Page 65 - Ethel D. Hume - Bešam ili Paster: Izgubljeno poglavlje u istoriji biologije

BECHAMP OR PASTEUR?
62
"10 grammes of sugar,
i oo cubic centimetres of water,
o.i oo grm. of ammonium tartrate.
The ash from i gramme of beer-yeast.
Traces offresh yeast, the size of a pin's head."*
Altogether, it is clear that even by i860, Pasteur had no
such clear teaching to put forward as that contained in
Bechamp's epoch-making observations. And here we
have an illuminating view of the characters of the two
men. Bechamp could not but be aware that his knowledge
exceeded that of Pasteur; yet, all the same, in his lectures
before students, we find nothing but courteous allusions to
his rivals. We need only refer to the Professor's Lessons on
Vinous Fermentation, a work published in 1863, before his
actual demonstration in explanation of the phenomenon.
In this book, we learn Bechamp's views, which he was so
careful always to carry into practice, on the subject of
giving honour where honour is due in scientific revelations.
2
"One can only have," he says, "inspired ideas or com-
municated ideas, and it is by working upon one and the
other that new ones are conceived. That is why a seeker
after truth should give the ideas of those who preceded
him in his work, because those, great or small, had to make
their effort, and herein lies their merit, to bring their share
of truth to the world. I cannot conceive of a superior
title than this of proprietary right, because it is this that
constitutes our personality and often genius, if it be true
that this sublime prerogative, this rare privilege, is nothing
but a long patience, or, to be more correct, a work of
perseverance, fecundated by the spark God has set in us.
This right must be respected all the more, in that it is of
the nature of the only riches, the only property, that we
can lavish without impoverishing ourselves; what say I,
1
Annales de Chimie et de Physique, p. 390.
"/o grammes de sucre
100 centimetres cubes d'eau
Ogr. 100 de tartrate droit d'ammoniaque
Cendres de 1 gramme de levure
Traces de levure fratche (de la grosseur d'une tete d'tpingle)."
2 Vineuse et sur la Fabrication du Vin, par A.
Lecons sur la Fermentation
Bichampy pp. 6, 7.