146 PASTEUR 



sponse to those who regard our century as hav- 

 ing lost the heritage of the great gifts of the 

 soul. Your laborious assiduity has been a 

 stranger to all recreation and repose." 



Then, having recognised the merits of Littre, 

 Renan concluded, with rare and exquisite 

 subtlety : 



"Your absolute devotion to science gave you 

 the right, Monsieur, to succeed to such a man 

 and to recall to us his great and revered 

 memory. You will find in our meetings a 

 source of relaxation for your mind continually 

 occupied with new discoveries. This associa- 

 tion with a company composed of all sorts of 

 opinions and every type of mind will be con- 

 genial to you ; here we have the pleasant laugh 

 of comedy, the pure and tender romance, the 

 soaring flight of poetry, with its harmonious 

 rhythm ; there we have all the subtlety of moral 

 observation, the most exquisite analysis of the 

 works of the mind, the profound significance of 

 history. None of this will shake your faith in 

 your experiments; the right acid will remain 



