Great benefactor of mankind (Ludwik Pastor)
Janusz Korczak wrote a book for children and teenagers, which he gave the title : "Stubborn Boy". And in it he speaks of one of the greatest scientists, who is called the benefactor of mankind, o Ludwiku Pasteur (read on : clean).
When in a year 1822 a boy was born in the family of a tanner, in a small French town, no one thought of it, that one day mankind will count him among its greatest benefactors.
Ludwik was diligent and hardworking in primary school, but he never became the first student. He liked books. He also showed his drawing and painting skills. But he studied rather poorly. He had enough in history and geography. He had a lot of hobbies. He wanted to know a lot.
He went to school, after which you become a teacher. But it wasn't enough for him. He continued his studies in Paris, where in a year 1847 being years old 25 received a PhD in physics and chemistry. This opened the way to scientific research for him, to whom he devoted his whole life from then on. He was successively professor at several universities, but his most important occupation was research.
Pasteur sought to learn the laws of nature. He was consumed by a passion for finding the truth. He was very diligent. He believed, that only then will he manage to accomplish something great, when they don't get discouraged. In a letter to the sisters he writes so : ,,This is a great thing, dear sisters, want. For work is based on will, and work leads to success. These three things : will, work and success fill human life ".
Indeed, these three things filled his life completely. He showed a lot of willpower and perseverance, because he had to conduct his research in difficult conditions. For many years he had a studio in the attic, where it was hot in the summer, and in winter it was frosty. His discoveries gained him fame, but they also increased the number of reluctant people, and even overt enemies. He bravely overcame all these difficulties.
For years 40 he investigated the secrets of nature with the mountain. When he managed to explain, what is the process of rotting and fermentation, that the little ones are causing it, microscopic bacteria, wrote in a letter : “I'm on the trail of secrets. Curtain, which covers them, is getting thinner ".
Then came further discoveries. By taking a closer look at the lives of these tiny creatures, Pasteur sees many interesting things. It proves experimentally, that our entire environment is full of all kinds of bacteria. Some of them cause spoilage and rot, others are very useful for various types of fermentation. Still others become dangerous to humans and animals, because they are the cause of various infectious diseases. He proved, that they are everywhere, that they travel with the dust in the air, and if we want to free ourselves from them, to protect something from spoiling and rotting, it is enough to heat the thing up to several dozen degrees and then they will die. This method is still called - after his name - pasteurization (we say e.g.. pasteurized milk).
Then Pasteur asked himself a further question : where do bacteria come from ? And again a long time 38 he was looking for answers. In his time
the scholars were convinced, that some small creatures can spontaneously arise, that there is self-reproduction in nature. Pasteur didn't believe it, he was sure, that is the opposite. He did not rest, until he found confirmation in the lab.
He was becoming more and more famous. He was one of the most learned men of his time. Emperor Napoleon III himself was interested in his achievements. Wine producers, silkworm and cattle farmers turned to him, to help them. Pasteur no longer worked in the attic, he had enough money, to build yourself a large laboratory. He also had trusted associates. He dreamed about it still, to free people from infectious diseases, to find an effective remedy for them.
First, he experiments on animals. Once upon a time he was watching, how a vet treated sick cows. Then a thought occurred to him, whether one bacteria could not be used against another, that they fight themselves. He tried and it was successful. The first vaccines were produced in his laboratory, which protected cattle against infectious diseases. He had a lot of trouble because of this, because he didn't always get it right. Sometimes vaccinated cattle got sick and died. Pasteur had to publicly defend his method of treatment and prove it, that he is right.
Finally, it was the turn of the most terrible disease, which threatened man with animals - rabies. Almost having 60 For years, Pasteur had been examining sick dogs to detect them, what kind of germs cause this dangerous disease. This research cost him the most and was very dangerous, because it was necessary to conduct experiments on animals infected with rabies. One careless move and it was possible to get stung, and it was fatal. By 3 this research took years.
The wife trembled for his life. And he replied : ,,It is my duty as a researcher ". Finally, he managed to prepare a vaccine, but he was afraid to apply it to people, because he wasn't sure of the result. Until one day a mother came to him with her nine-year-old son bitten by a rabid dog. And then he made his decision. Pasteur felt great anxiety, when at night 6 June 1885 r. he injected the bitten boy with the vaccine. "Will I kill him, will I save ? What will I tell the child's mother and the world tomorrow, if he dies ?”For days, waiting for the vaccine to work, he lived in great tension. The vaccine, however, overcame the disease. Pasteur took the first victim from rabies. The most famous was the cure of a dozen Russian boys, who came to him from distant Smolensk. They only knew one word in French : Pasteur. Although their condition was very dangerous, the scientist did not hesitate. And he did not disappoint their hope : on 19 only three could not be saved, 16 came back healthy. It was a great triumph for Pasteur. The Tsar sent him a brilliant order of St.. Anna and 100 thousand francs for a new laboratory. It is still standing in Paris today : it's called the Pasteur Institute.
It was said, that Pasteur wasn't kind to the people. But that's not true. Few people have worked as well for the good of everyone as he has. However, he had many opponents, who fought against it fiercely. And Pasteur could be rough and violent then. If he hadn't been looking for the truth so stubbornly, he did not fight against superstitions and errors, he probably wouldn't have persevered on his way. It is thanks to your abilities, with stubbornness and enormous diligence, he became the benefactor of people.
At an early age, he received a book from Józef Droz entitled. "The way to do it, to be happy ". He was deeply concerned about the book's thoughts. And the author could summarize the thoughts of this book in the words of Christ : Love one another. And Pasteur loved people, although many did not understand and even slandered him. On, great scholar, had time to write letters to the boys, whom he healed. That `s nothing, that he was violent and impulsive. He couldn't bear it, when others refused to accept his truth, so beneficial to mankind.
In the nineteenth century, in which Louis Pasteur lived, many scholars were very critical of religious matters. They flaunted it, that they don't believe. Meanwhile, Pasteur confessed to one of his friends : “Because I have studied a lot, I have the faith of a Breton peasant, and if I had studied even more, I would have the faith of a Breton village ". And the Bretons were the most pious people in France.
At the age of, when many scholars even mocked religion, Pasteur had the courage to say at the Academy, that he sees it in the world, which is beyond the forces of nature, to, what he says about God. When his father fell ill, Pasteur asked his little daughter Celinka, to pray for her grandfather. And when he died on the day of her first Holy Communion., a great scholar wrote to her : “Your prayers will probably please God, and who knows, has my grandfather experienced their fruits and is not happy with little Janinka with the results of Celinka's request ". Janinka was the daughter of Pasteur. She died in preschool age.
In these hard experiences, Pasteur drew a lot of strength from faith, which he brought out of his family home and never lost it. He performed his religious duties without fear and ostentation. Once upon a time at a formal dinner, he refused meat foods. Ago, who congratulated him on such an attitude, he replied : “There is no merit in that : I am a Christian and I listen to the Church ".
As death was near, Pasteur confessed, received Holy Communion. and the anointing of the sick. He died in a year 1895, holding a cross in his hand. He went to God, whom he faithfully served especially in men. He devoted his entire life to scientific work, through which he deserved to be called the benefactor of people.
On 3 years before his death, when an academy was organized in his honor, he said to the students : „… First of all, ask yourself yourself : what I have done for my knowledge ? What for the Motherland ? What for all mankind ?"- Louis Pasteur himself wanted to answer these questions with his whole life. Has he succeeded ? - Think about this.