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 Raulin, 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 



