Bechamp or Pasteur?: A Lost Chapter in the History of Biology

Ethel D. Hume

• Publisher: Bonhopai Books
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781779794260
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Astronomy & Astrophysics
• Index: Biological Sciences

Béchamp or Pasteur?: A Lost Chapter in the History of Biology by Ethel D. Hume is a provocative and meticulously researched work that reopens one of science's most controversial debates — the rivalry between Antoine Béchamp, the little-known French biologist who proposed the "microzymian theory of life," and Louis Pasteur, the celebrated founder of modern germ theory. First published in 1923, Hume's study challenges the established narrative of scientific progress, suggesting that Béchamp's discoveries were overshadowed, and perhaps appropriated, by the more politically astute Pasteur.

Drawing upon original documents, laboratory records, and contemporary reports, Hume presents a bold reassessment of nineteenth-century medical science. She portrays Béchamp as a visionary who saw life as a dynamic and self-organizing process — one whose theories of fermentation, disease, and cellular transformation anticipated modern microbiology. Pasteur, by contrast, emerges as a figure of immense talent but also ambition, whose triumphs may have come at the cost of truth and fairness.

Far from being an attack on science, Béchamp or Pasteur? is a plea for intellectual honesty and humility. Hume's narrative intertwines biography, history, and philosophy of science, inviting readers to question how authority and reputation can shape what becomes accepted as "truth." Whether or not one accepts her conclusions, her scholarship remains a fascinating exploration of how personality, politics, and power influence the progress of knowledge.

 Today, Hume's book continues to spark discussion among historians, scientists, and holistic thinkers, standing as a reminder that science, like all human endeavor, advances not only through discovery but through debate. 

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• NOTE TO SECOND EDITION
• FOREWORD
• PREFACE
• INTRODUCTORY
• PART ONE—THE MYSTERY OF FERMENTATION
• PART TWO—THE MICROZYMAS
• PART THREE—THE CULT OF THE MICROBE
• VALEDICTORY