LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
PAUL EHRLICH [1854-1915] 69

FRITZ SCHAUDINN [1871-1906] 112

E. ROUX 161

ÉLIE METCHNIKOFF [1845-1916] 161




The Third Great Plague

Chapter I

The History of Syphilis


Syphilis has a remarkable history,[1] about which it is worth while to
say a few words. Many people think of the disease as at least as old as
the Bible, and as having been one of the conditions included under the
old idea of leprosy. Our growing knowledge of medical history, however,
and the finding of new records of the disease, have shown this view to
be in all probability a mistake. Syphilis was unknown in Europe until
the return of Columbus and his sailors from America, and its progress
over the civilized world can be traced step by step, or better, in leaps