In this 1854 address, Louis Pasteur considers the role of scientific education in an increasingly industrial society. Speaking at the formal installation of new faculties at Douai and Lille, he argues that scientific knowledge can contribute directly to industry while warning against separating practical work from theoretical understanding.

Pasteur maintains that theory gives practice its capacity for invention rather than leaving it as routine. He illustrates how discoveries made without an obvious immediate use can later produce important applications, presenting scientific research as something whose practical value may emerge only with time.

The address is particularly remembered for Pasteur’s observation that, in the field of observation, chance favours only the prepared mind. In context, the remark expresses his broader argument that discovery depends not simply on fortunate circumstances but on education, knowledge and the ability to recognise the significance of an unexpected result.