Liebig's question to Mulder tested by morality and science / by G.T. Mulder ; translated by P.F.H. Fromberg.
- Date:
- 1846
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Liebig's question to Mulder tested by morality and science / by G.T. Mulder ; translated by P.F.H. Fromberg. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
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![This difficulty was not inherent in the subject itself', but arose from circumstances unconnected with it. It arose chiefly from this, that M. Liebig is morbidly irritable, always seeking to quarrel, and with every body, and disputing in a way which is disapproved of by every civilized man. I am not afraid of being assailed by him; on the contrary, I should deem this to be an honour, because I should be attacked in company with the most eminent men of science. I fear neither abuse nor nicknames, which are the weapons with which M. Liebig always fights, for these only injure him who uses them. I have no fear—as is the case with many, who, for this reason, dare not speak,—of being injured by him in my social position, an object which is always aimed at by Liebig in his so-called scientific contests. I a^i not afraid of Liebig; I am only afraid of my own conscientiousness. The only fear I have, in short, is, lest, in my reply to him, I might use a word which I should not always be able to defend, as most fit for my purpose; for this man, whom ] most highly respect for his chemical know- ledge, is, at the same time, an object of my deepest compassion. I am not personally acquainted with him ; all I know of him is from his writings and his letters, and this knowledge compels me to pity him. But, at the same time, I disapprove in him what I would disapprove in myself and in every other man. All our actions have but one touchstone,—that of morality. No deviation from this can be tolerated under any pre- text. That which possesses moral value, receives re- spect. That which ought to possess this value, but is void of it, obtains contempt. This touchstone I am bound to employ in science. It is, in my opinion, the duty of cotemporaries to](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21929580_0014.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
