94 LOUIS PASTEUR. 



M. Biot, M. Dumas, M. de Senarmont, and M. Balard. 

 M. Biot especially was his habitual confidant. The 

 day when M. Biot learned that Pasteur proposed to 

 study the obscure question of spontaneous generation, 

 he strongly dissuaded him from entangling himself in 

 this labyrinth. * You will never escape from it,' said 

 he, ' you will only lose your time ; ' and when Pasteur 

 attempted some timid observations with the view of 

 showing that in the order of his studies it was in- 

 dispensable for him to attack this problem, M. Biot 

 grew angry. Although endowed, as Sainte-Beuve has 

 said, with all the qualities of curiosity, of subtlety, of 

 penetration, of ingenious exactitude, of method, and 

 of perspicuity, with all the qualities, in short, essential 

 and secondary, M. Biot treated the project of Pasteur 

 as a presumptuous adventure. 



Bolder than M. Biot, but with a circumspection 

 always alive, M. Dumas declared to Pasteur, without, 

 however, further insisting upon the point, that he 

 would not advise anyone to occupy himself too long 

 with such a subject. M. de Senarmont alone took 

 the part of Pasteur, and said to M. Biot : 



' Let Pasteur alone. If there is nothing to be 

 found in the path which he has entered upon, do not 

 be alarmed, he will not continue in it. But,' added 

 he, ' I should be surprised if he found nothing in it.' 



M. Pouchet had previously stated the problem 

 with precision : 



