METHOD OF DISCUSSION AND CONTRADICTIONS. 265 



Geneva. Thither went Pasteur, hoping to meet Dr. 

 Koch at the sittings ; and he was not disappointed. 

 Dr. Koch was there, surrounded by his disciples. 

 From the tribune of the Congress, Pasteur refuted his 

 criticism, exposed his errors, and challenged him to 

 a discussion in the presence of competent judges. 

 There was an instantaneous salvo of applause, and 

 everyone awaited Dr. Koch's reply. But he declined 

 all debate, reserving his case for careful and deliberate 

 statement in the press. 



It took three months for Dr. Koch to bring out a 

 small pamphlet, and these three months had borne 

 their fruit. The discovery of the attenuation of virus, 

 which had been so vehemently attacked only a year 

 before in the report of the Sanitary Office, was now 

 extolled by Dr. Koch as a discovery of the first im- 

 portance. Being, however, unwilling absolutely to 

 stultify himself, he continued the attack by denying 

 its efficacy in practical agriculture. 



The clear, direct style of argument, which goes 

 straight to its point, was invariably adopted by 

 Pasteur. 



' Contradictions may retard, although they cannot 

 ultimately prevent, the recognition of truth,' he once 

 remarked to me when walking in the gardens of the 

 Ecole Normale ; ' that is why it is so important to 

 remove the obstacles which temporarily clog and 



