Page 26 - Ethel D. Hume - Bešam ili Paster: Izgubljeno poglavlje u istoriji biologije

ANTOINE BfiCHAMP 83

sown, trampled with their distortions upon a harvest that
might have been so abundant in results.
It was during the years spent atMontpellier that his open
rupture came with Pasteur, on account, as we shall see
farther on, of the latter's appropriation of Bechamp's
explanation ofthe causes of the two diseases that were then
devastating silk-worms and ruining the French silk
industry. Though there was no escaping the fact that
Pasteur's opinions on the subject had been erroneous until
Bechamp had provided the proper solution, no voices were
raised in condemnation of the former's methods. He had
already gained the ear of the public and acquired Imperial
patronage. In all ages, the man of influence is a hard one
to cross swords with, as Bechamp was to find.
But at Montpellier he had not yet drained the cup of
life's bitterness. Hope still swelled high for the future,
especially when, as time passed, a new assistant rose up,
and Bechamp's elder son, Joseph, became a sharer in his
work. This young man, whose lovable character made him
a general favourite, took at an early age his degree in
science, including chemistry, besides qualifying as a
doctor of medicine. It seemed certain that he would some
day succeed his father at the University.
But for France a sad day was dawning and for Bechamp
a disastrous change in his career. 1870 came with the
descent of the Prussians and the humiliation of the fair
land of France. Those districts ofAlsace and Lorraine, the
home of Bechamp's young boyhood and early manhood,
—
were torn away, their populace left lamenting: "Though
our speech may be German, our hearts are French!"
France, stricken, was far from crushed. A longing stirred
to show that, though despoiled of territory, she could yet
dominate in the world of thought. So it came about that,
as an intellectual stimulus, Universities were founded in
different places under ecclesiastical patronage. It was
hoped that the Church of Rome might hold sway over
mental activities. Lille was one of such centres, and about
the year 1874, Bechamp was importuned to take the post