KLUYVER AS SEEN BY HIS PUPILS 



come to do so. They ought to be wise enough to recognize their task, 

 and otherwise to ask for guidance. They were expected to do as much 

 as lay within their capacity. 



A natural corollary of this attitude towards the student was that 

 those who preferred working under concrete orders in a definite sched- 

 ule had difficulties in adjusting themselves. Some of them never did, 

 and eventually left, disappointed. Kluyver was fully cognizant of this, 

 but it did not make him spoil his game. He was tolerant of defects in 

 scientific education and even in character, provided some enthusiasm 

 and a positive will were evident ; but these he neither could nor would 

 supply if his own example failed to engender them. He accepted the 

 fact that, after all, not every student can be sufficiently interested in 

 microbiology to make him devote his major efforts to its pursuit, and 

 he did not respect such persons any the less for it. 



In this manner Kluyver established an ideal relationship with his 

 students in a very short time. It is hardly surprising that, once they 

 had started to work in his laboratory, they more often than not felt as 

 if they had landed in heaven. Their expectations were realized more 

 completely than they could have dared to hope ; for, with the intuition 

 of youth, most of them quickly recognized the greatness of their teach- 

 er. This made it easy for them to acquire a satisfactory knowledge of 

 the elements of microbiological science. Usually the students had al- 

 ready taken Kluyver's introductory laboratory course in general mi- 

 crobiology in which were included numerous enrichment cultures and 

 pure culture isolations. Moreover, they could attend two series of lec- 

 ture courses, one in general microbiology, the other dealing with one 

 of four special topics that alternated from year to year. In his lectures 

 Kluyver used an inductive approach; from a gradually accumulating 

 body of experimental facts fundamental concepts were evolved. Every 

 lecture was illustrated with an abundance of demonstration material. 

 The greatest care was lavished on the first few lectures of the general 

 microbiology course; for it was here that the sceptical young chemist 

 was first formally initiated into the mysteries of living organisms. 

 Here, the demonstrations included the scrupulously repeated classical 

 experiments of Leeuwenhoek and Pasteur; and their significance, 

 coupled with their simplicity and surprisingly primitive equipment, 

 produced an imposing, nay, even solemn, and somewhat romantic 

 effect. 



53 



