made an 

 appropriate sp.eech. Immediately thereafter followed 

 the ceremonial gathering in the Grand Amphitheatre 

 of the Sorbonne, about 2700 persons being assembled, 

 in the presence of M. Alexandre Millerand, President 

 of the Republic (Chairman), M. Paul Appell, rector of 

 the Paris Academy and president of the council of 

 the University of Paris, Government and academic 

 representatives and others, the picture afforded being 

 most impressive and recalling that painted by Rixens 

 in commemoration of Pasteur's Jubilee in 1892, fine 

 colour effects being afforded by the many academic 

 robes and uniforms. The ceremony began with the 

 singing of the Marseillaise by a large choir of girls to 

 the accompaniment of the band of the Garde Republi- 

 caine, the whole audience standing at attention. 

 M. Paul Appell, M. Leon Berard (Minister of Educa- 

 tion and Fine Arts) delivered speeches and were 

 followed by the Papal Nuncio, who conveyed the 

 Pope's blessing on the occasion. As Government 

 delegates. Prof. W. H. Welch spoke on behalf of the 

 United States and Sir Charles Sherrington on behalf 

 of the British Empire ; delegates from other countries 

 followed, most of them reading speeches in a French 

 that was difficult to follow. Finally M. Strauss, 

 Minister of Hygiene, delivered an impassioned speech 

 after the foreign delegates had severally presented 

 congratulatory addresses on behalf of various uni- 

 versities and learned bodies, these being handed 

 over unread with no semblance of order. Addresses 

 were presented from the Universities of Oxford, 

 Cambridge, Edinburgh and Liverpool, ' the Royal 

 Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons of London and 

 Edinburgh, and numerous other bodies. 



On May 26 were issued postage stamps (values 

 10, 30, and 50 centimes) bearing the portrait of 

 Pasteur. A reception was held at the Ecole Normale _ 

 by M. Gustave Lanson, the director, and the guests' 

 were shown the " Cabinet Pasteur " with its interest- 



ing mementoes of Pasteur's sojourn and activities 

 at that institution. M. Lanson read out a hitherto 

 unpublished letter of Pasteur's addressed to the 

 French Ministry appealing for financial aid in 

 the prosecution of his researches. This letter re- 

 vealed the personality of Pasteur in a remarkable 

 manner, his clearness of thought and marvellous 

 prescience being strikingly exhibited ; the whole, 

 audience was thrilled and felt that M. Lanson 's 

 opening words, that he was " about to let Pasteui 

 himself speak to the audience," were indeed justified^ 

 It is to be hoped that the letter will soon be publishedJ_ 

 The company next walked to No. 10 rue des Feuille- 

 antines close-by, to witness the unveiling of a tablet 

 upon the house where Pasteur lived as a student, and, 

 finally, in the evening, a reception was given at the 

 Hotel de Ville by the Municipality of Paris. Here.j 

 as at the Elysee, there were representations by artist 

 of the Comedie Fran9aise, and Opera, etc., the^ 

 recitation of two of Pasteur's speeches by M. Leon 

 Bernard, of the Comedie, invoking much enthusiasm 

 among the hearers. The speeches were those 

 delivered by Pasteur (a) at Dole in 1883, when a 

 tablet was affixed to the house in which he was born, 

 and (fe) at the Sorbonne in 1892, on the occasion of 

 his jubilee. An eloquent passage from the latter 

 speech was frequently quoted by orators in the days 

 that followed, and it may well be cited here from a 

 printed copy which was thoughtfully distributed to 

 the guests at the centenary celebration : 



" Jeunes gens, jeunes gens, confiez-vous a ces 

 methodes sures, puissantes, dont nous ne connaissons 

 encore que les premiers secrets. Et tous, quelle que 

 soit votre carridre, ne vous laissez pas atteindre par 

 le scepticisme denigrant et sterile ; ne vous laissez 

 pas decourager par les tristesses de certaines heures 

 qui passent sur une nation. Vivez dans la paix 

 sereine des laboratoires et des bibliotheques. Dites- 

 vous d'abord : Qu'ai-je fait pour mon instruction ? 

 Puis, a mesure que vous avancerez : Qu'ai-je fait 

 pour mon pays ? jusqu'au moment ou vous aurez 

 peut-etre cet immense bonheur de penser que vous 

 avez contribue en quelque chose au progres et au 

 bien de I'humanite. Mais, que les efforts soient plus 

 ou moins favorises par la vie, il faut, quand on 

 approche du grand but, etre en droit de dire : J'ai 

 fait ce que j'ai pu." 



On Sunday, May 27, the Lycee Pasteur was in- 

 augurated in the morning. In the afternoon I'Accueil 

 Franco-Britannique and Dr. and Mme. Tuffier received 

 the British delegates in the charming home of the 

 latter, which, we may mention incidentally, contains 

 a fine collection of pictures. In the evening there 

 were gala representations at the Opera and Theatre 

 Frangais in honour of the foreign delegates. Through- 

 out France, ladies and schoolgirls collected money 

 for the scientific laboratories of the country, some ten 

 differently designed badges, mostly bearing the 

 effigy of Pasteur, being pinned with the tricolor to 

 persons who helped by contributions. All the badges 

 were inscribed on the back with the words : " Journee 

 Pasteur, mai 1923. Au profit des Laboratoires," 

 and a quotation from Pasteur reading : " Sans 

 laboratoires les savants sont des soldats sans armes." 



On May 28 the guests were conveyed to the 

 Palace of Versailles, where a banquet was held in the 

 " Gallerie des Batailles," some 900 persons participat- 

 ing under the presidency of M. Reibel, Minister of the 

 Liberated Regions. The latter, in his speech, cited 

 with special emphasis Pasteur's advice to men of 

 science : " Luttons done dans le champ pacifique de 

 la science pour la preeminence de nos patries respec- 



NO. 



2801, VOL. I 12] 



