298 LECTURES ON IMMUNITY 



investigation of the relations between toxins and antitoxins 

 according to the general principles of physical chemistry. 1 



In the foregoing pages I have tried to carry through the 

 programme advocated so strongly by Ehrlich. That this 

 has been possible, is due in large part to the great num- 

 ber of quantitative measurements which have been carried 

 out in the last quinquennium, especially by Madsen and 

 his collaborators. This work is still in full progress ; and 

 it may therefore be well regarded as very probable that 

 we are here entitled to use the words with which Dr. Find- 

 lay 2 closed his lectures in the University of Birmingham, 

 " Considering the very brief period during which physical 

 chemical methods have found application to the study of 

 biological problems, the advance which has been made is 

 very remarkable ; and there is every reason to believe that 

 in the future, as the methods become more and more 

 extensively applied, the advance will become more rapid 

 and widespread." Our hope in this direction lies chiefly 

 in the treatment of quantitative experiments on the basis 

 of physical chemistry. It may be confidently expected 

 that the accumulating quantitative work will rapidly give 

 solidity to this discipline of science. I know well that 

 objections have been raised to some of the conclusions 

 that I have here enunciated. But it is clear to me that, if 

 these objections are to deserve a more than momentary 



1 Cf. P. Ehrlich : Rapport au 13* Congrh Internationale de medicine, Paris, 

 2-9 Aoftt, 1900, Section de bacteriologie ; " Schlussbetrachtungen," "Nothna- 

 gel's spezielle Pathologic und Therapie," T. 8, pp. 6-7, Wien, 1901 ; Bericht 

 iiber die Th'dtigkeit des Instituts f. Serumforschungen zu Sieglitz, p. 19, Jena, 

 1899 (G. Fischer) ; "UeberToxine und Antitoxine" in Therapie der Gegen- 

 wart, 1901. 



2 Al. Findlay : " Physical Chemistry and its Applications in Medical and 

 Biological Science," p. 68, Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1905. 



