THE RISE OF PHYSIOLOGY 185 
They change the whole aspect of the field in which they work, 
and all later growth is influenced by their labors.” Johannes 
Miiller was a man of very unusual talent and attainments, 
the possessor of a master mind. Some have said, and not 
without reason, that there was something supernatural about 
Miiller, for his whole appearance bore the stamp of the un- 
common. His portrait, with its massive head above the broad 
shoulders, is shown in Fig. 56. In his lectures his manner 
and his gestures reminded one of a Catholic priest. Early in 
his life, before the disposition to devote himself to science 
became so overwhelming, he thought of entering the priest- 
hood, and there clung to him all his life some marks of 
the holy profession. In his highly intellectual face we find 
““a trace of severity in his mouth and compressed lips, with 
the expression of most earnest thought on his brow and eyes, 
and with the remembrance of a finished work in every 
wrinkle of his countenance.” 
This extraordinary man exercised a profound influence 
upon those who came into contact with him. He excited 
almost unbounded enthusiasm and great veneration among 
his students. ‘They were allowed to work close by his side, 
and so magnetic was his personality that he stimulated them 
powerfully and succeeded in transmitting to them some 
of his own mental qualities. As professor of physiology in 
Berlin, Miiller trained many gifted young men, among whom 
were Ludwig (1816-1895), Du Bois-Reymond (1818-1896), 
and Helmholtz (1821-1894), who became distinguished 
scholars and professors in German universities. Helmholtz, 
speaking of Miiller’s influence on students, paid this tribute 
to the grandeur cf his teacher: ‘‘ Whoever comes into contact 
with men of the first rank has an altered scale of values in life. 
Such intellectual contact is the most interesting event that 
life can offer.” 
The particular service of Johannes Miiller to science was 
