134 PASTEUR 



"The sight of corpses, the sad necessity of 

 autopsies caused him actual repulsion," writes 

 M. Roux. "How many times we have seen him 

 hastily leave the amphitheatre of the hospitals 

 because he was actually ill! But his love of 

 science, his curiosity to know the truth were 

 even stronger; he always came back on the 



morrow." 



After having conquered himself in order to 

 bring to humanity effective remedies against in- 

 fectious diseases, Pasteur was destined to con- 

 quer the doctors themselves, bound though 

 they were to the old formulas, the antiquated 

 conceptions, and who could not, without some 

 vexation and alarm, behold the overthrow of 

 their tranquillity and peaceful routine. 



But the excitement aroused by the discovery 

 of anthrax vaccine, which opened such great 

 hopes for the future, was confirmed by the 

 learned societies and the ruling powers. The 

 Society of the Agriculturists of France awarded 

 Pasteur, on the 21st of February, 1881, a medal 

 of honour, and the Government bestowed upon 



