Bechamp Or Pasteur? First Published : 1 923
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TH E LI BRARY O F YORK UNIVERSITY Date Due 11 TOr f 4 1998 stob 1 —ocr o f IOO0' = : — • )Bm3- fe» stea U^Y 2 9 2000 II I ? JUL 9 2003 en r je\ g #k*\ArY°rk Form — CooperP Graphics 1 2005 flTff 2 $fiW!E BECHAMP OR PASTEUR? FIRST PUBLISHED : 1 923 SECOND EDITION : 1 932 COPYRIGHT IN U.S.A. AND U.K. BY ETHEL DOUGLAS THOMSON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/bechamporpasteurOOhume_0 Pierre Jacques Antoine Beghamp when Professor of Medical Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Montpellier 185J-1875 BECHAMP or PASTEUR? A Lost Chapter in the History of Biology By E. DOUGLAS HUME Founded upon MS. by MONTAGUE R. LEVERSON, M.D. (Baltimore), M.A., Ph.D. With a Foreword by S. JUDD LEWIS, D.Sc., F.I.G. "Truth will come to light" —Shakespeare LONDON: THE C. W. DANIEL COMPANY Forty-six Bernard Street, W. C . i MADE AND PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN Qm WD NOTE TO SECOND EDITION Since the first edition of this book was sold out, two of its best friends, one in this country and one in America, have passed into the Great Beyond. Yet their influence stirs in this new edition, which has found other good friends to whom, for their help and encouragement, I tender grateful thanks. Evidence of growing attention to Bechamp reaches us from all parts. In 1927, an account of him, written by Fr. Guermonprez, was published in Paris by Amedee Legrand, 93, Boulevard Saint-Germain. In the same year, on the 1 8th September, a bust of the great French scientist was unveiled at Bassing, his birthplace, before a distinguished gathering, when his genius and discoveries were loudly eulogised. News comes from New Zealand of successful medical work on the lines of Bechamp's teaching. In the United States of America, a text-book on Bacteriology is being written by Dr. Weiant, in collabora- tion with Dr. J. Robinson Verner, in which reference is to be made to Bechamp or Pasteur? and Bechamp's labours are to be recognised. From far away Mexico, a request comes from Dr. Hernan Alpuche Solis to be allowed to undertake a Spanish translation of Bechamp or Pasteur? in order, as he puts it, "to publish the truth throughout the world." Denials of the claims made for Bechamp's discoveries have been impossible; for, as Fr. Guermonprez writes, on page 18 of his Bechamp: Etudes et Souvenirs:—"To get a right idea of questions of priority, the works of Pasteur, Duclaux, or their pupils, are not the ones to study; but, instead, the impartial records of the learned Societies, particularly those of the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of France." There, in the cold type of the 6 NOTE TO SECOND EDITION printed word, the precedence of Bechamp's pronounce- ments to Pasteur's stands secure for good and all. Never- theless, this personal side of the subject, in spite of its importance from the point of view of historical justice, is of less consequence than the results of building medical practice upon the insecure theoretical foundation de- scribed by Sir Almroth Wright as "the Pasteurian Decalogue." Of these commandments, he states, as reported in The Times of November 27th, 1931, "very few remain intact." On the other hand, there are increasing indications of modern medical views converging towards the microzymian doctrine. For instance, in Health, Disease and Integration, by H. P. Newsholme, M.A., M.D., F.R.C.P., B.Sc, P.D.H., a book published in 1929, on page 64, we find "the idea of a possible autonomous (self- produced) living enzyme or virus capable of giving rise to disease and capable of multiplication by reason of its living quality." The science of bio-chemistry, which occupies so wide a field to-day, is in no small measure an expansion of the teaching of Bechamp; while the remark- able results of X-Radiation lend support to his contention that in the microzymas (of the chromatinic threads) lies the secret of heredity. Reference may be made to the first of two articles by G. P. Haskins in the General Electric Review of July, 1932. OfBechamp, a story is related of how, when a tiny child, he was once caught telling a lie. His mother, on hearing of this on her return home in the evening, then and there turned her small son out of bed and, while whipping him soundly, impressed upon him her horror of falsehood. Bechamp, it is said, attributed his passionate regard for exactitude to this early lesson, which he never forgot. To all others, known and unknown, to whom Truth is precious, I am proud to dedicate the new edition of this book. E. DOUGLAS HUME. Woodford Wells. October, igj2. FOREWORD The progress of natural science, like all other depart- ments of knowledge, is associated with the personalities of its workers, and it often happens that the study of a man's life is the surest guide not only to the history of the science, but also to the discovery of neglected records made in days gone by. It is always a matter of absorbing interest to know how and by whom the foundations of natural truth, upon which we build our own more modern structures, were laid. We have long been accustomed to build on stones placed in position by the world-famed Pasteur, but it is not commonly recognized that many of these stones rest upon the deeper foundations laid by Pasteur's con- temporary, Antoine Bechamp. It is fitting that one should hesitate to disturb stones set by those already gone from us, but when a substructure has once been revealed, there can be no question as to the liberty of extending the in- vestigation. Probably no reader of this book will at first be prepared to accept much that is said in criticism of Pasteur and in worship of Bechamp, but as the perusal proceeds, his eyes will be opened to many references for which the author is in no way responsible except for their collation. It is greatly to be desired that the fundamental work of Bechamp should be far more widely recognized, and a debt is due to the author for throwing the limelight on his work. S. JUDD LEWIS. 7 PREFACE Many years ago, in New York, Dr. Montague R. Lever- son chanced to come upon the writings of Pierre Jacques Antoine Bechamp. So greatly did he become imbued with the views of the French Professor, that he seized the first opportunity to travel to Paris for the purpose of making the latter's acquaintance. He was fortunate enough to arrive some months before the death of the great scientist and to receive from him in person an account of his dis- coveries and his criticisms of science, ancient and modern. Henceforward it became the dearest wish of Dr. Lever- son to place the case of Professor Bechamp, especially in regard to his relations with Pasteur, before the scientific world. Unable, owing to his great age, to carry out this project, the present writer, author of a short treatise on Bechamp, Life's Primal Architects, which originally ap- peared in The Forum, was pressed to undertake the work. Its aim is to arouse the interest of those more qualified to do justice to the memory of a genius, whose disadvantage it was to have lived far ahead of the scientific thought of his own day. For all deficiency in this presentment of his teachings, it is begged that the writer may be blamed and not the doctrines of the great teacher, to whose original works it is strongly urged that the reader should turn. It only remains to mention those whose help has been of the greatest service. It is deeply to be regretted that the late Mr. R. A. Streatfeild, of the Department of Printed Books in the British Museum, is no longer here to receive the thanks so justly his due. These are most cordially rendered to Mr. L. H. E. Taylor, of the same Department, and to all the officials of the North Library for constant kindness and courtesy and for the facilities so generously afforded for research work. To M. Edouard Gasser, the son-in-law of Professor Bechamp, great indebtedness must 9 10 PREFACE be expressed for particulars ofthe scientist's life and family. No words can adequately acknowledge the gratitude owed to Miss Lily Loat for unfailing assistance in regard to any point at issue, as well as for hours spent in proof- reading and in helping towards the preparation of the Index. The business arrangements in America and the acquirement of U.S.A. copyright could never have been accomplished without the very kind help of Mrs. Little and Mr. R. B. Pearson of Chicago, to whom warm thanks are extended. Last, but far from least, acknowledgment is gratefully made to the anonymous philanthropist whose generosity has brought about the publication of this book. July, 1922. E. DOUGLAS HUME. CONTENTS CHAPTER INTRODUCTORY I Antoine Bechamp PART ONE THE MYSTERY OF FERMENTATION II A Babel of Theories III Pasteur's Memoirs of 1857 IV Bechamp 's Beacon Experiment V Claims and Contradictions VI The Soluble Ferment VII Rival Theories and Workers PART TWO THE MICROZYMAS VIII The "Little Bodies" IX Diseases of Silk-Worms X Laboratory Experiments XI Nature's Experiments XII A Plagiarism Frustrated XIII Microzymas in General XIV Modern Confirmations of Bechamp PART THREE THE CULT OF THE MICROBE XV The Origin of "Preventive Medicine" XVI The International Medical Congress and some Pasteurian Fiascos XVII Hydrophobia XVIII A Few Examples of the Cult in Theory and in Practice XIX Some Lessons of the Great War XX The Writing on the Wall VALEDICTORY XXI Pasteur and Bechamp INDEX Index BECHAMP OR PASTEUR? A Lost Chapter in the History of Biology INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER I Antoine champ At Villeneuve l'fitang, not far from Paris, on the 28th September, 1895, the death took place of a Frenchman who has been acclaimed as a rare luminary of science, a supreme benefactor of humanity.