--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: commented on the future of antibiotic…" description: "\"“commented on the future of antibiotic drugs. Perhaps, Fleming mused, a time would come when anyone with real or perceived illness could get penicillin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/anne-e-maczulak-29664_time_commented-on-the-future-of-antibiotic-dr_1175639.jpg" --- # commented on the future of antibiotic drugs. Perhaps… ![“commented on the future of antibiotic drugs. Perhaps, Fleming mused, a time would come when anyone with real or perceived illness could get penicillin. “The ignorant man,” he warned, “may underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug, make them resistant.” quote by Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/anne-e-maczulak-29664_time_commented-on-the-future-of-antibiotic-dr_1175639.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/anne-e-maczulak-29664_time_commented-on-the-future-of-antibiotic-dr_1175639.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/anne-e-maczulak-29664_time_commented-on-the-future-of-antibiotic-dr_1175639.jpg) > ““commented on the future of antibiotic drugs. Perhaps, Fleming mused, a time would come when anyone with real or perceived illness could get penicillin. “The ignorant man,” he warned, “may underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug, make them resistant.”” [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fleming warned that misuse of antibiotics can lead to resistance, endangering future treatments. **In simple terms:** Misusing antibiotics creates resistant germs. Key Takeaway Use antibiotics responsibly. Themes health science responsibility Mood cautious concerned Type educational warning When to use this quote - prescribing drugs - patient self‑medication - hospital infection control Key Concepts antibiotic resistance public health Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure proper dosage? - What policies reduce misuse? A Different Perspective Resistance can also develop from over‑use in agriculture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antibiotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antibiotic-1017199/) [Future Antibiotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-antibiotic-3425869/) [Illness Penicillin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness-penicillin-3425871/) [Penicillin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penicillin/) [Penicillin Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penicillin-ignorant-3425870/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Healthy people eating healthy food should never need to take an antibiotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-fuhrman/healthy-people-eating-healthy-food-should-never-need-to-take-an/) [Joel Fuhrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-fuhrman/) > [“farmers have found that virtually any antibiotic promotes the growth of their livestock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-j-blaser/farmers-have-found-that-virtually-any-antibiotic-promotes-the-growth/) [Martin J. Blaser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-j-blaser/) > [Some experts say we are moving back to the pre-antibiotic era. No. This will be a post-antibiotic era. In terms of new replacement antibiotics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-chan/some-experts-say-we-are-moving-back-to-the-pre-antibiotic-era-no-this/) [Margaret Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-chan/) > [Antibiotic resistance is as old as the dirt that coats our planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-gottlieb/antibiotic-resistance-is-as-old-as-the-dirt-that-coats-our-planet/) [Scott Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-gottlieb/) > [“If I’m right, a new antibiotic will be created that fights Y. pestis using three different mechanisms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/if-i-m-right-a-new-antibiotic-will-be-created-that-fights-y-pestis/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [I expect that essential oils may some day prove a vital weapon in the fight against strains of antibiotic-resi stant bacteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/i-expect-that-essential-oils-may-some-day-prove-a-vital-weapon-in-the/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [“Faith is an antibiotic against germs of worries with positive side effects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hira/faith-is-an-antibiotic-against-germs-of-worries-with-positive-side/) [hira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hira/) > [It's like The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat, about the discovery of penicillin. Out of these strange accidents come huge discoveries. A certain purple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-simon/it-s-like-the-mold-in-dr-florey-s-coat-about-the-discovery-of/) [Carly Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-simon/) > [Stay in college, get the knowledge. And stay there until you're through. If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/stay-in-college-get-the-knowledge-and-stay-there-until-you-re-through/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [If penicillin can cure those that are ill, Spanish sherry can bring the dead back to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/if-penicillin-can-cure-those-that-are-ill-spanish-sherry-can-bring/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [I grew up thinking that it was immoral to idealize the past because, in the past, there was slavery and no penicillin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-to-idealize-the-past-because/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [If penicillin had been judged by its toxicity to guinea pigs, it might never have been used by man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/if-penicillin-had-been-judged-by-its-toxicity-to-guinea-pigs-it-might/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I have been trying to point out that in our lives chance may have an astonishing influence and, if I may offer advice to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/i-have-been-trying-to-point-out-that-in-our-lives-chance-may-have-an/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [(The discovery of penicillin) was a triumph of accident, a fortunate occurrence which happened while I was working on a purely academic bacteriological problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/the-discovery-of-penicillin-was-a-triumph-of-accident-a-fortunate/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [The only reason we don't notice how absolutely interwoven our thinking processes have become with older technologies - pencils, paper, electric light, penicillin, fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-only-reason-we-don-t-notice-how-absolutely-interwoven-our/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) ## More by Anne E. Maczulak > [“that a given bacterial species caused a specific disease. In 1876, Koch established a set of criteria that a bacterium must meet in test…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/that-a-given-bacterial-species-caused-a-specific-disease-in-1876-koch/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“Pasteur had received an honorary degree from the University of Bonn in 1868, but returned it later during the height of French-German tension. “Today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/pasteur-had-received-an-honorary-degree-from-the-university-of-bonn/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“Guesswork plays a part in these estimates. Bacteria exist 40 miles above the Earth and 7 miles deep in the ocean, and most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/guesswork-plays-a-part-in-these-estimates-bacteria-exist-40-miles/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“During a rabies scare in 1885, Pasteur concocted a treatment and gave the untested drug to a nine-year-old boy, Joseph Meister, who had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/during-a-rabies-scare-in-1885-pasteur-concocted-a-treatment-and-gave/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“The pH rises in the intestines and bacterial numbers increase a millionfold from about 1,000 cells per gram of stomach contents, which to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/the-ph-rises-in-the-intestines-and-bacterial-numbers-increase-a/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“around, some microbiologists have suggested that classifying bacteria by species is futile. It seems as if all bacteria belong to one mega-species, and different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/around-some-microbiologists-have-suggested-that-classifying-bacteria/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“Skin bacteria in these places degrade the sweat’s sebaceous oils to a mixture of small fatty acids and nitrogen- and sulfur-containing compounds, all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/skin-bacteria-in-these-places-degrade-the-sweat-s-sebaceous-oils-to-a/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“Venter concluded from a two-year study of marine microbes that for every 200 miles of ocean, 85 percent of the species, judged by unique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/venter-concluded-from-a-two-year-study-of-marine-microbes-that-for/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“No one knows the number of bacterial species. About 5,000 species have been characterized and another 10,000 have been partially identified. Biodiversity authority Edward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/no-one-knows-the-number-of-bacterial-species-about-5-000-species-have/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“(Courtesy of BioVir Laboratories, Inc.) Three years after Koch and Hesse switched to agar-based media, another assistant in the laboratory, Richard J. Petri, designed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/courtesy-of-biovir-laboratories-inc-three-years-after-koch-and-hesse/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“Communities contain a messaging system in which identical cells or unrelated cells respond to each other and change their behavior. This adaptation is called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/communities-contain-a-messaging-system-in-which-identical-cells-or/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“Koch’s postulates here: The same pathogen must be present in every case of a disease. The pathogen must be isolated from the diseased host…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/koch-s-postulates-here-the-same-pathogen-must-be-present-in-every/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“The enzyme lysozyme in tears and saliva kills bacteria, and skin oils contain fatty acids that inhibit gram-positive bacteria. If those defenses fail, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/the-enzyme-lysozyme-in-tears-and-saliva-kills-bacteria-and-skin-oils/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“The skin holds habitats that vary in moisture, oils, salts, and aeration. The scalp, face, chest and back, limbs, underarms, genitals, and feet make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/the-skin-holds-habitats-that-vary-in-moisture-oils-salts-and-aeration/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“the stars visible from Earth have been estimated at “only” 7 × 1022. The mass of these cells approaches 2 × 1015 pounds, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/the-stars-visible-from-earth-have-been-estimated-at-only-7-1022-the/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) [Explore all 18 Anne E. Maczulak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) ## More Penicillin quotes > [The only reason we don't notice how absolutely interwoven our thinking processes have become with older technologies - pencils, paper, electric light, penicillin, fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-only-reason-we-don-t-notice-how-absolutely-interwoven-our/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [(The discovery of penicillin) was a triumph of accident, a fortunate occurrence which happened while I was working on a purely academic bacteriological problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/the-discovery-of-penicillin-was-a-triumph-of-accident-a-fortunate/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [I have been trying to point out that in our lives chance may have an astonishing influence and, if I may offer advice to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/i-have-been-trying-to-point-out-that-in-our-lives-chance-may-have-an/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [If penicillin had been judged by its toxicity to guinea pigs, it might never have been used by man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/if-penicillin-had-been-judged-by-its-toxicity-to-guinea-pigs-it-might/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I grew up thinking that it was immoral to idealize the past because, in the past, there was slavery and no penicillin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-to-idealize-the-past-because/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [If penicillin can cure those that are ill, Spanish sherry can bring the dead back to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/if-penicillin-can-cure-those-that-are-ill-spanish-sherry-can-bring/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [Stay in college, get the knowledge. And stay there until you're through. If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/stay-in-college-get-the-knowledge-and-stay-there-until-you-re-through/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [It's like The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat, about the discovery of penicillin. Out of these strange accidents come huge discoveries. A certain purple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-simon/it-s-like-the-mold-in-dr-florey-s-coat-about-the-discovery-of/) [Carly Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-simon/) > [Prior to penicillin and medical research, death was an everyday occurrence. It was intimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/prior-to-penicillin-and-medical-research-death-was-an-everyday/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [No king or minister could have instructed Newton to discover the law of gravity, for they did not know and could not know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-northcote-parkinson/no-king-or-minister-could-have-instructed-newton-to-discover-the-law/) [C. Northcote Parkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-northcote-parkinson/) > [The genius of Man in our time has gone into jet-propulsion, atom-splitting, penicillin-curing, etc. There is left none over for works of imagination; of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/the-genius-of-man-in-our-time-has-gone-into-jet-propulsion-atom/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [I had fallen in love with a young man..., and we were planning to get married. And then he died of subacute bacterial endocarditis...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/i-had-fallen-in-love-with-a-young-man-and-we-were-planning-to-get/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [I had pneumonia when I was 18 months old and I was given penicillin, which I was allergic to, and since then my teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-phillips/i-had-pneumonia-when-i-was-18-months-old-and-i-was-given-penicillin/) [Jess Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-phillips/) > [In my first publication I might have claimed that I had come to the conclusion, as a result of serious study of the literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/in-my-first-publication-i-might-have-claimed-that-i-had-come-to-the/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [“The city is a plague… and I am the penicillin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-j-c-veit/the-city-is-a-plague-and-i-am-the-penicillin/) [Jerry J.C. Veit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-j-c-veit/) [Browse all 53 Penicillin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penicillin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“commented on the future of antibiotic drugs. Perhaps, Fleming mused, a time would come when anyone with real or perceived illness could get penicillin. “The ignorant man,” he warned, “may underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug, make them resistant.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne E. Maczulak" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/commented-on-the-future-of-antibiotic-drugs-perhaps-fleming-mused-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Penicillin" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/commented-on-the-future-of-antibiotic-drugs-perhaps-fleming-mused-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/anne-e-maczulak-29664_time_commented-on-the-future-of-antibiotic-dr_1175639.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/anne-e-maczulak-29664_time_commented-on-the-future-of-antibiotic-dr_1175639.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/anne-e-maczulak-29664_time_commented-on-the-future-of-antibiotic-dr_1175639.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“commented on the future of antibiotic drugs. Perhaps, Fleming mused, a time would come when anyone with real…” — Anne E. Maczulak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anne E. Maczulak", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“commented on the future of antibiotic...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/commented-on-the-future-of-antibiotic-drugs-perhaps-fleming-mused-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/commented-on-the-future-of-antibiotic-drugs-perhaps-fleming-mused-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```