2 9 6 BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 



widely circulated of the French journals — the Petit Parisicn 

 appealed to its readers all over the country to vote upon tl 

 relative prominence of great Frenchmen of the last centui 

 Pasteur was the winner of this interesting contest, havii 

 received 1,338,425 votes of the fifteen millions cast, and rani 

 ing above Victor Hugo, who stood second in popular est 

 mation, by more than one hundred thousand votes. Thi 

 enviable recognition was won, not by spectacular achievt 

 ments in arms or in politics, but by indefatigable industi 

 in the quiet pursuit of those scientific researches that hai 

 resulted in so much good to the human race. 



Personal Qualities. — He should be known also from th< 

 side of his human qualities. He was devotedly attached 

 his family, enjoying the close sympathy and assistance of hi 

 wife and his daughter in his scientific struggles, a circui 

 stance that aided much in ameliorating the severity of hi 

 labors. His labors, indeed, overstrained his powers, so thj 

 he was smitten by paralysis in 1868, at the age of forty-si: 

 but with splendid courage he overcame this handicap, anc 

 continued his unremitting work until his death in 1895. 



The portrait of Pasteur with his granddaughter (Fig. 9: 

 gives a touch of personal interest to the investigator and tl 

 contestant upon the field of science. His strong face sho^ 

 dignity of purpose and the grim determination which led tc 

 colossal attainments; at the same time it is mellowed b] 

 gentle affection, and contrasts finely with the trusting e: 

 pression of the younger face. 



Pasteur was born of humble parents in Dole in the Jui 

 on December the 27th, 1822. His father was a tannei 

 but withal, a man of fine character and stern experience, 

 is "shown by the fact that he had fought in the legioi 

 of the First Empire and been decorated on the field of 

 battle by Napoleon." The filial devotion of Pasteur and his 

 justifiable pride in his father's military service are shown 



