208 Perspecfives in Microbiology 



the search for more information. This approach to the edu- 

 cation of a scientist reminds me of the story told by Morris 

 R. Cohen: "As a teacher," he said, "one must clear the 

 ground of useless rubbish before one can begin to build." 

 When reproached by one of his students for his destructive 

 criticism, he replied: "You have heard the story of how 

 Hercules cleaned the Aegean stables. He took all the dirt 

 and manure out and left them clean. You ask me, 'What 

 did he leave in their stead?' To this, I answer, 'Isn't it 

 enough to have cleaned the stables?' " I am afraid that 

 while this reply may have satisfied students in philosophy, 

 it would hardly have done so for students of the experi- 

 mental sciences, certainly not for the great majority of 

 them. 



An extreme of the second method of education is illus- 

 trated by the story told of Wilhelm Beijerinck. Upon enter- 

 ing the laboratory one morning, he found one of his stu- 

 dents staining a bacterial preparation. When he asked the 

 student the nature of the stain that he was using, the reply 

 was: "Gentian violet." Beijerinck then proceeded with a 

 question as to the chemical structure of the stain. The 

 confused student pleaded ignorance. Beijerinck com- 

 mented caustically that an investigator had no business 

 to carry out research by the use of tools the nature of 

 which was unknown to him. 



What about the relation of the scientist to his environ- 

 ment? On the one hand, we have the concept of Emil 

 Roux, a former director of the Pasteur Institute, who be- 

 lieved that a scientist should devote the whole of his life 

 to science, should not possess a private or personal life, 

 should not even marry; no wonder that he was often spoken 

 of as "moine laique" or "lay monk." On the other hand, 

 we have the concept of the true biologist, who sees in all 

 human lives a constant adjustment to the environment. 

 This is well expressed by Raymond Pearl: 



"Because a person, from however pure and noble mo- 



