Translation from The Life of Pasteur p. 142
“
No, there is now no circumstance known in which it can be affirmed that microscopic beings came into the world without germs, without parents similar to themselves. Those who affirm it have been duped by illusions, by ill-conducted experiments, spoilt by errors that they either did not perceive or did not know how to avoid.
— Louis Pasteur
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "No, there is now no circumstance known in which it can be affirmed that microscopic beings came into the world without germs, without parents similar to themselves. Those who affirm it have been duped by illusions, by ill-conducted experiments, spoilt by errors that they either did not perceive or did not know how to avoid." in the context of "Translation from The Life of Pasteur p. 142" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Louis Pasteur" (Quotes, Soirées scientifiques de la Sorbonne (1864): Address delivered by Pasteur at the "Sorbonne Scientific Soirée" [Soirées scientifiques de la Sorbonne] (7 April 1864), in which he reported the results of his experiments regarding "spontaneous generation". The original excerpt in French is found in Oeuvres de Pasteur Volume 2, (1922), Vallery-Radot, Pasteur. Paris: Masson, pp. 328-346, and is available at Gloubik Sciences.org)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) French microbiologist, chemist, pioneer of the "Germ theory of disease", discoverer of molecular asymmetry and stereo-chemistry, and inventor of the process of Pasteurization.
About Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) French microbiologist, chemist, pioneer of the "Germ theory of disease", discoverer of molecular asymmetry and stereo-chemistry, and inventor of the process of Pasteurization.
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