So impressed was he with the analogy between fermentation and the
infectious diseases that, in 1863, he assured the French Emperor of
his ambition "to arrive at the knowledge of the causes of putrid and
contagious diseases." After a study upon the diseases of wines, which
has had most important practical bearings, an opportunity arose which
changed the whole course of his career, and profoundly influenced the
development of medical science. A disease of the silkworm had, for some
years, ruined one of the most important industries in France, and in
1865 the Government asked Pasteur to give up his laboratory work and
teaching, and to devote his whole energies to the task of investigating
it. The story of the brilliant success which followed years of
application to the problem will be read with deep interest by every
student of science. It was the first of his victories in the application
of the experimental methods of a trained chemist to the problems
of biology, and it placed his name high in the group of the most
illustrious benefactors of practical industries.
In a series of studies on the diseases of beer, and on the mode of
production of vinegar, he became more and more convinced that these
studies on fermentation had given him the key to the nature of the
infectious diseases.
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