198 THE LIFE OF PASTEUR 



Whilst Pasteur thus felt those simple and strong impressions 

 as a soldier or the man in the street might do, the -creative 

 power of his nature was urging him to great and useful achieve- 

 ments. He wrote from Lyons in March to M. Duclaux 



"My head is full of splendid projects; the war sent my 

 brain to grass, but I now feel ready for further work. Per- 

 haps I am deluding myself ; anyhow I will try. . . . Oh ! why 

 am I not rich, a millionaire? I would say to you, to Eaulin, 

 to Gernez, to Van Tieghem, etc., come, we will transform the 

 world by our discoveries. How fortunate you are to be young 

 and strong ! Why can I not begin a new life of study and 

 work ! Unhappy France, beloved country, if I could only 

 assist in raising thee from thy disasters ! ' ' 



A few days later, in a letter to Kaulin, this desire for devoted 

 work was again expressed almost feverishly. He could fore- 

 see, in the dim distance, secret affinities between apparently 

 dissimilar things. He had at that time returned to the re- 

 searches which had absorbed his youth (because those studies 

 were less materially difficult to organize) , and he could perceive 

 laws and connections between the facts he had observed and 

 those of the existence of which he felt assured. 



"I have begun here some experiments in crystallization 

 which will open a great prospect if they should lead to positive 

 results. You know that I believe that there is a cosmic dis- 

 symmetric influence which presides constantly and naturally 

 over the molecular organization of principles immediately essen- 

 tial to life ; and that, in consequence of this, the species of the 

 three kingdoms, by their structure, by their form, by the dis- 

 position of their tissues, have a definite relation to the move- 

 ments of the universe. For many of those species, if not for 

 all, the sun is the primum movens of nutrition ; but I believe in 

 another influence which would affect the whole organization, 

 for it would be the cause of the molecular dissymmetry proper 

 to the chemical components of life. I want to be able by ex- 

 periment to grasp a few indications as to the nature of this 

 great cosmic dissymmetrical influence. It must, it may be 

 electricity, magnetism. . . . And, as one should always proceed 

 from the simple to the complex, I am now trying to crystallize 

 double racemate of soda and ammonia under the influence of a 

 spiral solenoid. 



" I have various other forms of experiment to attempt. If 

 one of them should succeed, we shall have work for the rest of 



