CHAPTER VII 

 1870—1872 



Pasteur, on his return, spent forty-eight hours in Strasburg, 

 which was for him full of memories of his laborious days at the 

 Faculty of that town, between 1848 and 1854, at a time when 

 rivalry already existed between France and Germany, a generous 

 rivalry of moral and intellectual effort. He then heard for the 

 first time of the threatening war ; all his hopes of progress 

 founded on peace, through scientific discoveries, began to 

 crumble away, and his disappointment was embittered by the 

 recollection of many illusions. 



Never was more cruel rebuff given to the generous efforts of 

 a policy of sentiment : after having laid the foundation of the 

 independence and unity of Italy, France had sympathized 

 with Germany's desire for unity, and few of the counsellors, or 

 even the adversaries of the Empire, would not have defended 

 this idea, which was supposed to lead to civilization. During 

 that period of anxious waiting (beginning of July, 1870), when 

 the most alarming news was daily published in Strasburg, it 

 did not occur to any one to look back upon quotations from 

 papers only a few years old, though in that very town a 

 pamphlet might have been found, written by Edmond About 

 in 1860, and containing the following words — ■ 



"Let Germany become united I France has no dearer or 

 more ardent desire, for she loves the German nation with a 

 disinterested friendship. France is not alarmed at seeing the 

 formation of an Italian nation of 26,000,000 men in the South; 

 she need not fear to see 32,000,000 Germans found a great 

 people on the Eastern frontier." 



Proud to be first to proclaim the rights of nations ; influenced 

 by mingled feelings of kindliness, trustfulness, optimism and a 

 certain vanity of disinterestedness, France, who loves to be 

 loved, imagined that the world would be grateful for her 



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