52 LIFE OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF 



and to pathological biology. An uninterrupted thread 

 can be followed right through his life-work, from the 

 beginning until the end. 



In spite of his absorbing work he took great 

 interest in his surroundings, and during this first stay 

 in Italy he became acquainted with two interesting 

 personalities, Bakounine the anarchist and the cele- 

 brated physiologist Setchenoff. Both resided at 

 Sorrento. Kovalevsky and Metchnikoff, who greatly 

 desired to know them, decided to call on them, after 

 much hesitation. 



Bakounine, a giant with a leonine head and a 

 thick mane of grey hair, struck them as being a fiery 

 enthusiast but an intolerant sectarian, easily roused ; 

 for instance, any small and unimportant local meeting 

 was enough for him to predict an imminent revolution 

 in Russia. His theories were epitomised in these 

 words, " We must not leave stone upon stone " ; but 

 when asked what should be built up on those ruins 

 he could only say, " We shall see later." Elie looked 

 upon him as a force powerful by its fire and vitality, 

 but thought his mind neither judicial nor profound. 



Very different was the impression produced on 

 him by Setchenoff. He carried great weight through 

 the depth of his intelligence, his persuasive eloquence 

 and general thoroughness. He was of a Mongol type 

 and his features were plain, but his splendid eyes, 

 deep and intelligent, shrewd and yet kindly, illumined 

 his face with an unforgettable inward beauty. When 

 Elie went to see him, it was with the uneasy feeling 

 that his own knowledge of chemistry and physics was 

 very restricted, having been very superficially acquired 

 during his rapid passage through the University. 

 In spite of this cause for bashfulness, a mental com- 



