104 PASTEUR 



sia for the triumph of the most abominable of lies, 

 namely, that the future peace of Germany depends 

 upon the dismemberment of France, although every 

 sane man knows that the conquest of Alsace and 

 Lorraine is simply a prize of war carried to the bit- 

 ter end. Woe to the people of Germany if, being 

 nearer than we to feudal servitude, they do not 

 understand that France, while possessing the lands 

 of Alsace and Lorraine, is not mistress of the con- 

 sciences of their inhabitants. Savoy would still be 

 a part of Piedmont if its inhabitants had not con- 

 sented, by a free vote, to become French. Such 

 is the modern right of civilised nations, which your 

 king is trampling under foot, and in defence of 

 which France has risen. 



"Therefore, there is perhaps no epoch of her his- 

 tory in which France has better deserved to be 

 called the great nation, the initiator of progress, 

 the guiding light of other races. Here is a whole 

 people which has arisen against you, ready to push 

 onward to the ends of the earth and to dare every- 

 thing, because of her conviction of the justice and 

 sanctity of her cause. 



"Kindly accept, Monsieur the Dean, on behalf of 

 yourself and your distinguished colleagues, the ex- 

 pression of my sentiments of high consideration. 

 "Louis PASTEUR, 



"Member of the Institute" 



