206 Perspectives in Microbiology 



to Bernard, who pointed out: "New ideas and discoveries 

 are like grains: it is not sufficient to produce them and 

 seed them; they must be nourished and allowed to develop 

 by means of scientific culture. Otherwise, they die or emi- 

 grate to other places where they are found to prosper and 

 bear fruit wherever they find fertile soil, often far away 

 from the place of origin." Also, he emphasized that "men 

 who have excessive faith in their theories or ideas are not 

 only ill-prepared for making discoveries, but they also 

 make poor observations." 



The scientific method is clearly outlined by Cannon in 

 The Way of an Investigator. He says, "Curiosity has been 

 condemned as a disease and as a low vice, and the theolo- 

 gians and poets have solemnly warned against it. But in 

 spite of the testimony that it was curiosity which lost us 

 paradise, I am sure that all who are aware of the fruits 

 of the tree of knowledge would agree that they have be- 

 come abundant because of the spying and trying of in- 

 quisitive scientists. . . . [The investigator] sees events and 

 changes in his field which seem to him strange and mysteri- 

 ous. Instead of ignoring them, as most people do, he 

 wonders about them and sets to work to learn their char- 

 acteristics. Curiosity is the main-spring of his initiative and 

 his persistent industry. It is a prime requisite for a career 

 of exploration." 



The investigators themselves deserve particular atten- 

 tion. In his introduction to Max Planck's Where is Science 

 Going, Einstein emphasizes that there are ". . . many 

 kinds of men who devote themselves to science, and not 

 all for the sake of science itself. There are some who come 

 into her temple because it offers them the opportunity to 

 display their particular talents. To this class of men science 

 is a kind of sport in the practice of which they exult, just 

 as an athlete exults in the exercise of his muscular prowess. 

 There is another class of men who come into the temple 

 to make an offering of their brain pulp in the hope of se- 



