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DEDICATION In the year 1720, Bubonic plague broke out suddenly in the French town of Marseilles. Men died like flies. There were heaps of decaying corpses waiting for burial; there were hardly any left alive to burn or bury them. The whole city was in the grip of mortal fear. Physicians found themselves helpless; often in their courageous attempt to heal the stricken, they fell victim to this fatal disease. The epidemic raged fiercely and death swept away thousands relentlessly.
The physicians held a conference to exchange their ideas and experiences. They unanimously came to the decision that to treat this disease effectively, they must dissect the body of one of its victims. Only that might put them on the right course of treatment.
But who would undertake to dissect the corpse of a man who had died of this fatal disease? To dissect the body of a victim of the plague was tantamount to extending an invitation to death. In this hour of imminent danger, when every one instinctively clung to life with extreme fear, where was the man who would volunteer to risk certain death:
As the conference was about to disperse, a handsome young man stood up. His eyes glowed with compassion, his lips were pursed in determination. This young man was Henry Guyon. All eyes turned in his direction. Was he going to announce some astounding discovery?
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