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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Life of Elie Metchnikoff, 1845-1916 + + +Author: Olga Metchnikoff + + + +Release Date: November 16, 2013 [eBook #44194] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF, +1845-1916*** + + +E-text prepared by Charlene Taylor, Norbert Müller, and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images +generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries +(https://archive.org/details/americana) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustration. + See 44194-h.htm or 44194-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44194/44194-h/44194-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44194/44194-h.zip) + + + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive/American Libraries. See + https://archive.org/details/lifeofeliemetchn00mechiala + + + + + +Authorised Translation from the French + + +[Illustration: DR. METCHNIKOFF IN HIS LABORATORY.] + + +LIFE OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF +1845-1916 + +by + +OLGA METCHNIKOFF + +With a Preface by Sir Ray Lankester K.C.B. F.R.S. + + + + + + + +London +Constable and Company Ltd. +1921 + + + + + +PREFACE + + +It has been a great satisfaction to me to carry out the wish of my +dear friend Elie Metchnikoff, and arrange for the production of an +English translation of his biography. The account of his life and work +written by Olga Metchnikoff is a remarkable and beautiful record of +the development and activities of a great discoverer. It is remarkable +because it is seldom that one who undertakes such a task has had so +constant a share in, and so complete a knowledge and understanding of, +the life portrayed as in the present case: seldom that the intimate +thought and mental "adventure" of a discoverer presents so clear and +consistent a history. It is beautiful because it is put before us with +perfect candour and simplicity guided by rare intelligence and inspired +by deep affection. Madame Metchnikoff has drawn the picture of the +development of a single-minded character absolutely and tenaciously +devoted to a high purpose--the improvement of human life. It is a +story of "struggles and adventures," but they are wholly in the field +of the investigation of Nature. We read here little or nothing of the +quest for personal advancement, for fortune or official position. +These things had no attraction for Metchnikoff. He left Russia and +took an unpaid post in Paris in order to have a place to work in. He +had many devoted friends in whose company he sought refreshment and +relaxation, but all his immense energy and industry were concentrated +on the development and establishment of his great biological theory +of "Phagocytosis" and its outcome, the philosophy of life called by +him "Orthobiosis." This volume tells truly of a simple life--a life in +which the social incidents which fill so large a space in most lives +were either non-existent or unnoticed because, by the side of the great +purpose which dominated Metchnikoff's every thought and action--namely, +the advancement of Science--he was not touched by them. He was +affectionate, kind-hearted, and truly considerate of others, but was, +in a way which is traceable to his racial origin, a practical idealist +concentrating his whole strength and reason on the realisation of what +he held to be the highest good. + +I had as an eager reader of memoirs on biological subjects become +acquainted with Metchnikoff's earliest publications in 1865, when +he was twenty years of age and I two years younger. I wrote short +accounts of them, as they appeared, for a chronicle of progress in the +_Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science_, then edited by my father. +Those on a European Land Planarian, on the development of Myzostomum +(the parasite of the Feather-Star), on Apsilus, a strange new kind of +wheel-animalcule, and his protest against Rudolf Leuckart's treatment +of him in the matter of his important discoveries concerning the +Frog's lung-worm--_Ascaris nigrovenosa_--remain in my memory, and +later, in 1872, I was especially struck by his important demonstration +of the true mode of development of the gastrula of the calcareous +sponges in correction of Professor Ernst Haeckel. Many other papers +of his became known to me, until in 1881 he published his first +observations on _Intracellular Digestion in Lower Animals_, which was +the starting-point of his life's work on "Phagocytosis," to which all +his subsequent researches--during thirty-five years--were exclusively +dedicated. + +In 1888 I was introduced by my friend Lauder Brunton to the great +Pasteur, and called on him at his laboratory in the rue d'Ulm. There I +met Metchnikoff, only lately arrived from Russia, and welcomed as one +of his staff by Pasteur. The next year, 1889, Pasteur was installed +in the new "Institut Pasteur" in the rue Dutot, and I met Metchnikoff +there in his new quarters. Pasteur's assistants were carrying on daily +his system of inoculation against rabies, and many British subjects +were amongst those treated. I persuaded the Lord Mayor of that year, +Sir James Whitehead, to visit the Pasteur Institute with a view to +taking steps to make some recognition of the services rendered by +Pasteur to our fellow-countrymen in treating over two hundred of them +threatened with hydrophobia. Sir James called a meeting on July 1, +1889, at the Mansion House, and placed the management of it in my +hands. As a result we obtained subscriptions to a fund which enabled +us to assist many poor British subjects to visit Paris for the purpose +of undergoing M. Pasteur's treatment, to make a donation of 30,000 +francs to the Pasteur Institute, and to initiate with a sum of £300 the +formation of a fund for the purpose of establishing an Institute in +London similar in purpose and character to the Institut Pasteur. That +initial fund has step by step received generous additions and given us +the "Lister Institute" on Chelsea Embankment possessed of buildings, +site, and capital valued at more than £300,000. + +After 1889 it was rare for a year to pass without my visiting Paris +both in spring and summer, and seeing a great deal of Metchnikoff +and his friends Roux, Duclaux, Laveran, and the great master of the +Pastorians, who died in 1895. Metchnikoff took me to his home and +cemented his friendship with me by bringing to me that of his gifted +and devoted wife. + +Madame Metchnikoff had when a schoolgirl studied zoology under her +future husband at Odessa, and now was able to give serious help in +some of his researches. She published some experimental investigation +on the sterilisation of the alimentary canal of tadpoles and some +other researches, and having a thorough knowledge of English, which +Elie did not possess, she helped him in reading and translating from +that language. But her chief talents were in the arts of painting and +sculpture, and when they purchased their country house at Sèvres, she +built a studio in the garden in which to pursue her vocation. + +Metchnikoff on several occasions came to England to take part in +"congresses" or to give special addresses, and often stayed a day or +two with me in London.[1] I was with him at the Darwin Celebration at +Cambridge in 1909, and the last occasion when he came was to give the +Priestley Lecture of the National Health Society in November 1912. +At my request he selected "The Warfare against Tuberculosis" as his +subject, and gave a most valuable account of the history and actual +condition of that enterprise, relating the important results of his +expedition to the Kalmuk Tartars for the purpose of studying the +immunity from and the liability to infection by tuberculosis among +that nomad population. The lecture was delivered in French, and I made +a translation of it which appeared with numerous illustrations in the +journal called _Bedrock_, published by Constable & Co. I mention that +publication here as it is the only one excepting the three lectures on +"The New Hygiene" (Heinemann, London, 1906) originally published in +an English form by Metchnikoff, and deserves more attention from the +English medical public than it has received. + + [1] He received an honorary degree at Cambridge in 1891, and + also attended the International Medical Congress in London + in that year. In 1901 he gave a lecture at Manchester on the + intestinal flora. In 1906 he gave a course of three lectures + in London on "The New Hygiene." I translated them for him, + and they were published as a little volume by Heinemann. + +I found Metchnikoff a delightful companion. He always had something +new or of special interest to show to me at the laboratory--some +microscopical preparation, the digestive process in Protozoa, +the microbian parasite of a water-flea, a new method of dark +ground illumination with high powers (Commandant's method for film +production), the newly discovered Treponema of syphilis, or the +experimental inoculation of a disease under study. Sometimes I +would lunch at his house, when, although he neither smoked nor took +alcoholic drinks himself, he made a point of giving me first-rate +claret and a good cigar. It was about the year 1900 that he arranged +for the preparation of a pure "sour milk" made by the use of a special +lactic ferment (selected and cultivated by himself), and this he took +regularly. I found it a most agreeable food, and for several years made +it an article of my own diet. He was very careful about the possible +contamination of uncooked food by bacteria and the eggs of parasitic +worms, and in consequence had "rolls" sent to him from the bakers each +in its separate paper bag, whilst he would never eat uncooked salads or +fruit which could not be rendered safe by "peeling." This was not an +excess of caution, but resulted from his characteristic determination +to carry out in practice the directions given by definite scientific +knowledge, and to make the attempt to lead so far as possible a life +free from disease. Often when I arrived in Paris he would invite me to +lunch at one of the leading cafés, and though he ate very simple food +himself took keen pleasure in ordering the best for me and thoroughly +enjoyed the change of scene and the amenities of a first-rate +restaurant. During one of his visits to London, I remember that he was +invited, and I with him, on two or three occasions, by leading London +physicians to dinner-parties. He was greatly shocked at the amount of +strong wine which his hosts and fellow-guests consumed, and assured me +that in Paris it would be injurious to the reputation of a physician +were he not to set an example of either abstinence or great moderation. + +Metchnikoff was not only exceedingly gentle and courteous in his +treatment of servants and employés, but he and his wife contrived on +a very small income to help in a most substantial way poor neighbours +and those who had met with misfortune whether they were of French or +Russian nationality. They had many friends in the world of science and +art, real workers and thinkers, including those who had not and those +who had "arrived." With them I met and spent a long and interesting +day with Rodin the sculptor and the son of Léon Tolstoï, who was +working in a Paris studio. Among the pleasures which I have derived +from the _Life_ are the accounts of places such as Naples and Messina, +where I stayed in order to study the embryology of marine animals as +Metchnikoff did; and also the appearance in these pages from time to +time of old friends such as Nikolas Kleinenberg, whom Metchnikoff +met at Messina in 1883. I had formed an intimate acquaintance with +Kleinenberg at Jena in 1871, when he was working at his classical +monograph on Hydra, and continued it at Naples in 1875. From Messina, +where he became Professor in 1875, Kleinenberg sent me for publication +in the _Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science_ his valuable +memoir on the embryology of a species of Earthworm, and also rare and +interesting specimens of Cephalopoda. + +Another great and noteworthy figure about whom all zoologists are +glad to learn as much as possible is Kovalevsky. Metchnikoff made his +acquaintance at Naples in 1864, and they formed a close friendship +for one another. Later, in 1867, they shared the Baer Prize of the +Petersburg Academy for their discoveries in embryology (p. 58). In +1868 Metchnikoff had a dispute with Kovalevsky as to the origin of the +nervous system of Ascidia (p. 62), concerning which he subsequently +admitted that he was wrong and Kovalevsky right. There is no doubt that +Kovalevsky, by his numerous important investigations of invertebrate +embryology, and especially of that of Ascidia and Amphioxus, laid +the foundation of _cellular_ Embryology, and the modern study of the +embryology of Invertebrates. Metchnikoff's contributions were also of +great value and importance (pp. 51, 52, 53, and pp. 72 and 73), though +he has not so great a triumph in animal morphology to his credit as +Kovalevsky's discovery of the close identities of the development of +organs in Ascidia and Amphioxus. I had long cherished profound esteem +for Kovalevsky when in 1896 I met him and his daughter at Wimereux +with Professor Giard. He came in the autumn of that year to London, +but left unexpectedly owing to some nervous fear of annoyance by the +police. The great position of Kovalevsky was deliberately ignored in +a German history of Zoology,[2] published just before the Great War. +Metchnikoff describes Kovalevsky as a young man, small and timid, with +shy but cordial manners and the clear sweet eyes of a child: he had +(like Metchnikoff) for Science an absolute cult--"no sacrifice was too +great, no difficulty too repellent for his ardour." + + [2] By Prof. Hertwig of Munich. + + * * * * * + +It is, I think, desirable to assure the reader of this book that the +actual state of knowledge in regard to various subjects discussed +in the _Life_ at the time when they were made the subjects of study +by Metchnikoff is fairly and correctly sketched, and the growth and +development of his views and original discoveries are correctly given. +But it must be remembered that this _Life_ is not a critical discussion +of the steps by which our knowledge of cell-layers, of intracellular +digestion, and other factors contributory to Metchnikoff's doctrine of +Phagocytosis and its outcomes were reached. Others played an important +if a subsidiary part in building up that knowledge. What we have here +is an account of the growth of Metchnikoff's own observations and +theoretical inferences, which were so independent, and founded on +such decisive original observations, as to make him a solitary figure +contending, and successfully contending, during the best years of +his lifetime for the recognition of a great generalisation for long +opposed by most of the medical and physiological authorities of the +time, and finally established by his lifelong researches and those of +his faithful pupils and coadjutors. The recognition of the validity +of _the doctrine of phagocytosis_ in relation to wounds, disease, +immunity, and normal healthy life is the triumphant result of the +scientific insight and boundless energy of Elie Metchnikoff. + + E. RAY LANKESTER. + + + + + CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + PREFACE v + + INTRODUCTION xxi + + + CHAPTER I + + 1845. Panassovka--Metchnikoff's parents--Country life in + Little Russia 1 + + + CHAPTER II + + Metchnikoff's brothers and sister--Childish characteristics 8 + + + CHAPTER III + + 1850. Journey to Slaviansk--The coach attacked by peasants 12 + + + CHAPTER IV + + 1851. Departure for Kharkoff--Town life 16 + + + CHAPTER V + + 1853-1856. Leo Metchnikoff's illness--Private tutors-- + Botanical studies--A memorable birthday 19 + + CHAPTER VI + + Ancestors of the Metchnikoff family--The great "Spatar"--Leo + Nevahovitch 23 + + CHAPTER VII + + 1856-1861. The Kharkoff Lycée--Bogomoloff and Socialism-- + Atheism--Natural History studies--Private lodgings-- + Private lessons in histology from Professor Tschelkoff + --A borrowed microscope--First article--Italian opera-- + The gold medal 28 + + CHAPTER VIII + + An early love--A schoolfellow's sister--A pretty sister-in-law 35 + + + CHAPTER IX + + 1862. Journey to Germany--Leipzig, Würzburg--A hasty return 37 + + + CHAPTER X + + 1863. Kharkoff University--Physiology--The Vorticella-- + Controversy with Kühne--_The Origin of Species_-- + Gastrotricha--University degree 40 + + + CHAPTER XI + + 1864-1866. Heligoland--Giessen Congress--Leuckart--Visit + to Leo Metchnikoff at Geneva--Socialist gatherings-- + Metchnikoff's discovery appropriated by Leuckart--Naples + --Kovalevsky--Comparative embryology--Embryonic layers-- + Bakounine and Setchénoff--Cholera at Naples--Göttingen-- + Anatomical studies--Munich; von Siebold--Music--Return + to Naples--Intracellular digestion 43 + + + CHAPTER XII + + 1867-1868. Petersburg--Baer Prize--Return home--Friendship + with Cienkovsky--Odessa--Naturalists' Congress at + Petersburg--Departure from Odessa--Zoological Lecturer's + Chair at Petersburg--Messina--Enforced rest--Reggio-- + Naples--Controversy with Kovalevsky--Visit to the + B. family--Mlle. Fédorovitch--Educational questions-- + Difficulties of life in Petersburg 58 + + + CHAPTER XIII + + 1868-1873. Slight illness--Engagement to Mlle. Fédorovitch-- + Marriage--Illness of the bride--Pecuniary difficulties + --Spezzia--Montreux--Work in Petersburg University--The + Riviera--Coelomata and Acoelomata--St. Vaast--Panassovka + --Madeira--Mertens--Teneriffe--Return to Odessa--Bad news, + hurried journey to Madeira--Death of his wife (1872)-- + Return through Spain--Attempted suicide--Ephemeridæ 65 + + + CHAPTER XIV + + 1874. Anthropological expedition to the Kalmuk steppes-- + Affection of the eyes--Second expedition to the steppes-- + The eggs of the _Geophilus_ 82 + + + CHAPTER XV + + 1875. Studies on childhood--The family in the upper flat-- + Lessons in zoology--Second marriage--Private life--Visit + and death of Lvovna Nevahovna--Conjugal affection 86 + + + CHAPTER XVI + + 1875-1880. Metchnikoff at the age of 30--Lecturing in Odessa + University, from 1873 to 1882--Internal difficulties-- + Assassination of the Tsar, Alexander II.--Further troubles + in the University--Resignation--Bad health: cardiac + symptoms--Relapsing fever--Choroiditis--Studies on + Ephemeridæ--Further studies on intracellular digestion-- + The _Parenchymella_--Holidays in the country--Experiments + on agricultural pests 96 + + + CHAPTER XVII + + 1881-1882. Death of his father- and mother-in-law--Management + of country estates--Agitation and difficulties--Departure + for Messina with young brothers- and sisters-in-law 112 + + + CHAPTER XVIII + + 1883. Messina--Inception of the phagocyte theory--Encouragement + from Virchow and Kleinenberg--First paper on phagocytosis + at a Congress at Odessa in 1883--The question of _immunity_ + --Article in Virchow's _Archiv_, 1884 115 + + + CHAPTER XIX + + 1884-1885. Ill-health of his wife and sister-in-law--Journey + to Tangiers through Spain--Villefranche--Baumgarten + criticises the phagocyte theory 123 + + + CHAPTER XX + + 1886. A Bacteriological Institute in Odessa--Unsatisfactory + conditions--Experiments on erysipelas and on relapsing + fever 127 + + + CHAPTER XXI + + 1887. Hygiene Congress in Vienna--Wiesbaden--Munich--Paris + and Pasteur--Berlin and Koch--Failure of anthrax + vaccination of sheep--Decision to leave Russia 131 + + + CHAPTER XXII + + 1888. The Pasteur Institute--Dreams realised--Metchnikoff + at 50--Growing optimism--Attenuated sensitiveness--The + Sèvres villa (1898)--Daily routine 135 + + + CHAPTER XXIII + + 1892. Opposition to the phagocyte theory--Scientific + controversies--Experiments in support of the phagocyte + theory--Behring and antitoxins--The London Congress-- + _Inflammation_ 147 + + + CHAPTER XXIV + + Cholera--Experiments on himself and others--Illness of M. + Jupille--Death of an epileptic subject--Insufficient results 154 + + + CHAPTER XXV + + 1894. Pfeiffer's experiments--The Buda-Pest Congress-- + Extracellular destruction of microbes--Reaction of the + organism against toxins--Dr. Besredka's researches-- + Macrophages--The Moscow Congress--Bordet's experiments 158 + + + CHAPTER XXVI + + 1900. Immunity--Natural immunity--Artificial immunity 168 + + + CHAPTER XXVII + + 1893-1905. Private sorrows--Death of Pasteur--Ill-health + --Senile atrophies--Premature death--Orthobiosis-- + Syphilis (1905)--Acquisition of anthropoid apes (1903) 181 + + + CHAPTER XXVIII + + Researches on the intestinal flora--Sour milk 196 + + + CHAPTER XXIX + + 1908. The Nobel Prize--Journey to Sweden and Russia--A day + with Léon Tolstoï 199 + + + CHAPTER XXX + + Intestinal flora--Infantile cholera--Typhoid fever--Articles + on popular Science 206 + + + CHAPTER XXXI + + 1911. Expedition to the Kalmuk steppes to study tuberculosis + --Plague 210 + + + CHAPTER XXXII + + Further researches on the intestinal flora--_Forty Years' + Search for a Rational Conception of Life_ 220 + + + CHAPTER XXXIII + + Unpleasant incidents--The fabrication of lacto-bacilli--St. + Léger-en-Yvelines--Return to Paris--First cardiac attack + --Evolution of the death instinct--Notes on his symptoms 225 + + + CHAPTER XXXIV + + 1914. Return to St. Léger-en-Yvelines--Norka--Studies on the + death of the silk-worm moth--War declared--Mobilisation 237 + + + CHAPTER XXXV + + 1915. Return to Paris--The deserted Institute--Memoir on the + Founders of Modern Medicine--Metchnikoff's Jubilee--Last + holidays at Norka 244 + + + CHAPTER XXXVI + + 1916. Bronchial cold--Aggravated cardiac symptoms--Farewell + to Sèvres--Return to the Institute--Protracted sufferings + --Intellectual preoccupations--Observations on his own + condition--The end--Cremation. 254 + + + EPILOGUE 276 + + BIBLIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX 285 + + INDEX 291 + + + + + INTRODUCTION + + +On a calm summer evening we were seated together on our terrace. + +On the preceding day, one who hardly knew my husband had come to ask +him for information concerning his life, with the object of writing +his biography. We were saying to each other how inevitably superficial +and incomplete such a biography was bound to be; how difficult such a +task is for a biographer, even when fully informed; how necessary it +is to be thoroughly acquainted with a man and with every phase of his +existence in order to give a truthful picture of his character and of +his life. The intimate side is bound to remain more or less closed to a +stranger; in order to decipher it, it is indispensable for the writer +of a biography to have lived in complete communion of spirit with its +subject. Our long past, spent together, fulfilled all these conditions. + +My husband's whole life was well known to me. My mother-in-law had +often told me vivid stories of his childhood; he himself willingly +talked to me about his past. As to the second part of his existence, we +had lived it together. + +In order clearly to understand his character, at once both complex and +one-sided, it was necessary to possess the key to his psychology. In +his life, as in his work, everything was so closely knitted that it was +impossible to understand the whole without knowledge of every link of +his evolution. + +In the soothing calm of that summer evening, I submitted my reflections +to him; he warmly encouraged me, and I then and there resolved to write +his biography. He advised me to relate his whole life without any +reticence, considering that thus alone does a biography justify its +existence. That advice was to guide me, within limits, for to dissect +an individual life without touching other lives as well is not always +possible. + +Numerous were the difficulties before me; yet, I considered the task as +a mission, hoping, in spite of all, that this biography would present a +true picture of the life and evolution of Elie Metchnikoff. + +We talked over this project for a long time. The moon now appeared +above the trees, the soft light tracing silver designs through the ivy +leaves. The lawn, the walnut tree in front of the house, and everything +around us was bathed in peaceful radiance. Under its mysterious charm, +we ceased to speak, we listened to the inward voices of nature and of +our own hearts. + +In youth, vague reveries fill our minds; after a long life, distant +memories.... He whose life I describe is no more.... Without his help +my task could not have been accomplished. + +Often, when he was not too tired, he would sit comfortably in his +armchair and recount to me with his usual spirit and animation some +period or episode of his past. I read to him a sketch of the first part +of this biography and a few chapters only of the second, which was +hardly begun. Thus we spent many evenings, never to be forgotten. + +He wanted this biography written, for he held that the evolution of +a mind, of a character, of a human life is always an interesting +psychological document. During his long and painful illness, he urged +me to relate the "last chapter" of his life; he hoped that his attitude +in the face of death might diminish the fear of it in others. Also +he considered that men are rare who are conscious until the end; +even rarer, those who reach the development of the "death-instinct." +Therefore, according to him, an example would be interesting. + +I have tried to accomplish his desire within the measure of my strength. + +The only object of this simple and truthful story is to show Elie +Metchnikoff as he was, a help, a support, and a lesson to others. + +I dedicate this book to his dear memory. + + OLGA METCHNIKOFF. + + SÈVRES, _15th Dec. 1918_. + + + + + CHAPTER I + + Panassovka--Metchnikoff's parents--Country life in Little Russia. + + +In Little Russia, in the steppe region of the province of Kharkoff, +is situated the land of Panassovka, which belonged to the Metchnikoff +family. It is now sold, it has passed into strange hands, but it was +once the patrimony of Ilia Ivanovitch, father of Elie Metchnikoff. + +The country around Panassovka is neither beautiful nor rich: steppes, +hillocks covered with low grasses and wild wormwood; a poor village, +meagre vegetation, no river; the whole impression is a melancholy one. +But what boundless space! What soft, silver grey colouring! And, in the +mornings and evenings, what fresh, cool air, and what a delicious aroma +of wormwood leaves! + +The house of Panassovka, a little way from the village, is situated +on a hill which slopes gently towards a pond. It is like that of any +other middle-class landowner in Little Russia. It has only one storey +and two flights of steps on the principal façade, opening into a +deserted courtyard with no view but the high road. On the other side +a semicircular terrace, with columns and steps, leads to the garden, +composed of a few meagre flower-beds and fruit trees, reaching to the +pond. On the bank, a distillery and a very well-kept kitchen garden. + +The house is arranged inside in a commonplace manner, with no claim to +beauty or comfort. The furniture, devoid of style or elegance, neither +comfortable nor fashionable, is distributed quite inartistically. On +the other hand, great care is evident in everything that pertains +to the table: the cellars and larders are full of provisions, and +obviously constitute the principal preoccupation of the masters of +the house. And indeed the hospitable table of Panassovka is renowned +throughout the neighbourhood. + +According to a very fine portrait, painted in 1835, Ilia Ivanovitch was +at that time a handsome young man with regular features, tender blue +eyes, and curly fair hair. He was very intelligent, but his mind had +that sceptical turn which prevents men from taking life seriously and +which paralyses activity. Moreover, he had an Epicurean temperament and +was in the army. + +He had married, when very young, Emilia Lvovna Nevahovna, sister of one +of his brother officers in the Imperial Guard, a very attractive and +unusually intelligent girl. Her beauty was of the Jewish type, with +splendid dark eyes, and she had a bright and lively disposition as well +as a kind and tender heart. Her friends called her "Milotchka," which, +in Russian, means "charming"; in her old age she loved to relate that +the great Russian poet, Pushkin, once said to her at a ball, "How well +your name suits you, Mademoiselle!" + +After his marriage, Ilia Ivanovitch remained in Petersburg, leading +a merry life with his brothers-in-law, and giving no thought to the +future; it took him but a few years at that rate to spend the whole of +his wife's inheritance. And three children were growing up whose future +had to be thought of. It was then that Ilia Ivanovitch's distant +estate was remembered, away in a remote part of Little Russia. What +energy, what perseverance had to be displayed by his wife before she +could persuade him to take refuge there! and how hard it must have +seemed to the gay officer to leave the capital for the lonely and +monotonous life of the country! However, departure was decided upon. +The two boys, Ivan and Leo, were placed in a school at Petersburg, to +be prepared for the Lycée and the Law School. Ilia Ivanovitch obtained +a post as Remount Officer for two Guards regiments, and started with +his wife, his daughter, an aunt, and a younger brother, to settle down +in the country. + +The family settled at first in the old Ivanovka house, where a son, +Nicholas, was born. Though they wished to have no more children, +one more child was born two years later, on the 16th May 1845--Elie +Metchnikoff. + +The Ivanovka house was old and inconvenient; Ilia Ivanovitch decided +to build a new one at the other end of his estate, in a place called +Panassovka, which thus became the family home. + +Emilia Lvovna threw herself into her domestic occupations with her +usual energy and ardour. She was anxious to improve the situation, +which had become precarious, and wished at the same time to create +for her husband an environment suited to his Epicurean tastes. Ilia +Ivanovitch loved cards and the table, both tastes easy to satisfy in +the country, and which became the pivot of life at Panassovka. The +great daily problem was the question of meals, and long conversations +had to take place with the cook and with the housekeeper concerning +catering. + +Thanks to serfdom, servants were very numerous and everything could +be manufactured at home. The "diévitshia" (maid-servants' room) was +crowded with maids, seamstresses, needle-women, washer-women, etc., +under the direction of a fat, middle-aged woman named Duniasha. She +wore a silk kerchief on her head, and was invariably clothed in a +white dressing jacket and a brown skirt with white spots. A regular +autocrat, she ruled her little world with a rod of iron; as soon as her +heavy, felt-slippered steps were heard, the maids whispered to each +other, "Avdotia Maximovna!" conversations ceased, and every one became +absorbed in her work. + +Among the male retainers, the first place was held by Petrushka, the +valet. Careless and often drunk, he was nevertheless a good fellow; he +was usually to be found asleep behind the screen in the hall. The upper +servants, the cook, coachman, and others left their work to be done by +their underlings, the scullery boy, postilion, page-boy, etc. In fact, +everything followed the routine usual in every Russian household in the +time of serfdom. + +Emilia Lvovna directed the children's education; her personal teaching +consisted chiefly in tender indulgence, but it was she who chose the +nurses and teachers. As long as the boys were small, their great-aunt +Elena Samoïlovna looked after them; afterwards they were handed over to +tutors and professors. Ilia Ivanovitch's activities consisted in buying +horses at fairs and in studs and in convoying them to Petersburg. +These journeys took a long time, by stages and relays of horses. Ilia +Ivanovitch took advantage of them to gamble heavily and to enjoy +pleasures which the country did not offer. + +Agriculture was very restricted at Panassovka, for the property +consisted mostly of pasture land for horses and sheep. The younger +brother, Dmitri Ivanovitch, had undertaken the management of the +estate. He was entirely devoted to the family of his elder brother, +whom he had followed into the country. Though only a few years younger, +he used the respectful second person plural in speaking to Ilia +Ivanovitch, whilst the latter said "thou" to him. Dmitri Ivanovitch +was tall, thin, and taciturn, a silent pipe-smoker. The lively Emilia +Lvovna often said to him, "But why do you never talk, Mitienka?" To +which he invariably answered, "It is not every one who is as talkative +as you are, Emilia Lvovna." Yet they were on the best of terms. Dmitri +Ivanovitch would have gone through fire for his sister-in-law, as she +well knew. She had the utmost confidence in him, and depended upon his +support in every difficult circumstance. + +At Panassovka the men spent the greater part of the day, and often even +of the night, in playing cards; games were organised between neighbours +and relations, and that occupation was considered most important. Meals +were prolonged indefinitely; everything was served in abundance and +eaten with a connoisseur's appreciation, each dish being discussed. +After the meal was over, the cook would make his daily appearance, +and the next day's _menu_ was drawn up by the whole party. After a +siesta, gambling was resumed. Thus the days went by in the cult of good +cheer and of cards, interspersed with conversations about horses and +sometimes about politics. + +By this time Ilia Ivanovitch was beginning to become bald and obese. +It is difficult to define what was his inner life; not even to his +wife did he ever speak of it. As to his children, he petted them when +they were small, but as they grew up, their intercourse with him was +limited to kissing his hand morning and evening. He was not indifferent +to their welfare, but left it entirely to his wife's active solicitude. +The children were on very different terms with their mother; not +only did she spoil them, but also always eagerly shared all their +childish interests. Owing to that, and to her bright and affectionate +disposition, they looked upon her as their intimate friend and +confidante. + +Masters and servants were on good terms, relations between them were +even remarkably human, according to the ideas of the time, and in spite +of certain customs inherent to serfdom. For instance, the younger maids +were punished by having their faces slapped and their hair pulled. +Even the kindly and peaceable Dmitri Ivanovitch would soundly box his +valet's ears when he found him drunk. At that time such things were not +thought cruel or humiliating, but looked upon as a paternal correction. +The peasants had confidence in their "barin" (master) and consulted him +or appealed to his generosity when in trouble. + +Ilia Ivanovitch never opposed the free choice of his serfs in +matrimony, a rare tolerance at that time. According to custom every +betrothed couple came to salute him, the young man in his Sunday +clothes and a fine, bright-coloured scarf, the girl wearing an +embroidered bodice and a head-dress of many-coloured ribbons. They +knelt before him and bowed three times to the ground, then offered him +sacramental loaves, hard and shaped like pine cones, on beautifully +worked diapers. Ilia Ivanovitch and Emilia Lvovna blessed the bride and +bridegroom with "ikons," embraced them, and gave them a sum of money +for the wedding. + +The Metchnikoffs were liked by their peasants and looked upon as good +masters. + + + + + CHAPTER II + + Metchnikoff's brothers and sister--Childish characteristics. + + +The two elder children, Ivan and Leo, were educated at Petersburg, +whilst Katia, the only daughter, was brought up at home. Like all +other girls of noble family, she was educated with the object of being +suitably married. She was a slender, pretty brunette, like her mother, +but less beautiful. Though sensitive and intelligent, she interested +herself in nothing but the reading of French novels. There was a great +difference in age between Katia and her little brothers, whilst there +were only two years between them. Kolia (Nicholas) was the old aunt's +favourite, a fine, handsome boy with velvety black eyes; his slow and +grave movements had earned for him the nickname of "Peaceful Papa." + +The youngest of the family, Ilia (Elie), on the contrary, was full of +life and spirits. Fair and slender, with silky hair and a diaphanous, +pink and white complexion, he had small, grey-blue eyes, full of +kindliness and sparkle. Very highly strung and impressionable, his +temper was easily roused, and he was so restless that he went by the +name of "quicksilver." He always wished to see everything, to know +everything, and found his way everywhere. When, after a long silence, +there was a sudden outburst of many voices around the card-tables, he +would rush to the drawing-room, saying, "Are they going to fight?" +He ran about the house all day, following his mother as she attended +to her various duties; he examined the provisions, tasted everything, +and even went to the "diévitshia" to see what the maids were doing. +He tried to sew or to embroider, exasperated everybody, and ended by +being turned out. He would then look for something else to do, go to +see whether the table was laid, inquire about the _menu_, and ask the +queerest questions. He could only be kept quiet when his curiosity was +awakened by the observation of some natural object such as an insect or +a butterfly that he was trying to catch, or by watching the "grown-ups" +at their card games. But, of all things, music fascinated him most, +and he would remain for hours sitting by the piano listening without +a movement. He was very much spoilt by his mother, who had a weakness +for her Benjamin, and who also wished to make up for the very obvious +preference shown for Kolia by the great-aunt. + +Moreover, Ilia was a frail little boy and often suffered from his eyes; +the doctor advised that he should not be allowed to cry or to rub his +eyes, and, in order to avoid this, he was permitted to have his own +way in everything. He was much too intelligent not to understand the +advantage that the situation offered and was quick to profit by it. In +the face of the least semblance of refusal or reproach, he would begin +to rub his eyes and announce in a whining tone that he was going to +cry. He was therefore very much spoilt and very capricious; his mother +said he was "neurotic"; his sister, who often had differences with him, +called him a "little beast." In reality, Ilia was very good-hearted, +tender, and loving; he was affectionate, especially with his mother, +and could always be managed by an appeal to his feelings. But if he was +sensitive to kindness, he was equally so to the least injustice. He +could not forgive his great-aunt the predilection which she exhibited +on every occasion for Kolia; for instance, at table, she would choose +tit-bits for him, and Ilia observed with bitterness that she always +reserved the chicken's breast for her favourite. Every time a chicken +was served, poor Ilia followed the dish round the table with anxious +eyes, and she invariably placed the coveted morsel in his brother's +plate. + +When the day was over, Ilia was put into his little bed and told to +"say his prayers and go to sleep." But he did not obey at once: after +a thousand merry tricks, his eyelids would begin to close in spite +of him; then he would make up his mind to kneel and say his prayers, +folding his little hands: "Lord, keep and preserve father, mother, +great----" But suddenly remembering the latter's injustice towards +him, he would correct himself hastily, "No, not great-aunt, she is too +unkind!" and continue, "My sister, my brothers, everybody, and myself, +little Ilia." Still he did not go to sleep immediately; a nervous +child, he was frightened of being alone; now and then he would lift his +heavy lids to see if the maid was still there. Sometimes the latter, +thinking he had gone to sleep, would leave the room on tiptoe. Ilia, +seeing her no more, would start, raise his head and, stretching his +thin neck, send an anxious look around the room, faintly lighted by a +night-light. The vacillating flame threw trembling and dancing shadows. +Seized with intense terror, he would hide his face in his pillow and +scream with all his might. Avdotia Maximovna would then rush to soothe +him and soundly rate the servant girl, "Are you not ashamed to leave +a noble child all alone?" Ilia would then go on sobbing for a little +while, but, reassured after all, would presently sink into deep, +childish sleep. + + + + + CHAPTER III + + Journey to Slaviansk--The coach attacked by peasants. + + +In 1850 the children were taken to the baths of Slaviansk. On a warm +summer day the heavy "berlin" coach, drawn by six horses with a +postilion, rolled along the high road, across the steppes, followed at +a distance by a "tarantass."[3] + + [3] Ungainly open carriage on high wheels and without springs. + +In the spacious, antique coach, with its dusty hood, sat Emilia Lvovna, +with her three children; the valet, Petrushka, dozed on the box, next +to the coachman. The tarantass was occupied by Dmitri Ivanovitch and a +cousin. + +The heat was oppressive. At the start every one was excited; Emilia +Lvovna was trying to remember if anything had been forgotten and was +discussing with Katia the details of their installation at Slaviansk. +The boys hung out of the windows, gazing at the horses, at the +tarantass, and making all sorts of comments. Ilia was so restless and +talkative that he was constantly being told, "Do be quiet! Keep still!" + +By degrees, however, children and "grown-ups" began to feel drowsy, +owing to the monotony of the road, the heat, and the swinging of the +carriage. The tarantass had disappeared, for Dmitri Ivanovitch wished +to visit an aunt whose house was not far from the road. The outline +of a forest was now seen on the horizon; it came nearer and nearer, +and soon the coach stopped before the forest inn. Everybody woke up, +the children were delighted to be able to run about and stretch their +limbs. They begged their mother to let them go into the forest whilst +the horses were resting, and obtained permission to go, but not too +far, and with Petrushka. + +They ate an appetising lunch at the inn and the children ran off at +a gallop. Everything delighted them, the underwood, grass patches, +ravines, and mysterious paths. But they had hardly entered the forest +when they heard a sinister, confused rumour in the distance; they +stopped to listen, and recognised the voices of a tumultuous crowd. The +children's joyous excitement fell; frightened and docile, they hastened +to return to the inn, from which Emilia Lvovna, looking anxiously out +of a window, was making urgent signs to them to return. The coach was +still standing without horses, and, a little farther off, the latter +were surrounded by a crowd of peasants, of whom many were completely +drunk. They shouted vociferously, and closely pressed the coachman and +the postilion, threatening to confiscate the horses and detain the +travellers if they were not given a ransom of a thousand roubles. + +Terrified, the children clung to their distracted mother; Ilia felt +her trembling, and his own little heart fluttered like a bird that +has been caught. The drunken peasants appeared to him like monstrous +ogres or brigands about to capture, perhaps kill, his family and +himself; he could hardly keep back his tears. Already the peasants +had bound the coachman and the postilion and were taking away the +horses. Clinging close to each other, the mother and children listened +anxiously; they thought again and again that they could hear the bells +of the tarantass. At last it appeared in the distance, and the children +joyously whispered, "There they are!" They hastened to inform Dmitri +Ivanovitch of what had happened. He at once went with his cousin +towards the crowd, and negotiations were opened, but for a long time +without result. + +At last the cousin had a happy idea; he declared he would go back to +his aunt's house in the neighbourhood and borrow the thousand roubles +from her. The peasants consented to let him go alone, keeping the other +travellers as hostages. After a time, which to the children seemed +endless, the sound of the tarantass bells was again heard, accompanied +this time by numerous heavy footsteps, and the vehicle reappeared, +escorted by a company of soldiers commanded by two officers. Instead +of going to his aunt's, the cousin had gone to a neighbouring military +camp and was bringing assistance. + +There was a sudden change of scene. Emilia Lvovna and Katia furtively +made the sign of the cross. Ilia had let go of his mother's hand and +was no longer clinging to her, but, stretching his head forward and +opening his eyes wide, eagerly waited to see what was going to happen. +"Now," he thought, "we shall not be captured; it is their turn; I am +glad!" And, perhaps for the first time in his life, his little heart +was moved by feelings of hatred. + +In the meanwhile a repulsive scene was going on: a hand-to-hand +struggle, invectives and screams. The peasants were securely bound. +Men and women hastened from a neighbouring village; one of the women +slapped an officer's face. Furious, he ordered the soldiers to fill her +mouth with earth; she was thrown on the ground; the new arrivals in +their turn attacked the soldiers, and a regular battle raged. + +Ilia was alarmed, shaken, and profoundly disgusted with that exhibition +of brutality. The coachman and postilion, their bonds unloosed, +hastened to put the horses in, and whilst reprisals were still going +on, the family hurried away. They reached Slaviansk without further +trouble, excitedly talking over their adventure. This episode was the +first deep and definite impression which remained on little Ilia's +mind; it struck him so much that he kept the memory of it during his +whole life. + +From that moment he held crowds, violence, and all manifestations of +brute force in the utmost horror, whatever their cause might be. + + + + + CHAPTER IV + + Departure for Kharkoff--Town life. + + +The following year was to be spent at Kharkoff. Katia was now seventeen +and her marriage had to be contemplated. + +The boys' life was still quite a childish one, made up chiefly of games +and mischief. Kolia had been taught to read by the great-aunt; Ilia +had learnt by himself, asking people now and then for the name of some +letter. He was able to read fluently quite early. + +The departure for Kharkoff was a great event, prepared long beforehand. +The children, delighted at the prospect of a change, impatiently waited +for the moment to start. At last every one was seated in the coaches +and, saying to the coachman, "Off! God keep us," they started to drive +along the high road through the steppes. + +Life at Kharkoff was very much the same as at Panassovka, with +social elements added. Moreover, the children's liberty was somewhat +restricted. Already on the journey they were given to understand that, +in a town, they could not go out alone, nor shout in the streets, nor +point at people and things with their finger, and that they should +have to make less noise, even in the house. For the first time they +unconsciously realised that their family was not the centre of the +universe, that there were many others who also had to be taken into +account. Ilia did not welcome this discovery. + +The flat occupied by the Metchnikoffs was on the first floor, above +that of the owner of the house. One day when the children were +running about, making a fearful noise, some one came up to say that +the landlady was ill and begged that the noise should cease. Ilia, +interrupted in the midst of a game, became furiously angry; in his rage +he seized a whistle, and stooping to a crack in the floor, whistled +with all his might. It was only with much difficulty that he was +induced to stop and to calm himself.[4] + + [4] Metchnikoff himself insisted upon the recital of this + episode, for which he had felt some remorse. He considered + that, in a biography, disagreeable traits were not to be + omitted. + +The children's horizon soon widened; Dmitri Ivanovitch took them to +the theatre and a new and fantastic world opened out to them. The very +next day they attempted a performance of the play they had seen; soon, +on Kolia's suggestion, they began to compose plays for themselves. +Kolia wrote a drama entitled "Burning Tea," in which the hero having +offered his friend tea that was too hot, the latter burnt his tongue; +a duel ensued, etc., etc. Ilia hastened to follow his brother's +example. He composed something in the same style, but even more absurd. +Having realised that it was so, he gave up literature. That period +was for him a series of disappointments which perhaps helped to lead +him to the path he was ultimately to follow. His brother, following +the "grown-ups'" example, played cards with other boys or with the +maids. Ilia attempted to do the same, but his nervousness left him no +self-control; he lost continually and games generally ended in quarrels +and tears; he became disgusted with cards for the rest of his life. +Kolia was fond of muscular exercises, such as gymnastics, wrestling, +etc. Ilia, younger and therefore weaker, was constantly humiliated, and +his pride kept him away from physical amusements. Thus, by means of +elimination, he became gradually isolated from surrounding influences. +But, at that time, no new element had intervened in his daily life and +he spent his existence in the gentle warmth of his mother's tenderness, +absorbed in his childish games and studies. + + + + + CHAPTER V + + Leo Metchnikoff's illness--Private tutors--Botanical studies--A + memorable birthday. + + +In 1851, in the middle of the winter, the Metchnikoffs heard that Leo, +their second son, was suffering from hip-disease, and the doctors +advised that he should be taken away from Petersburg. Poor Emilia +Lvovna was in great despair and shed many tears; her brother-in-law, +Dmitri Ivanovitch, calmly announced that he was going to fetch Leo. He +took his great fur coat, his fur cap and fur-lined boots, and started +that very day for Petersburg by coach. He took but the necessary time +to go and to bring Leo back, only stopping at relays to change horses. + +The boy was then thirteen years old, handsome, gifted, and intelligent; +he walked with crutches, but his general health seemed good, and it was +decided that he should work at home to prepare for the Lycée, under the +tuition of students as tutors. Thus a new element was introduced into +the family life. + +In 1853 Leo had as a tutor a student named Hodounof, a very intelligent +young man, who wished not merely to teach him but to impart to him +the love of science. Leo was extremely gifted and worked with great +facility, but he lacked concentration and was therefore somewhat +superficial. This cooled his tutor's enthusiasm, whilst on the other +hand he became more and more interested in little Ilia. It was in +the course of country walks that they were drawn together. Hodounof +used to take Leo for walks in order to study the local flora, and Ilia +came out with them, at first for the sake of the exercise. But soon he +became interested in the flowers and showed so much taste for botany +that he attracted Hodounof's notice; soon the tutor's interest became +concentrated on the little boy and he gave him serious attention. + +It was with a real enthusiasm that Ilia gathered and studied plants; +he soon became thoroughly acquainted with the local flora. He thought +himself very learned already and wrote memoirs on botany. Passionately +fond of teaching, he used to offer all his pocket-money to his brothers +and other children to induce them to hear lectures which he gave them. +His vocation was fixed from that moment. He was then eight years old. + +When the family returned to Kharkoff he spent all he had in buying +books on natural history, which he read with passionate interest. These +contained many things that he could not understand, but his curiosity +was all the greater. When he was eleven years old his passion for +natural history almost cost him his life. While fishing for hydra in +a small pond he was so eager that he fell into the water and was only +pulled out with great difficulty. + +That particular day, his own and his father's name day, was nearly +fatal to him, not only through water but through fire. It was a family +custom to hold a great gathering of friends and relations at Panassovka +on St. Elias's day. Preparations for the feast began days beforehand; +the whole household was in a turmoil. + +On that particular St. Elias's day, so many guests came to Panassovka +that there was not enough room in the house to accommodate them all, +and the children were transferred to a pavilion outside the house. + +Whilst in the drawing-room people were talking and playing cards, the +servants were holding rejoicings of their own. Towards night-time +the majority of the coachmen and footmen brought by the guests were +completely drunk; a cigarette imprudently thrown on some hay started +a fire. Soon the stables were ablaze and many horses perished in the +flames, in spite of every effort to save them. Presently the wind +changed in the direction of the pavilion and the thatched roof caught +fire. There was a rush to save the children, who were with much +difficulty taken out through a window. + +In spite of intense terror, Ilia's first thought was for his baby +nephew, the son of his sister, who had then been married a year; he ran +in affright all over the house searching for the child, and only became +calm again after he had ascertained that it had been carried out into +the garden. + +Katia being married there was now no reason to spend the winter in the +town. The father and mother therefore remained at Panassovka and Dmitri +Ivanovitch took the boys to Kharkoff, where they entered the Lycée. +They had been well prepared by their tutors, and moreover spoke French +and a little German, having had special teachers for these languages. +Their French tutor, M. Garnier, was gay, boastful, and pretentious; +his idea of teaching them French literature was to memorise Béranger's +_chansons_. He was passionately fond of shooting and gave to that +sport as much time as he could, greatly to the detriment of his pupils' +studies, for they were not allowed to accompany him for fear of an +accident. Their mother, perhaps on account of her weak heart, was so +nervous that they were discouraged from any sporting tastes. The German +tutor also neglected the children: his favourite occupation consisted +in drinking beer. On one occasion he gave so much to little Ilia that +the boy conceived a lifelong distaste for beer. Ilia took advantage +of his tutors' indifference to devote himself to his favourite study +of natural history. His vocation was so obvious that it could not be +mistaken. It seems a strange thing that a passion for science should +have developed in so inappropriate an environment. Evidently the first +impulse was given by Hodounof, but, if his influence stimulated this +passion, it cannot have created it. This vocation probably had a deeper +source, and in order to discover it we should perhaps look back into +the antecedents of the Metchnikoff family. + + + + + CHAPTER VI + + Ancestors of the Metchnikoff family--The Great Spatar--Leo + Nevahovitch. + + +The Metchnikoff family made no show of family pride; one old aunt, +however, was extremely proud of one of their ancestors, the Great +"Spatar" (sword-bearer). The following is the account given of this +ancestor by E. Picot, after a Moldavian chronicle.[5] + + [5] _Chronicle of John Neculua._ + + Few men led such an adventurous life or made themselves glorious + through such varied gifts as did Nicholas Spatar Milescu. + + His name is connected with the history of Moldavian, Greek, Russian, + and Chinese literature. His origin, his talents, his crime, the + mutilation he suffered, his audacious journey across the whole of + Asia to reach Pekin, the valuable information which he gathered + during his embassy at the Court of the "Son of Heaven," everything + conspires to excite curiosity concerning him. + +Spatar was born in Moldavia in 1625. While yet very young he went +to Constantinople, where he studied theology, philosophy, history +ancient and modern, Greek, Latin, Slavonic and Turkish. He afterwards +went to Italy to study natural science and mathematics. On his return +to Moldavia he soon became known for his erudition, acquired great +influence, and became much appreciated at Court. Owing to clever +political intrigues he preserved the simultaneous favour of several +enemy princes, one of whom, Stepanita, covered him with benefits and +honours. Nevertheless, Spatar wrote to Constantine Bassarab, in Poland, +advising him to come and to overthrow Stepanita's throne. He sent +his letter inside a hollow cane; Constantine, however, did not wish +to launch himself into such an adventure, and indignantly sent the +hollow cane and the letter to Stepanita himself. At first the prince, +naturally angry, thought of having Spatar executed; he spared his life +for the sake of his talents, but condemned him to have the tip of his +nose cut off. Spatar went to Germany, where, says the naïve chronicler, +a doctor made his nose grow again. He came back to Moldavia for a short +time and then went to Russia. Thanks to his knowledge of languages, he +was made an interpreter at the Court of the Tsar Alexis Michailovitch, +and was the first tutor of his son Peter the Great, whom he taught to +read and to write. + +In 1674 the Tsar Alexis Michailovitch entrusted Spatar with a mission +in China, where he was to open negotiations with a view to commercial +and political relations between Russia and China. In the course of his +journey Spatar carefully collected all possible information concerning +the countries he traversed. He thus gathered much interesting +geographical knowledge and highly important data concerning the +commercial value of Asiatic rivers, and specially the Amour river. + +At Pekin, Spatar rapidly learnt the Chinese language, occupied for +three years the post of ambassador in China, and returned to Russia +bringing back most valuable information and many rich presents given +him by the Emperor of China. + +All this had excited the jealousy of the Muscovite courtiers; they +took advantage of the coincidence between the death of the Tsar and +Spatar's return to deprive him of his treasures and to have him exiled +to Siberia. But, when Peter the Great ascended the throne, Spatar +succeeded in making a letter reach him relating his misfortunes, +and the Tsar recalled him, gave him back his property, and showered +honours upon him. Spatar again became interpreter of the Embassy; Peter +consulted him in all Far-Eastern questions, and gave him confidential +documents to translate into foreign languages. + +Spatar's literary activity was vast and varied. He translated the Bible +from the Greek into Roumanian; he wrote a chronicle on the origin of +Roumania, articles on theology, a Greco-Latin-Russian dictionary, and a +work entitled _Arithmetic_, in which he discussed, by means of numbers +and figures, questions of Theology, Philosophy, and Ethics. He dealt in +his writings with Art, Archæology, and History; described his Siberian +travels, China and the Amour river, and made numerous translations of +diplomatic documents. His erudition was such that his contemporaries +appealed to his knowledge as they would have consulted an encyclopædia. + +He had married a Muscovite and had several sons and grandsons. Three +of his nephews came from Moldavia to join him and entered the Russian +army. He died in 1714 at the age of 80. Such is the history of the +"Great Spatar." + +The following notice is to be found in Brockhaus and Effrone's +_Encyclopædia_: "The Metchnikoffs are a noble family, descended from a +Moldavian Boyar, the Spatar (sword-bearer) Joury Stepanovitch,[6] who +came to Russia with Prince Cantemir. Peter the Great gave this Boyar +large land estates. His son took the name of Metchnikoff (Russian +translation of Sword-bearer)." + + [6] This Boyar was no doubt a nephew of the Great Spatar. + +The following generations included military men chiefly, one sailor, +one mining engineer, one senator, but no scientific men. + +On the mother's side, Elie Metchnikoff had no ancestor as remarkable or +as romantic as the great Spatar. Yet his grandfather, Leo Nevahovitch, +was a very intelligent and highly cultivated man. He had been +Farmer-General for tobacco in Poland. A Jew by race, he took to heart +the persecutions directed against his co-religionists and defended +them in literary newspaper articles. Nevertheless he accepted indirect +advice from Alexander I. and let himself be baptized. He adopted the +Lutheran religion and his children were brought up in it. + +At the beginning of the Polish Revolution in 1830, Nevahovitch was +warned that his house was about to be sacked; the warning reached him +as he was peacefully enjoying a theatrical performance. He hurried to +prepare for departure and left Warsaw with his family for Petersburg, +where he lived on his income. Having given up business, he took up +literary work and translated German philosophical works, made friends +in the literary world, and knew Pushkin and Kriloff. His children, +Emilia Lvovna amongst others, inherited his intellectual gifts. One +of his sons was a remarkable caricaturist and edited a caricature +newspaper which was very well known at the time. The Nevahovitch family +produced no men of science. Metchnikoff himself considered that he had +inherited his mother's disposition and turn of mind. In any case, his +ancestors on both sides included talented individuals, from whom he may +have inherited his gifts and his innate taste for science. + + + + + CHAPTER VII + + The Kharkoff Lycée--Bogomoloff and Socialism--Atheism--Natural + History studies--Private lodgings--Private lessons in histology + from Professor Tschelkoff--A borrowed microscope--First article + --Italian Opera--The gold medal. + + +In 1856 Dmitri Ivanovitch took the boys to Kharkoff in order to make +them enter the Lycée. They passed their entrance examination quite +satisfactorily; Kolia was admitted into the fifth class and Ilia into +the one below it. They were day boarders and lived in the house of one +of their former tutors. + +This was at a time when the new and liberal reign of Alexander II. was +giving birth to many hopes; the Lycées preserved but insignificant +traces of the hard regime of Nicholas I. Previous narrow and doctrinal +teaching was giving way to a current of realistic and rational ideas, +physical and natural science had become the vogue, and professors were +trying to come into touch with their pupils and to influence their +intellectual development. The boys on their side were founding mutual +instruction clubs, attending popular Sunday lectures, interesting +themselves in social questions--in fact the revolutionary movement was +beginning to strike root. Life in general was intense, aspirations +exalted, and hopes radiant. + +During his first school year Elie worked assiduously in all branches of +the curriculum, and his name soon appeared on the honours list. The +Russian language teacher became his friend, and greatly contributed to +his development by choosing for him books of general knowledge. Under +this direction Elie read, among other things, Buckle's _History of +Civilisation_, which had at that time a very great influence on the +young Russian mind. According to the author's principal thesis, the +progress of humanity depended chiefly upon that of positive science; +this idea sunk deeply into the boy's mind and confirmed his scientific +aspirations. + +When he reached the fifth class he formed a friendship with one of +his school-fellows, Bogomoloff, who had great influence over Elie's +ulterior development; he was the son of a colour manufacturer, and his +elder brothers were studying chemistry at the Kharkoff University with +a view to applying it to their industry. They had travelled abroad +and had brought back novel ideas and books forbidden by the Russian +censorship; they influenced their young brother, who in his turn +initiated Elie. It was thus that the latter became acquainted with +materialistic ideas and social theories; he read the _Popular Star_, +the _Bell of Herzin_, and other publications prohibited in Russia. +Little by little he lost the faith which he had held when under his +mother's influence. Atheism, however, was to him more interesting than +disappointing; it incited in him a state of general criticism. Ardently +passionate in this as in all things, he preached atheism to others +and received the nickname of "God is not." The course of teaching +at the Lycée did not escape his criticism; when he had reached the +fourth class he omitted those exercises which seemed to him devoid of +interest. On the other hand, he plunged with passion into the study of +natural science, botany, and geology. + +He had ceased to be a model student, but his scientific aspirations +became stronger from day to day. + +In order to cultivate foreign languages, the two brothers had been +placed in a boarding-house where morals were strict and patriarchal, +the food bad, and the director's sermons long and tedious. None of +these things suited Elie. This regime, with the addition of dancing +lessons, inspired him with the deepest aversion; he resolved to obtain +from his parents permission to take furnished rooms for himself and his +brother. + +In spite of the current of political exaltation which was then +universal in Russia, Elie was too deeply immersed in his studies to +be carried away in that direction. He did at one time attend popular +lectures and the political gatherings of the students, but he felt +that science was his real vocation. He was so early and so completely +absorbed by it that he was not interested in the great movement for the +emancipation of the serfs. It is true that, at Panassovka, the question +was not acute as elsewhere, the serfs being quite happy; however, +the fact remains that it was his passion for science which kept him, +in spite of his exalted ideas and ardent soul, apart from the noble +movement for liberation. + +In the third class he made friends with a group of students who were +devoted to science and to intellectual culture. Elie, owing to his +ardour and vivacity, played the part of a ferment in that little +circle, each member of which was to make a special study of certain +scientific branches in order that they might together edit a new +encyclopædia of human knowledge. He studied German so as to read in the +original the classical materialistic writers, Vogt, Feuerbach, Buchner, +Moleschott, etc. The Lycée lectures were relegated to the background. +Nevertheless, owing to his great facility of assimilation, he was +successful in every branch. Plans for his ulterior activities were soon +definitely fixed. + +At that time of intense intellectual effervescence in Russia, libraries +were invaded by a number of translations of works on natural science. +Elie absorbed them with avidity, and read amongst others a Russian +translation of Bronn's book on the _Classes and Orders of the Animal +Kingdom_. He saw for the first time in the plates of that work pictures +of micro-organisms, amoebæ, Infusoria, Rhizopoda, etc. That world of +lower beings impressed him so strongly that he resolved from that +moment to devote himself to the study of them, that is, to the study of +the primitive manifestations of life in its simplest forms. + +He was then fifteen years old. The two brothers now obtained from +their parents permission to live in furnished rooms, an independent +arrangement which allowed each of them to satisfy his individual +tastes. Apart from the Lycée, Kolia spent his time in playing cards and +billiards and in other amusements, whilst Elie worked with ardour, his +only recreations being music and debates on abstract subjects. When he +entered the second class he had become completely specialised. In order +to tackle serious scientific studies, he tried to come into touch with +one of the University professors. The University of Kharkoff was still +making use of ancient methods; teaching was given by means of manuals, +with practical application; but Elie, who did not know that, dreamt of +finding in laboratories assistance and means of, at least, undertaking +personal scientific work. He attended a lecture on comparative anatomy, +and, in order not to appear too young, he wore his ordinary clothes +instead of the Lycée uniform. After the lecture was over, he shyly +approached the professor and begged to be allowed to study protoplasm +under his direction. The professor received him coldly, and told him in +a pedantic tone that he was in too much of a hurry, and that he should +first of all finish his course at the Lycée and then get admitted into +the University. + +It was a disappointment for the eager boy; however, he did not lose +heart but continued to attend divers University lectures, clinging +to the hope that another professor might be more sympathetic. He was +pleased with the lectures of a young physiologist, Tschelkoff by name, +and decided to make another attempt. This time he was successful. The +professor received him kindly and consented to give him private lessons +in histology. Then, fired with a passionate desire to produce something +personal in medical science, and attracted by Virchow's cellular +theory, he dreamt that he might create a general theory of his own in +medicine. In order to increase his scientific knowledge, he undertook +with his friend Zalensky the translation of Grove's work, _The Unity +of Physical Forces_. The professor of chemistry and natural history +willingly encouraged the two boys in this work, to which they gave up +the whole of the school year. Elie wasted no opportunity of learning; +during those lectures which did not interest him he used to read +scientific books. One day that he was doing so during catechism he did +not notice that the priest, wishing to know what he was reading, had +come up to him. The latter, however, was greatly impressed by the title +of Radlkoffer's learned work on _The Crystals of Proteic Substances_; +he returned the book without a word and never interfered with him again. + +Through the assistance of some medical students, Elie obtained the loan +of a microscope; he studied Infusoria and imagined that he had made +divers discoveries; he hastened to write an article, and sent it to the +only scientific Russian paper then in existence, the _Bulletin of the +Moscow Society of Naturalists_. To his great joy his MS. was accepted, +but before long the young scientist perceived that his deductions +were erroneous, for he had mistaken phenomena of degenerescence for +phenomena of development. He was able to stop the publication of this +article, the first he ever wrote, and it never appeared. + +Thanks to Tschelkoff, who lent him a microscope for the duration of the +holidays, he was able to study the local fauna of inferior animals. At +the beginning of his last year at the Lycée, he read a text-book of +geology by a Kharkoff professor and, with juvenile assurance, wrote a +critical analysis of it. Inserted in the _Journal de Moscou_, this was +Elie's first publication; he was then sixteen years old. Encouraged +by this success, he sent several other criticisms, but they were not +accepted. + +The last examinations were coming near: Elie wished to obtain the gold +medal, not only out of pride, but in order to prove to his parents that +he deserved their assistance in order to go abroad to continue his +studies. He therefore provisionally suspended his favourite pursuits +and resumed the study of the long-neglected school programme. The last +examinations took place in the spring of 1862. It happened to be the +Italian Opera season and Elie could not resist the temptations offered +him by music. In order to make up the time, he often had to work the +whole night long at the cost of severe fatigue. + +In spite of this complication, he passed his examinations brilliantly +and obtained the gold medal. He now wished for nothing but to devote +himself to scientific study. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + + An early love--A schoolfellow's sister--A pretty sister-in-law. + + +In spite of his precocious vocation, Elie was in no wise indifferent +to his surroundings. His mind was sensitive and impressionable and his +affections deep and tender, especially where his mother was concerned. +He never undertook anything without consulting her, a sweet habit which +he preserved even in his maturity. + +It was already at the age of six that he received his first love +impression: a lady came on a visit to Panassovka with her little girl +of eight, a lovely curly-headed child, sweet and graceful, a living +floweret. Ilia could not admire her enough, and was most lavish in his +attentions, offering her flowers and fruit, inventing games to amuse +her and trying by every means to make himself agreeable to her. The +presence of this charming little girl caused him great joy and tender +emotion; he wished that she might never go away.... But the visit soon +ended, and this first idyll was short-lived; new impressions were not +long in replacing it. Nevertheless the picture of the pretty child was +so deeply impressed in his mind that he never forgot her. + +The second time he fell in love was when he was already at the Lycée; +one of his schoolfellows had a very pretty sister whom Elie used to +meet on half-holidays. He admired her from afar, and tried to contrive +opportunities of meeting her; she was the object of his dreams for the +whole of one term. + +But he was presently to be seized by a more serious feeling. When he +was in the third class at the Lycée he came as usual to Panassovka +for the summer holidays and found there a new inmate, his elder +brother's young wife. Soon, to his own astonishment, he found that the +image of his last winter's passion was being effaced by that of his +sister-in-law. She, a pretty, fashionable girl, was bored with country +life; she criticised the simple habits at Panassovka which formed a +sharp contrast with her tastes; she soon became very unpopular and, +feeling lonely and bored, tried to attract her young brother-in-law. +Elie, at first a willing comrade, soon found himself harbouring a more +tender feeling for his sister-in-law; she complained to him of the +family's hostility, declared herself misunderstood, and easily excited +the pity and sympathy of the sensitive boy. He became her ardent +defender and went so far as to fight her battles, even with his mother, +whom he reproached with fancied injustice. For nearly four years he +remained under his sister-in-law's sentimental influence. He afterwards +freed himself completely from it, but the fact remains that she was the +first woman who inspired real sentiment in his youthful manhood. + + + + + CHAPTER IX + + Journey to Germany--Leipzig--Würzburg--A hasty return. + + +During his later years at the Lycée, Elie had attended several courses +at the Kharkoff University and had realised the inadequacy of the +teaching and the impossibility of any personal research work in the +laboratories. His greatest desire, therefore, was to go abroad to +study. At that time, the German universities, being nearer, chiefly +attracted Russian students. Their laboratories were widely opened to +foreigners, and lectures were being given by a pleiad of celebrated +professors. + +In order to attain his object, Elie took care to secure his mother's +support. It was not very difficult, for she believed in her son's +scientific future and was anxious to help him; she succeeded in +convincing his father and, by means of serious sacrifices, the +necessary sum was procured. Elie, who was especially interested in +the study of protoplasm, chose the University of Würzburg, where the +celebrated zoologist Kölliker was lecturing. Thinking that in Germany +the term began in September, as in Russia, he hastened to depart. The +journey at that time was long and complicated; yet, in spite of much +fatigue, Elie only stopped one day in Berlin and hurried to Leipzig, +the centre of the book trade, in order to procure the necessary books. +He reached Leipzig in the evening and was greatly embarrassed, not +knowing where to find a lodging. A young German in the station offered +him a room in his own family's house and took him there. The next +morning, very early, Elie ran out to buy his books and, in his haste, +forgot to note the number of the house and the name of the street; it +was with the utmost difficulty that he found the place again. Much +disturbed by this misadventure, he hastened to start for Würzburg and, +on arriving there, met with a great disappointment; all the professors +were absent, this being the middle of the holidays, and the lectures +were not to begin for six weeks. The poor boy, thus alone for the first +time among strangers, felt completely lost. He was given the address of +some Russian students and he hastily sought them out, full of joy and +hope, only to be received coldly and distrustfully by his compatriots. +After this discouraging reception, he sadly proceeded to look for a +room, and having found one in the house of a disagreeable old couple, +he brought his bag there. But, as he began to unpack it, he was seized +with a feeling of such utter despair that he hastily put his luggage +together again and announced to his elderly hosts that he was going. +Surprised and indignant, they abused him so brutally that his distress +only increased; he rushed to the station, took the first train, and +returned to Panassovka without a stop. This hurried return disconcerted +his family, but, seeing the state he was in, nobody reproached him. His +mother had felt much anxiety on his account, and was in fact not sorry +to keep him a little longer under her wing. Thus, in dismal failure, +ended that first journey abroad, so ardently desired. The result might +have been very different if Elie had reached Würzburg at the right +moment, or if the Russian students had been more friendly. Too young +and too impressionable to bear absolute solitude, he could only have +been saved by his favourite studies or by a friendly environment. +His plans and fair dreams had been overthrown by a series of simple +mishaps. + + + + + CHAPTER X + + Kharkoff University--Physiology--The Vorticella--Controversy with + Kühne--_The Origin of Species_--The Gastrotricha--University degree. + + +There was now no choice and he had to resign himself to the Kharkoff +University. There is not much to relate about this period, which was +but a fugitive episode in the course of Elie Metchnikoff, for the "Alma +Mater" did not have upon him either the influence or the prestige which +it generally exerts upon youth. + +Whilst the stream of new ideas had already reached the Lycée, the +University of Kharkoff had remained extremely conservative; this was +owing to the fact that the Lycée professors were young men, whilst +those of the University were elderly and old-fashioned. Officials +rather than scientists, they were content with ancient methods, and +lectured without practical work, from obsolete and ill-chosen manuals. +A few of them drank, others neglected their work. In the Medical and +Natural Science Faculties, only two _agrégés_ were newly appointed, +Tschelkoff, the physiologist we have already mentioned, and a chemist +named Békétoff. These two were indeed scientists and master-minds, and +it was only under their direction that any one did any serious work; +the other lectures were pure formalities. Elie wished to go in for +medical studies but his mother dissuaded him. "You are too sensitive," +she said, "you could not bear the constant sight of human suffering." +At the same time, Tschelkoff suggested the Natural Science Faculty as +being more appropriate to purely scientific activity. Elie accepted his +opinion and began to study physiology under his direction. His great +desire was to embark at once on personal research, and his teacher +advised him to study the mobile stalk of a ciliated Infusorian, the +Vorticella. The question was to determine whether this stalk presented +any analogy with muscular tissue and whether it offered the same +reactions. Elie set to work with ardour and found that the stalk of +the Vorticella had no muscular character. His memoir on the subject +appeared in 1863 in _Müller's Archives_. It provoked a severe, even +brutal, answer from the celebrated physiologist Kühne which deeply +grieved the young scientist and, stimulating his energy still further, +incited him to repeat his experiments. He obtained the same results as +the first time, and answered Kühne in a somewhat bitter manner, the +latter's tone having stirred his combativity. + +Meanwhile, Elie was yearning for independent and more general study. +During his unsuccessful journey, he had acquired in Leipzig many +recently published scientific books, and, among them, Darwin's _Origin +of Species_. The theory of evolution deeply struck the boy's mind and +his thoughts immediately turned in that direction. He said to himself +that isolated forms which had found no place in definite animal or +vegetable orders might perhaps serve as a bond between those orders +and elucidate their genetic relationships. This leading idea made him +choose for his researches some very singular fresh-water creatures, +partly like Rotifera and partly like certain worms of the Nematode +group. He succeeded in establishing a new intermediate order which he +named "Gastrotricha," and which was straightway accepted. + +The whole of his first year at the University was given up to those +special studies. As he was fully aware that the teaching of the +University did not answer to his aspirations, he resolved to remain +there as short a time as possible, and to get through the course of +studies in two years instead of the four which were usual. In order +to succeed in doing so, he provisionally gave up his scientific +researches, attended the lectures as a free auditor, and spent the +whole of the second year in cramming for the "candidate" examination, +which answers to a Licentiate in Western universities. It happened +again this time that the examinations coincided with the Opera season, +but, though he indulged in his passion for music, he succeeded, by dint +of a supreme effort, in passing them very brilliantly. + +Having gone through the University at such an accelerated pace, +he did not come into contact with other students, who, themselves +chiefly preoccupied with politics, took little interest in a youth so +exclusively absorbed in science. He therefore formed none of those +attractive juvenile friendships which he had enjoyed at the Lycée. +His hasty University studies necessarily left lacunæ in his general +knowledge, a fact which he afterwards keenly deplored. + +With the exception of Tschelkoff, his teachers had had no decisive +influence on his career, and his two years at the University formed but +a colourless episode in his life. + + + + + CHAPTER XI + + Heligoland--Giessen Congress--Leuckart--Visit to Leo Metchnikoff + at Geneva--Socialist gatherings--Metchnikoff's discovery + appropriated by Leuckart--Naples--Kovalevsky--Comparative + embryology--Embryonic layers--Bakounine and Setchénoff-- + Cholera at Naples--Göttingen--Anatomical studies--Munich; + von Siebold--Music--Return to Naples--Intracellular digestion. + + +Elie still had his Licentiate thesis to prepare. In order to do so, he +decided to spend two months in the island of Heligoland, of which the +flora and fauna were very attractive to naturalists. In spite of his +previous failure, his parents made no objection to his departure; they +gave him the little money they could spare and Elie started, in 1864. + +As soon as he arrived in Heligoland he became absorbed in his work. +He proceeded with his idea of bringing light upon the genealogy +of organisms through the study of isolated forms outside definite +groups.[7] + + [7] He made researches on a very singular annulate worm, the + _Fabricia_. + +His ardour in his work attracted the attention of several German +scientists, one of whom introduced him to the celebrated botanist +Cohn, who soon became interested in him. During the walks which they +took together, they held scientific conversations full of interest for +the youth. Cohn advised him to work under the celebrated zoologist +Leuckart. Elie received this counsel with enthusiasm, but there was +a great difficulty, which was the lack of money to prolong his stay +abroad. He did not wish to ask for more from his parents and decided on +the following plan, which he expounded in the following letter to his +mother, the constant confidante of all his aspirations: + + HELIGOLAND, _Aug. 12, 1864_. + + DEAR MAMMA, ... I am thinking of staying here another month, after + which I shall go (at least that is my desire) for ten days to + Giessen, where there will be a General Congress of naturalists and + physicians from the whole of Europe. This Congress tempts me so much + that I want to do my utmost to attend it. + + Besides all the scientific benefit that I shall reap from + conversations with scientists, I can also study Professor Leuckart's + rich collections. This would complete the studies which I am + successfully pursuing at the seaside. + + In order to realise my ardent wish to profit by such treasures, I + must remain three weeks longer at Heligoland, travel to Giessen and + live there for ten days; all that out of the money which was to keep + me here until the 26 Aug. only.... Therefore, instead of living in + the hotel, I have taken a room at a fisherman's, for half the price; + instead of a dinner and coffee I eat what I can get and I only spend + 90 centimes a day for my food. (Food is dear, as all the provisions + come from Hamburg and from England.) Instead of changing my linen two + or three times a week, I only do so once or twice, which allows me to + spend less on laundry. + + The money thus economised, together with the sum which I had put + aside for my first installation at Petersburg, constitutes a + sufficient capital to provide the following joys and advantages: 1°, + I shall stay three weeks longer at the seaside, which will allow me + to get on with my researches and to increase my collections; 2°, I + shall attend the Congress; 3°, I shall be able to study Leuckart's + collections and take advantage of his books and counsel. + + I beseech you not to look upon this description of my present life as + a complaint or a murmur; on the contrary I am delighted to procure + so many advantages at so small a cost; I am happy, too, to be able + to assure you in all conscience that I am not wasting the money that + you have found for me with so much care and affection. I only wish I + could find myself oftener in the same conditions. + + Please also believe that my health is in no way suffering from my + work. I give you my word that until now I have not had a single + headache. + + Moreover, I do not think work is at all detrimental to health; I see + here several German scientists who could fell an ox with their fist! + Altogether I beseech you not to be anxious on my account; you have + quite enough painful preoccupations without that, and I am in such + excellent circumstances that there really is nothing to worry about. + I kiss your hands many times. + + Yours affectionately, + + ELIE METCHNIKOFF. + + _P.S._--Write to me oftener. Every word from you is so precious to me! + +He did not tell his mother that he never had enough to eat. Neither did +he wish Cohn and his other acquaintances at Heligoland to notice it, +and he carefully concealed his style of living. + +He went to Giessen for the opening of the Naturalists' Congress and +read with success two papers dealing with his researches at Heligoland. +Engelmann (who was to become well known as a physiologist) and he +were the youngest members of the Congress, and their extreme youth +attracted general attention. Elie at last made Leuckart's acquaintance; +he was charmed by him and definitely decided to begin at once to work +under his direction, and, as his stay abroad had thus to be prolonged, +he asked and obtained a _bursa_ from the Russian Ministry of Public +Education. + +The results of his researches at Heligoland had led him to suppose +that the Nematodes (of the worm type) formed an independent group; he +now proposed to settle that question. Leuckart allowed him to work in +his laboratory during his absence for the holidays; Elie immediately +set to work and discovered a very curious and quite novel case of +alternation of generations; hermaphrodite and parasitic Nematodes +giving birth to a free bisexual generation. + +Delighted with his discovery, he hastened to communicate it to +Leuckart, who was incredulous at first but had to give way to evidence +when Elie showed him all the intermediary stages. Still the German +scientist was obviously annoyed that this discovery should have been +made in his absence and independently from him. He proposed to the +young man that they should continue researches in collaboration and +publish a joint memoir. Elie accepted joyfully. In his ardour he worked +too much, and fatigued his eyesight so that he was forced to limit his +microscopical researches to a few hours a day, and Leuckart advised him +to take a rest. + +It happened that Elie's brother Leo had just settled in Geneva and +invited him to stay with him; Elie started to join him. The brothers +had not met for a long time. Leo had been travelling and had resided +in many different places. He was an extraordinarily gifted man, +impulsive, brilliant, and artistic, but restless and incapable of +adhering to a steady course of action; he scattered his activities and +did not therefore produce all that his rich nature was capable of. +He had a remarkable gift for languages; he knew not only a number of +European languages but also several Oriental languages, having been +in the East, where he had occupied a post of agent in navigation and +commerce. He afterwards lived in Italy, took an active part in the +Garibaldi movement and was wounded. A clever painter, he also had real +literary talent; handsome, witty, agreeable, he was a most attractive +personality. Elie had great affection for him. + +He found him surrounded with young men and studying a map. They were +discussing the acquisition of a piece of ground in Italy in order to +found a socialistic community, and Leo, who knew the country, was +to choose the locality. Elie was at once made acquainted with the +political questions of the day; the young scientist was unfavourably +impressed, for the whole reduced itself to party questions and dogmatic +discussions founded on hollow grounds. Accustomed as he already was to +positive scientific methods, vague and arbitrary theories could not +satisfy him. + +On the other hand, he was deeply impressed by the personality of the +celebrated socialistic Russian writer, Herzen, who resided in Geneva at +that time. The young revolutionaries considered him as too literary and +too much of a theoretician; they themselves yearned for a direct-action +policy. Leo Metchnikoff, however, admired him fervently. Meetings +often took place in Herzen's rooms; he used to read to his guests with +wonderful effect his yet unpublished manuscript _Passé et pensées_. +A great and powerful figure, the superiority of his intelligence was +almost crushing, while his sparkling wit and the nobility of his whole +being endowed him with an incomparable and irresistible personal charm. +Metchnikoff often said that no man had left a deeper impression on his +life. As a politician, however, he had not the same prestige in his +sight. + +This sojourn in a revolutionary centre interested him much, but had +the result of confirming his conviction that science was immeasurably +superior to politics, and he congratulated himself on the path he +had chosen. After he had rested, he started to return to Giessen and +stopped at Heidelberg, a centre for Russian students who gathered +around Helmholtz, Virchow, and Bunsen. He hurried to the library +in order to see scientific periodicals; one of the first that came +under his eyes was a number of the _Göttingen News_, containing a +memoir by Leuckart on the Nematodes which they had studied together; +Leuckart described, in his own name, their common researches and also +those personal to the young man, whom he only mentioned incidentally. +Elie was shocked and indignant. On his return to Giessen he tried to +obtain an explanation from Leuckart but in vain; the latter eluded his +questions and gave him no answer.[8] + + [8] All this episode was described by Metchnikoff in 1866 in + a separate publication with great restraint and in a very + moderate tone. + +In his despair, the youth confided in Claus, a professor of zoology +whose acquaintance he had made at the Congress, who told him that +Leuckart was in the habit of such dealings, and urged Elie, as an +independent stranger, to reveal the fact. He pressed this with so much +insistence that Elie ended in following his advice; he sent an article +stating the case to Dubois-Reymond's journal. He then departed from +Giessen without taking leave of Leuckart. + +Having had a _bursa_ of 1600 roubles a year granted him for two years +by the Russian Ministry of Public Instruction, he was able to undertake +a journey to the shores of the Mediterranean in order to pursue his +researches. + +He had heard of a very talented young zoologist, Alexander Kovalevsky, +who also knew him by hearsay and had written him a letter full of +enthusiasm concerning the rich Mediterranean fauna and the facilities +for work in Italy. He therefore went to Naples on leaving Giessen. +Though the journey in itself had but a secondary attraction for him, he +had expected to receive a strong impression; but his imagination had +painted such grandiose pictures of the country that he had to cross, +that the reality disappointed him, and Italy, like Switzerland on a +former occasion, fell very far short of his expectations. He stopped +at Florence, which made but a poor impression on him. Museums fatigued +him, for he saw a great deal too many works of art all at once without +any previous preparation. Architecture and the plastic arts in general +did not take any hold of him. During his rapid journey he only saw the +country quite superficially and had no time to become impregnated with +its beauty. He therefore hastened towards Naples, where his work and +Kovalevsky attracted him far more. + +He found in Kovalevsky a young man with shy but cordial manners and +the clear sweet eyes of a pure child, obviously an idealist. He had +for science an absolute cult, the sacred fire of the worshipper; no +sacrifice was too great, no difficulty too repellent for his ardour. +On a closer acquaintance, the small, timid young man proved to be a +hard fighter where science was concerned. The two young men formed +an excellent impression of each other, and a friendship was started +between them which was to last a lifetime. Though very different +from each other, they met on common ground, a passion for science. +They worked with the greatest energy, going together on zoological +excursions, exchanging their ideas, discussing their aspirations; a +similarity of tastes lent great attraction to their friendship. + +At Giessen, Elie had read Fritz Müller's _For Darwin_, a book which +had a decisive influence on the future direction of his researches. +Fritz Müller, in his embryological works on certain crustaceans, had +been the first to confirm in a concrete manner Darwin's evolutionist +theories; he had thus demonstrated that it was chiefly in embryology +that precious indications were to be found concerning the genealogy of +organisms.[9] Under the influence of this work, Elie, who until now had +limited himself to introductory researches, resolved to concentrate +all his efforts on the comparative embryology of animals. He started +to work in that direction, and his researches confirmed him more and +more in the opinion that the key of animal evolution and genealogy was +to be sought for in the most primitive stages, in those simple phases +of development where no secondary element has yet been introduced from +external conditions. In those primordial stages, essential characters, +common to all, reveal the analogy and connections between animals from +different groups. + + [9] In later years Metchnikoff often dwelt on the fact that Fritz + Müller was not fully appreciated and that it was he who + had most efficaciously contributed to the confirmation of + Darwinian theories. + +Every animal begins by being _unicellular_, for the egg-cell, the +reproducing cell, common to all, corresponds to a unicellular being. +It is only after fecundation, when it has become an ovum, that this +first cell evolves by dividing itself into consecutive segments, +each of which is a new cell. This phenomenon is analogous with the +multiplication of unicellular beings through division; only, those +segments of the ovum do not separate but constitute a whole under the +aspect of a hollow sphere, called a _blastula_, which is the first +manifestation of a multicellular being. This blastula is formed of +superposed layers, each of which gives birth to specialised organs in +the embryo. The outside layer, or _ectoderm_, produces teguments and +the nervous system; the internal layer, or _endoderm_, gives birth to +endothelial cells, the digestive and internal organs; between those two +layers comes a third, intermediary layer, the _mesoderm_, from which +the skeleton is developed and also the muscle and blood tissues. + +The evolution of these layers in Vertebrates was well known, but very +little so in Invertebrates, though it is only through the development +of inferior forms that the origin and general evolution of living +beings can be elucidated. That is why, during many years, the principal +theme of Metchnikoff's researches was the comparative study of the +embryonic layers of inferior animals and the ulterior fate of their +constituting elements. By following this train of thought, he was able +to demonstrate that the development of lower animals takes place on the +same plan and follows the same laws as that of higher animals; thus, +that there is a real communion between all living beings, which is the +concrete confirmation of the theory of evolution. + +By their work, Kovalevsky and Metchnikoff contributed to the foundation +of Comparative Embryology. The comparative study of cells produced +from the divers embryonic layers, and observations on the ulterior +development of the functions of those cells, gradually led Metchnikoff +to his theory of phagocytes 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 celebrated physiologist Setchénoff. 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 Setchénoff. +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 compact and exchange of ideas was immediately established +between the two, and a sympathy was born between them which developed +into a lifelong friendship. Elie expatiated upon his plans for the +study of the embryology of inferior animals from the evolution point +of view, and received from the older scientist much encouragement, for +which he never ceased to be grateful. + +He worked a great deal during this first stay at Naples, in spite +of periods of great fatigue. As a relaxation, he plunged into +philosophical reading. After Kovalevsky's departure, he joined +Bakounine's circle, the members of which took their meals in a +restaurant which rejoiced in the sonorous name of _Trattoria della +Harmonia_. In the autumn of the year 1865, a cholera epidemic broke +out in Naples. Every one was nervous and depressed, and this general +depression was increased still more by some of the customs of the +country--continuous lugubrious church bells, funeral processions +in which penitents took part, carrying smoking torches and wearing +hoods over their heads with holes for their eyes, etc. Elie, on whom +the epidemic had made a great impression, was even more disturbed by +the death of one of the members of their little circle, a popular +Englishwoman, liked by everybody. She had no fear of cholera and was +bright and merry. But one day she did not come to the _Trattoria della +Harmonia_; she had been struck by the scourge and was dead the next day. + +Elie was so struck by her death that his nerves, already very tense, +gave way and he left Naples, being, moreover, worn out with overwork. + +He started for Göttingen, for he wanted to begin the study of +Vertebrates under the direction of Professor Keferstein. Keferstein +straightway gave him a valuable lizard specimen to anatomise. Elie was +not good at technique, on account of his nervous temperament; he used +occasionally to lose his patience and his temper, to that point that he +flung his material across the room. It happened so on this occasion; +having completely wasted the valuable lizard, he conceived a still +greater horror of technique and soon left Professor Keferstein for +Henle, the celebrated anatomist. He worked with him for a short time +at the histology of frogs' kidneys, a subject chosen by the Professor. +Soon the young man realised that he was no longer capable of submitting +to school discipline and resumed his independent researches. When he +had to do with those problems which absorbed him he was always able +to conquer his aversion for technique and to do what was required. He +studied the embryology of the green-fly from the genealogical point +of view, and went to Munich for the summer term in order to work with +the celebrated zoologist von Siebold, a typical and venerable old +German scientist. The latter was too old already to be troubled with +pupils, and Elie studied his insect embryology independently; however, +he visited the old man assiduously, and they had long scientific +conversations. Their relations were always extremely cordial, and they +even kept up a regular correspondence for many years. + +During his stay in Germany, music was the young man's only recreation. +He did not play any instrument; his parents, discouraged by the failure +of their elder children, had not had him taught, and besides, his +precocious vocation would have left him no time. Yet he certainly had +a natural talent for music, which he passionately loved. He could +only whistle, but with that feeble means succeeded in reproducing +complicated compositions. Having assiduously attended excellent +concerts, he had made himself thoroughly acquainted with classical +music, and Beethoven and Mozart always remained his favourite +composers. His stay in Germany taught him to appreciate the great +capacity for work of the scientists of that country; he admired the +organisation of their laboratories, allowing every force, great or +small, to be utilised and making useful collective work possible in +those complicated researches which demand the collaboration of divers +specialists. On the other hand, he felt a great aversion for the +manners and customs of German students. Their corporations, duels, and +long sittings in beer-houses were distasteful to him; he could not +understand how these coarse "Burschen" could become transformed into +cultivated intellectuals and respectable scientists. People to whom +he expressed this wonder merely said, "Youth must have its fling...." +Moreover, scientists themselves were not particularly courteous to +each other. More than anywhere else personal questions held a foremost +place, and kindliness was rare between colleagues. + +After staying some time in Munich, Elie returned to Naples, war having +broken out between Northern and Southern Germany. This time, in order +to spend less on the journey, he took a steamer at Genoa, but with +fatal results, for a storm was raging; he suffered a great deal, and, +when he reached Naples, violent fits of giddiness made him incapable +of doing any work at all for some time. Cholera reappeared, and the +landlady of the rooms he shared with Kovalevsky died of it. Much +depressed, the two started for Ischia, but Elie soon realised with +terror that he was not yet well enough to work; in order to recover +quickly, he went to Cava, a pretty little place, renowned for its +salubrious climate. + +There he met Bakounine again, and they saw a good deal of each other in +a friendly way. Bakounine nicknamed him "Mamma" because of his almost +maternal attentions, a nickname which, for the same reason, was given +him later, quite independently, by other intimates. Yet, though their +relations were cordial and even affectionate, there was not really much +in common between the two. Elie thought Bakounine's ideas superficial, +and disliked his sectarian mentality; they ultimately drifted apart. + +His health having gradually recovered owing to the rest, he returned +to Naples in the autumn, after the epidemic had abated, and at last +resumed his work. + +Whilst studying the history of the development of Cephalopoda he found +that they had embryonic layers similar to those of Vertebrates; this +was the first time that the fact was established. It was extremely +important, for it constituted a concrete and indisputable proof of +the existence of a genetic connection between inferior and superior +animals. Metchnikoff chose this subject for his thesis, and, having +completed his researches, he returned to Russia in 1867. + +By this time he had made great use of his three years' stay abroad. +Though he had not showed himself a docile pupil, yet he had become +initiated into the organisation of scientific work in Germany; he had +carried out independent researches and had been able to choose with +full knowledge the future path of investigations which he was to pursue +for many years in the field of Comparative Embryology. + +Already the observations he had made had in themselves a real +importance. For instance, his studies in divers specimens of the worm +type, a type which offers very heterogeneous forms, had permitted him +to establish links of continuity between certain groups among them. +Whilst studying those animals at Giessen in 1865, he had discovered +the capital fact which proved to be the starting-point of all his +future work--the _intercellular digestion_ of an inferior worm, a land +planarian, the _Geodesmus bilineatus_. He had compared this digestion +with that of the superior Infusoria and had seen in it one more proof +of the genetic connection between the type of the Protozoa and that of +worms. + +He did not then realise the full bearing of this observation, which +really constituted the basis of his future phagocyte theory; this was +only to appear eighteen years later. + +He had also made researches on numerous specimens of insects and on the +scorpion, establishing the fact that they all had embryonic layers; +he concluded that he was "entitled to extend the theory of embryonic +layers to Arthropoda." + +Finally, he had discovered embryonic layers similar to those of the +Vertebrates in inferior Invertebrates, the Cephalopoda (Sepiola). This +established a link of continuity between the higher and lower animals. + + + + + CHAPTER XII + + Petersburg--Baer prize--Return home--Friendship with Cienkovsky + --Odessa--Naturalists' Congress at Petersburg--Departure from + Odessa--Zoological Lecturer's Chair at Petersburg--Messina--Enforced + rest--Reggio--Naples--Controversy with Kovalevsky--Visit to the + B. family--Mlle. Fédorovitch--Educational questions--Difficulties + of life in Petersburg. + + +During his stay abroad, Metchnikoff had successfully carried out +several researches, and this allowed him to apply for a post of +_docent_ at the new University of Odessa, which he had chosen on +account of its proximity with the sea and its marine fauna. Whilst +awaiting the result he went to Petersburg in order to pass his thesis +and to prepare himself to become a professor. He received a pleasant +welcome, for his lively and sociable disposition had made him many +friends. The brothers Kovalevsky, with whom he was already on friendly +terms, offered him hospitality; he also made the acquaintance of +Professor Békétoff, and soon became a member of his family circle. + +He was well received everywhere, for his scientific precocity excited +general interest. He was even elected _magister_[10] by the Faculty, +without having to pass an examination, on account of the work he +had done. He and Kovalevsky halved Baer's first prize, and they +were invited and treated with the utmost kindness by Baer himself. +Metchnikoff had certainly entered upon a successful phase; his friends +nicknamed him "the star." As soon as he was made a _magister_, he +received his appointment at the Odessa University, and, the holidays +drawing near, he was at last able to return to his home. Needless to +say how joyfully and lovingly he was received by his family. He spent +two months with them, utilising his leisure in preparing himself to +teach. + + [10] A degree preceding that of Doc.Sc. + +In his hurry to arrive in Odessa in good time in order to take his +bearings before starting his lectures, he went there much too soon and +found nobody at the University; he then decided to go to the Crimea for +some preliminary studies on the fauna of the Black Sea. Before long, +he made the acquaintance of the celebrated botanist Cienkovsky, who +invited him to stay in his villa. Though the scientist was already 46 +years old and Elie only 22, they soon became fast friends. Cienkovsky +was a man of great European culture; passionately fond of science as +he was, his critical mind submitted everything to a close analysis. +He took great interest in young Metchnikoff and showed him a marked +predilection, but that did not prevent him from criticising him +severely. He reproached him with a lack of self-control, and undertook +the paternal task of civilising the impulsive, fiery, sometimes even +violent young man. He preached to him tolerance towards the opinions of +others, a strict self-discipline, and the absolute necessity of bowing +to certain social conventions against which Elie blindly rebelled. +Cienkovsky acquired great prestige in his young friend's eyes; years +later, even, Metchnikoff took pleasure in quoting his axioms and in +trying to conform with them. + +He worked with ardour during his stay in the Crimea; though the +heat was great, 50° C. (122° F.) in the sun, he undertook zoological +excursions and surprised every one by his endurance and energy. + +At the end of the holidays, he returned to Odessa and began his +professorate with much zeal and success. His lucid, living lectures +stimulated his pupils, third-year students, who were all older than +himself. Friendly relations soon reigned between them and their young +lecturer; he organised practical studies, and his laboratory became a +very active centre of work. + +Thus everything was going well, and perhaps he might have remained at +Odessa for a long time if it had not been for the following incident, +due to his passionate and intolerant disposition. A Congress of Russian +naturalists was to take place in Petersburg at the end of the year +1867. Elie eagerly wished to attend it as a delegate and took steps +for that purpose; this brought him into conflict with his chief, who +desired the mission for himself. Knowing that the old Professor had no +real scientific interests, Elie thought himself justified in insisting, +and counted upon Cienkovsky's support, but the latter was of opinion +that the younger man should give way. Elie, becoming more and more +excited, lost all sense of proportion and committed the grave error +of telling his pupils about what he considered a serious injustice. +The latter, out of sympathy for their young lecturer, hooted the old +Professor, which naturally embittered the quarrel. However, all the +agitation ended in both zoologists being sent to the Congress in the +quality of delegates. + +When he reached Petersburg, Elie hurried to the house of his friends +B----, who received him with open arms; it was a great joy to him +to find himself in friendly surroundings after the recent strife. +Impulsive and impressionable as he was, the disagreeable incidents +he had traversed made him yearn to leave Odessa, a desire which was +to be promptly realised. His communications had great success at the +Congress; the President even invited him to read a paper at the general +meeting; but, though strongly attracted by this proposal, which would +have allowed the young scientist to expose his ideas on the comparative +development of the embryonic layers, he refused it, considering that +that complicated question was not yet sufficiently matured. + +Nevertheless, the Congress had brought him into prominence and was +the cause of his obtaining a Professorship of Zoology at Petersburg. +Moreover, he had the additional good fortune of being given a +scientific mission and went abroad to work until the autumn term. + +He went to Naples in the spring of 1868, thinking to find Kovalevsky +there, instead of which he found a letter from his friend awaiting him. +The latter had had to go to Messina for urgent embryological work and +begged Elie to look after his wife and new-born child. Metchnikoff did +so most willingly until he was able to send them off to Messina. He +himself followed soon after, for Kovalevsky wrote him that zoological +specimens and conditions of work were far better at Messina than +Naples. This time, Metchnikoff undertook the study of Sponges and +Echinodermata. The two friends worked unceasingly, but Elie's sight was +too weak for such excessive fatigue; he was again obliged to interrupt +his studies for a while, and during that period of enforced rest he +felt for the first time the need of a sentimental affection in his life. + +He dreamed of a helpmeet who would conform with his tastes. At +Petersburg he had become very fond of Professor B.'s young daughters, +the eldest of whom was about thirteen years old, and he wondered if he +could not train one of those little girls to become the realisation of +his ideal. He was too active by nature, however, to linger very long +over reveries or over a prolonged rest; he therefore undertook a short +journey through Reggio and Calabria, on his way towards Naples. + +His eyesight being now restored, he began work again as soon as he +arrived. This period, however, was not a pleasant one: to begin +with, he obtained in the study of Ascidia a result which differed +considerably from that obtained by Kovalevsky,[11] and this scientific +controversy grieved and preoccupied them both. Besides, Elie's nerves +suffered from his constant anxiety about his eyes, the tropical heat +and the noisy life of Naples. Incessant serenades used to keep him +awake at night, and, on one occasion, his exasperation reached such a +point that he poured a bucket of water over the head of some persistent +musicians. Tired with all these things, he left Naples for Trieste, +where he carried out successful researches into the transformations of +Echinodermata, from the point of view of Comparative Embryology and +genetic connections between inferior animals. + + [11] The latter affirmed that the nervous system of Ascidia + originated from the upper layer, whilst Elie believed that + it was the lower layer which gave birth to it. It was + Kovalevsky who was right, as Elie himself declared later. + +Having obtained results which interested him, he returned to Russia and +joined the B. family in the country, near Moscow. Their young friend +Mlle. Fédorovitch, whom he had already met in Petersburg, was staying +with them, and she and Elie became very good friends. His affection for +the B. children led him to ponder over general educational questions. +He was struck for the first time by the lack of harmony in human +nature, which was due, he thought, to the considerable difference +between the organism of the child and that of the adult, a difference +which does not exist in animals to the same degree.[12] As soon as +he returned to Petersburg he tried to study this subject, and made +comparisons between the brain of a man and that of a dog at various +ages, but without result. + + [12] He ultimately developed these considerations in a paper + entitled _Education from an Anthropological Point of View_, + of which mention will be made hereafter. + +He was not long in realising that the conditions of work in his new +post were extremely unsatisfactory. He had no proper laboratory and +had to work between two specimen cases in a non-heated zoological +museum; there was no room for practical work. All his enthusiasm, all +his aspirations towards scientific activity and rational teaching +struck against indifference, lack of organisation, and lack of means. +He protested with his usual vehemence, but could obtain nothing; being +equally unable to adapt himself to his uncongenial surroundings, +he found himself getting more and more discontented and unnerved. +Moreover, his everyday life was most uncomfortable, for he wished to +do without servants, on principle and in order to economise, and to do +his household work himself; but he soon tired of taking the necessary +care of his rooms, which became a regular chaos. He left off preparing +his own meals and went out for them to an inferior restaurant in the +neighbourhood. Yet, in spite of all his efforts and privations, he +never seemed to make both ends meet. He resigned himself to giving +lessons at the School of Mines in order to increase his resources; the +school was a long way off, he had to walk the distance in the coldest +weather in order to lecture to students who did not interest him. The +work wearied him without giving him any moral compensation. Altogether, +the life in Petersburg, on which he had founded great hopes, brought +him nothing but disappointments and made him become more and more +pessimistic and misanthropical. + + + + + CHAPTER XIII + + Slight illness--Engagement to Mlle. Fédorovitch--Marriage--Illness + of the bride--Pecuniary difficulties--Spezzia--Montreux--Work in + Petersburg University--The Riviera--Coelomata and Acoelomata--St. + Vaast--Panassovka--Madeira--Mertens--Teneriffe--Return to Odessa--Bad + news, hurried journey to Madeira--Death of his wife--Return through + Spain--Attempted suicide--Ephemeridæ. + + +It was only in the house of his friends the B.'s that Elie felt at his +ease. He was devotedly fond of their children, whom he used to take for +walks on Sundays and to the theatre now and then; he was always ready +to read to them and to indulge them in every possible way. + +He continued to entertain the dream of marrying one of them some day, +and was particularly interested in the eldest, a girl of thirteen, +intelligent, gifted, and lively; however, as he knew her better, +he realised the incompatibility of their respective tempers, an +incompatibility which brought about frequent disputes. These were +generally smoothed down by a mutual friend, Mlle. Fédorovitch, who +invariably showed Elie a marked and cordial sympathy. He became ill at +this juncture and she nursed him with a devotion which brought them +together even more, as will be seen from the following letter to his +mother: + + DEAR MOTHER--I have just had an inflammation of the throat which + lasted two weeks; it is quite gone now and I would not even have + mentioned it to you if it had not been connected with what follows. + + When I fell ill, the B.'s, knowing me to be alone and uncared for, + brought me to their house. During my stay with them, I acquired the + conviction that my darling little girls did not love me, especially + the eldest, who interested me even more than her three sisters.... + The dreams I told you of have vanished! + + It was a grief to me, for, apart from my scientific interests, I + cherished them more than anything. I have no acquaintances and do + not require any, but I long to have some one with me to whom I could + become attached and who could share my pleasures and leisure. + + My grief would have been greater still if I had not seen that + Ludmilla Fédorovitch, whom I mentioned to you this summer, showed me + much sympathy in all my troubles. + + We were already very good friends, and have now drawn nearer + together; who knows? perhaps the 800 roubles which are going to be + added to my salary will be very useful. + + I will keep you informed of everything, dear Mother, for I am sure of + your sympathy; I love you better than the whole world and I have full + confidence in you. + + Au revoir, dear Mother, I kiss your hands.--Your + + ELIE METCHNIKOFF. + +Mlle. Fédorovitch became ill in her turn; the sympathy which Elie +showed her on this occasion brought them still nearer to each other, +and he soon decided to marry her. He informed his mother of this; much +alarmed, she tried to dissuade him, for she feared that by marrying a +girl in delicate health, her son would be assuming too heavy a task in +his difficult circumstances. + +He answered as follows: + + I received your letter to-day, dear Mother. It grieves me very much. + My project inspires you with doubt, you counsel prudence and, though + you say you believe me to be reasonable, yet you fear that I am + acting on an impulse. If I really am reasonable, why fear a blind + impulse? On the other hand, if I am blindly carried away, it is not + likely that I shall listen to reason. + + I did tell you that I had great affection for the B. girls, and it + was true. But did I ever tell you that they had the same for me? You + are mistaken in thinking that I did not like Ludmilla Fédorovitch at + first. I was not in love with her but we were very good friends, and + whilst I did not consider her as my feminine ideal, I was sure of her + absolutely honest, loyal, and kindly disposition. The very fact that + I knew Ludmilla for a long time before I thought of marrying her, + should prove to you that there is some chance of my being neither + blind nor partial. + + Her love for me is beyond doubt, as you will see when you know her. + + I also am very fond of her, and that is a solid basis for future + happiness. + + Yet I will not answer for it that we shall spend our life like a + pair of turtledoves. A rosy, boundless beatitude forms no part of my + conception of the distant future. + + Yet I do not see the necessity of waiting till I become a thorough + misanthrope, and I am already inclined that way. + + Please do not believe that, if I do not dream of a rosy happiness it + is that I feel none at all; that is not the case; I am in a happy + medium. + + I like Ludmilla and I feel comfortable with her; but at the same + time I preserve the faculty of feeling every trouble and worry in + life. I do not at all think that it is enough to love in order to be + happy. Therefore I have begun to take steps to obtain a Professor's + chair, and I am very desirous of being successful in that financial + operation. + +Soon after that, he wrote the following letter to his mother: + + DEAR MOTHER--In my last letter I had already spoken to you of + Ludmilla Fédorovitch. I can now give you information about her which + will surely interest you. + + She is not bad-looking, but that is all. She has fine hair; her + complexion is not pretty. We are about the same age, she is a little + over 23. She was born at Orenburg; then she lived for a long time + with her family at Kiahta (Siberia), after which she was abroad for + nearly two years and finally settled in Moscow. Ludmilla, or Lussia, + was, as you remember, a very zealous intermediary between me and the + B. girls to whom I was so attached. + + She loved me already then, though she said to herself that I had too + much affection for the B. children ever to return her feelings. + + And she was perfectly right, as long as my affection for those + children lasted. + + But, when it ceased, I naturally took more notice of Lussia's + sympathy for me, and I am not surprised that I have acquired much + affection for her. + + She has faults which must seem graver to me than to you, but what is + to be done? + + Fortunately she herself sees them. The greatest of her faults is a + too great placidity, a lack of vivacity and initiative; she adapts + herself too easily to her surroundings. But, being placid, she is + also firm; she can bear a great deal whilst preserving complete + self-control. She is extremely kind and good-natured; I have not yet + found a vulgar trait in her character. + + I have told you of her faults, you must therefore not think me + partial if I find qualities in her. + + The fact is--and I cannot forget it--that always, when I had any kind + of trouble, she soothed me by her attitude towards me. + + Even though I have dark previsions for the future (as you know, I am + not given to seeing life through rose-coloured glasses), I cannot + help thinking that by living with Lussia I should become calmer, at + least for a fairly long time. + + I should cease to suffer from the misanthropy which has invaded me + lately. + + I intend to have no children--it is an embryologist who is speaking. + On the contrary, I want to preserve the utmost liberty. Nevertheless, + one must conform with certain legal conventions, which will probably + take place in January. + + Lussia has no fortune, but we shall be entirely guaranteed by the + increase in my salary. + + It is very regrettable that the event should be retarded by the + customary formalities; in any case it will certainly end by taking + place. + + I beg you to write to me, dear mother that I love, anything that + comes into your head _à propos_ of my affair. + + Rejoice that I am now very happy and wish that it may last. + + I ask the same of Papa, whom I beg you to salute from me. I embrace + you, dear Mamma, and I remain your very affectionate son, + + E. METCHNIKOFF. + +As Elie learnt to know his fiancée better, he became more and more +attached to her. Their happiness seemed likely to be complete, but a +cruel Fate had decided otherwise. The girl's health was not improving: +her supposed bronchitis was assuming a chronic character. Yet the +marriage was not postponed, and the bride had to be carried to the +church in a chair for the ceremony, being too breathless and too weak +to walk so far. + +Elie did his utmost to procure comforts for his wife, and hoped that +she could still be saved by care and a rational treatment. It was the +beginning of an hourly struggle against disease and poverty; his means +being insufficient, he tried to eke them out by writing translations. +His eyesight weakened again from overwork, and it was with atropin +in his eyes that he sat up night after night, translating. There was +but one well-lighted room in his flat, and he turned it into a small +laboratory for the use of his pupils; his own researches he had to give +up, his time being entirely taken up by teaching and translations. + +He hid his precarious position from his parents in order not to add +to their heavy expenses nor to confirm their previsions concerning +his marriage. His wife's illness, the impossibility of carrying on +scientific work, the lack of friendly sympathy to which he thought +himself entitled, all this weighed on him, making him bitter, +suspicious, and distrustful; he thought himself persecuted. The +situation became intolerable and, in spite of his pride, he forced +himself to apply for a subsidy to take his wife abroad and to go on +with his researches. Having obtained it in 1869, he immediately left +Petersburg, which he now hated. + +Youth is elastic: the young couple started full of joy, gay as +children, and ready to forget all their trials. Alas, it was not for +long: having halted at Vilna in order that the patient should have a +rest, she had an attack of hæmorrhage of the lungs, to the great alarm +of her husband, who nevertheless did his best to reassure her. They +continued the journey as soon as her condition allowed it, only to be +interrupted by another relapse. At last they reached Spezzia, chosen on +account of the climate and the marine fauna. + +Little by little, Ludmilla Metchnikoff's health improved and her +husband was able to resume work. He studied aquatic animals in view +of the genealogy of inferior groups, and, amongst others, studied the +Tornaria, which was believed to be the larva of the star-fish. However, +to his astonishment, he ascertained that, in spite of great similarity, +it was not the larva of an Echinoderm, but that of one of the +Balanoglossi, of the worm type. This fact established a link between +the Echinodermata and worms, a very important result from the point of +view of the continuity of animal types. + +Metchnikoff felt his courage returning and also his natural high +spirits. His wife, who was a clever draughtswoman, helped him with the +drawings for his memoir, and both felt happy and contented; this stay +at Spezzia was a real oasis in their life. + +When the heat became excessive they went to Reichenhall, a summer +resort prescribed by the doctor. There, Metchnikoff completed his +previous researches on the development of the scorpion, and finally +established the fact that this animal possesses the three embryonic +layers which correspond to those of the Vertebrates. + +As his young wife's health was still too precarious to allow her +to spend the winter in Russia, Metchnikoff, obliged to return to +Petersburg, installed her at Montreux and asked his sister-in-law, +Mlle. Fédorovitch, to stay with her. The enforced separation +deeply grieved the young couple, whose only consolation was daily +correspondence. + +Metchnikoff resumed a life of hard work; he was now an _agrégé_ at +the Petersburg University and had to leave the School of Mines; this +diminished his resources, but at the same time he obtained an extra +salary of 800 roubles as Extraordinary Professor. His position in the +University was nevertheless very difficult, for his situation was +coveted by different parties with which he had nothing to do. They +wanted it for one of their adherents. His devoted friend Setchénoff, +Professor of Physiology, then thought of proposing him to the Faculty +of Medicine as a Lecturer in Zoology, and whilst Metchnikoff awaited +the result of his efforts, he obtained leave to go to the seaside to do +research work. + +He joined his wife and took her to San Remo and to Villafranca. Her +health had improved and she was even able to take part in his work. +He was engaged in studying Medusæ and Siphonophora, animals which +interested him, not only from the point of view of the origin of +embryonic layers, but also from that of general morphology, for he +was still pursuing the problem of genetic links between animals. He +had already been able to prove the presence of embryonic layers in +many inferior animals; moreover, he had found, while studying the +metamorphoses of Echinodermata, the proof that the _structural plan_, +hitherto considered immutable, could become transformed in course +of development. Thus the bilateral plan of the larva of Echinoderma +becomes a radial plan in the adult. The structural plan therefore +is not an absolutely differentiating character, since specimens of +the same type can show a different plan according to their stage of +development. One of the genetic questions still unsolved was that of +the body cavity. Always present in higher animals, it is totally absent +in certain lower groups, such as Sponges, Polypi, and Medusæ. It was +being questioned whether their dissimilar morphological characters +did not correspond with a duality of origin separating animals which +possessed a body cavity (Coelomata) from those which did not +(Acoelomata). + +Kovalevsky, it is true, had observed that the body cavity of many +animals (Amphioxus, Sagitta, Brachiopoda) took its origin in the +_lateral sacs_ of the digestive cavity, sacs which detach themselves +from it in order to form the body cavity. But, in order to establish a +genetic connection between those animals that have a body cavity and +those which are devoid of it, it was necessary to show the homology of +corresponding organs in both groups. + +Through his researches on the development of Coelomata +(Echinodermata) on the one hand and Acoelomata (Ctenophora and +Medusæ) on the other, Metchnikoff succeeded in proving that the lateral +sacs of the digestive cavity which give birth to the body cavity of the +Coelomata (Echinodermata) correspond to the canals and vaso-digestive +sacs of the Acoelomata (Ctenophora and Medusæ). The difference +consists in that the latter do not detach themselves in order to form a +body cavity, which is therefore lacking. + +The result of his researches satisfied Metchnikoff; moreover, he began +to feel again hopeful of his wife's recovery. The only dark spot was +that Setchénoff's efforts had failed. Metchnikoff was not appointed +by the Faculty of Medicine, for it was found advisable to replace the +Chair of Zoology by one on Venereal Diseases. On the other hand, he +was nominated for the Odessa University, supported by Cienkovsky and +unanimously elected. + +As he only had to go to his new post in the autumn, he went for the +summer to St. Vaast in Normandy to study Lucernaria; unfortunately the +stay was not a success; the weather was cold and the sea very rough, +which made the Lucernaria impossible to find. Life conditions were very +difficult, all the male population being at sea and the women being in +the fields. In order not to waste this journey he studied Ascidians, +and found that he had previously been mistaken at Naples when he +thought that the nervous system of those animals originated from the +lower embryonic layer. Kovalevsky had been right in affirming the +contrary, and Elie hastened to write to tell him so. + +St. Vaast, open to every wind, was not favourable to the patient, and +Metchnikoff had to take her away. They went to Russia to stay with her +parents and then to Panassovka. The doctors having advised a course of +treatment by "koumiss," or fermented mare's milk prepared in a special +way by the Tartars, Elie engaged a Tartar servant specially for that +purpose, but in vain. In spite of every treatment, his wife's health +was steadily growing worse. The cold at St. Vaast had been followed +by such a dry heat in Russia that, in order to procure a little +coolness for the patient, they had to spread wet sheets around her. She +constantly had high temperatures and frequent attacks of hæmorrhage. +It was obvious that she must leave Russia, and Metchnikoff, obliged to +rejoin his post at Odessa, asked Mlle. Fédorovitch to go with her to +Montreux. + +The separation was all the harder that all hope of recovery was +beginning to wane. The patient, however, had been told of the magical +effect of Madeira in cases of tuberculosis, and she clung to the idea +as to a plank of safety. Elie resolved to take her there. He set to +work with renewed ardour in order to obtain the sum necessary for +the journey; in spite of all his self-denial, his normal resources +would not have sufficed, and he had recourse to translations and +literary articles. He had a theme ready, which he developed in a paper +called _Education from the Anthropological Point of View_--in fact a +preliminary sketch of his ideas on the disharmonies in human nature. +In it, he analysed the disharmonies due to the great difference of +development between the child and the adult: whilst the young of +animals are very rapidly able to imitate the adults and to live like +them, the man-child is incapable of it. His brain, especially in +civilised races, demands a long period of development in order to equal +that of the adult, whilst certain instincts in the organism mature, +on the contrary, long before their function is possible. Moreover, a +child's sensibility is extremely developed whilst his will is by no +means so. These causes provoke suffering and a series of regrettable +consequences. + +Apart from frenzied efforts and unceasing labour, Metchnikoff was going +through a painful moral crisis, due to the impossibility of making +his conduct accord with his convictions. Party intrigues continued +to be rife at the Odessa University: Poles were being persecuted +by Nationalists; one professor was refused admission on account of +his Polish nationality, and Cienkovsky resigned by way of protest. +Metchnikoff shared his views and longed to follow his example, but was +prevented by his lack of means and felt it deeply. It also went against +his conscience to ask for leave as frequently as his wife's condition +made it necessary. + +She wished to see her parents once again before going to Madeira, and +he took her to Russia for the last time: she never saw her family again. + +At last they were able to start. The long journey was very fatiguing, +the sea voyage was rough, but, when she landed in Madeira, the patient +thought herself saved. The very next morning Metchnikoff started +feverishly on a voyage of discovery. Nature on the island was extremely +beautiful; alone the sight of numerous sick people reminded him of +suffering and death. The words "a flower-decked grave" haunted his +mind, and a growing despondency warned him that he had nothing to +expect from this luxuriant spot. From the aspect of the rocky coast, +beaten by the waves, he realised that the beach fauna must be very +poor; his only refuge, research work, was likely to be denied him. + +He was advised to hire a small house, which would be cheaper than +a boarding-house, and he did find a pretty furnished villa with a +garden; it was beyond his means, but a young Russian named Mertens, +who had been a fellow-traveller, proposed to share it with them. The +arrangement proved highly satisfactory, and Mertens, at first merely an +agreeable neighbour, became a close friend. + +Before leaving for Madeira, Metchnikoff had obtained a scientific +mission and a subsidy from the Society of Natural Science Lovers of +Moscow, and felt it a moral obligation to obtain some results. The +scantiness of the marine fauna was a bitter disappointment; he had +to fall back upon what little he found, and embarked on the study, +hitherto unknown, of the embryology of Myriapoda. But this research +work brought him a new source of torment instead of satisfaction: he +could not master the technique, which proved to be very difficult, and +this irritated him; his failures disappointed him, made him vexed with +himself; his nerves, already strung to the highest point by suffering +and anxiety, made the disappointment unbearable. On the other hand, +the external aspect of life formed a striking contrast with the state +of his mind. A wealth of natural beauty, all flowers and perfumes, in +an incomparable site, congenial surroundings and home comforts formed +the frame for these two young lives, of which one was waning whilst the +other was spent in a useless struggle to save it. + +Metchnikoff's natural pessimism was growing under the influence of +these painful circumstances. His conception of life was a sombre +one; he said to himself that the "disharmonies" of human nature must +infallibly end in a general decadence of humanity. He set forth +his reflections in an article entitled _The Time for Marriage_, in +which he discussed the following concrete fact: With the progress of +civilisation and culture, the time for marriage recedes gradually, +whereas puberty remains as early as before; the result is that the +time between puberty and marriage is becoming longer and longer, +and constitutes a growing period in which there is no harmony. The +statistics of suicides prove that there is a close connection between +them and the period of disharmonies. + +Whilst he worked, his wife tried to make use of her leisure: she +interested herself in poor children, sketched flowers, read novels ... +life flowed peacefully in spite of the underlying drama. + +Yet the thought that he was not fulfilling his obligations was +intolerable to Metchnikoff. He thought of resigning and founding a +small book-shop at Madeira in order to be independent and not obliged +to leave his wife, but lack of funds made this plan impossible. In his +search for new resources, he went to Teneriffe to look for a subject +for an article. He met with several disappointments on this trip; yet +he saw the Villa Orotava, with its celebrated giant dragon-tree, which +had already then been brought down by a storm. He also visited the +Caves of the Guancios, the primitive inhabitants of the Canary Islands. +Having gathered the necessary observations, he hastened to return to +Madeira, where months passed without bringing any change. + +The book-shop idea was abandoned as being impracticable and Metchnikoff +had to return to Odessa, asking his sister-in-law to come to Madeira +in his place. When she had arrived, he confided the two girls to +Mertens and to the care of the devoted Dr. Goldschmidt, and went away +conscious of the uselessness of his efforts and more deeply pessimistic +than ever. + +When he reached Odessa, in October 1872, he found there his friend +Setchénoff, whom he had previously proposed for a Physiology Lecturer's +chair, and whose affection was a great comfort to him at this sad time. +The correspondence between him and his wife during that period is full +of an infinite tenderness, as if they felt the supreme separation +coming near, and yearned to express their mutual love. + +At the end of January 1873, between two classes, Metchnikoff received +a letter from his sister-in-law telling him to come in haste if he +wished to find his wife still living. He delivered his lecture like +an automaton, then went to obtain his leave and hurried off. He +accomplished the whole journey without a break. On arriving at Madeira +he found his wife so changed that he scarcely knew her, and it was +only through sheer force of will that he kept his alarm from her. She +suffered so much that she had to be given morphia constantly and could +no longer leave her bed. + +Metchnikoff himself was in very poor health; his eyes were so sensitive +from overwork that he had to remain in the dark, only going into the +garden at dusk to observe spiders and snails. Time was progressing +slowly and miserably, and bringing nothing but anxiety as to the means +to support this sad existence. Metchnikoff had hoped to receive the +Baer prize for a zoological work, but did not obtain it: it was refused +on the pretext that his memoir had been presented in manuscript +instead of being printed. In reality, the German party had wished to +give it to a fellow-German. + +A friend of his, who sent him the bad news, offered to lend him 300 +roubles, and Metchnikoff accepted; he could now think of nothing but +holding out till the end. + +One morning the patient's condition suddenly became much worse. The +doctor was sent for in a hurry and declared that it was now a question +of a few hours.... When Metchnikoff went back to his wife he found her +with eyes wide open and so full of mortal anguish and utter despair +that he could bear it no longer and went out hastily, not to show her +his dismay. + +This was his last impression; he never saw her again. + +Only half conscious, he walked up and down the drawing-room, opening +and closing books without seeing them, his mind full of disconnected +pictures; he wondered to himself how his family would hear the news. +Time passed without his realising it. Then his sister-in-law came to +tell him that all was over. This was on the 20th April 1873. + +Metchnikoff's feelings were complex: a mixture of crushing despair and +of relief at the thought that the terrible agony was at last ended.... +During the whole of the sad first night he sat with his sister-in-law +in a distant room, talking of those things which are only mentioned +in moments such as these. When Dr. Goldschmidt came in the morning +to offer Metchnikoff his sympathy and help he found him apparently +almost calm. Metchnikoff asked him to make a post-mortem examination +of the deceased and to look after her sister. A Scottish minister +came to bring religious comfort and to exhort him to look there for +consolation. Metchnikoff thanked him, but firmly assured him that it +was not possible to him. + +The funeral took place two days later; he did not attend it and did not +see the corpse. Immediately after the funeral he left Madeira with his +sister-in-law. Being no longer anxious to economise, he took with him +a sick young Russian who wished to see his mother again and could not +afford the journey. + +After the catastrophe, Metchnikoff felt incapable of thinking of the +future, his life seemed cut off at one blow; he destroyed his papers +and reserved a phial of morphia, without any settled intention. They +journeyed back through Spain; it was during the Carlist insurrection, +and several episodes on the way distracted their attention. Elie and +his sister-in-law reached Geneva, where they found Leo Metchnikoff +and several relations, among whom he seems to have recovered himself. +He even related some of their travelling experiences, meetings with +Carlists, frontier incidents, etc., with some spirit. But his apparent +calm concealed black despair. + +He said to himself: "Why live? My private life is ended; my eyes are +going; when I am blind I can no longer work, then why live?" Seeing no +issue to his situation, he absorbed the morphia. He did not know that +too strong a dose, by provoking vomiting, eliminates the poison. Such +was the case with him. He fell into a sort of torpor, of extraordinary +comfort and absolute rest; in spite of this comatose state he remained +conscious and felt no fear of death. When he became himself again, it +was with a feeling of dismay. He said to himself that only a grave +illness could save him, either by ending in death or by awaking the +vital instinct in him. In order to attain his object, he took a very +hot bath and then exposed himself to cold. As he was coming back by the +Rhone bridge, he suddenly saw a cloud of winged insects flying around +the flame of a lantern. They were Phryganidæ, but in the distance he +took them for Ephemeridæ, and the sight of them suggested the following +reflection: "How can the theory of natural selection be applied to +these insects? They do not feed and only live a few hours; they are +therefore not subject to the struggle for existence, they do not have +time to adapt themselves to surrounding conditions." + +His thoughts turned towards Science; he was saved; the link with life +was re-established. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV + + Anthropological expedition to the Kalmuk steppes--Affection of the + eyes--Second expedition to the steppes--The eggs of the _Geophilus_. + + +After the misfortune which had befallen him Metchnikoff placed his +only hope in work, and the condition of his eyes was therefore for +him a source of great preoccupation. He applied to the Petersburg +Geographical Society for an anthropological mission in order to +undertake researches less trying to his eyesight than microscopical +work. + +As he went deeper into anthropology, he was struck by the fact that +this science lacked a leading thread and was guided by no general idea +but reduced to mere measurements, very precise and detailed, it is +true. Metchnikoff wondered whether it would not be advisable to apply +to anthropology the methods used in embryology and to establish an +analogy between the diverse human races and the different ages of the +individual. In order to solve this problem he had thought at first of +visiting the Samoyedes as being the most primitive of the aboriginal +peoples of Russia. But the project was not realisable and he determined +to visit, at his own expense, the Kalmuks of the Astrakhan steppes, +also a primitive Mongol race. + +Before his departure he went to see his family and that of his late +wife. Long afterwards his sister-in-law, Mlle. Fédorovitch, wrote me +the following account of that interview: + + He was still suffering from an inflammation of the eyes. This man, + whom I cannot picture to myself without a microscope or a book, was, + at that sad period of his life, reduced to complete inactivity. + We had always been struck with his power of becoming absorbed in + scientific reading, even during meals; it inconvenienced no one, for + he heard at the same time the conversation that was going on and even + took part in it from time to time. Now, the day after his arrival, + I came to call him to tea and found him seated in his darkened room + with scissors in his hands and the floor around him littered with + small pieces of paper ... such was the occupation to which he was + reduced. + + He told me that, if I liked, he would come to live in Moscow and + devote his life and his work to our family. I refused and told him + why; my refusal grieved him, but I was right. Besides a feeling of + generosity, his offer was actuated by a desire for an immediate + object in life. Soon after that, he started for the Kalmuk steppes in + order to undertake anthropological researches. I was often haunted by + the thought of his sad figure in the midst of the steppes. + +The journey was difficult and fatiguing. Metchnikoff did not know the +Kalmuk language and had to depend on interpreters. From the very first +he was painfully impressed by the brutality of the Russian officials +towards the natives. At every halt the Kalmuks declared that they had +no horses; the Cossack who convoyed Metchnikoff would then begin to +swear and to play with his "nagaika" or leather-thonged whip, and the +required horses appeared as by magic. After a while Metchnikoff became +used to such scenes and looked upon them as a custom of the country. +He found it more difficult to put up with the indescribable dirt, the +smell of mutton fat which impregnated the food, and the continual +barking of dogs during the night, details which destroyed the charm and +poetry of primitive life. In spite of these unfavourable conditions, +Metchnikoff worked indefatigably. The physical measurements of the +Kalmuks led him to conclude that the development of the Mongol race +was arrested in comparison with that of the Caucasian race; he found +that all the relative proportions of the diverse parts of the Kalmuk +skeleton corresponded with that of youth in the Caucasian race: a large +head, a long torso, short legs, absolutely the relative dimensions of +our children. This conclusion was further confirmed by the structure of +the eyelid in the Kalmuks, of which the fold (epicanthus) in the adult +corresponds with that of the fold of the eyelid in our children. + +These interesting results somewhat raised Metchnikoff's _moral_, +the more so that his eyesight began to improve; he returned to +Odessa but found that he was still unable to use a microscope. He +therefore decided to go back to the steppes in order to proceed with +his researches, and, this time, began his journey by the Stavropol +province. The steppes there are very fine, with tall, luxuriant grasses +and a profusion of flowers filling the pure atmosphere with perfume; +the infinite space and absolute calm offer a peculiar and powerful +charm. But the population is depressed and apathetic, as is the case +with that of the Astrakhan steppes. The reason must be that the Kalmuks +consume milk which has undergone alcoholic fermentation, and that +provokes a slight but chronic intoxication. Yet a few among them are +extremely intelligent and of fairly high culture. Thus, in the course +of his ethnographical researches Metchnikoff came across a priest +(bakshâ) who imparted to him such instructive facts on the principles +of the Buddhist religion and on the organisation of its clergy that he +even planned to go with him to Thibet, where no stranger can penetrate +without the help of an adept. This plan, however, was never executed. + +After he had collected numerous anthropological data, Metchnikoff went +again to the Astrakhan steppes in order to verify and to complete his +observations of the preceding year. Whilst traversing some oases where +the Russians were making experiments in artificial forestry, he had the +pleasant surprise of finding some Myriapoda (_Geophilus_) bearing a +number of eggs. The history of the development of those creatures was +still unknown--a notable lacuna in embryology. Delighted at the idea +of filling it, Metchnikoff did not hesitate to undertake a long and +difficult extra journey and repaired to Astrakhan, taking with him his +precious material, in order to fetch the necessary apparatus for his +researches. But during the long journey several eggs perished and he +had to return to the oasis with a borrowed microscope to study other +eggs on the spot. In spite of very difficult conditions and of the +persistent weakness of his eyesight, he succeeded in filling the lacuna +in the embryology of the _Geophilus_. + +He had at the same time collected very interesting anthropological +data. His hypothesis as to the necessity of applying to anthropology +the comparative methods of embryology was fully justified, for, thanks +to that process, he was able to establish a definite correlation +between the Mongol race and the adolescence of the Caucasian race. He +presented a report on the subject to the Anthropological Society of +Moscow, but, his attention being afterwards turned in other directions, +he never came back to this subject. + + + + + CHAPTER XV + + "As to thee, Hector, thou art to + me as a father and a revered mother + and a brother, and thou art my + husband."--_The Iliad._ + + Studies on childhood--The family in the upper flat--Lessons in + zoology--Second marriage--Private life--Visit and death of Lvovna + Nevahovna--Conjugal affection. + + +Metchnikoff's anthropological researches led him to the study of +childhood, which in its turn suggested reflections on questions of +Pedagogy. His eyesight was still weak and his hunger for activity very +great; in order to satisfy it, he gave lessons in a Lycée and public +lectures in the Odessa University. Though time was passing, Metchnikoff +could not get used to his solitude; he spent his active kindness on his +friends and all around him, whilst living like an ascetic and giving +away all that he could spare. But nothing could quench his thirst for a +family life and affectionate intimacy. + +My family at that time lived in the same house as he did, on the floor +above him; we were eight children, our ages ranging from one to sixteen +years. We were noisy neighbours and we incommoded Metchnikoff, who was +awakened every morning by the noise in our kitchen, where meat was +being minced for the children. One fine day he could stand it no longer +and went upstairs to ask if this nuisance could not be stopped; my +father promised that he would see that it ceased. We were all seated +round the tea-table when he came in, and, seeing a stranger, my sister +and I hurriedly collected our lesson books, and hastened to leave the +room. We did not even have time to distinguish Metchnikoff's features, +but were struck by his paleness. Shortly after that incident we met him +at the house of a mutual friend. He had already seen us from his window +as we went off to the Lycée, and it used to amuse him to see us bravely +stepping over a large pool of water which was permanent in the street. + +One of his pupils was a professor in our Lycée, and Elie had the +opportunity of informing himself concerning our studies. Having heard +that I was interested in natural science, it occurred to him to offer +to give me lessons in zoology. I was delighted. He asked and obtained +permission from my parents, and we eagerly set to work. Elie, being +strongly attracted by me, returned to his former idea of training a +girl according to his own ideas and afterwards making her his wife. He +might have realised his programme of completing my education first and +marrying me afterwards if he had not been prevented by the complete +lack of accord between his ideas and those of my father. It was the +eternal conflict of two generations, "fathers and children." My father +was an excellent man, of great nobility of character, but he was a +type of the old Russian patrician school and belonged to a different +epoch, with different opinions and customs. This caused inevitable and +frequent disagreements, and Elie decided to ask for my hand without +further delay. + +My mother was much younger than my father, and her sympathies +were all with the young generation. She was an idealist, gentle, +intelligent and artistic, and, in her youth, had painted and played the +violoncello, but a very early marriage and numerous children had forced +her to give up the practice of art, to her lifelong regret. Great +sympathy arose between her and Elie; she supported him in everything +and became for him a tenderly attached friend. He explained to her his +theories on marriage, and then confided to her his feelings towards +me. My extreme youth troubled her very much, but Elie endeavoured to +reassure her, saying that he fully understood the rashness of his +projects, but that he was ready to suffer all the consequences; in +fact, he declared, if he did not succeed in making me happy, he would +have the strength to help me to create another existence for myself. I +had not suspected my Professor's feelings towards me, and was deeply +moved when I was told of them; it seemed to me impossible to understand +that this superior, this learned man could wish to marry a little girl +like myself! I thought with terror that he must be mistaken about me; +I felt as if I were going up for an examination without any previous +study. However, I had a great affection and admiration for Elie; I was +attracted by his whole personality, which produced a strong impression +upon others as well as upon myself. This is how Setchénoff describes +him, in his own autobiography: + + Elie Metchnikoff was the soul of our circle. Of all the young men I + have known in my life, young Metchnikoff was the most attractive with + his lively intelligence, inexhaustible wit and abundant knowledge + of all things. He was, in Science, as serious and as productive (he + had already done much in zoology and acquired a great name in that + branch) as he was full of life and varied interest in a circle of + friends. + +Moreover, my young imagination was impressed by his sad history and by +his interesting appearance, at that time not unlike a figure of Christ; +his pale face was illumined by the light in his kindly eyes, which at +times looked absolutely inspired. My whole heart went out to him, but I +was not yet ripe for matrimony and was somewhat thrown off my balance +by the unexpectedness of the event. Fearing that I was not up to his +level, I used to try beforehand to find worthy subjects of conversation +in order that he should not feel bored in my society, but everything +I thought of seemed to me so clumsy and stupid that I rejected one +subject after another until he came and found me at a loss. He could +not understand how deeply I was troubled, and cannot have been +satisfied with my attitude, which really was that of a zealous pupil. + +Our marriage took place in February 1875; it was a very cold winter and +the ground was covered with a thick coating of glistening snow. A few +hours before the ceremony my brothers came with a little hand sledge +to fetch me for a last ride. "Come quick," they said, "this evening +you will be a grown-up lady, and you can't play with us any more!" I +agreed, and we rushed out to the snowy carpet which covered the great +yard of our house. In the midst of our mad race my mother appeared +at the window; she had been looking for me everywhere and was much +disturbed. "My dear child! what are you thinking of? It is late, you +have hardly time to dress and to do your hair!" "One more turn, mother! +It is the last time, think of it!" Other childish emotions awaited me; +my wedding-dress was the first long dress I had ever worn, and I feared +to stumble as I walked. Then, too, I was frightened at the idea of +entering the church under the eyes of all the guests. My little brother +tried to reassure me by offering to hold my hand, and my mother made me +drink some chocolate to give me courage. + +Elie was awaiting us at the entrance; my shyness increased when I heard +people whispering around us, "Why, she is a mere child!" The ceremony +took place in the evening, after which Elie wrapped me carefully in +a long warm cloak and we set off, the sledge gliding like the wind, +towards our new home. In spite of the day's emotions, I rose very +early the next morning in order to work at my zoology exercises and to +give my husband a pleasant surprise. He was now free to superintend my +education, a very difficult and delicate task when having to do with a +mind as unprepared for life as mine was. + +The scientific methods which Metchnikoff applied to everything might +have constituted a grave error at this delicate psychological moment; +yet, in many ways, he showed himself a strangely clear-sighted +educator. He made it a principle to give me entire liberty whilst +directing me through the logic of his arguments. It is with deep +gratitude that I realise how he, so superior to me, took care not to +stifle my fragile individuality but to respect it and to encourage +it to develop. Like all Russian young people of the time, I was very +enthusiastic concerning political and social questions that I was not +mature enough to understand, and my father forbade us to frequent +political circles with which he had no sympathy, fearing that we might +be influenced by them. Elie, on the contrary, left me full liberty, +though he himself disapproved of my tendencies. He considered that +political and social questions belonged to the realm of practical +experience, in which young people were lacking, as also in practical +preparation. He never prevented me from making myself acquainted with +the social movement, but submitted it to close analysis and criticism; +it is owing to this very efficacious method that I did not become one +of the numerous political victims of that time. + +Elie took a lively and warm interest in everything which concerned +me. Not having had time to pass my final examinations from the Lycée +before my marriage, I was now obliged to go up before a special board +for the whole curriculum. He helped me to prepare this, even the +catechism, with the utmost keenness and gaiety, enlivening the driest +subjects by means of interesting and instructive reading. I was glad to +continue my biological studies under his direction after I had passed +my examinations. Not only did he give a general interest, a leading +thread, to every particular subject, but he also knew how to develop +independent work. For instance, he made me compare representative +examples of divers groups by practical study in order to let me deduce +for myself their characteristics and their generic connections. + +And it was not my education only which interested him; he associated me +with every detail of his life and initiated me into his thoughts and +his work; we read together a great deal, he had an excellent delivery +and liked reading aloud. + +He thoroughly enjoyed giving me pleasure; we often went to concerts +and theatres, and beautiful music or dramatic scenes moved him even to +tears. Musical themes haunted him, and he would whistle them softly +to himself even at his work. Without caring for luxury, he was glad +to contribute to the simple embellishment of our home because he knew +I appreciated it. When we travelled, always with scientific research +as an object, he never failed to point out every interesting feature +that we happened to pass. He had a peculiar talent for making a journey +instructive as well as attractive; his eagerness, infectious gaiety, +inquisitive mind, and remarkable organising faculty made of him an +incomparable guide and companion. + +We worked together for many years; it was both delightful and +profitable to work with him, for he opened out his ideas unreservedly +and made one share his enthusiasm and his interest in investigations; +he could create an atmosphere of intimate union in the search for truth +which allowed the humblest worker to feel himself a collaborator in an +exalted task. + +Though I always took a strong interest in scientific questions, Art +was the real passion of my life. But, imbued as I was with the narrow, +utilitarian views which surrounded my youth, I had looked upon Art as +a luxury which should not be indulged in at a time when the poorer +classes could not read and write. When at last I became emancipated +from this fallacy, my husband did his best to encourage my artistic +development though he himself did not appreciate plastic art. Form and +colour in themselves or in harmony did not appeal to him; he took much +more interest in a subject than in the way it was treated; he liked +psychological or realistic work, landscapes, "genre" pictures, but +classical, Renaissance, or Impressionist works bored him. In spite of +the divergence of our tastes in that connection, he never ceased to +encourage me or to take an active interest in my work; often and often +he accompanied me to picture galleries, making sincere and somewhat +pathetic efforts to appreciate the beauty of great masterpieces. + +Next to music he enjoyed Nature most, perhaps because it offered him +an inexhaustible source of scientific observation. His wearied nerves +caused him to seek for soothing impressions, and calm, quiet ponds were +what he preferred, with their reeds and aquatic plants, among which he +loved to discover tiny beings, hidden under the leaves and below the +surface of the water. + +Teaching and public work took up nearly the whole of his time; +his leisure was devoted to home life and to an intimate circle of +friends with whom he was bound by a common scientific fervour and by +a University life. He kept up those friendships even after life had +scattered them. His active kindness made him a centre of attraction +to his relations and we were always very much surrounded. After his +father died, in 1878, his mother and two of her grandchildren came to +live with us. She was at that time sixty-four years of age and had the +appearance of an old lady; she did not follow the fashion but wore her +white hair simply parted and framing her face; alone her fine dark +eyes had preserved their youthful sparkle and bore witness to her +former beauty. She had a bright and cheerful disposition and a charming +kindliness to every one; her desire for activity was unfortunately +thwarted by the state of her health. + +Elie showed his mother a tender solicitude which manifested itself in +the smallest details; for instance, he who detested cards would play +Patience with her; or he would drive her round the markets, which +interested her like the good housekeeper she was. When he came in from +the laboratory he never failed to go to her to ask her for details +of her health; he talked to her playfully and affectionately, making +her laugh, telling her the incidents of the day. She continued to be +interested in everything, especially that which concerned her dear +Elie, the "consolation of her life," as she called him. + +In spite of his affection for his mother, he bore her almost sudden +death very stoically, knowing as he did that the grave heart disease +from which she suffered was bound to cause her increasing pain. + +My family became his, and the relations between him and my father +became such that the latter, feeling ill and nearing his end, made +him our guardian. Until the last my mother preserved for my husband +a tender friendship which he fully returned. For years he bore the +burden and responsibilities of the family. With my young brothers and +sisters he kept up a tone of merry affection; always indulgent with +them, he was anxious to neglect nothing that could be useful. Though +ever led by the desire to procure happiness around him, it sometimes +happened that he made a mistake in his appreciation and failed to +reach his goal. The human soul is a riddle, life is complicated, and +we ought not always to judge by results but by motives.... As far as I +am personally concerned, his affection, kindness, and solicitude have +always been unbounded. If during early years a few misunderstandings +arose between us, they were due to my youthful obstinacy or to his +nervous sensitiveness. We had our trials, but our friendship and deep +affection emerged from them stronger and purer than ever. At a certain +time, Elie, believing that happiness called me elsewhere, offered me +my liberty, urging that I had a moral right to it. The nobility of his +attitude was the best safeguard.... As years went on, our lives became +more and more united; we lived in deep communion of souls, for we had +reached that stage of mutual comprehension when darkness flees and all +is light. + + + + + CHAPTER XVI + + Metchnikoff at the age of thirty--Lecturing in Odessa University, + from 1873 to 1882--Internal difficulties--Assassination of the Tsar, + Alexander II.--Further troubles in the University--Resignation--Bad + health: cardiac symptoms--Relapsing fever--Choroiditis--Studies + on Ephemeridæ--Further studies on intracellular digestion--The + _Parenchymella_--Holidays in the country--Experiments on agricultural + pests. + + +Elie Metchnikoff was now thirty years old, and his personality was +fully characterised though it had not yet reached the culminating point +of its development. + +His dominating point was his passionate vocation; his worship of +Science and of Reason made of him an inspired apostle. He had the +faults and qualities of a rich and powerful nature. Vibrating through +all the fibres of his being, he shed life and light around him. His +temper was violent and passionate; he could bear no attack on the ideas +which were dear to him, and became combative as soon as he thought them +threatened. His was a wrestler's temperament; obstacles exasperated +his energy and he went straight for them, pursuing his object with an +invincible tenacity; he never gave up a problem, however difficult, and +never hesitated to face any sacrifice or any privation if he thought +them necessary. + +A strange contradiction with this iron will was offered by occasional +disconcerting impulses, like that which caused the failure of his +first journey abroad, or by sudden attacks of fury for insignificant +reasons such as an unexpected noise in the street, a cat mewing or a +dog barking, or angry impatience when he could not solve a frivolous +puzzle, etc. This impulsive disposition gradually calmed down as he +grew older, and ultimately very nearly disappeared. + +In his personal relations also he was apt to lose his temper, but +a reaction very soon followed the outburst, and his efforts to be +forgiven when he felt guilty were very touching. On the other hand, +he did not easily forget an offence, though no desire for revenge +ever soiled his soul, and his gratitude for kindness was absolutely +indestructible. + +He harboured pessimistic theories to that extent that he looked upon +the procreation of other lives as a crime on the part of a conscious +being; his physical and moral sensitiveness was intense. And yet he had +inherited from his mother a natural gaiety and delightful elasticity +which always ended by gaining the upper hand. He was fond of joking; +his wit was occasionally somewhat cutting, but that was entirely due +to the appropriateness of his remarks; he never hurt people's feelings +intentionally. He sometimes gave offence by a professional habit of +using personal and concrete instances by way of arguments, but he +applied the process to himself as well; it was the objective method, +nothing more, and those who knew him well never doubted it. + +His benevolence was most active and never insipid, though marked by +an almost feminine sensibility. He was an incomparable companion and +friend, and had the gift of smoothing difficulties and inspiring +courage, security, and confidence. He took the greatest interest in +others and easily came down to their level, always finding points in +common, "an opportunity for the study of human documents," he said. +Thus he conversed simply and sympathetically with the humble as with +the great, with the young as with the old. It was no mere intellectual +interest that he bore them, but he put his whole heart into it, which +made him extremely easy to approach. And yet he never departed from +absolute freedom of speech, sometimes mixed with harshness. Truth and +sincerity, for him, came above everything; he carried the courage of +his opinions to the highest degree, even if it was likely to shock +his hearers or to do him harm. He jealously guarded his independence +and nothing could force him to act against his convictions. Full of +enthusiasm, always interesting, he enlivened all around him. His ideas +and his activity were in constant effervescence; no serious question +left him indifferent; he read everything, knew about almost everything, +and willingly informed others; his vibrating expansiveness made him a +centre of attraction in his private life as in the laboratory or in any +other sphere of activity. + +From 1873 to 1882 his energies were chiefly absorbed by teaching and by +the inner life of the University of Odessa, into which he threw himself +with his usual enthusiasm. His lectures were full of life, always +bringing out general ideas to throw light upon the most arid facts; he +made use of these as an architect utilises coarse materials in order +to erect a harmonious edifice. His creative power endowed his lectures +with an æsthetic character in spite of their extreme simplicity; not +that he concerned himself much about form, but because of his wealth +of ideas and the logical way in which he developed them, starting from +the simple and reaching the complex in a harmonious synthesis. His own +enthusiasm established a living bond between him and his audience. + +He was on excellent terms with the students, though he made no bid for +popularity. Not only did he give no encouragement to the prevailing +tendency of the young men towards politics, but he endeavoured on the +contrary to bring them back to their studies; he tried to prove to +them that social problems demand knowledge and a serious practical +preparation. Otherwise, said he, social life would be as medicine was +before it entered into the path of science, and when any middle-aged +woman, any bone-setter, was allowed to practise therapeutics. At the +same time, students found in him willing protection in the persecutions +directed against them, and earnest help in their work when they showed +the least interest in it; he would eagerly welcome the smallest spark +of the "sacred fire." + +Owing to the absolute independence of his ideas and conduct he had +great influence on young men, and this caused him to be looked upon in +administrative spheres as a "Red"--almost an agitator. In reality he +was struggling against the inertia and reactionary forces which were +shackling the normal development of culture and science in Russia. He +called himself a "progressive evolutionist," for he considered that +alone a deep and conscious evolution could give stable results and lead +to real progress. He thought that Revolution, and especially Terrorism, +merely provoked a reaction which might be long-lived, and that, as +long as the people were not sufficiently educated, a revolution might +easily result in the transfer of despotism from one party to another. +Socialistic doctrines did not satisfy him; according to him, they +did not leave sufficient scope to personal initiative and to the +development of individuality, two factors which he considered as +essential to every progress. + +He looked upon scientific work as his mission, and avoided politics +because he did not think himself competent to deal with them. But +scientific activity being closely limited by the state of the +University, which was badly oppressed at that time by reactionary +powers, he was led to take part in the defence of the University's +right to autonomy. He brought all his energies into the struggle, +though trying to keep from party tactics and to act purely in the +interests of science. For instance, he would vote either for a Radical +or a Conservative without sharing the opinions of either, but merely +guided by their scientific value. + +At the beginning of his scientific career at Odessa he led a very +active campaign in favour of the teaching of Natural Science. He urged +that, in order to teach properly, Natural History professors should +themselves have made independent researches on living fauna and flora, +and tried to introduce a series of measures to allow biologists special +holidays and missions to desirable places, at the proper seasons, for +research purposes. "There is no doubt," he said, "that scientific +activity would be much increased if the proposed measures were adopted. +Then, before long, our young scientists would not need to go to +study in German universities, but could go abroad already prepared +to undertake independent research." The Commission which examined +his report demanded certain modifications, "because of the Imperial +injunction to be very strict in granting travelling permits to +professors." Metchnikoff somewhat altered the text, which, after being +adopted by the University Council, was rejected by the Ministry and +remained without effect. Thus was every independent suggestion stifled, +even when it had but a purely scientific object. + +Soon the situation of the Odessa University became even more difficult. +Between 1875 and 1880 reaction increased considerably, and the inner +life of the University became very unfavourable to any scientific +activity. Already before that it was teeming with intrigues, the +Professors of Ukrainian origin being hostile to the "Muscovites." Yet +it was still possible to remain apart from these local intrigues, until +political reaction, filtering into the University, created in it the +deepest divisions. The hostility of parties was now based on political +opinions, either "Reactionary" or "Liberal." The students were being +more and more carried away by this movement and no longer took any +interest in their studies. + +All these conditions made normal teaching and scientific work +impossible, and Metchnikoff, seeing that politics from above and +from below now swallowed up everything, tried to take refuge in +his laboratory but in vain; even there he could no longer find the +necessary calm, and only during the holidays could he really work. + +Thus passed the years until March 1, 1881, when the crime which ended +the days of Alexander II. was followed by a great reactionary movement. +The authorities, seeing conspiracies and plots everywhere, persecuted +without cause all the elements which were ticketed as "dangerous." +Though the University still preserved its autonomy, this was entirely +fictitious, for the Ministry thwarted every desire for independence; +the nomination of professors elected by the University Council was only +ratified by the Ministry if they were reactionaries, without any regard +for their scientific value. Soon the Chairs were occupied by ignorant +men of doubtful morality. + +The life and honour of the University became endangered, and +Metchnikoff found himself obliged to take part in the struggle; he did +so with vehemence and energy; the independence of the University was +involved, and, as long as he could hope to save it, he struggled. At +the meetings of the Council and of the Faculty he never failed to give +vent to his critical opinions with a vehement frankness which earned +him in the University the reputation of an "_enfant terrible_." In the +meanwhile every resolution passed by the Council, if not reactionary +in character, was systematically quashed by the Ministry, which thus +paralysed every means of action, and Metchnikoff found himself faced +with the alternative of submitting or handing in his resignation. He +decided for the latter: his convictions were involved, and moreover his +health could not withstand the continual agitation and strain on his +nerves. + +As we could not afford to live in independence, he applied for a +vacant post of entomologist in the _zemstvo_[13] of Poltava, and at the +same time wrote out his resignation, holding it in readiness for an +opportunity which was not long in coming. + + [13] Rural administration. + +The Conservative party in the Faculty arose against a Liberal professor +who had accepted a very clever thesis in which the Reactionaries +perceived Socialist tendencies. The Dean of the Faculty proposed that +all such theses should be refused, and the Faculty approved. This was +the signal for a storm in the University, the Dean was hooted by the +students, and many of them were threatened with being expelled. The +Curator desired the more influential professors, of whom Metchnikoff +was one, to intervene with the students in order to bring disorder to +an end, and the professors consented, on condition that the offending +Dean should resign. The Curator promised that he should be asked to do +so, and order was immediately restored; but the Dean remained and many +students were severely and unjustly punished. Metchnikoff thereupon +produced his resignation, which was promptly accepted, and thus his +University career came to an end. + +Besides his University lectures, he gave public lectures on Natural +History which were attended by a number of female students, for women +at that time were only admitted to the Faculty of Medicine, and these +lectures were extremely useful to them. Metchnikoff, though he did +not believe that women could accomplish creative work in science, +was strongly in favour of higher education for women, considering +it as necessary to their general intellectual development. Genius, +he thought, was peculiar to the male sex, no woman having created +anything "of genius" even in domains which had always been accessible +to them, such as music, literature, and the applied arts. The very rare +exceptions, to his mind, only proved the rule; yet he did not draw the +conclusion that woman was in any sense inferior to man. He merely held +that her gifts are different from those of men. + + * * * * * + +Metchnikoff's health had been seriously shaken by the emotions and +annoyances of university life. Already in 1877, after political +intrigues at the University, he had felt the first symptoms of cardiac +trouble, which were the beginning of a long period of ill-health. He +consulted Bamberger, a great Viennese physician, who, however, found +nothing serious, and merely forbade him the use of wine and tobacco, to +neither of which was he addicted. + +His health suffered further through the violent anxiety which he went +through in 1880 whilst I lay dangerously ill with typhoid fever, +contracted in Naples. Though worn out with devoted nursing, he tried +to make up the time lost to research and over-worked himself, with +the result that cardiac trouble was followed by fits of giddiness and +unconquerable insomnia. He fell into such a state of neurasthenia that, +in 1881, he resolved in a moment of depression to do away with his life. + +In order to spare his family the sorrow of an obvious suicide, he +inoculated himself with relapsing fever, choosing this disease in order +to ascertain at the same time whether it could be inoculated through +the blood. The answer was in the affirmative: he became very seriously +ill. His condition was aggravated by anxiety concerning the University; +for he was sufficiently conscious to be aware of the events which +were taking place in Russia. The murder of Alexander II. caused him +to foresee a political reaction of the most terrible type; already, a +reactionary Rector had been appointed. Metchnikoff developed intense +jaundice and had a serious relapse with alarming cardiac weakness; +during the crisis he had a very distinct prevision of approaching +death. This semi-conscious state was accompanied by a feeling of great +happiness; he imagined that he had solved all human ethical questions. +Much later, this fact led him to suppose that death could actually be +attended by agreeable sensations. + +His robust nature, however, triumphed over all these grave +complications, and, during his convalescence, he was filled with a joy +of living such as he had never experienced before; from that moment +his moral and physical balance was completely restored. There was one +unpleasant sequel to his illness, an acute affection of the sight +(choroiditis), but it fortunately disappeared without leaving any +traces, and, in fact, he never suffered again from his eyes, in spite +of his constant use of the microscope. + +After his recovery he had a renascence of vital intensity; the +life instinct developed in him in a high degree; his health became +flourishing, his energy and power for work greater than ever, and the +pessimism of his youth began to pale before the optimistic dawn of his +maturity. However, the relapsing fever had very probably increased, if +not started, the cardiac trouble which eventually caused his death. + +During the time when Metchnikoff was forbidden the use of the +microscope on account of his eye weakness, he studied Ephemeridæ from +the point of view of natural selection. He wished to elucidate the +manner in which this selection operates during the very short life of +those insects: the rudimentary structure of their buccal organs does +not allow them to feed themselves, and they have no time to adapt +themselves to external conditions. + +During the 1875 holidays, at Gmunden and on the Danube, he observed +the nuptial flight of the mayflies, a phenomenon which constitutes +their short adult existence, preceded by a long period in the larval +state. Thousands of these diaphanous, ephemeral insects swarm above +the water in a compact cloud; now and then, dead Ephemeridæ fall like +snow-flakes, and that is the final and tragic completion of the nuptial +flight. Metchnikoff wished to unveil the mechanism of this sudden +death, evidently due to a physiological cause; but he obtained no +definite results either that year or the following, when he continued +his observations in the Caucasus. He realised that the life of these +insects was too short to allow him to solve the problems which +interested him, and, his eyes now being cured, he went back to his +studies on the origin of multicellular beings or _metazoa_. + +He studied the development of inferior sponges and ascertained that +they possess the three embryonic layers which correspond to those of +other animal types, but that these layers have not the same degree of +independence or differentiation. He found that in certain inferior +sponges the mesoderm develops before the endoderm and gives birth +to it. These two layers, born one from the other, manifest common +primordial characters. Therefore he was in no wise surprised to +discover that, in these inferior sponges, the amoeboid and mobile +cells of the mesoderm fulfil digestive functions equally with, +and even more than those of the endoderm; in fact, with primitive +beings, functional characters are not more strictly delimitated than +morphological characters. It is only a more advanced differentiation +which separates them. + +He connected these new facts with that which he had observed in 1865 +in one of the lower worms, the earth planarian _Geodesmus bilineatus_. +This worm is actually without a digestive cavity, for the latter is +entirely filled by parenchymatous cells inside which digestion takes +place. + +By their primitive structure, lower sponges and worms come near the +higher Infusoria, to which they are even more closely related by this +intercellular digestion which is common to them. + +This led Metchnikoff to ask himself whether this was not, generally +speaking, _the primitive mode of digestion_. He carried out numerous +researches on this point during the following years, and found the same +intercellular digestion in other lower worms, such as the _Mesostoma_ +and aquatic planarians, and afterwards in some lower Coelentera and +some Echinoderma. He was thus enabled to establish definitely that the +primitive mode of digestion was really intercellular, for the lower +multicellular animals either do not possess any digestive cavity or +else their digestive cavity develops late, as for instance with lower +jelly-fish or with hydropolypi. Even when the cavity is developed in +these inferior animals, the digestive functions are fulfilled by the +mesodermic cells. + +The question as to what are the ancestral forms of multicellular +animals cannot be solved through direct observation, for there is a +lacuna between them and unicellular beings, a lacuna which is due to +the disappearance of intermediary forms. It can only be filled by +hypotheses, based upon the embryology of those animals which, in their +embryonic development, repeat the inferior forms from which they are +derived, thus reflecting the general evolution of living beings. It +was therefore to the embryology of lower multicellular beings that +Metchnikoff turned, in order to endeavour to reconstitute their origin +and to show the link between them and unicellular beings. + +We know that the _ovule_ or primitive genital cell of every animal +may be compared to a unicellular organism. After fertilisation the +egg undergoes consecutive divisions or segmentation; each segment +constitutes a new cell, and their aggregation forms a hollow sphere +called a _blastula_, which is similar to a colony of unicellular +beings. The blastula differentiates itself into embryonic layers, the +_ectoderm_, _endoderm_, and _mesoderm_ already mentioned. + +In the majority of animals the origin of the first two layers, ectoderm +and endoderm, is due to the invagination of one of the poles of the +blastula; the invaginated part of the walls forms the internal layer, +the endoderm, and lines the cavity produced by invagination; this +cavity thus becomes a _digestive_ cavity. This stage of development, +called _gastrula_, is similar to a cup with a double wall, of which the +outer is the ectoderm and the inner the endoderm. + +This stage, discovered by Kovalevsky, is to be found in the evolution +of most animals and corresponds to the adult stage of some of them. It +was consequently considered as the _primitive type_ of multicellular +beings. + +Haeckel founded thereupon his theory of the _gastræa_, according +to which the common ancestor of animals was a lower animal, now +disappeared, and similar to that stage of development. He therefore +gave to this hypothetical animal the name of _gastræa_. + +Metchnikoff, however, discovered among primitive multicellular animals, +such as sponges, hydroids, and lower medusæ, a stage of development +still more simple than the gastrula; this stage is without a +digestive cavity and only assumes the gastrula form in its ulterior +evolution. He also made the remarkable discovery that, in the most +primitive multicellular animals, the endoderm is formed, not by means +of invagination, but by the _migration_ of a number of flagellated +cells from one pole of the wall of the blastula into the central +cavity. These cells draw in their flagellum, become amoeboid and +mobile, multiply by division, fill the cavity of the blastula, and +become capable of digesting. They originate the digestive cells of +the complete organism and give birth to the mesoderm, which explains +how the latter comes to contain a number of devouring cells even +though these do not constitute digestive organs properly so called. +Metchnikoff gave to that stage the name of _parenchymella_, for +the migrating cells constitute the endoderm in the condition of a +parenchyma. + +The invariable presence of this stage in the simplest multicellular +animals, the primitive amoeboid state of the endodermic cells, +cases of ulterior transformation of the parenchymella into the +gastrula form in certain animals, the absence of a differentiated +digestive cavity,--all that proved, according to Metchnikoff, that the +parenchymella is more primitive than the gastrula, and is therefore +entitled to be considered the prototype of multicellular beings. + +He saw a confirmation of this in the fact that primitive adult animals +also have no digestive cavity but merely an intracellular digestion +(sponges, turbellaria). + +He concluded that the common ancestor of multicellular beings was a +being constituted by an agglomeration of cells without a digestive +cavity, but endowed with intracellular digestion, like that of the +"parenchymula" stage of development. He therefore gave to that +hypothetical ancestor the name of _parenchymella_. + +Later, in 1886, he definitely formulated his theory of the genesis of +multicellular beings, and having already stated the phagocyte theory, +he substituted for the name _parenchymella_ that of _phagocytella_, +which indicated at the same time the primitive mode of digestion of +that hypothetical ancestor. + +Reduced to its simplest form, it presented, according to Metchnikoff, +a certain analogy with a colony composed of unicellular beings of two +kinds: the first, flagellated, forming the external layer, and the +others, amoeboid, occupying the centre of the colony and capable of +digesting. + +It may be interesting to mention here that, in this hypothetical +description, Metchnikoff foresaw the existence of similar, but real, +beings discovered a year later by Saville Kent, namely, the flagellated +colonies of _Protospongia_. + +Thus the link between the unicellular and the multicellular beings +could be constituted through the intermediary of flagellated colonies +on the one hand and, on the other hand, of beings similar to a +_phagocytella_. The _indivisible colony_ became the _multicellular +individual_. + +While studying the genealogy of beings, Metchnikoff continued his +researches on intracellular digestion. In 1879, at Naples and at +Messina, he was able to establish the fact that the mesodermic cells +of many larvæ of Echinodermata and Coelenterata, endowed with a +digestive tube, nevertheless contained strange bodies. Therefore, even +complicated organisms with a differentiated digestive system could +still contain at the same time some primitive cells with an autonomous +digestion. + +All these researches on the unity of the origin of multicellular +beings and their morphological elements, and also those concerning +intracellular digestion, were gradually preparing Metchnikoff's mind +for the conception of the phagocyte theory. + + * * * * * + +We spent the summer of 1880 with my family in the country. The cereals +were invaded by a harmful beetle, the _Anisoplia austriaca_, which was +devastating the country. Metchnikoff took the study of this scourge to +heart and tried to find a remedy. He had, the preceding year, observed +a dead fly enveloped with a sort of fungus which had evidently been +the cause of its death. Hence he conceived the idea that it might be +possible to combat harmful insects by provoking epidemics among them. +He now returned to this idea; on dead bodies of _Anisoplia_ he found a +small fungus, the _muscardine_, which was invading the insects by means +of filaments, and he succeeded in infecting healthy beetles. + +At first he confined himself to laboratory experiments; then a great +landowner, Count Bobrinsky, placed experimental fields at his disposal. +As the acquired results were very encouraging, Metchnikoff, forced +to leave the neighbourhood, left a young entomologist in charge of +the application of his method. So far as he himself was concerned, +this study proved the starting-point of his researches on infectious +diseases. + + + + + CHAPTER XVII + + Death of his father- and mother-in-law--Management of country + estates--Agitation and difficulties--Departure for Messina with + young brothers- and sisters-in-law. + + +In the spring of 1881, Metchnikoff having recovered from relapsing +fever, we went to stay with my parents at Kieff and found my father +dying. He entrusted Elie with the care of the family, and they came to +live with us at Odessa. But, the following year, we had the misfortune +to lose my mother also. From that moment my husband took upon himself +the responsibility of the whole family. + +Our resources came from landed property, and he, who had never +concerned himself with rural questions, had to make himself acquainted +with them. In this he was greatly helped by a neighbour, Count +Bobrinsky, through whose influence he came to abandon the purely +theoretical opinions he had hitherto held concerning agrarian +questions. He had considered communal property as a desirable agrarian +system: Count Bobrinsky showed him that it was not so, at any rate in +Little Russia. + +Metchnikoff came to the country with the keenest desire to make himself +useful. First of all he devoted the gratuity which he had received on +leaving the University, to a school which my sister and myself desired +to open in our family property. But we were met by administrative +opposition which nearly wrecked our plan, under the pretext that it was +intended for political propaganda. And though cordial relations were +established from the first between Metchnikoff and the peasantry, many +complications were unavoidable, due to the general agrarian situation, +to the insufficiency of the peasants' allotments, and to their +primitive methods of cultivation. + +My father, whose property was in the province of Kieff, had inherited +another domain in that of Kherson; Metchnikoff therefore had to +manage both estates and to adapt himself to their very different +respective circumstances. The majority of the farmers in Little Russia +at that time were Jews and were beginning to be persecuted both by +the Government and by the peasants; Elie was constantly obliged to +intervene. In the province of Kherson, it was a tradition with the +peasants that the land should belong to them, and they imagined that +this could be brought about by the simple elimination of the farmers. +Therefore they inflicted constant vexations upon the latter, allowing +cattle to pasture in their crops, pulling up their beetroots, etc. +Metchnikoff attempted in vain to re-establish peace by means of +compromise; he persuaded a farmer to sub-let part of the land to the +peasants, but this had to be given up, for the latter did not carry out +their engagements. Relations between the farmers and the peasants were +getting worse and worse, and Metchnikoff, foreseeing a catastrophe, +warned the local administration that the situation was getting very +grave and would lead to irreparable consequences. He was merely told +that preventive measures would be useless; hereupon the peasants +brutally murdered a keeper who was turning the cattle away from the +crops. Then at last the administration awoke, arrested the murderers, +and twelve men were exiled to Siberia. + +All this caused Metchnikoff the deepest anxiety, the more so that he +was absolutely incapable of altering the situation. As soon as it +became possible, he sold to the peasants that portion of the land +which belonged to us personally; until then, the property had been +common to the whole family, of which the younger members were not yet +of age. This, however, was not a general solution, and these moral +preoccupations, as well as the heavy responsibility incumbent upon him, +kept him from his scientific work. He was therefore very pleased to +hand over the management of the property to one of my brothers who had +just completed his studies in a Higher Agricultural School, and, in +spite of difficult conditions, Elie had the satisfaction of giving up +everything in good order. + +Thanks to my parents' inheritance, he was able to abandon his share of +the Panassovka patrimony to the children of his brother and to live +henceforth independently. He wished to pursue researches on the shores +of the Mediterranean: therefore, in the autumn of the year 1882, we +went to Messina with my two sisters and my three young brothers. The +children were no trouble to Elie, who loved them; on the contrary, he +enjoyed organising the journey and arranging all sorts of pleasures for +them. The children, accustomed to his kindly indulgence, always came to +"the Prophet" for everything they wanted.[14] + + [14] "Elie" is the French form of Elijah, in Russian Ilia, and + was ultimately adopted by Metchnikoff. + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII + + Messina--Inception of the phagocyte theory--Encouragement from + Virchow and Kleinenberg--First paper on phagocytosis at the Odessa + Congress in 1883--The question of Immunity--Article in Virchow's + _Archiv_, 1884. + + +At Messina, we settled in a suburb, the Ringo, on the quay of the +Straits, in a small flat with a garden and a splendid view over the +sea. We did not have much room, and the laboratory had to be installed +in the drawing-room, but, on the other hand, Elie only had to cross the +quay in order to find the fisherman who provided him with the material +needed for his researches and with whom we frequently went sailing. + +Metchnikoff loved Messina, with its rich marine fauna and beautiful +scenery. The splendid view of the sea and the calm outline of the +Calabrian coast across the Straits delighted him. He enjoyed it all +the more after the many excitements of life at the University, and +eagerly gave himself up to his researches. Often, in later years, he +delighted to recall memories of that period, the more so that this was +connected with the principal phase of scientific activity which led to +the formation of his phagocyte theory. After the earthquake in 1908, +he wrote a few pages on Messina and ended his article by the following +lines: + + Thus it was in Messina that the great event of my scientific life + took place. A zoologist until then, I suddenly became a pathologist. + I entered into a new road in which my later activity was to be + exerted. + + It is with warm feeling that I evoke that distant past and with + tenderness that I think of Messina, of which the terrible fate has + deeply moved my heart. + + They say that Messina will be rebuilt in the same place but in a + different way. Houses will be constructed of light materials, they + will be low, and the streets broad.... + + The town will be a new Messina, not "my Messina," not that with which + so many dear memories are associated in my mind.... + +Metchnikoff continued to study intracellular digestion and the origin +of the intestine. He foresaw that the solution of those problems +would lead to general results of great importance. The study of +medusæ and of their mesodermic digestion confirmed him more and more +in the conviction that the mesoderm was a vestige of elements with a +primitive _digestive_ function. In lower beings, such as sponges, this +function takes place without being differentiated, whilst with other +Coelentera and with some Echinoderma the _endoderm_ gives birth to +a digestive cavity; yet, the mobile cells of the _mesoderm_ preserve +their faculty of intracellular digestion. As he studied these phenomena +more closely, he ascertained that mesodermic cells accumulated around +grains of carmine introduced into the organism. + +All this prepared the ground for the phagocyte theory, of which he +himself described the inception in the following words: + + I was resting from the shock of the events which provoked my + resignation from the University and indulging enthusiastically in + researches in the splendid setting of the Straits of Messina. + + One day when the whole family had gone to a circus to see some + extraordinary performing apes, I remained alone with my microscope, + observing the life in the mobile cells of a transparent star-fish + larva, when a new thought suddenly flashed across my brain. It struck + me that similar cells might serve in the defence of the organism + against intruders. Feeling that there was in this something of + surpassing interest, I felt so excited that I began striding up and + down the room and even went to the seashore in order to collect my + thoughts. + + I said to myself that, if my supposition was true, a splinter + introduced into the body of a star-fish larva, devoid of + blood-vessels or of a nervous system, should soon be surrounded by + mobile cells as is to be observed in a man who runs a splinter into + his finger. This was no sooner said than done. + + There was a small garden to our dwelling, in which we had a few days + previously organised a "Christmas tree" for the children on a little + tangerine tree; I fetched from it a few rose thorns and introduced + them at once under the skin of some beautiful star-fish larvæ as + transparent as water. + + I was too excited to sleep that night in the expectation of + the result of my experiment, and very early the next morning I + ascertained that it had fully succeeded. + + That experiment formed the basis of the phagocyte theory, to the + development of which I devoted the next twenty-five years of my life. + +This very simple experiment struck Metchnikoff by its intimate +similarity with the phenomenon which takes place in the formation of +pus, the diapedesis[15] of inflammation in man and the higher animals. +The white blood corpuscles, or _leucocytes_, which constitute pus, are +mobile mesodermic cells. But, while with higher animals the phenomenon +is complicated by the existence of blood-vessels and a nervous system, +in a star-fish larva, devoid of those organs, the same phenomenon is +reduced to the accumulation of mobile cells around the splinter. This +proves that the essence of inflammation consists in the reaction of +the mobile cells, whilst vascular and nervous intervention has but a +secondary significance. Therefore, if the phenomenon is considered in +its simplest expression, inflammation is merely _a reaction of the +mesodermic cells against an external agent_. + + [15] Migration of the white blood corpuscles (leucocytes) through + the walls of blood-vessels. + +Metchnikoff then reasoned as follows: In man, microbes are usually +the cause which provokes inflammation; therefore it is against those +intruders that the mobile mesodermic cells have to strive. These mobile +cells must destroy the microbes by digesting them and thus bring about +a cure. + +Inflammation is thus a _curative reaction_ of the organism, and morbid +symptoms are no other than the signs of the struggle between the +mesodermic cells and the microbes. + +In order to verify these conjectures, he started studying the +englobing of microbes by mesodermic cells in larvæ and in other marine +invertebrates which he inoculated. + +At that time, a well-known German scientist, Kleinenberg, was Professor +of Zoology at Messina. Metchnikoff imparted his ideas to him and showed +him his experiments. Kleinenberg encouraged him very much; he looked +upon his theory as "an Hippocratic thought" and advised him to publish +it at once. + +Metchnikoff was also greatly encouraged by Virchow, who happened +to pass through Messina and came to see his preparations and his +experiments, which seemed to him conclusive. However, Virchow advised +him to proceed with the greatest prudence in their interpretation, as, +he said, the theory of inflammation admitted in contemporary medicine +was exactly contrary to Metchnikoff's. It was believed that the +leucocytes, far from destroying microbes, spread them by carrying them +and by forming a medium favourable to their growth. + +Metchnikoff always preserved a deep gratitude towards Virchow and +Kleinenberg for the moral support which they gave him at that time. + + * * * * * + +When the hot weather came, we left Messina for Riva, a delicious summer +resort on the shores of the Lake of Garda. There, Metchnikoff wrote +his first memoir on the reaction of inflammation and on the digestion +of microbes by the mesodermic cells of lower invertebrates. On the way +back to Russia through Vienna, he went to see the Professor of Zoology, +Claus; he found other colleagues with him and expounded his theory +to them. They were much interested, and he asked them for a Greek +translation of the words "devouring cells," and that is how they were +given the name of _phagocytes_. + +Claus asked him for his memoir for the Review which he edited and in +which it appeared soon afterwards, in 1883.[16] The new-born "phagocyte +theory" was thus very well received by naturalists and by Virchow, the +father of cellular pathology. + + [16] _Arbeiten des zool. Inst. zu Wien_, Bd. v. Heft ii. p. + 141. "Untersuchung über die intracelluläre Verdauung bei + wirbellosen Tieren," E. Metchnikoff. + +Having returned to Russia, we went to the country, where Elie had to +attend to family business; nevertheless, he continued his researches +in every leisure moment. He had observed in Echinoderma that, during +the transformation of their larvæ, the parts becoming atrophied were +englobed by mesodermic mobile cells. In those observations he was +delighted to have found an example of _physiological inflammation_, +_i.e._ one which presented itself in normal and non-morbid conditions. +He thought he might observe it also during the metamorphosis of the +tadpole into a frog, whilst the tail was being atrophied. But he found +that, instead of the leucocytes of the blood, certain cells from the +muscular tissue were those which devoured the enfeebled elements of the +tail; he thus learnt that phagocytes might be, not only the white blood +corpuscles, but other cells of mesodermic origin.[17] + + [17] It was only in 1892 that he completed and developed his + observations. He found that the cells of the sarcoplasma + of the muscular tissue devoured its contractile part, the + myoplasma. + +In autumn 1883 he read his first paper on phagocytosis to a congress of +physicians and naturalists at Odessa.[18] He compared the phagocytes to +an army hurling itself upon the enemy and looked upon the phagocytic +reaction as a defensive force of the organism. + + [18] This paper was entitled "Forces curatives de l'organisme." + +In that paper itself and from that moment onwards, the trend of his +ideas towards optimism becomes visible. By discovering the phagocytic +reaction of the organism, he made a first breach in his philosophy +of human nature, hitherto so pessimistic; he discovered within it a +salutary element which could be utilised by science to combat its +discords. He began to have some faith in the power of knowledge, not +only for this struggle, but also for the establishment of a rational +conception of life in general. Thus he said in his paper to the Odessa +Congress: + + The theoretical study of Natural History problems (in the largest + sense of the word) alone can provide a critical method for the + comprehension of truth and lead to a definite conception of life, or + at least allow us to approach one. + +And yet, until then, the theory of phagocytosis as a curative force +of the organism was but a hypothesis, for he had not yet observed +_spontaneous phagocytosis in diseases_ and did not know pathogenic +microbes. He therefore sought to study them in lower animals, whose +simple structure made the observation easier. He found some small, +transparent, fresh-water crustaceans, called _daphniæ_, which were +diseased and easy to place alive under a microscope. These crustaceans +are often infected by a parasite fungus (_Monospora bicuspidata_), of +which the spores, shaped like sharp needles, are introduced with food +into the digestive tube, traverse the walls of it, and thus penetrate +into the general cavity of the body. They are immediately attacked by +mobile phagocytes, which either singly or in groups englobe them; if +the phagocytes succeed in digesting the spores, the daphnia recovers; +in the contrary case, the spores germinate and develop into small +fungi which invade the organism and kill it. The recovery or death of +the daphnia depends therefore on the issue of the struggle.[19] This +observation gave final confirmation to the hypothesis of the curative +forces of the organism. + + [19] Virchow's _Archiv_, vol. 96, p. 177. + +Metchnikoff was not content with observing lower animals but wished to +study the reaction of the organism of mammals in infectious diseases. +At that time, the best-known microbe was the bacillus of anthrax. +He therefore chose that for his researches and ascertained that +phagocytosis varied with the virulence of the microbes; thus, while +phagocytes did not attack virulent bacteria, they attacked and rapidly +digested attenuated bacteria. Moreover, he observed a very active +phagocytosis in refractory animals and the reverse in sensitive ones. + +He thus came face to face with the question of _immunity_. + +He approached it by a comparative examination of the reaction of +the organism of vaccinated rabbits and of non-vaccinated ones, and +ascertained that an active phagocytosis was only manifested in a +previously vaccinated organism. Metchnikoff explained these facts by +the theory that the phagocytes became accustomed, gradually, through +vaccination, to strive against more and more virulent microbes. + +From that moment, immunity appeared to him as being no other than this +progressive hardening. He published his researches in 1884 in Virchow's +_Archiv_, and impatiently awaited medical reviews, hoping to find some +answer, but the memoir passed unnoticed; the full significance of it +had not been grasped. + + + + + CHAPTER XIX + + Ill-health of his wife and sister-in-law--Journey to Tangiers through + Spain--Villefranche--Baumgarten criticises the phagocyte theory. + + +In 1884, Metchnikoff's work was interrupted by the ill-health of my +eldest sister and of myself; physicians considered that we had weak +lungs and advised that we should spend the winter in the South. Elie, +full of anxiety, hastened to take us there. + +My younger brothers were now old enough to remain at school in our +absence so as to go on with their studies; we therefore started with my +two sisters. As cholera was raging in Italy, we went to Spain, hoping +to find a place with a mild climate and conditions favourable to my +husband's work. But we traversed the whole country without finding +the right combination, and, as we had come too far to go back, we +decided to spend the winter on the African coast, at Tangiers, close to +Gibraltar where we were. + +Metchnikoff had not much taste for sight-seeing, but, with his +inquisitive and observing mind, liked to understand what he saw, and +never failed to acquaint himself with the history of the countries +which we traversed and which, with his ever-ready solicitude, he +wanted us to see. We therefore saw every interesting town on our route +through Spain. In the evenings we read together works on the history +and art of the country, and in the day-time we went for long rambles +in order to examine all that there was to see. The history of the +country, full of the sombre fanaticism which is reflected in its art, +the austere aridity of the central plateau of the land, the reserved +temper of the population--none of that found any echo in the vibrating, +sunlight-loving soul of Metchnikoff. + +Gentle Italy, her exuberant life and highly-cultured past, charmed him +much more. He was consequently better pleased with Southern Spain, +which is more similar to Italy. He was greatly impressed by the +grandiose site and luminous atmosphere of Granada and the Alhambra and +by the superb gardens of Malaga, with their tropical plants and avenues +of palm trees. + +At Gibraltar, he was greatly interested as a zoologist in the only +monkeys (_Macaques_ or Barbary apes) which have remained wild in +Europe; he never tired of watching their habits whilst those amusing +creatures jumped from tree to tree above our heads. + +He had ample leisure to do so, for a frightful tempest kept us at +Gibraltar, preventing the crossing of the Straits. As Metchnikoff was +very anxious to set to work, we took the first steamship which ventured +out, but the sea was still running so high that our ship was damaged +and we had to go back. A panic took possession of the passengers, +during which my sisters and I were struck by the calmness of Elie, who +did not seem to realise the danger. After a delay of a few days, we +were at last able to cross. + +Our first impression of Tangiers, an Arab port of a thoroughly Oriental +type, was extremely vivid. The city lay before us with its tall +minarets and flat roofs, shining white under the burning sun. The +steamer dropped anchor some distance from the landing stage, and we +were taken ashore on small boats, immediately to be surrounded by a +motley crowd with faces varying from the pale olive of the pure Arab +to the coal-black of the negro. All these people, in brilliant and +picturesque garments, were shouting, gesticulating, fighting for the +possession of passengers and their luggage, dragging them into the +boats or carrying them on their backs, themselves standing up to their +waists in water. + +That feverish agitation, noise, and glaring sunlight introduced us +suddenly to new and violent sensations. + +Already at Gibraltar, Metchnikoff had made arrangements with a +Spanish-speaking Arab from Tangiers who undertook our installation. +He provided us with a very primitive dwelling, himself serving as our +guide, cook, and general factotum. + +We hastened to look for zoological material: alas, the sea was almost +a desert. After a long search we only found a few rare sea-urchins, +and Metchnikoff had to content himself with this meagre fauna during +the whole of the winter. He resigned himself to the study of the +embryology of sea-urchins in order to fill a few lacunæ in his previous +researches. As he could not work much for lack of materials, he +came with us for long excursions, during which he used to improvise +interminable and very amusing tales with which to entertain my little +sister. + +At the beginning of our stay we were greatly interested by the life and +customs of the country. The picturesque and varied crowd, the dignified +and biblical types of Arabs, the bronzed Berbers, negroes, fanatical +sects of Aïssawas, snake-charmers, the jousts, and mad races of +cavalry across the sandy beach; opium smokers; mysterious silhouettes +of veiled women; the call to prayer from the tall minarets--all +that strange and exotic life fascinated us. But after a time the +wild customs, continual shouting on the occasion of every ceremony, +vendettas, cruel fanaticism, and also the absolute lack of intellectual +resources, began to tell on our nerves. Inactivity weighed heavily upon +Metchnikoff; nevertheless, he bore his ill-luck with his usual courage +and gaiety, finding great consolation in the excellent influence that +the climate of Tangiers had upon all our healths. + +At last, in the spring, we started for Villefranche, where he +immediately set to work with success upon the embryology of jelly-fish; +an important monograph on that subject was published by him in 1886. +In it he gave definite form to his theory of the _phagocytella_ and +the genetic relationships of animals and of their primitive organs, a +theory already mentioned above (p. 110). + +From Villefranche we went to Trieste, where Metchnikoff studied +star-fish and filled the lacunæ in his researches on the origin of the +mesoderm. + +In a medical review which he read at Trieste, he found the first +account of his phagocyte theory; it was an unfavourable and hostile +criticism by a German scientist of the name of Baumgarten, endeavouring +to prove that Metchnikoff's deductions were inadmissible. This grieved +and pained him very much, but he immediately recovered himself and +strongly determined to study the medical side of the question in order +to prove on that ground that his theory was well-founded. + + + + + CHAPTER XX + + A Bacteriological Institute in Odessa--Unsatisfactory conditions-- + Experiments on erysipelas and on relapsing fever. + + +The results of Pasteur's antirabic inoculations were published in 1885. +The Municipality of Odessa, desirous of founding a bacteriological +station in that town, sent Dr. Gamaléia to Paris to study the new +method. Metchnikoff was appointed Scientific Director of the new +institution, and Drs. Gamaléia and Bardach, former pupils of his, were +entrusted with the preparation of vaccines and preventive inoculations. +The Institute, opened in 1886, was founded at the expense of the +Municipality of Odessa and of the _Zemstvo_ of the Kherson Province. + +Metchnikoff himself describes as follows the short time he spent in +that Institute: + + ... Having given up my State work, I placed myself at the service of + the city and the _Zemstvo_. + + Absorbed as I was by the scientific part of the work, I confided to + my young colleagues the practical part, i.e. the vaccinations and the + perfection of vaccines. + + It was to be supposed that all would go very well. + + Work in the new Institute began with ardour. But, very soon, a strong + opposition manifested itself against it. + + The medical administration began to make incursions into the + Institute, with a view to finding some infractions of the regulations. + + Medical society was hostile to every work which issued from the + laboratory. The institutions which had subscribed funds for the + Institute were demanding practical results, while all necessary work + towards that object was met by every sort of obstacle. + + For instance, in order to destroy certain voles, very harmful to + the cereals of Southern Russia, we proposed to make experiments as + to infecting those rodents with the microbe of chicken cholera. + Laboratory experiments were begun with that object. But, one day, + I received an order from the Prefect peremptorily forbidding those + experiments. This measure had been taken at the instigation of local + physicians; having seen in a Petersburg newspaper an article by + some one who had not a notion of bacteriology, they had assured the + Prefect that chicken cholera could turn into Asiatic cholera. + + I had to appeal to the General Governor, who ended by countermanding + the Prefect's order; nevertheless this incident was not without + regrettable consequences concerning the ulterior activities of the + Institute. + + Apart from all that, a deep scission took place between the members, + though they were so few, of the Institute itself, and this had fatal + consequences. + + The men who were in charge of the practical work ceased to work + in concert; I could not take their place, being overwhelmed with + scientific researches, besides which, holding no medical degree, I + was not qualified to perform vaccinations on human beings. + + Under those conditions, I understood that in my quality as a + theoretician, I should do well to retire, leaving the laboratory to + practitioners who, bearing full responsibility, would fill the part + better. + +During his stay at the Odessa Bacteriological Institute, Metchnikoff +had busied himself with infectious diseases in order to answer the +first objections to his theory. He began by the microbes of erysipelas +and showed that the phenomena of the disease, as well as those of +recovery, were in full accord with the postulates of the phagocyte +theory. + +And then he studied relapsing fever in order to answer Baumgarten's +objections, affirming that there was no phagocytic reaction in that +disease, though it almost invariably ended in recovery. Experiments +on man not being possible, Metchnikoff procured some monkeys, which +he inoculated with relapsing fever, and ascertained that Baumgarten's +error was due to the fact that he had only looked for phagocytosis in +the patient's blood, whilst it really took place in the spleen. + +These researches on erysipelas and relapsing fever were published in +Virchow's _Archives_ in 1887. Besides this scientific work, he was also +giving lectures on bacteriology to some physicians, and was in full +productive activity when external opposition and the discord among his +collaborators in the Institute itself forced upon him the conviction +that he could remain there no longer. + +At that very moment the Prince of Oldenburg, having founded a +Bacteriological Institute at Petersburg, invited Metchnikoff to take +charge of it. He had to refuse, fearing the Northern climate for my +health, and knowing from experience that it was impossible for a layman +to manage an Institute with a medical staff. Yet he could not do +without a laboratory. Seeing no possibility of having one in Russia, he +decided to look abroad for a refuge and a laboratory. + +"Having learnt from experience at Odessa," he wrote, "how difficult was +the struggle against an opposition coming from all sides and devoid +of reasonable causes, I preferred to go abroad to look for a peaceful +shelter for my scientific researches." + +We were no longer held back by family considerations; our links with +Russia had gradually loosened. He had resigned from the University, +discord reigned at the Odessa Bacteriological Institute, conditions +of life in Russia were very unfavourable to scientific activity; in +a word, "obstacles from above, from below, and from all sides,"--as +Metchnikoff expressed it,--gradually led to his resolution to leave his +native country. + + + + + CHAPTER XXI + + Hygiene Congress in Vienna--Wiesbaden--Munich--Paris and + Pasteur--Berlin and Koch--Failure of anthrax vaccination + of sheep--Decision to leave Russia. + + +In 1887 we went to Vienna, where a Congress of Hygienists was held, +in which, for the first time, bacteriologists took part. Metchnikoff +thus had the opportunity of becoming acquainted with many of them and +to make inquiries concerning bacteriological laboratories. Professor +Hueppe, of Wiesbaden, very kindly invited him to come to work in his +own. The idea pleased Metchnikoff, who thought that a peaceful little +University town would be very favourable to his work. But he found +that his situation would be very difficult at Wiesbaden on account of +the lack of harmony between the different laboratories in the town; he +therefore gave up the project which had seemed to him so tempting. + +By this time many objections had been raised against the phagocyte +theory, and, Emmerich having attacked him very violently, Metchnikoff +went to Munich to have an explanation with him. This gave him the +opportunity of realising that Munich, like Wiesbaden, was not a place +where he would care to settle. + +He had a great desire to know Pasteur and his collaborators, who had +just been playing such an important scientific part, and, finding +ourselves within easy reach of Paris, we repaired thither, without +the slightest idea of settling there. This is how Metchnikoff himself +described his first interview with Pasteur: + + On arriving at the laboratory destined for the antirabic + vaccinations, I saw an old man, rather undersized, with a left + hemiplegia, very piercing grey eyes, a short beard and moustache and + slightly grey hair, covered by a black skull-cap. His pale and sickly + complexion and tired look betokened a man who was not likely to live + many more years. He received me very kindly, and immediately spoke + to me of the question which interested me most, the struggle of the + organism against microbes. + + "I at once placed myself on your side," he told me, "for I have + for many years been struck by the struggle between the divers + micro-organisms which I have had occasion to observe. I believe you + are on the right road." + +Pasteur at that time was chiefly occupied with antirabic vaccinations +and with the building of a new Institute in the rue Dutot. Seeing the +vast dimensions of the edifice and learning that the scientific staff +was not large, Metchnikoff asked Pasteur if he might hope to work in +one of the laboratories in an honorary capacity. Pasteur not only +acceded to this request but offered him a whole laboratory. He was +most kind, invited us to his home and introduced Metchnikoff to his +collaborators, who produced an excellent impression on my husband. + +Though all this made him incline more and more towards the Pasteur +Institute, he still dreaded life in a large and noisy city, thinking +that a peaceful little University town would be more favourable to his +work. Therefore, before making a final decision, he desired to visit a +few more bacteriological laboratories. + +On our way back we passed through Berlin, where Metchnikoff wished +to see Professor Koch and to show him some interesting specimens of +phagocytosis. The great _savant_ received him very coldly. For a long +time, while examining specimens of the spleen in relapsing fever, he +refused to recognise in them an example of phagocytosis. Though he +was at last obliged to bow to evidence, he yet remained unfavourable +to the phagocyte theory, and all his assistants followed his example. +Metchnikoff was much surprised and grieved by this hostility towards +his ideas, notwithstanding that they were based on well-established +facts. We hastened to leave Berlin. + +Many years later, when phagocytosis was generally admitted, even in +Germany, Professor Koch and many other German scientists welcomed +Metchnikoff very kindly, which somewhat counterbalanced the +unpleasantness of early memories. But, at that time, the contrast +between our impression of Paris and of Germany was so great that all +hesitation was at an end: the choice was made. + +On returning to Odessa, Metchnikoff began to prepare his resignation +and his departure. Yet he still had time to make some researches on +phagocytosis in tuberculosis, in reply to the objections which rained +upon his theory. + +In the spring, he handed over the direction of the Institute to Dr. +Gamaléia and took leave; we went to the country for a while before +our final departure. During that time, Drs. Gamaléia and Bardach were +making anthrax vaccinations on a large scale in a vast private property +in the province of Kherson. When we were settled in our country +home, Metchnikoff received a telegram announcing that the first +anthrax vaccine had killed many thousand sheep. Though, as a matter +of fact, his personal responsibility was not involved, the blow was a +terrible one; he hastened back to Odessa to elucidate the cause of the +catastrophe. But it remained obscure.... + +This painful episode was the last drop which made the cup brim over; it +strengthened Metchnikoff in his resolve to leave Russia. + + + + + CHAPTER XXII + + The Pasteur Institute--Dreams realised--Metchnikoff at fifty-- + Growing optimism--Attenuated sensitiveness--The Sèvres villa-- + Daily routine. + + +Having decided to settle in France, we hastened to make ourselves +acquainted with contemporary French literature, thinking to find in it +a reflection of the soul and manners of the nation. But the realistic +literature of the time, in spite of the great artistic worth of many of +the authors, gave us an erroneous idea of life in France, of which it +represented but one of many aspects. It was therefore with apprehension +that we asked ourselves if we should ever be able to adapt ourselves to +the new conditions, and whether our isolation would not be great. + +We arrived in Paris on the 15th of October 1888, and we lodged at a +small hotel in the Latin quarter, not far from the rue d'Ulm where the +old Pasteur Institute stood, the new one not being completed. There +was but little room in the laboratory, and Metchnikoff felt rather +uneasy, fearing that he was in the way. But the new Institute soon was +sufficiently advanced for him to settle there. + +He was given two rooms on the second floor; I served as his assistant; +he was perfectly happy at being at last able to give himself up in +peace to his work. Soon, young physicians came to work under his +direction. Their number having increased, he was given a whole floor in +which to instal them, two rooms on that floor being reserved for his +own use. He occupied these rooms until the end of his life. + +His dreams were at last realised. This is from a narration of the +causes which led to his departure from Russia, in his own words: + + Thus it was in Paris that I succeeded at last in practising pure + Science apart from all politics or any public function. That dream + could not have been realised in Russia because of obstacles from + above, from below, and from all sides. One might think that the hour + of science in Russia has not yet struck. I do not believe that. I + think, on the contrary, that scientific work is indispensable to + Russia, and I wish from my heart that future conditions may become + more favourable than in the time of which I have spoken in the above + lines. + +Soon he was able to appreciate the great French qualities: humanitarian +manners, tolerance, and gentleness, real freedom of thought, loyal and +courteous intercourse, all of which made life easy and agreeable. And +most precious of all were the true friendships which he contracted with +his colleagues and his pupils. Indeed the Institut Pasteur and France +became for him a second Motherland, and when in later years he was +invited to other countries with more liberal conditions, he habitually +replied that only for one place would he leave the Pasteur Institute, +"the neighbouring cemetery of Montparnasse." + +However, after his death, the Pasteur Institute which he had so loved +continued to give him hospitality and harboured his ashes.... + +Pasteur himself ever was most kind and helpful to Metchnikoff. During +the first years, when his health still allowed it, he used often to +come to the laboratory, questioning Metchnikoff on his researches with +much interest and always warmly encouraging him. He even attended +assiduously his course of lectures on inflammation. After his state +of health no longer allowed him to go out, Metchnikoff used to visit +him every day, and tried to cheer him by talking to him of current +researches. + +MM. Duclaux and Roux became his closest friends; they were at first +brought together by scientific interests and by questions concerning +the Institute; but, gradually, personal sympathy grew up between them, +binding them by that solid bond which is made up of daily occurrences, +inducing respect, confidence, and affection. Moreover, Metchnikoff felt +the deepest gratitude towards Pasteur and his collaborators, who had +given him the possibility of working in so favourable an atmosphere. + +From the very first, Pasteur sympathised with the phagocyte theory; +the other members of the Institute thought it too biological, almost +vitalistic. But when they had made themselves thoroughly cognisant with +it, they also adopted it. Thus, having found in the Pasteur Institute +not only favourable working conditions but also moral support, +Metchnikoff became deeply attached to it, and the interests of "the +House" became his. + +In 1915, on the occasion of Metchnikoff's seventieth anniversary, M. +Roux, in a Jubilee speech, gave of him and of his work the following +appreciation which describes, better than anything I could say, what +his part was in the Pasteur Institute: + + In Paris as in Petrograd, as in Odessa, you have become a leader of + thought, and you have kindled in this Institute a scientific focus + which has radiated afar. + + Your laboratory is more alive than any in the house; workers come + to it in crowds. There, the bacteriological events of the day are + discussed, interesting preparations examined, ideas sought for that + may help an experimenter to solve difficulties in which he has become + involved. It is to you that one comes to ask for a control experiment + on a newly observed fact, for a criticism of a discovery that does + not always survive the test. + + Moreover, as you read everything, every one comes to you for + information, for an account of a newly published memoir which there + is no time to read. It is much more convenient than to consult + the library and also much safer, for errors of translation and + interpretation are avoided. + + Your erudition is so vast and so accurate that it is made use of by + the whole house. How many times have I not availed myself of it? + One never fears to take advantage of it, for no scientific question + ever finds you indifferent. Your ardour warms the indolent and gives + confidence to the sceptical. + + You are an incomparable collaborator as I know, I who have had the + good fortune of being associated with your researches on several + occasions. Indeed, you did nearly all the work! + + More even than your science, your kindliness attracts; who amongst us + has not experienced it? I have had a touching proof of it when, many + times, you have nursed me as if I were your own child. You are so + happy in doing good that you even feel gratitude towards those whom + you serve. + + This is such an intimate gathering that I may be allowed to say quite + openly that it is so painful to you not to give that you prefer being + exploited rather than close your hand. + + The Pasteur Institute owes you much; you have brought to it the + prestige of your renown, and by your work and that of your pupils + you have greatly contributed to its glory. You have given a noble + example of disinterestedness by refusing any salary in those years + when the budget was balanced with difficulty and by preferring to the + glorious and lucrative situations that were offered to you the modest + life of this house. Still a Russian by nationality, you have become + French by your choice, and you contracted a Franco-Russian alliance + with the Pasteur Institute long before the diplomats thought of it. + +At the beginning the members of the Pasteur Institute were few, and +the association bore a quasi-family character, Pasteurians often being +compared with a monastic order, united by the worship of science. The +progressive growth of the Institute inevitably destroyed its character +of intimacy, but it remained a precious scientific focus, and this is +what Metchnikoff said of it in 1913, _à propos_ of the twenty-fifth +anniversary of its foundation: + + If we weigh the for and against of the Pasteur Institute, it is + indisputable that the first surpasses the second by a great deal. I + do not think another institution exists that is equally favourable + to work. Innumerable proofs have been adduced to attest this in the + twenty-five years that our House has existed. + +It was especially the development of pure scientific research in the +Institute which interested Metchnikoff; he continually considered means +of contributing towards it; he thought it necessary to attract active +scientific forces regardless of their origin, to institute generous +scientific "scholarships," and to stimulate by every means scientific +activity and spirit. + +As the rapid development of bacteriology necessitated having recourse +to chemistry, physics, and physiology, he considered it indispensable +to organise collective work in which specialists in these divers +branches should take part, thus collaborating to the solution of +the same problem. Later he was able to realise this project, up to a +certain point, in his own laboratory, when studying intestinal flora. + +He thought it would be useful to extend this method, as far as +possible, to researches such as that on tuberculosis and on cancer, +such researches being complicated and protracted and demanding +co-ordinate efforts and an organisation that should prevent the +repetition of individual first steps. A clinic attached to the +Pasteur Institute and adapted to scientific researches seemed to him +indispensable. + +He also considered that the experimental study of those human diseases +which can only be inoculated in anthropoid apes should be carried out +through the breeding of those animals in the colonies, for infantile +diseases demand very young apes as subjects for experiments, and they +cannot be brought to Europe in sufficient numbers without great loss. A +mission of workers might carry out experiments on the spot. + +He thought the popularisation of science a very useful thing and wished +the Pasteur Institute to participate in it by appropriate courses of +public lectures. He attached great importance to the penetration into +ordinary life of results acquired by science, for the struggle against +disease consists chiefly in prophylactic and hygienic measures which +can only be applied by a well-informed public. For that reason he was +always willing to be interviewed on scientific questions by journalists +and, indeed, by any one, however ignorant. In order to instruct the +public he often wrote popular articles on questions of hygiene and +medicine. + +Science in general never was a dead letter for him; his most abstract +conceptions were always narrowly bound to life; he saw one through the +other and considered that they should serve each other. + +Apart from scientific researches, he took part in the courses given at +the Pasteur Institute. He prepared his lectures with infinite care, +and, in spite of his long experience, he never could give them without +some nervousness, especially during the last years of his life. He used +even to write down the first sentences and to read them out in order +to give himself time to recover; but very soon his self-control would +return, and he would proceed with animation and lucidity; his lectures +were living and suggestive. + +I have mentioned above Roux's masterly appreciation of his influence at +the Pasteur Institute. The following was written to me, a year after +Metchnikoff's death, by one of his closest disciples and collaborators, +and describes in a vivid manner the deep feelings with which he +inspired his pupils: + + "You say that you love to think that he continues to live in + others. Could it have been otherwise? A character as powerful as + his is capable of influencing and illuminating the life, not of one + individual, but of a whole generation. I look upon it as the greatest + good fortune of my life that I was able to spend my best years in his + orbit and to impregnate my mind with his spirit, not his scientific + spirit, but that which he manifested in facing life and humanity. + + "This bond has become so much part of myself that my first impulse + is always to act in the way he would have approved. I even feel the + need to share with others what I received from him. I do not know + whether it will be given to me to solve certain problems posed by + him, but I have the conviction that his spirit, in its purity, will + be preserved among us. He will ever live in those who worked by his + side, and in those who will come to work in his laboratory. It cannot + be otherwise." + +Metchnikoff on his part never remained indifferent to his pupils. His +solicitude towards them was warm, sometimes paternal, always ready and +active. Many of his pupils remained his friends and collaborators for +years afterwards. His fiery and exclusive temperament, however, made +him take up a very different attitude in exceptional cases, when he +found himself in front of one who persisted in a path which Metchnikoff +himself considered the wrong path, or before an action which he thought +disloyal or work done without conscience. Then he became beside +himself, and positively dangerous to those who had exposed themselves +to the paroxysm of his indignation. + +Fortunately such cases were rare; as a general rule, the atmosphere of +his laboratory was impregnated with scientific spirit and ardour; all +forces in it converged towards the same goal, being bound together by a +community of aspirations and activity of which he was the soul. + + * * * * * + +The first period of his life in France was taken up by the +strengthening and development of the phagocyte theory and by an eager +struggle in its defence. He displayed in it his full energy as a +scientist and a fighter, and this was perhaps the most agitated, the +most tense period of his life. + +When at last his theory was securely established and began to be +accepted, he continued his researches with the same passionate ardour +but in an atmosphere of peace. It was joy and bliss to him to be able +to work apart from other preoccupations, and the years of his life +between fifty and sixty were the happiest he ever had. + +The state of his soul and his ideas had considerably evolved in the +course of years; the great moral and physical sensitiveness which had +so often made him miserable in his youth had decreased and he had +become much less impulsive. Unpleasant sensations no longer caused him +so much suffering; he could bear the mewing of a cat or the barking of +a dog; personal vexations no longer made him take such a horror of life +as to wish to be rid of it: he now merely tried to conquer them. + +At first this change operated less upon his ideas than upon his +sensations and sentiments. Accustomed as he was to analyse his +emotions, he realised the development within himself of a new sense of +appreciation; less sensitive now to extreme impressions, he had become +more so to ordinary ones. For instance, though less enchanted by music, +and less irritated by discordant noises, he enjoyed absolute calm more +fully. Now indifferent to rich food, which he formerly used to enjoy, +he appreciated simple fare, bread and pure water. He did not seek for +picturesque sites but took infinite pleasure in watching the growth of +grass or the bursting of a bud. The first halting steps or the smile of +an infant charmed and delighted him. + +Demanding less from life, he now appreciated it as it was, and +experienced the joy of mere living. The instinct, the sense of life +had been born in him. He now saw Life and Nature under a different +aspect from that which they had borne for him in his youth, for he had +gradually acquired more balance; he had become adapted. + +In their turn, his ideas evolved towards a more optimistic conception +of life. His reflections, freed from the yoke of his juvenile +sensitiveness, tended towards the possibility of a correction of the +disharmonies of human nature through knowledge and will. This evolution +had taken years. "In order to understand the meaning of life," he said, +"it is necessary to live a long time, without which one finds oneself +in the position of a congenitally blind man before whom the beauties of +colour are spread out." + + * * * * * + +During the twenty-eight years that he lived in France, nearly all his +time was devoted to the laboratory. Whilst the Institute was still in +its beginning, work there was calm and collected; but, as its growing +renown attracted many people, this quietude decreased considerably. +Metchnikoff felt this, but could not bring himself to refuse to admit +those who came; he compensated himself by peaceful Sundays and holidays. + +For a long time we inhabited the neighbourhood of the Institute and +spent the summers at Sèvres; in 1898 we bought a small villa there with +a sum of money which we inherited from an aunt. In 1905 we settled +there altogether, for Metchnikoff, confined in the laboratory all day, +felt the need of fresh air; the daily walk that he was obliged to take +to reach the house and the absolute calm, away from the noise of the +city, suited him; he even fancied that the hill on which the house was +built provided him with a wholesome exercise for his heart. + +The return to Sèvres, which he greatly liked, was to him a daily source +of pleasure. I can see him now, hastily coming out of the train, his +pockets full of papers and brochures which he read in the train and +parcels in his hands, for he loved to bring home little presents. A +kindly smile illumined his face and he never failed to express the +pleasure he felt at coming home. "How pure the air is! How green the +grass! What peace! You see, if I did not go to Paris to work I should +not be so alive to the charm of Sèvres and the pleasure of rest." He +used to come home at seven and do no more work; it was his daily rest. +He then gave himself up to complete relaxation, joked, related the +incidents of the day, spoke of his researches, planned experiments +for the next day, read aloud part of the evening and then listened to +music, not only because he liked it, but also because he wanted to +"switch on to another line," _i.e._ rest his mind completely. + +He was an incomparable companion, always alive and communicative, +generously giving out the treasures of his heart and his intelligence. +He liked a simple life; all artifice, all convention displeased him. He +disliked luxury in his person to that extent that he never consented +to possess a gold watch nor any object with no particular use. His +only luxury was to gratify others. He enjoyed peaceful family life and +a circle of intimate friends. Yet, appreciating as he did all serious +manifestations of life, he was glad to have the opportunity of meeting +people who were interesting either in themselves or for the knowledge +which they could impart. + +In Life as in Science he found precepts to help the evolution of his +moral and philosophical ideas, which he placed in their turn at Life's +service. If he could not solve a problem, he at least pointed out its +importance. + +His attentive penetration of things in themselves, coupled with a +creative imagination, was the force which enabled him to open out new +prospects and new paths. + +On looking back upon his own life, he used to say that the period spent +at the Pasteur Institute had been the happiest, the most favourable to +his scientific work; he therefore remained deeply attached to it until +the end of his life. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIII + + Opposition to the phagocyte theory--Scientific controversies + --Experiments in support of the phagocyte theory--Behring and + antitoxins--The London Congress--Inflammation. + + +As long as Metchnikoff was but a zoologist, the scientific atmosphere +around him remained calm and serene. But everything changed suddenly +when he entered the domain of pathology with his theory of phagocytes +and phagocytosis. + +Here was the realm of secular traditions, deeply rooted, and of +theories generally admitted but resting on no biological basis. Attacks +and objections against his theories came following upon each other +with a rush, only to be compared with the racing clouds of a stormy +sky or the hurrying waves of a tempestuous sea. An epic struggle began +for Metchnikoff which was to last for twenty-five years, until the +moment when the phagocyte theory, his child now grown up, emerged +victoriously. To each attack, to each objection, he answered by fresh +experiments, fresh observations annihilating objections; his theory +was assuming a wider and wider scope, becoming more solid, more +convincing.... But only his intimates knew how much the struggle cost +him in vital force, what sleepless nights, due to continuous cerebral +tension and to the effort to conceive some new and irrefragable +experiment, what alternations of hope and depression.... In an ardent, +stormy life such as this, each year counted for many. + +As soon as he arrived at the Pasteur Institute he undertook active +researches with the object of developing and defending the phagocyte +theory. + +By experiments on the _rouget_ of pigs he refuted the objections of +Emmerich, who affirmed that, in that disease, the destruction of the +microbes was not due to phagocytes. By experiments on the anthrax +of pigeons he answered the attacks of Baumgarten and his pupils. To +Behring, who affirmed that immunity was due to the bactericidal power +of the serum, he replied by a series of experiments on the anthrax of +rats. + +By all these researches Metchnikoff proved that recovery and immunity +depended on the absorption and digestion of _living, virulent_ microbes +by phagocytes. Natural or artificial vaccination by attenuated microbes +allows the phagocytes to become gradually accustomed to digest more +virulent ones, and this confers immunity upon the organism. That +phenomenon is comparable to that by which we can accustom ourselves +gradually to doses of poison which would be very harmful if taken at +the start (arsenic, opium, nicotine, etc.). + +Little by little, the accuracy of Metchnikoff's observations began to +be realised, and, moreover, other scientists supported him by their +personal investigations. The part played by phagocytosis was becoming +more and more evident and the question was ripening in France and in +England, but in Germany it still met with great opposition. + +At the Berlin Congress in 1890 the theory was received very favourably +by Lister, whilst Koch attacked it, trying to prove that phagocytes +played no part in immunity, which, according to him, depended upon the +chemical properties of the blood. + +Soon after that, Behring discovered antitoxins, and this seemed to +favour the chemical or humoral theory of immunity. According to the +latter, microbes and their poisons were rendered harmless by the +chemical properties of the blood serum, properties similar to those of +disinfecting substances. + +In spite of his firm conviction of the solidity of the phagocyte +theory, this discovery was a shock to Metchnikoff, for it was in +apparent contradiction with the cellular theory of immunity. He +hastened to undertake a series of researches; his overflowing eagerness +infected his whole circle, every one taking the warmest interest in the +progress of his experiments. + +This was just as preparations were being made to take part in the +London Congress, where the question of immunity was to be debated and +had indeed been placed at the head of the programme. Many papers were +being prepared, and a veritable tourney of opinions was to take place +at this Congress. + +Metchnikoff had already been to England once, in the spring of +1891, on the occasion of his reception as an Honorary Doctor by the +University of Cambridge. This gave him the opportunity of making closer +acquaintance with the English, who inspired him with great sympathy; +years only increased this feeling. He appreciated the originality of +their earnest and generalising spirit, their loyalty and energy; he was +grateful to them for the attentive and favourable attitude with which +his scientific work and himself had been received. + +He was therefore delighted that this Congress, which was to be the +scene of his final struggle against his contradictors, should take +place in England and not in Germany, a country hostile to his ideas. + +In view of the importance of the coming debate, a series of fresh +experiments was made. This time Metchnikoff undertook them not only in +person, but also in collaboration with M. Roux and with some students. +The whole laboratory was in a state of effervescence. + +The principal papers to be read at the Congress on the question of +immunity were those of Messrs. Roux and Büchner, the first entirely in +favour of the phagocyte theory and the second supporting the humoral +theory. + +Metchnikoff read an epitome of his researches and of his answers to +attacks on his theory. Towards the end of the Congress the latter had +visibly acquired the suffrage of numerous scientists. Roux wrote to me +from London concerning my husband's paper: + + Metchnikoff is busy showing his preparations and, besides, he would + not tell you how great is his triumph. He spoke with such passion + that he carried everybody with him. I believe that, this evening, the + phagocyte theory is the richer by many friends. + +Thus the researches made in recent years and the results of the London +Congress allowed us to consider the phagocyte theory of immunity as +being solidly established. + +Yet, Behring's discovery of antitoxins still hung over it like a +sword of Damocles; it was imperative that the respective parts played +by antitoxins and by phagocytes should be elucidated. With that +object in view, Metchnikoff undertook new researches and succeeded in +ascertaining once for all the narrow link between immunity and the +function of the phagocytes which probably elaborate the antitoxins as a +product of their digestion of vaccinal toxins. He drew this conclusion +from the fact that, in a rabbit vaccinated against hog-cholera, the +exudate devoid of phagocytes[20] is neither bactericidal, nor antitoxic, +nor attenuating, while it is so if it contains phagocytes. Therefore a +relation of causality exists between cells and the acquired properties +of humors. And the resistance of the animal is in visible correlation +with the degree of phagocytosis which is manifested by it. + + [20] Aqueous humor, the exudate of aseptic oedemata. + +These results having been established, it seemed as if the last rampart +of the humoral theory had been taken by storm. + +In the meanwhile the persistent and bitter opposition of physicians to +the phagocyte theory made a great impression on Metchnikoff, and, while +stimulating his energy in defence of his ideas, it maintained him in a +state of nervous excitement and even depressed him. + +He asked himself why this obstinate opposition to a doctrine based on +well-established facts, easily tested and observed throughout the whole +animal kingdom? To him, a naturalist, it seemed clear and simple and +all the more admissible that it was confirmed by the generality of its +application to all living beings. + +But, he thought, perhaps the real cause of the attitude of the +contradictors lies in the very fact that medical science only +concerns itself with the pathological phenomena of higher animals, +leaving their evolution entirely out of account, as well as their +starting-point in lower animals--whilst it is the very simplicity of +the latter which allows us to penetrate to the origin of the phenomena. + +Perhaps a general plan of the whole, in the shape of a comparative +study, embracing the whole animal scale, would throw light over the +generality of phagocytic phenomena and would make their continuity +understood through normal and pathological biology. He determined to +make this effort. In order to place in a fresh light the biological +evolution of phagocytosis phenomena _in disease_, he chose one of the +principal manifestations of pathological phagocytosis, _inflammation_, +and, in 1891, gave a series of lectures on this subject which he +afterwards published in a volume. According to his usual method, he +began by the most primitive beings, taking as a starting-point the +lower organisms which do not yet possess differentiated functions, and +whose normal digestion is, if necessary, used as a means of defence +against noxious agents. Then, by a comparative study in every grade +of the animal kingdom, he proved that the same mode of struggle and +defence persists in the mesodermic cells, the phagocytes in all +animals in general. In all of them, thanks to a special sensitiveness, +_Chimiotaxis_, phagocytes move towards the intruder, to englobe it and +digest it if they can. This reaction for defence by the organism takes +place in beings endowed with a vascular system by the migration of the +blood-phagocytes which traverse the walls of the blood-vessels in order +to betake themselves to the invaded point. + +In higher animals, all the symptoms which accompany this phenomenon of +defence and which constitute the classical picture of inflammation +(a heightened temperature, pain, redness, tumefaction) are due to the +complexity of the organism; but the _essence_, the _primum movens_ +of inflammation, with them also, is a _digestive_ action of the +phagocytes upon the noxious agent, therefore a salutary reaction of +the organism, essentially similar to the normal digestion of inferior +beings. Metchnikoff adduced numerous examples giving evidence of the +genetic link which exists between inflammation and normal intracellular +digestion, and while establishing the evolution of the former on +biological and experimental bases, he showed at the same time the close +connection which binds normal biology and pathological biology. + +This series of lectures formed a volume which appeared in 1892 under +the title of _Leçons sur la pathologie comparée de l'inflammation_, a +book which contributed to the acceptation of the phagocyte theory and +which showed the importance of Natural History applied to Medicine. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV + + Cholera--Experiments on himself and others--Illness of M. Jupille + --Death of an epileptic subject--Insufficient results. + + +The acute period of the struggle in defence of the phagocyte theory +now seemed to have come to an end and Metchnikoff turned his thoughts +towards a new field of ideas. + +Having elucidated the essence of inflammation, he wished to study the +origin of another pathological symptom, _i.e._ the rise in temperature +which constitutes a feverish condition. To that end he undertook a +succession of experiments on cold-blooded animals; he injected microbes +into crocodiles and serpents, hoping thus to provoke a rise in their +temperature. But those experiments did not give the results expected. + +In the meanwhile (1892) cholera had made its appearance in France; the +specificity of the cholera vibrio was not finally established at that +time. The observations made by Pettenkoffer on the immunity of certain +regions, despite the presence of the cholera vibrio in the water, and +the experiments made upon himself by that scientist, seemed to plead +against the specificity of the cholera vibrio; but other facts spoke in +its favour. Desirous of solving this question, Metchnikoff went to a +cholera centre in Brittany in order to fetch the necessary materials. +Having done so, he attempted to produce cholera in divers kinds of +animals, but without success. + +As he failed to solve the problem of the specificity of the cholera +vibrio on animals, he resolved to experiment upon himself and consumed +a culture of cholera vibriones. He did not contract cholera, which made +him doubt the specificity of the vibrio, and therefore he consented to +repeat the experiment on one of his workers (M. Latapie) who offered +to submit to it: the result was the same. He then did not hesitate to +accept the offer of a second volunteer (M. Jupille). The preceding +results having led him to suppose that the cholera vibrio became +attenuated _in vitro_ and might perhaps serve as a vaccine against +cholera, he gave a culture of long standing to the young volunteer. + +To his astonishment and despair, Jupille began to manifest the typical +symptoms of cholera, and a doctor who was particularly conversant +with the clinical chart of the disease declared the case a severe one +because of the nervous symptoms which accompanied it. + +Metchnikoff was in mortal anxiety, and even said to himself that he +could not survive a fatal issue. Fortunately the patient recovered, +and this terrifying experiment proved indisputably the specificity of +the cholera vibrio. Yet the irregularity of its action showed that in +certain cases conditions existed which prevented the inception of the +disease, and Metchnikoff supposed that this might be due to the action +of the different intestinal micro-organisms. + +In order to simplify the question, he began by making experiments +outside the organism. He sowed the cholera vibrio with divers other +microbes and saw that some of them facilitated its culture whilst +others prevented it. Similar experiments within the organism of animals +gave no conclusive results; the simultaneous ingestion of the cholera +vibrio and of favourable microbes did not induce cholera. + +The flora of the intestines, complex as it is, probably played a part +on which it was difficult to throw any light. Yet Metchnikoff did not +give up the idea of producing a vaccine against this disease with +attenuated microbes, or, if not, to prevent its inception by preventive +microbes. His thesis was strengthened when one of his pupils, Dr. +Sanarelli, discovered a series of choleriform bacilli in the absence of +any cholera epidemic, one of those microbes being found at Versailles, +a town which had remained immune during every cholera epidemic. + +Metchnikoff thought that this microbe, or some choleriform bacillus, +similar though not specific, probably served as a natural vaccine +against cholera in those localities which were spared by the epidemic +though the cholera vibrio was brought there. This was a question that +could only be solved by experiment. + +At the time when he had himself absorbed a cholera culture, Metchnikoff +admitted the risk of catching the disease; still, his eagerness to +solve the problem had silenced in him all other considerations and +feelings opposed to his irresistible desire to attempt the experiment. +This "psychosis," as he himself called it later, recurred now, in spite +of all the emotions he had gone through on the previous occasion, and +he decided once again to experiment on man. It is true that he now +only had to deal with choleriform microbes from Versailles which he +believed to be quite harmless as they came from the water of a locality +free from cholera. He therefore ingested some of the Versailles +choleriform vibriones and gave some to several other people. Contrary +to expectation, one of the latter, an incurable epileptic, showed some +symptoms of cholera, but recovered. But as, a short time later, this +patient died from a cause which remained obscure, Metchnikoff thought +that possibly the experiment might have had something to do with it, +and finally resolved to perform no other experiments on human beings. + +How could that unforeseen result be explained? Metchnikoff supposed +that the intestine of the subject contained favourable microbes +which had exalted the virulence of the bacillus, in itself weak +and innocuous. If it were so, then certain intestinal microbes +would influence the inception of diseases and the action of the +micro-organisms would vary according to the society in which they found +themselves. As such problems could only be solved through experiment, +he again energetically sought for a means of conferring cholera upon +animals. After many failures and difficulties, it occurred to him to +try new-born animals whose intestinal flora, not yet developed, could +not interfere with the swarming of the ingested bacilli. He chose young +suckling rabbits for his experiments and, with the aid of _favourable_ +microbes, he succeeded at last in giving them characteristic cholera, +through ingestion; thus it became possible to study intestinal cholera +on these animals. + +However, numerous researches on the prevention of cholera by means +of divers microbes gave no results sufficiently conclusive to permit +their application to human beings. The problem was rendered extremely +complicated and difficult by the many and varied influences of numerous +intestinal microbes and the inconstancy of microbian species in the +same individual. + + + + + CHAPTER XXV + + Pfeiffer's experiments, 1895--The Buda-Pest Congress--Extracellular + destruction of microbes--Reaction of the organism against toxins-- + Dr. Besredka's researches--Macrophages--The Moscow Congress, 1897-- + Bordet's experiments. + + +Metchnikoff had scarcely recovered from all the emotions caused by his +experiments on cholera, which he was still studying, when, in 1894, a +work appeared by a well-known German scientist, Pfeiffer, bringing out +new facts in favour of the extracellular destruction of microbes. + +Whilst studying the influence of the blood serum within the organism +and not outside it as his predecessors had done, he had found that +cholera vibriones, injected into the peritoneum of a guinea-pig +vaccinated against cholera, were nearly all killed in a few minutes +and that they then presented the form of motionless granules in +the peritoneal liquid. This granular degenescence, said Pfeiffer, +took place apart from the phagocytes and therefore without their +intervention. Metchnikoff repeated the experiment at once and +ascertained that it was perfectly accurate. + +The complexity of biological phenomena being very great, he fully +admitted the possibility of other means of defence in the organism +besides that of the phagocytic reaction. However, this new fact +disagreed so much with his own observation, and seemed so isolated, +that Metchnikoff supposed an error of interpretation must have been +made and tried to throw light upon it. He spent sleepless nights +seeking the conclusive experiment which might explain Pfeiffer's +phenomenon. + +His excitement was all the greater that he was very soon going to the +International Congress at Buda-Pest, where he intended to expose the +results of his new researches, and he feared that he should not have +time to make all the experiments which he required in support of his +arguments. However, the general impression of the Congress was clearly +favourable to the phagocyte theory. This is how M. Roux picturesquely +described the scene at Metchnikoff's Jubilee in 1915: + + "I can see you now at the Buda-Pest Congress in 1894, disputing + with your antagonists; with your fiery face, sparkling eyes, and + dishevelled hair, you looked like the Dæmon of Science, but your + words, your irresistible arguments raised the applause of your + audience. + + "The new facts, which had at first sight seemed to contradict the + phagocyte theory, now entered into harmony with it. It was found to + be sufficiently comprehensive to reconcile the holders of the humoral + theory with the partisans of the cellular theory." + +This is how Metchnikoff had reconciled the apparent disagreement of +Pfeiffer's phenomenon with the phagocyte doctrine: he demonstrated, +by a series of experiments, that the extracellular destruction of +the cholera vibriones in the peritoneum of a guinea-pig vaccinated +against cholera, did in no wise depend on the _chemical_ properties +of the blood serum, but was simply due to the digestive juices which +had escaped from the inside of the leucocytes, damaged by the +intraperitoneal injection. Those digestive juices, or _cytases_, poured +into the peritoneal liquid were what killed the injected cholera +vibriones and transformed them into "Pfeiffer's granulations." On the +other hand, if by means of various precautions the phagocytes were left +unmolested, the extracellular destruction did not take place and the +vibriones were digested within the phagocytes. + +Metchnikoff used other experiments to prove that the bactericidal +property of blood juices did not exist without intervention from the +phagocytes. For instance, in a guinea-pig vaccinated against cholera, +the bacilli are not destroyed if they are injected into parts of the +organism that are devoid of pre-existing phagocytes, such as in the +subcutaneous tissue, in the anterior chamber of the eye or in an +aseptically-obtained oedema. On the other hand, if, in the same +medium, some exudate is injected containing damaged leucocytes from +which the digestive juice is leaking, the vibriones introduced are +destroyed. The same results are obtained _in vitro_. + +All these experiments proved that the extracellular destruction of +the cholera vibrio was accomplished by the digestive juices which had +passed from the phagocytes into the humors and not at all through a +special property of those humors. Once again the phagocyte theory rose +triumphant from the test. + +After having finally proved that it is by means of its phagocytes that +the organism fights _microbes_, Metchnikoff wished to find out whether +it was by the same process that it struggled with their poisons, or +_toxins_. This problem, far more difficult to solve, took him many +years' study. Whilst every phase of the phagocytes' struggle against +microbes can be followed with the eyes, it is impossible to do so +where poisons are concerned, since they are invisible; it is necessary +to proceed by a different road. + +Faithful to his method of taking as a starting-point the simplest +expression of the phenomenon to be studied, Metchnikoff began by +lower beings. Unicellular organisms, such as myxomycetes, amoebæ, +and infusoria, sometimes manifest a natural immunity to certain +poisons. It is also possible to endow them with artificial immunity +by accustoming them gradually to substances which, ingested straight +away, would infallibly have killed them. Such phenomena, seen in +unicellular beings, could only be ascribed to the reaction of the cell +itself. Therefore Metchnikoff supposed _a priori_ that the phagocytes, +being similar primitive cells of multicellular beings, would also +react against poisons. And, in fact, he ascertained that the number +of phagocytes in a rabbit's blood diminished considerably under the +influence of a fatal dose of arsenic, whilst it increased under the +influence of small doses of the poison, to which it was possible to +accustom the animal. + +Dr. Besredka, a disciple of Metchnikoff, made some very interesting +researches, which entirely confirmed the share of the phagocytes in the +reaction against sulphides of arsenic. He had chosen the trisulphide, +a very slightly soluble salt of an orange colour, in order to find it +again easily within the organism. After having injected non-fatal doses +of it into the peritoneal cavity, he obtained an exudate in which all +the orange granules of the salt were to be found included within those +leucocytes which have a large, non-lobed nucleus--the _macrophages_. +These cells gradually digested the salt they had englobed, which ended +by disappearing entirely within them, and the rabbit remained safe and +sound. On the other hand, it died if the same doses of the same salt +had been protected from the leucocytes by an elderberry bag, or when +the leucocytes had been attracted elsewhere by a previous injection of +carmine for instance. Those experiments removed all doubts as to the +share of the phagocytes in the destruction of mineral poisons. + +Certain experiments on _microbian_ poisons spoke in the same sense. +Thus MM. Roux and Borrel had observed that the diphtheritic toxin, +which is inoffensive to rats even in large doses, kills that animal +if a small quantity of it is introduced into the brain, the probable +explanation being that, in cases of subcutaneous injections, the +poison, "phagocyted" on the way, was destroyed before it reached the +nerve cells. + +Thus experiments seemed to plead in favour of the view that the part +played by phagocytosis is not limited to the struggle against microbes, +but also extends to the defence against poisons and toxins. + + * * * * * + +After having studied the mode of destruction of these, Metchnikoff +wished to elucidate the origin of the counter-poisons, the specific +antitoxins discovered by Behring in the humors of immunised organisms, +a question of which the study was even more difficult. + +Metchnikoff began by asking himself whether the microbes themselves +did not produce antitoxins in order to defend themselves against enemy +micro-organisms. He made many experiments but only obtained negative +results, and concluded that the antitoxins must be manufactured by the +organism itself. + +The origin of this property must be more recent than that of the +phagocytic reaction, for it does not exist in plants or in inferior +animals. It was only from superior cold-blooded vertebrates, such as +the crocodile--and that only in artificial conditions--and upwards, +that Metchnikoff succeeded in finding a specific antitoxic power in the +humors. + +He ascertained that the vaccination of animals by toxins conferred, +after a time, antitoxic powers to the blood and humors _which contained +leucocytes_. He concluded therefrom that the presence of antitoxins +depended on that of the phagocytes. Experiments on divers higher +animals having proved that, in them also, antitoxins were localised +in _humors containing phagocytes_, Metchnikoff concluded that the +antitoxins were manufactured by the cells themselves. As toxins are +absorbed and digested chiefly by _macrophages_, it is probable that +it is the latter also which manufacture specific antitoxins, or the +final product of the digestion of corresponding toxins. Metchnikoff +could only propound this idea as an hypothesis, for the complexity and +difficulty of a material demonstration did not yet allow of a definite +solution of the problem. However, certain observations on toxins and +antitoxins pleaded in favour of this thesis. + +For instance, working in collaboration with MM. Roux and Salimbeni, he +had found that it is by soluble poisons that the cholera vibrions harm +the organism or kill it, but that small doses of the same _poisons_ +are vaccines and make the blood of the vaccinated animal _antitoxic_. +On the other hand, a _microbian_ vaccination is preventive against +_microbes_ only but not against toxins and the blood does not become +antitoxic. This is explained by the fact that it is not the same cells +which digest cholera microbes and cholera toxins: the _microphages_ +digest the vibriones whilst the _macrophages_ digest the poisons and, +probably, manufacture as products of this digestion, the corresponding +antibody, the cholera antitoxins. + +On the contrary, in cases of the inclusion of _microbes_ by +_macrophages_, as, for instance, in plague, the blood acquires an +_antitoxic_ power by injection of the microbes themselves and not by +their toxins, as was demonstrated by M. Roux and his collaborators. The +same fact was observed by Metchnikoff on the alligator, in whom also +microbes are digested by _macrophages_. In those cases, when microbes +and toxins are digested by the same cells, the latter manufacture +antibodies against both. + +These facts rendered legitimate the supposition of the macrophagic +origin of antitoxins. + + * * * * * + +In 1897 an International Congress took place in Moscow. Metchnikoff +read a paper on the phagocytic reaction against toxins and another +dealing with the whole of the knowledge acquired concerning human +plague. He ended this by a plea in favour of Science, so often accused +of having contributed nothing to the solution of the most important +human problems, particularly ethical ones, and of having, on the +contrary, sanctioned the law of Might by tabulating the laws of the +struggle for existence. Metchnikoff objected that, far from doing +so, Science, by revealing the laws of Nature, applied to humanity +the benefits derived from them, whilst striving to counterbalance +their cruel or harmful effects. The struggle against plague and other +diseases was a concrete example of this, for here medical science +opposed itself to the cruelty of "natural selection." He wound up +his speech by the following words, "Just as, in order to satisfy his +æsthetic tastes, Man revolts against the laws of Nature which creates +races of sterile and fragile flowers, he does not hesitate to defend +the weak against the laws of natural selection. Science has been +faithful to her mission and to her generous traditions. Let her, then, +progress unhindered." + +Metchnikoff's friend and companion, M. Nocard, wrote to me concerning +Metchnikoff's paper: + + Do not believe a word that Metchnikoff tells you. He had tremendous + success. The somewhat free form of his paper contributed to its + success, as it only made his conviction and enthusiasm more apparent. + Thus the Sibyl on her tripod. + +Metchnikoff had at this period a very talented disciple, M. I. Bordet, +who opened a new path by a series of researches of the greatest +importance. He found, among other things, that "the figured elements" +can be destroyed outside the cells, in the humors. Thus, if red blood +corpuscles from one animal are injected into an animal of a different +kind, these globules are destroyed, not within the phagocytes, +but outside them, in the ambient humors. Metchnikoff studied this +phenomenon and proved that the explanation was the same that he had +previously given of Pfeiffer's phenomenon in the case of cholera +vibrions. In Bordet's experiments, the leucocytes which were already +existing in the humors were also damaged by the experimental shock; +but, if this was carefully avoided, the phagocytes, remaining intact, +englobed and digested the injected red corpuscles and no phenomenon +similar to Pfeiffer's took place. + +These observations led Metchnikoff to a thorough study of the +destruction of cellular elements by the phagocytes. He had already +observed that, whilst the struggle with microbes is chiefly undertaken +by small leucocytes with a lobed nucleus--the _microphages_--it is +the great leucocytes with a single large nucleus--the so-called +_macrophages_--which undertake the destruction of cells, "figured" +elements, as well as that of toxins. The _macrophages_ are to be +found not only in the blood but also in different organs such as the +liver, spleen, kidneys, etc.; they seize upon living cells by means +of mobile protoplasmic prolongations with which they draw them in and +end by ingesting them completely. Not only do they thus absorb foreign +cellular elements such as red corpuscles, spermatozoa, etc., but also +all the weakened cells of the organism itself. + +This weakening may be due to normal phenomena such as the metamorphosis +of insects or tadpoles, when certain organs, as they weaken, +become useless or inactive. But, oftener, this weakening is due to +pathological causes, as in morbid atrophies or poisoning by microbian +toxins. In any case, the enfeeblement of cells exposes them to be +devoured by macrophages, which brings about the atrophy of the cells or +even of the organs which contain them. + +These observations suggested to Metchnikoff the idea that senile +atrophy might be due to the same mechanism, and his thoughts turned +towards the problem of the causes of old age. + +But, before undertaking researches in a new direction, he wished to +conclude those he had been pursuing for twenty years on the phenomenon +of phagocytosis. He therefore started to complete his investigations on +immunity in order to epitomise them and to give a definite form to his +doctrine on that subject. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVI + + 1900. Immunity--Natural Immunity--Artificial Immunity. + + +For centuries the question of immunity has occupied the human mind +because the prevention of disease has ever been one of the greatest +preoccupations of Man. Savages had already observed that man can become +refractory to the venom of serpents, either through a slight bite or +by the application of certain preparations of that venom on scarified +skin. It was also a popular and very ancient notion that the contact +of a slightly scratched hand with the pustules of cow-pox conferred +immunity against human small-pox. It was on this observation that +Jenner founded his method of antivariolic vaccination. The latter, in +its turn, suggested to Pasteur the idea of attempting antimicrobian +vaccinations. Having ascertained that old cultures of chicken cholera, +previously very virulent, had become harmless, he wondered whether +they had become a vaccine and proved by experiment that they had. That +led him to the principle of the attenuation of viruses and to that of +vaccination by attenuated microbes. Thus the problem of the mechanism +of immunity was stated. + +The first theories propounded on the subject concerned the humors. +Pasteur supposed that immunity was due to the absorption, by the +vaccinating microbes, of certain nutritive substances in the humors, +which, not being renewed for some time, were missed by the microbes +afterwards introduced into the organism, which therefore could not +develop completely. Chauveau, on the other hand, thought that, in cases +of immunity, the humors contained substances which were unfavourable +to microbes. Those theories explained particular facts, but were not +applicable to the generality of cases. + +Other theories,[21] whilst attributing an active part to the organism +itself, failed to account for the mechanism of immunity in general. +This was due to the fact that knowledge at that time lacked the two +essential elements, _i.e._ the modifications suffered by the organism +which was becoming immunised, and the fate of the microbes in the +refractory organism. + + [21] Naegeli, Büchner, Gravitz. + +The disappearance of the microbes in the cured or refractory animal +had indeed been observed;[22] the inflammatory reaction of the organism +in the course of immunisation had been noted;[23] microbes had long +ago been observed inside the white globules of pus;[24] but, either an +erroneous interpretation was given to the facts observed, or, rather, +the links of causality between those factors failed to be established +because they were observed solely in the complicated organism of +superior beings. Humoral theories, less easy to test, preserved an +appearance of generality and were easily admitted. + + [22] Chauveau. + + [23] Büchner. + + [24] Hayem, Birsch, Hirschfeld, Kleps, Recklinghausen, Waldeyer, + and Virchow. + +Such was the state of the question when Metchnikoff approached it +from a naturalist's point of view. He knew the life of unicellular +beings and that of the lower multicellular organisms in their +complete simplicity; he knew their mode of defence by ingestion and +intracellular digestion. Having become familiar with these phenomena, +visible in the single cell, he was better able to see his way in +the complicated _milieu_ of higher beings. He was therefore able +to discover the connection between the divers factors which other +scientists had observed singly. He was able to prove that it is the +combination of these factors, _i.e._ inflammation, the ingestion of +living and virulent microbes, and their disappearance by means of +intracellular digestion which makes immunity possible. He demonstrated +that "there is but one permanent element in natural or acquired +immunity, and that is phagocytosis." + +The extension and importance of this factor, applicable to the whole +animal kingdom, proved the truth and general scope of the phagocyte +doctrine of immunity. + +In 1900, Metchnikoff presented to the International Congress in Paris +a complete tabulation of his researches and fought his contradictors +for the last time, after which, convinced that his deductions were +solid, he began to write a work on _Immunity in Infectious Diseases_. +In it he epitomised, as in a great harmonious chord, the results of +his researches, reaching over a period of nearly twenty years; he +affirmed and gave final expression to his doctrine of immunity, based +on the comparative study of the mechanism of that phenomenon and of +its evolution along the whole scale of living beings; he related his +controversies, analysed the objections to his doctrine, expounded the +theories of other scientists concerning immunity, and gave a general +view of the present state of the question. This book is a living +picture of a long and important part of Metchnikoff's scientific +achievements. + + * * * * * + +The question of immunity is of such great importance, the mechanism +of this phenomenon and the physiology of intracellular digestion are +so complicated, that I have thought it useful to epitomise here the +exposition given of it by Metchnikoff in his book. Readers who do not +care to go further into the subject can pass over the next few pages +without hindering their comprehension of the following chapters. + +Diseases affect all living beings, and the greater number of plants and +animals would cease to exist without innate or acquired immunity. + +Unicellular beings are generally immune against infectious diseases, +which are rarely observed in them. Their body being almost entirely +made up of digestive protoplasm, the microbes which they absorb are +directly introduced into a noxious medium and are destroyed therein +like any other food. If the microbes are indigestible, they are +immediately rejected; hence, in the majority of cases, they cannot +become harmful. + +This resistance of unicellular beings to many microbes and microbian +toxins is due not only to the intense digestive power of the cell but +also to the extreme sensitiveness which rules over the choice of food. +Owing to this protoplasmic sensitiveness (_chimiotaxis_) protozoa are +attracted towards certain microbes or substances (positive chimiotaxis) +and repelled by others (negative chimiotaxis). Thus, many ciliate +infusoria choose bacteria only for their food; they are sharply +repelled by dead infusoria, etc. + +Therefore, in the _natural_ immunity of unicellular beings, two +fundamental elements may already be observed: sensitiveness and +intracellular digestion. No researches have yet been made on the +possibility of conferring on protozoa an artificial immunity against +certain pathogenic microbes and their poisons. But unicellular beings, +insensible to microbian poisons, are the reverse to many chemical +substances which, in their normal life, they have no opportunity of +ingesting. + +It has been proved by experiment that, against many of those chemical +substances, an artificial immunity may be given to the protozoa by +accustoming them gradually. Very diluted solutions are added at first +to the medium in which they live and, by gradually concentrating +those solutions, an artificial immunity is conferred; the negative +chimiotaxis becomes positive, allowing the protozoa to absorb and +digest the poison, now become a food. + +_Habit_ is therefore the fundamental condition of artificial +immunity; it must be that also of immunity naturally acquired. Having +accidentally digested enfeebled microbes or having suffered an attack +of disease, the unicellular being becomes accustomed to a stronger +virus and becomes immune against it. The fact that so many unicellular +beings have become thus accustomed is therefore connected with their +sensitiveness and their digestion. Accordingly, sensitiveness, habit, +and digestion are the fundamental factors of the mechanism of immunity +in protozoa; this immunity thus indisputably belongs to the category of +purely _cellular_ phenomena. + +Having arrived at this conclusion, Metchnikoff thought that the same +mechanism of immunity must be found in other primitive and analogous +cells, such as the phagocytes of multicellular beings. This was +proved by a whole series of observations and by the fact that the +immunity of higher animals is connected with an intense phagocytosis. +In fact, as he ascended the scale of beings and studied their natural +and artificial immunity, he ascertained that, in all of them, the +essence of immunity, masked by the complexity of the organism, reduced +itself to the _phagocytes becoming accustomed_ to noxious agents. The +mechanism of immunity in protozoa could therefore really be compared +with that of immunity in multicellular beings. + +Becoming accustomed and becoming immune are phenomena of a general +order, for they can be manifested not only by animals, but also by +plants. They, too, have to defend themselves against numerous diseases. +Lower vegetables, such as myxomycetes (beings which stand on the limit +between the animal and vegetable kingdoms), have an amoeboid phase, +in which they are but a simple heap of formless protoplasm. During that +stage of their life, myxomycete behave towards noxious agents exactly +in the same way as unicellular beings and, like them, acquire immunity +by becoming gradually accustomed. + +In higher vegetables, the mechanism is different because of their +structure. The cells of nearly all plants are immobilised by rigid +membranes; therefore they cannot surround their prey, but protect +themselves by the production of tough membranes (cicatrisation) and +by the secretion of various juices. Certain of these juices (gums +and resins) become solid when exposed to the air and constitute a +sort of natural (dressing); others (essences) are antiseptic. The +secretion of these cellular juices in plants is therefore a powerful +means of defence. This defence is due to the extreme sensitiveness +of the protoplasma of vegetable cells: they react against irritation +by a defensive secretion. Vegetables, as well as unicellular beings, +can accustom themselves or become artificially accustomed to noxious +influences and acquire immunity. + +As to animals, Metchnikoff had already proved long ago that they +defend themselves against morbid agents by phagocytosis, _i.e._ by +intracellular digestion. It is always to be found in cases of immunity +and is indispensable to it, on the same grounds as in unicellular +beings. The organism of multicellular animals possesses various +cells which play the part of phagocytes. There are some in the blood +and humors, as also in the divers organs and in the tissues. These +phagocytes are either mobile--leucocytes, or fixed--tissue-cells. +However, all those cells may be classed into two principal groups: the +microphages and the macrophages. Both categories of cells are capable +of digesting microbes, but it is chiefly done by the microphages, +whilst macrophages more especially digest figured elements (cells) of +animal origin and poisons. It may be said that the microphages are +vegetarians whilst the macrophages are chiefly carnivorous. + +What, then, is the mechanism of phagocytic digestion? + +Intracellular digestion by phagocytes is accomplished by means of +digestive ferments, similar to those of our own digestive organs. "In +both cases," says Metchnikoff, "a diastasic action is due to soluble +ferments produced by living elements. In intracellular digestion, the +diastases digest within the cells, whereas in extracellular digestion +the phenomenon takes place outside the cells, in the cavity of the +gastro-intestinal tube." + +Only gradually has intracellular digestion given place to the digestion +by secreted juices. The link between these two modes is to be found +in certain transparent Invertebrates, such as the floating mollusc +_Phyllirhoë_. The nourishment is first digested in the cavity of the +digestive tube by secreted juices, and its treatment is completed +within the amoeboid cells of the cæcum. + +In higher animals, the digestion of food is due to several digestive +ferments (rennet, pepsin, trypsin, enterokinase, etc.) produced by +divers organs (stomach, pancreas, intestines). The phagocytes also +manufacture several digestive ferments; their principal digestive juice +is a soluble ferment of the trypsin category, to which Metchnikoff gave +the name of _cytase_.[25] + + [25] It is also called _alexine_ or _complement_ by other writers. + +To the morphological difference of the phagocytes corresponds also +a difference in the properties of their cytases, which are suited +to the digestion of this or that food. The cytases are kept within +the interior of the cells and only escape into the humors when the +phagocytes are damaged (Pfeiffer's phenomenon). This kind of ferment +does not withstand a temperature above 55° to 58° C. In natural +immunity, it plays the principal part by digesting morbid agents inside +the phagocytes like any other food. But, in artificial immunity, +other soluble ferments come into play, developed in consequence of +vaccination. + +The principal of those is the _fixator_.[26] It is less sensitive +than cytasis to high temperatures and can bear a temperature of 65° +to 68° C. It is incapable, by itself, of killing and digesting, but +by _fixing_ on them, it _bites_ them, so to speak, and makes them +sensitive to the action of the phagocytic cytases, which can thus +digest them more easily. + + [26] Designated by other writers by various synonyms: preventive, + or sensibilising substance, immunising body, amboceptor. + +The _fixator_ may be compared to _enterokinase_, a special ferment in +the small intestine of higher animals which also does not by itself +digest food but which activates in a high degree the digestive power of +pancreatic ferments. However, it has the property of fixing itself on +fibrin; it is obvious that enterokinase and the fixator have the same +essential properties. This similarity again proves that the destruction +of morbid agents by the phagocytes really corresponds with actual +digestion. + +It is in consequence of the digestion of vaccinal products that the +phagocytes manufacture the _fixator_. Created at the expense of a +given vaccinal substance, the _fixator_ has a specific character which +corresponds with that substance, whereas the cytase already existing +within the phagocytes never has a specific character. + +_Artificial_ immunisation generally produces the formation of so +great a quantity of fixators that the phagocytes are unable to retain +them and excrete them in part in the ambient humors, _i.e._ the blood +plasma, or serum. When, afterwards, virulent morbid agents (microbes +or figured elements) are introduced into an organism which has been +immunised against them, they are at once faced, in the humors, with +_fixators_, which immediately exert a biting action on them and render +them sensitive to the action of the intracellular cytasis of the +phagocytes. The same mechanism explains the specificity of the serums +of vaccinated animals. + +The quantity of specific fixators in the humors depends on the surplus +production of that ferment by the phagocytes and is not always the +same. That is why different serums are preventive in different degrees. +They are inactive if the phagocytes have not produced enough fixators +to pass any out into the humors. For a serum is only preventive when +it brings into the new organism into which it is injected a sufficient +quantity of fixators ready to sensibilise the morbid agents afterwards +introduced into the organism. + +The over-production of antibodies--fixators or antitoxins--corresponds +up to a certain point with the frequency and quantity of vaccinal +injections; that is why serums are usually preventive in artificial +immunity and very rarely so in natural immunity. Through successive +inoculations, the cells become accustomed to digesting the microbes, or +figured elements, and manufacture, in consequence of that digestion, +growing quantities of fixators. + +In natural conditions, on the other hand, morbid agents do not usually +penetrate into the organism in massive or repeated doses; therefore +digestion under natural conditions results in a less abundant +production of fixators which can be contained in the interior of the +phagocytes without leaking into the humors in sufficient quantities to +render the latter preventive. + +It might be thought that immunity against pathogenic microbes is +accompanied by immunity against their toxins. In reality that is not +always the case, and very often the organism, now made refractory to +certain microbes, remains sensitive to their toxic products. Thus +antimicrobian immunity and antitoxic immunity constitute in most cases +two distinct properties. In order to confer antitoxic immunity recourse +must be had to vaccination by soluble poisons and toxins. + +Immunity, acquired naturally, is so especially against microbes and +not against toxins, for, in nature, it is almost always by microbes +that the organism is threatened. As to _antitoxic_ immunity, it is +very probably due to the intracellular digestion of toxins by the +different macrophages. This hypothesis is supported by the experiments +quoted in the preceding chapter. During antitoxic vaccination, the +macrophages manufacture, probably at the expense of vaccinal toxins, +a certain quantity of _antitoxins_, substances which offer a great +similarity with the fixators. Like them, they are specific; they are +also produced in great quantities and excreted into the humors, which +they render antitoxic when sufficiently abundant; finally, they are +not very sensitive to high temperatures. That is why, in spite of the +impossibility of proving their origin directly, it is quite probable +that it is analogous to that of the fixators and that antitoxins are +manufactured by cellular elements, the macrophages in particular. For +it is they which absorb and digest toxins as well as soluble poisons. + +This deduction is also supported by the antitoxic immunity which may be +conferred on _unicellular_ beings in which the cell alone enters into +play. + +Phagocytes no doubt manufacture many other soluble ferments +corresponding with the elements which they absorb, for, in a vaccinated +organism, divers new specific properties of the serum are to be found, +such as that of agglutination, precipitation, etc. Humoral properties +may be more or less durable, in proportion as the products manufactured +by the phagocytes are more or less rapidly evacuated by the organism. + +All these humoral properties, traced back to their first source, depend +upon the digestive activity of the phagocytes, since they are the +products of that digestion. In cases where it has not yet been possible +to make a direct demonstration of this, it becomes evident through +analogy and experiments pointing in that direction. + +To sum up, according to Metchnikoff, "_Immunity in infectious diseases +is linked with cellular physiology, namely, with the phenomenon of +the resorption of morbid agents through intracellular digestion._ +In a final analysis, the latter (as also the digestion of food +in the gastro-intestinal tube) reduces itself to phenomena of a +physico-chemical order; however, it is a real _digestion_ accomplished +by the living cell.... The study of Immunity, from a general point of +view, belongs to the subject of Digestion." + +Immunity against diseases is but one of the manifestations of an +immunity on a much larger scale, always based, in final analysis, on +the sensitiveness of the living cellular protoplasm. The sensitiveness +of the nervous cells extends this phenomenon to the psychical domain. +They also are capable of becoming accustomed to external irritations of +all kinds, hence constituting a psychical immunity for the organism. +We all know that one can become accustomed to many painful or violent +sensations; and, as Metchnikoff says: "... It is very probable that +the whole gamut of Habit, starting from the unicellular beings, who +accustom themselves to live in an unsuitable medium, to cultured men +who acquire the habit of not believing in human justice, rests on one +and the same fundamental property of living matter." + + + + + CHAPTER XXVII + + Private sorrows--Death of Pasteur, 1895--Ill-health--Senile + atrophies--Premature death--Orthobiosis--Syphilis--Acquisition + of anthropoid apes. + + +Metchnikoff's health had suffered from the numerous emotions provoked +by the struggle in defence of the phagocyte doctrine and also from a +series of sad events. In 1893, sickness and death fell upon our family; +I lost a sister and a brother at a short interval and had myself to +undergo a serious operation. My husband nursed me night and day, as a +mother might have done, and went through the deepest anxiety on account +of post-operative complications. All this told on him all the more +that he had just endured cruel moral suffering during the experiments +on cholera mentioned above. In 1894, an agricultural crisis in Russia +influenced our material situation and gave him many worries. In the +autumn of 1895, M. Pasteur's health became worse and, soon afterwards, +he died. + +This series of calamities depressed Metchnikoff, his old cardiac +trouble returned, and he again became a prey to insomnia. We spent part +of the holidays in the mountains, thinking it might do him good, but he +did not care for a prolonged rest; he was preoccupied by the thought +of his interrupted experiments and only thought of returning to the +laboratory. + +In 1898, he had some disquieting symptoms of kidney trouble, a little +albumen. He consulted the celebrated German physician, von Noorden, who +found nothing serious, but this did not reassure him and he continued +to worry about himself. + +Already some time previously, theoretical considerations on senile +atrophies had directed his thoughts towards old age. His reflections +now turned towards the psychological aspect of the problem; he analysed +his personal sensations and realised that he, at the age of 53, felt an +ardent desire to live. This imperious instinct for life, in spite of +the inevitable evolution towards personal death and old age, brought +his thoughts back to the disharmonies of human nature. But now, +through all his gloomy reflections, he was borne up by the unshakable +conviction that Science would succeed in correcting those disharmonies +and he continued to work with untiring energy. + +He had prescribed for himself a hygienic diet, based on the idea that +the cause of his own condition and senility in general was due to +a chronic poisoning by intestinal microbes. This diet consisted in +avoiding raw food in order not to introduce noxious microbes into the +intestines, and in absorbing their useful enemies, the acid-forming +microbes of sour milk. This diet was very favourable to his health. + +After he had finished his book on immunity he at last allowed himself +to pass on to the new questions which preoccupied him, _i.e._ senility +and death. + +He set forth a sketch of his ideas in 1901 in a paper which he read +at Manchester (Wilde Lecture) on the "Flora of the Human Body." He +reviewed this flora and pointed out the harmful effect of the microbes, +especially those of the large intestine the toxins of which effect a +chronic poisoning of the cells of our organism and thus provoke their +gradual weakening. He then indicated the means of combating this evil, +on the one hand by stimulating the vital activity of the cells exposed +to enfeeblement, by means, for instance, of small doses of specific +cytotoxins, and, on the other hand, by direct action on intestinal +microbes. He concluded by saying that "the intestinal flora is the +principal cause of the too short duration of our life, which flickers +out before having reached its goal. Human conscience has succeeded in +making this injustice obvious; Science must now set to work to correct +it. It will succeed in doing so, and it is to be hoped that the opening +century will witness the solution of this great problem." + +Metchnikoff considered that our chronic poisoning by intestinal +microbes weakens our cellular elements; he supposed that the same cause +might provoke senile phenomena, manifestly due to weakness of the +tissues. + +One of the first manifestations of senility being the whitening of +hair, he began to study the mechanism of that. He had previously +observed the dominant part played by phagocytosis in all phenomena +of atrophy, and it occurred to him that it may be phagocytes which +destroy the colouring matter of hair, a substance which, in the form +of tiny granules, is enclosed within the hair cells. In fact, he +found that the whitening process is accompanied by a stimulation of +the amoeboid cells which introduce their protoplasmic prolongations +into the periphery of the hair. They absorb the coloured granules, +or pigment, and digest it, partly on the spot, partly after carrying +it into the root of the hair, often even in the connective tissue +which supports the hairy scalp. As the pigment becomes destroyed, +the hair loses its colour and whitens. The cells which devour the +pigment--pigmentophages--belong to the category of macrophages which, +in general, absorb all the enfeebled cells in the organism. + +Metchnikoff was able to note similar phenomena in divers other senile +atrophies either by his own ulterior researches or by collaboration +with his pupils (MM. Salimbeni and Weinberg). + +In the same way that the whitening of the hair depends on the +destruction of pigment by pigmentophages, the wrinkles of the +skin, weakness of the muscles, friability of the bones, and senile +degenerescence of divers organs are caused by the destruction of +weakened cells which do not defend themselves and thus become the prey +of the stronger and more resisting macrophages. Senility is thus no +other than a generalised atrophy. What is it that provokes it? The +answer is: The swarming microbes in our large intestine. They form the +permanent source of a slow poisoning of our organism. This fact alone +suffices to explain one of the principal causes of the enfeebling +of our tissues. It is not simultaneous in all the cells because of +their different powers of resistance. The struggle and destruction +of the weak by the strong is the cruel law of nature; therefore the +macrophages, more resisting to poisons, take advantage of the weakening +of other cells in order to devour them, and this is one of the causes +of senility. + +These reflections and the biological researches which confirmed them +allowed Metchnikoff gradually to build up a philosophical doctrine, +which he expounded in 1903 in his work, _Études sur la nature humaine_. + +He considered "old age" as a pathological phenomenon. He saw in it one +of the most important disharmonies of human nature, because of the fact +that neither senility nor death is accompanied by a natural instinct. +The accomplishment of every physiological function leads to satiety or +to a desire for rest; after a busy day, man feels an instinctive need +for rest and sleep. But, in his maturity, he has no desire to grow old, +and in his old age none to die. It is rare that one should aspire to +die, and nobody wishes to grow old. These facts are in contradiction +with other natural phenomena; they are all the more discordant that +they play an immense part in our psychical life. + +After a general review of opinions on human nature, Metchnikoff +analysed it from the biological point of view; he revealed its discords +and concluded that it is far from being perfect. In his eyes, the +lack of harmony in the human being is an inheritance from our animal +ancestors; they have handed down to us a whole series of remains +of organs which are not only useless but even harmful in the new +conditions of human existence. + +The large intestine, inherited from mammalian ancestors, holds the +first place among those noxious organs. This reservoir of food +refuse was very useful to our animal forebears in their struggle +for existence; it allowed them not to interrupt their flight whilst +pursued by their enemies. In man, whose life conditions are different, +a large intestine of that size, without offering the same advantages, +is a source of slow and continuous poisoning and a cause of premature +senility and death. + +Man, after acquiring a still higher development, realised these +evils and made concentrated efforts to fight them and to soothe his +own terrors. It is for that object that the divers religious and +philosophical systems were created, in which humanity sought for +consolation. Finding none there, man turned to Science, which, at +first, neither solved his doubts nor eliminated his sufferings. But +Science provided him with rational methods of research, owing to which +he gradually progressed and conquered a series of truths, allowing him +gradually to struggle against some of his troubles and to solve some of +his problems. Science has already done much to diminish the diseases +which are among the chief scourges of humanity. It has thrown light +upon the causes of many of them and has found preventive and curative +remedies for several. + +Surgery, antiseptics, serotherapy, vaccinations already yield secure +results. Hygiene and prophylaxis are in course of development, and +a vast prospect is open to them in the future. But our heaviest +burdens, senility and death, common to all, have yet scarcely been +studied. Having expounded his views on senility and proved that it is a +pathological phenomenon, Metchnikoff concluded that to struggle against +it was quite as possible as to struggle against disease. + +The principal causes which bring about _premature_ senility are: +alcoholism, chronic poisoning by intestinal microbes, and infectious +diseases, headed by syphilis. Surely Science will discover efficacious +means against all these. + +The strengthening of the beneficent cells in our organism; the +transformation of the wild intestinal flora into a cultivated flora, by +the introduction of useful microbes; the struggle against infectious +diseases and alcoholism--all these are workable means of fighting +pathological and premature senility. + +When old age becomes physiological and no longer painful it will become +proportionate with the other epochs of our lives and cease to alarm us. +But how is the fear of death to be explained, since it is a general and +inevitable phenomenon? How is it that we have no _natural instinct_ for +death? Metchnikoff supposes that this lack of harmony in our nature +comes from the fact that death is as _premature_ as senility and +arrives before the _natural instinct for it_ has had time to develop. +This supposition is confirmed by the fact that old people who have +reached an exceptionally advanced age are often satiated with life and +feel the _need_ of death as we feel a need of sleep after a long day's +work. That is why we have a right to suppose that, when the limit of +life has been extended, owing to scientific progress, the instinct of +death will have time to develop normally and will take the place of the +fear which death provokes at the present day. Both death and old age +will become physiological and the greatest discord in our nature will +be conquered. + +Our manner of life will have to be modified and directed according to +rational and scientific data if we are to run through the normal cycle +of life--_orthobiosis_. The pursuit of that goal will even influence +the basis of morals. Orthobiosis cannot be accessible to all until +knowledge, rectitude, and solidarity increase among men, and until +social conditions are kinder. + +Man will then no longer be content with his natural inheritance; he +will have to intervene actively in order to correct his disharmonies. +"Even as he has modified the nature of plants and animals Man will have +to modify his own nature in order to make it more harmonious." + +In order to obtain a new race, one forms an ideal in relation to the +organism to be modified. "In order to modify human nature, it is +necessary to realise what is the ideal in view, after which every +resource of which Science disposes must be taxed in order to obtain +that result. If an ideal is possible, capable of uniting men in a +sort of religion of the future, it can only be based on scientific +principles. And if it is true, as is so often affirmed, that it is +impossible to live without faith, that faith must be faith in the power +of Science." + +In those words, Metchnikoff ends his book on Human Nature. + + * * * * * + +The public at large and many critics did not understand the deep and +general meaning of Metchnikoff's thoughts. They reproached him with +having an insufficiently exalted ideal, for they only saw in his +doctrine the desire of postponing senility and living longer. They +did not understand that to revolt against the lack of harmony in +nature, through which all humanity has to suffer, not only physically +but morally, was to aspire to perfection. They did not consider +that, in order to attain that end, all human culture and the whole +social state would have to be modified; that this could only be done +through many virtues, intense energy, and great self-control. They +had not understood the elevation and power of an ideal which aspired +to perfect not only the direction of life but human nature itself. +They had not understood the audacious beauty of such a struggle, the +benefit conferred by the belief that the human will and the human mind +are capable of transforming Evil into Good according to a conceived +ideal!... + +In the meanwhile Metchnikoff, convinced that Knowledge is Power and +that "Science alone can lead suffering Humanity into the right path," +quietly continued his task. + + * * * * * + +One of the most characteristic symptoms of old age is the hardening +of the arteries--arterio-sclerosis. He therefore especially wished to +elucidate the mechanism of that phenomenon. + +Whilst many, yet unknown, factors come into play in senility, one +disease, syphilis, often provokes arterio-sclerosis, indisputably due +to a morbid agent. Metchnikoff therefore began to study this disease, +of which the origin is infectious--especially as he thought he could do +so experimentally. + +Long before this, he had conceived the idea that the study of those +human diseases which cannot be transmitted to ordinary laboratory +animals might be carried out on anthropoid apes, of all animals the +nearest to man. He had spoken of it to M. Pasteur, but, at that time, +the Institute could not afford to acquire these costly animals. In +1903, at the Madrid Congress, Metchnikoff received a 5000 fr. prize +and utilised this money in the acquisition of two anthropoid apes. The +same year M. Roux won the Osiris prize of 100,000 fr. which he devoted +to the same object, and it was decided that the two together would +undertake researches on syphilis. Other donations, 30,000 fr. from the +Morosoffs of Moscow and 250 roubles from the Society of Dermatology +and Syphilography of the same city, completed the capital required to +execute the projected plan. + +The following is a short sketch of the researches that were undertaken +and the results that were obtained. + +The inoculation of anthropoid apes with syphilis was successful. The +chimpanzee was found to be most sensitive to the disease; it manifests +primary and secondary symptoms identical with those of man. Lower +monkeys, though less sensitive, also contract syphilis but generally +only show primary characteristic manifestations. The possibility of +rapidly provoking in apes, even of the inferior kinds, syphilitic +lesions similar to those of man has a very great importance, for it +provides a sure means of diagnosis in doubtful human cases. Owing to +the liability of apes to contract syphilis, experimental vaccination +and serotherapy could be attempted on them; but, though these +experiments were sometimes encouraging, the results obtained were not +constant enough to justify their application to man. Thus, it was found +possible to attenuate the virus by successive passages in certain lower +apes, and yet, though attenuated for the chimpanzee, it did not confer +upon him immunity against the active virus. + +In 1905, Schaudinn discovered the syphilitic treponema in man. By +using this discoverer's method, the same microbe was found in apes +inoculated with human virus, which confirmed the specific character of +the treponema. + +An observation was then made which was of great importance on account +of its consequences: it was ascertained that the syphilitic microbe +was absorbed by the less mobile mononuclear phagocytes and remained +localised near the entrance point long enough to allow of a local +treatment which might succeed in being curative as it had time to act +before the microbes had passed into the general circulation of the +organism. This supposition was proved to be correct by a series of +experiments on monkeys, and, in 1906, a young doctor, M. Maisonneuve, +inoculated himself with syphilis and applied the treatment with a +perfectly satisfactory result. + +It might have been thought that this simple, safe, and innocuous method +would at once come into practice, but it was not so. Between opposition +on the one hand, and carelessness of the subjects themselves on the +other, this useful discovery remained for a long time without being +utilised. All the above results were obtained through experiments on +anthropoid apes, and the study of syphilis, until then purely clinical, +entered at last into the field of experimental science. + + * * * * * + +Researches upon syphilis were but an interlude; Metchnikoff, returning +to his principal work, resumed the study of senility and of the +intestinal flora. During many years he applied himself to researches +concerning the part played by the latter within the organism. + +He was able to confirm the deductions expounded in his _Études sur +la nature humaine_, and in 1907 he published a new work, _Essais +optimistes_, in which he developed the same ideas, amplified by the +results of his new researches, and answering the criticisms excited by +his first book. + +In the _Essais optimistes_ he studied first of all the phenomena of old +age in the different grades of the scale of living beings, of which he +compared the life duration. He concluded that there was an indubitable +connection between this and the intestinal flora. + +The shorter the intestine, the fewer microbes it contains and the +longer the relative duration of life. As an example, he quoted the +relatively great longevity of birds and bats. Those animals, adapted +to aerial life, have to weigh as little as possible. To that end, +they empty their intestine very frequently and this in consequence is +not used as a reservoir for alimentary refuse; as it is but little +developed, it contains a much smaller number of microbes. The longevity +of flying animals is relatively much greater than that of mammals with +a large intestine full of microbes, a constant source of slow poisoning. + +After treating the question of longevity, Metchnikoff dealt with that +of death. + +Living beings die, in the great majority of cases, in consequence +of diseases or accidents with an external cause; one involuntarily +wonders whether there is such a thing as "natural death," _i.e._ +arising exclusively from causes due to the organism itself. A review +of known facts allowed Metchnikoff to draw the following conclusions: +unicellular inferior beings have no _natural_ death; they merely die by +accident. Their individual life is very short and comes to an end by +multiplication or division of a unit into two; there is no trace of a +_corpse_ in this loss of previous individuality. + +Among superior plants, certain trees attain considerable dimensions +(dragon-tree, baobab, oak, cypress), live for centuries, and die from +external causes. Their organism presents no _internal_ necessity for +a natural death. On the other hand, a multitude of other plants have +but a short life and their natural death coincides usually with the +ripening of the seed. It has even been observed that it is possible +to retard the death of a plant by preventing it from fructifying. For +instance, lawns made up of grass mown before it runs to seed remain +green and living whilst grass allowed to flower and bear seed becomes +yellow and dries up. It is a well-known fact that fruits and seeds are +frequently poisonous. Therefore Metchnikoff supposed that the death of +the plant may be due to an auto-intoxication by poisons manufactured +by it in order to defend its seeds and ensure the next generation; +in Nature, the individual does not count, but the species. Once the +survival of this is ensured the individual may disappear. + +A similar phenomenon of auto-intoxication is manifested by lower +vegetables, yeasts, and microbes. Pasteur, who discovered the microbe +of lactic fermentation, found that this micro-organism, which itself +produces lactic acid, perishes because of the over-production of this +substance. Yeasts, again, cannot bear an excess of alcohol, their own +product. Thus the vegetable kingdom offers us examples of the absence +of natural death as well as examples of a natural death due to an +auto-intoxication of the organism. + +In the animal kingdom examples of natural death are also to be found, +but only very exceptionally. Those examples are provided by Rotifera +(inferior worms) and by Ephemeridæ. Their adult life is reduced to the +sexual act, almost immediately followed by death without an external +cause. Their life is so short that they do not even feed and lack +developed buccal organs. That in itself constitutes an organic cause of +inevitable, _i.e._ natural, death. + +Among human beings natural death is extremely rare. It sometimes +occurs in very old people, under the shape of a peaceful last sleep. +The likeness it bears to sleep is so striking that Metchnikoff thought +himself authorised to form the following hypothesis concerning the +analogy in their mechanism. + +According to a theory of Preyer's, fatigue and sleep are due to a +periodical auto-intoxication set up by the products of the vital +activity of our organism. These products are destroyed by oxidation +during sleep, after which fatigue disappears and awakening comes. +According to Metchnikoff it may be that the mechanism of natural death +also consists in an auto-intoxication by the progressive accumulation +of toxic products during the whole of life. The analogy between sleep +and natural death allows the supposition that, as before going to sleep +an instinctive desire for rest is felt, in the same way _natural_ +death must be preceded by an instinctive desire to die. Moreover, +this is confirmed by concrete examples. Thus that of an old woman +of ninety-three who expressed that desire in the following terms to +her great-nephew: "If ever you reach my age, you will see that death +becomes desired just like sleep." The same thought had been expressed +by the biblical patriarchs who fell asleep satiated with life. + +When, owing to the progress of Science, men reach the development of +the instinct of death, they will look upon Death with the same calm as +do very old people, and it will cease to be one of the principal causes +of pessimism. It is for that reason that we must learn to prolong life +and to allow all men to realise their complete and natural vital cycle, +thus ensuring their moral balance. + +Psychological observations allowed Metchnikoff to conclude that +pessimism is much more frequent in youth than in maturity or in old +age. He attributes this to the gradual development of the _vital +instinct_ which is only completely manifested in middle age. Man then +begins to appreciate life; made wiser by experience, he demands less +and is therefore better balanced. + +Metchnikoff proffers examples in support of his theory. He analyses the +psychic evolution of Goethe as reflected in his _Faust_ and describes +that of "an intimate friend." These examples prove that natural +psychological evolution already leads to a relative optimism. But, as +long as senility is pathological and death premature, the apprehension +that they inspire antagonises the normal evolution of optimism. A +victory over those present evils will direct the normal course of life +in the right way; one normal active period will succeed another; the +accomplishment of individual and social functions corresponding with +each period will become realisable; the death instinct will have time +to develop, and Man, having been through his normal vital cycle, will +sink, peacefully and without fear, into eternal sleep. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVIII + + Researches on intestinal flora--Sour milk. + + +The problem of our intestinal flora is so vast and so difficult that it +demands years of research. Numerous facts had already been accumulated +by Science on this subject, but it was still far from being elucidated. + +Certain scientists affirmed that microbes favour digestion by +decomposing food residues in the intestine and are therefore not +merely useful, but necessary to the organism. Others entertained a +diametrically opposed opinion. The first thing, therefore, was to know +which of the two opinions was founded on fact. Metchnikoff studied +the case of the bat, in which the digestive tube is short and the +large bowel not even differentiated. As he had supposed, _a priori_, +in this animal, whose life duration is relatively long, the intestine +contains few or no micro-organisms, which proves that digestion can +be accomplished without their intermediary. Moreover, this was before +long amply confirmed by the researches of MM. Cohendy, Wollman, and +other scientists who succeeded in bringing up chickens and tadpoles in +conditions of absolute sterility. + +Having acquired the conviction that microbes are not indispensable to +digestion, Metchnikoff studied the part they play in the organism. It +is universally admitted that the products of putrefaction are toxic, +and he enquired whether the intestine sheltered putrefying microbes. +This question had not yet been solved; certain bacteriologists +thought that little or no putrefaction exists in a normal intestine. +Metchnikoff ascertained through systematic researches that the +intestinal flora includes several kinds of putrefying microbes which +secrete highly toxic products. + +With his pupils and collaborators, MM. Berthelot and Wollman, he +carried out a series of experiments which established the fact that +this intoxication is due to poisons of the aromatic group, such +as phenols and indols. With these substances, they succeeded in +artificially provoking arterio-sclerosis in the organs of animals, +and also other modifications similar to those which are observed +in senility. Having proved that putrefying microbes provoke the +intoxication of the tissues, Metchnikoff set to work to find a means of +struggling against those microbes. + +It was known that they could only live in an alkaline medium which +is precisely that of the intestinal juices. Metchnikoff thought that +if means were found to render the intestinal contents acid, without +harm being done to the organism, the putrefying microbes might thus be +destroyed. It had been known for a long time that sour milk does not +suffer putrefaction, that being prevented by the acid fermentation. The +lactic microbes of this fermentation must therefore be antagonistic to +the putrefying microbes. He drew a conclusion in favour of the utility +of sour milk, containing acid-producing microbes; once introduced +into the intestine, these should prevent the breeding of the noxious +microbes which require an alkaline medium. + +His hypothesis seemed confirmed by the fact that populations who feed +almost exclusively on curded milk live a very long time. In Bulgaria, +for instance, whole villages, thus fed, are known for the longevity +of their inhabitants. Starting from these considerations, he made +experiments upon himself and systematically introduced into his diet +sour milk carefully prepared with pure cultures of certain lactic +bacilli. His health was benefited by it, and his friends followed +his example. Certain doctors recommended sour milk, the use of which +gradually spread as a hygienic food. Metchnikoff considered the result +acquired as a first step towards the artificial transformation of the +wild intestinal flora into a cultivated and useful flora. + +Unfortunately, the study of the intestinal flora is extremely +complicated because of the innumerable species of micro-organisms and +the extreme difficulty of disentangling the many influences which +cross each other. He therefore considered collective researches as +indispensable, the life and science of one man being insufficient +to solve so vast a problem. Up to a certain point he succeeded in +realising this scientific collaboration within his own laboratory. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIX + + The Nobel Prize--Journey to Sweden and to Russia--A day with Léon + Tolstoï. + + +In 1908 Metchnikoff received the Nobel Prize, together with Ehrlich, +for his researches on immunity. According to the statutes of that +prize, the laureate is invited to give a lecture in Stockholm. +Metchnikoff chose for his theme the "present state of the question +of immunity in infectious diseases," and, in the spring of 1909, we +went to Sweden and thence to Russia. The whole journey was a series +of fêtes and receptions in his honour. He was touched and grateful at +this welcome, but with his usual humour, declared that it was the Nobel +Prize which, like a magic wand, had revealed to the public the value of +his researches. + +We only stopped for a short time at Stockholm, where the kindest +hospitality was shown to Metchnikoff. Sweden made an unforgettable +impression upon us. Her deep, dark waters, wild rocks, and sombre +pines make of it a land of legends. Elie was impressed not only by +Nature in Scandinavia but also by Scandinavian Art, which reproduces +it admirably. He was specially pleased with Lilienfiorse's pictures, +representing animals against a background at the same time real and +legendary. + +We went to Russia by way of the Baltic. The nights at that time were +"white," and rocky islands covered with pines emerged from the sea +like ghosts, in the mysterious silvery midnight light; the impression +was fairy-like. + +A warm welcome awaited Metchnikoff in Russia. At Petersburg, as in +Moscow, he was received with cordial and enthusiastic sympathy not +only by scientific and medical societies, but by all the intellectual +youth of those cities. This warm reception contributed to efface the +bitterness sometimes aroused in him by distant recollections of the +reasons which caused him to leave his native country. + +During our stay in Russia we made the acquaintance of our great writer, +Léon Tolstoï. We spent a day with him in his estate, Iasnaïa Paliana, +and the day left a lifelong impression upon us. + +It was at dawn that we reached the little railway station where a +carriage had come to meet us. It had been raining in the night and now, +in the first morning light, everything shone with dew. We were excited +by the sight of the Russian country, cool meadows, forest, fields, all +that simple landscape that we had not seen for so long, and we were +also greatly moved at the idea of meeting Tolstoï. + +The village appeared in the distance and, a little way apart, the wide +open entrance gate of the old park of Iasnaïa Paliana. We entered a +long shady avenue leading to the home of Tolstoï. The spring was at its +best, flowers and perfumes everywhere. The house and the old park had +the poetic charm of the ancient "nests of nobility" in Russia. + +Tolstoï's daughter greeted us on the steps; her kindly simplicity at +once put us at our ease. We had hardly entered the vestibule when we +saw Léon Tolstoï himself coming down the stairs with a brisk step. +We knew him at once, though he seemed to us different from all his +portraits. We were first of all struck by his eyes, deep, piercing, and +yet as clear as those of a child. He had nothing of that hardness and +severity that one is accustomed to see in his portraits; his features, +too, seemed to us much finer and more idealised. He looked straight +into our eyes as if he wished to read the depths of our souls. But we +were at once reassured by the kind and benevolent expression of his +whole face. He looked strong and healthy and did not seem old, but +full of inner life. After the first words of welcome, he said to us, +"You resemble each other; that happens after living happily together +for a long time." He questioned us concerning our journey and on the +impression made upon us by Russia after our long absence; then he said +he had to finish his morning task. + +His daughter and son took us for a walk through the park and the +village, and the friendly words they exchanged with the peasants +indicated excellent relations between the villagers and the people of +the château. As soon as we came in, Léon Tolstoï reappeared, declaring +that he gave himself holiday for the day. He questioned Metchnikoff on +his researches, on the present state of hygiene, and on the application +of scientific discoveries. He listened attentively and with visible +interest. At the end of the conversation he declared that it was quite +erroneously that he was thought to be hostile to Science, and that +he only denounced pseudo-science, which has nothing to do with human +welfare. "In reality," he said, "you and I are aiming towards the same +goal by different lines." + +All his words were impregnated with a deep love for, and an ardent +desire to serve, humanity. Literature and Art were mentioned; Tolstoï +said that he was now so far from it all that he had even forgotten some +of his own works and appreciated them much less than his writings on +spiritual questions. He thought that sometimes beauty of form acted at +the expense of the moral bearing of the subject. To the objection that +Art embellishes Life, he answered that it has some value in that it +serves as a link between men and makes them purer, but that its moral +importance surpasses its æsthetic value by a great deal. + +He related that he had conceived a new work on the social movement in +Russia and, _à propos_ of that, the conversation fell upon political +reprisals. The subject of deportations, prisons, and executions was +visibly painful to him; his eyes, now sad and suffering, revealed his +vibrating soul. + +On the agrarian question, he was in favour of the nationalisation of +land, and showed great enthusiasm for Henry George. He thought the +suppression of the commune in Russia a great mistake. Metchnikoff +explained to him that his personal observations in Little Russia +spoke, on the contrary, in favour of individual property, which gave +better agricultural results. Tolstoï manifested perfect tolerance, +and conversation flowed on peacefully concerning various subjects. In +everything he said the beauty and elevation of his soul was perceptible. + +After lunch he desired to have a serious conversation with Metchnikoff +and took him out driving, he himself holding the reins. On the way he +returned to the question of Science. He thought that humanity was so +overwhelmed with misery and had so many urgent questions to solve that +work ought to be turned in that direction, and that we had no right to +busy ourselves with abstract questions unrelated to life. "What good +can it do man to have a notion of the weight and dimensions of the +planet Mars?" he said. + +Metchnikoff answered that theory is much nearer to life than it seems, +and that many benefits have been acquired for humanity by scientific +observations of an abstract order. Thus, the discovery of the great +unchanging laws of Nature give to Man the consciousness of being +submitted to logical laws instead of an arbitrary force, and that is a +benefit. When microbes were discovered, their part in human life was +not suspected, and yet this discovery was afterwards of the greatest +service to human welfare since it enabled man to fight against disease. + +On the way back, Tolstoï gave his place to his son and himself returned +on horseback, an exercise in which he indulged almost daily, in spite +of the approach of his eighty years. He still rode splendidly, sitting +quite upright, and seemed even younger than before. + +After that he went to take a little rest, whilst Countess Tolstoï gave +us immense pleasure by reading to us two yet unpublished works by her +husband, the charming story _After the Ball_ and the tragic _Sergius +the Monk_. + +In the late afternoon a friend of our host, an accomplished musician, +sat at the piano and played some Chopin. In the spring twilight the +charm of that music filled us with emotion. Léon Tolstoï, seated in an +armchair, listened; the lyrical beauty of the sound sank deeper and +deeper into his soul, his eyes became veiled with tears, he leant his +forehead on his hand and remained motionless. Metchnikoff also was +deeply moved, and the effect of music on two such men, the pleasure +that it gave them, was the strongest plea in favour of pure Art. + +"I do not know what takes place in my mind when I listen to Chopin," +said Tolstoï a few moments later, after the closing sounds had +vanished, "Chopin and Mozart move me to the depths. What lyrism! what +purity!" Metchnikoff liked Mozart and Beethoven, but Tolstoï thought +Beethoven too complicated. As to Wagner and modern music, they both +agreed about it, thinking it unintelligible and lacking harmony and +simplicity. + +Around the tea-table conversation turned on senility, and Metchnikoff +developed his theory of the discords of human nature. He illustrated +his affirmations by the example of Goethe's _Faust_, who, according to +him, formed the best picture of the evolution of human phases. To his +mind the second part of _Faust_ is but an allegory of the disharmonies +of old age. It is a striking picture of the dramatic contest between +the yet ardent and juvenile feelings of old Goethe and his physical +senility. Tolstoï seemed interested by this interpretation and said he +would read the second part of _Faust_ over again, but that he himself +would never offer an example of a similar lack of harmony. _À propos_ +of Metchnikoff's theory, according to which the fear of death exists +because Death itself is premature, Tolstoï affirmed that he had no fear +of death, but added, laughingly, that he would nevertheless try to +reach the age of 100 in order to please Elie. + +Our train only left late in the night, and, until we started, the +conversation never ceased to be animated. In every one of his words +Tolstoï's exalted soul was perceptible, a soul in which there was room +but for preoccupations of a spiritual order. He would have given the +impression of floating above the earth if his ardent and compassionate +heart had not constantly brought him back to the miseries and faults of +human beings. The atmosphere around him was pure and vivifying as on +high peaks, and the place seemed sanctified by his presence. + +That interview had been a meeting of two superior minds, two exalted +souls, but how different! The one, scientific and rational, always +leaning on solid facts in order to soar and to spread his wings in the +highest spheres of thought; the other an artist and a mystic, rising +through intuition to the same spiritual heights; both pursuing the same +goal of human perfection and happiness, but going along such different +roads.... + +As we took leave of him, Léon Tolstoï said, "Not farewell, but _au +revoir_!" And as we sat in the carriage and started to go, he appeared +in a lighted window, as in an aureola, waving his hand, "Au revoir, +au revoir!" he repeated for the last time.... The night was calm and +beautiful under the immensity of the starry vault, and its greatness +was confounded in our souls with the greatness of Léon Tolstoï. + + + + + CHAPTER XXX + + Intestinal flora--Infantile cholera--Typhoid fever--Articles on + popular Science. + + +When he returned home, Metchnikoff immediately resumed his work. He +continued, with his collaborators, researches on the normal intestinal +flora and on the microbian poisons which provoke arterio-sclerosis. + +They were able to ascertain that certain microbes of the intestinal +flora, such as the _bacillus coli_ and _Welch's bacillus_, produce +poisons (phenol and indol) which are reabsorbed by the _normal_ +intestinal walls and which provoke arterio-sclerosis and other lesions +of the organs. A part of those poisons is eliminated by the urine, +and the quantity found therein allows one to estimate the quantity +contained in the organism. An exclusively vegetarian or carnivorous +diet increases its production, while a mixed diet reduces it. During +the rest of his life Metchnikoff made systematic and periodical +analysis of his own urine in correlation with his diet. + +From certain facts and certain experiments he concluded that the +reciprocal influence of microbes might be utilised to attenuate or to +eliminate the noxious action of some of them. Thus, by cultivating +the lactic bacillus in the presence of those microbes which produce +poisons belonging to the aromatic group, the decrease in quantity +and even the disappearance of phenol and indol is observed. All those +facts confirmed anterior results which Metchnikoff had obtained, and +indicated the route to be followed in his struggle against those toxins +which gradually poison the organism and induce premature senility. + +Having thus elucidated certain questions concerning the part played by +microbes in a normal organism, he studied the pathogenic intestinal +flora. He began by infantile cholera because this question is +simplified by the fact that new-born children are fed exclusively +on milk. It was then believed by practitioners that this intestinal +disease of infants came from their mode of feeding, from summer heat, +and other external influences. Metchnikoff, however, succeeded in +demonstrating that the contents of the intestines of infants suffering +from "cholera" always included a special kind of microbe, the _B. +proteus_; he was also able to give the disease to young anthropoid +apes by making them ingest food soiled by the intestinal contents of +sick infants, thus establishing the infectious character of infantile +cholera. + +He then attacked another intestinal disease, typhoid fever, of which +the microbe (_Eberth's bacillus_) had been known for some time, but +had not been studied experimentally, ordinary laboratory animals +being refractory. Metchnikoff had again recourse to anthropoids, and +succeeded in infecting a chimpanzee by making him eat food soiled by +the intestinal contents of a typhoid patient. + +With the collaboration of Dr. Besredka, he undertook a series of +experiments on anthropoid apes and on macaques. The former alone took +typical typhoid fever, similar to that of man. It could be given them +by pure cultures of Eberth's bacillus, which definitely confirmed the +specificity of that microbe. + +Antityphoid vaccination by means of killed bacilli not being at that +time either safe or durable, Metchnikoff advised measures of simple +preventive hygiene: the use of cooked food, great personal cleanliness, +cleanliness of streets and dwellings, and the destruction of insects, +especially flies, which often infect food. In order to popularise these +notions, he wrote a series of articles in newspapers. Later, several +scientists found efficacious means of vaccination against typhoid fever. + +In 1912 Metchnikoff, in collaboration with Dr. Besredka (the author of +the antityphoid vaccination method by means of sensitised bacilli), +demonstrated on anthropoid apes that antityphoid vaccination by living +sensitised microbes is certain, and that it presents no danger of +diffusing the disease, for these microbes, harmless to the vaccinated +individual, cannot prove a source of danger for his entourage, since +they are phagocyted at the very place where they are inoculated. + +Metchnikoff always considered that it was very useful to keep the +public at large informed of the results acquired by Science, because +"it is only by becoming a part of daily life that measures of hygiene +and prophylaxis will have efficacious results." He therefore lost no +opportunity of spreading scientific principles and facts. In 1908 he +had given in Berlin a lecture on "The Curative Forces of the Organism." +In a Russian review, the _Messenger of Europe_, he developed the +same subject and included an epitome of his lecture in Stockholm +on immunity. In that article he expounded the phagocyte theory of +immunity. Among concrete examples of its application, he quoted the +indications concerning the evolution of an infectious disease provided +by the quantity of leucocytes in the blood, and the process employed +by certain surgeons to diminish the danger of infection during an +operation: just as, in case of an enemy menace, the Government mobilise +an army, certain surgeons employ divers means to attract an army of +phagocytes and to stimulate their activity in case any microbes should +penetrate into the wound. + +In 1909 he gave another lecture at Stuttgart, "A Conception of +Nature and of Medical Science," in which he summed up his two works +_Études sur la nature humaine_ and _Essais optimistes_. The title +of this lecture was intended to emphasise his view of human nature, +according to which "Man, as he appeared on the earth, is an animal and +pathological being belonging to the realm of medicine." But he ended +his paper by the same optimistic thought which illumines the whole +philosophy of his later years. "With the help of Science, Man can +correct the imperfections of his nature." + +He unveiled these imperfections and the ills which proceed from them, +not only from a love of truth or scientific honesty, but always with +the object of finding means to combat them. He never allowed sight to +be lost of the fact that Science lights up the tortuous and painful +path which leads to an issue that suffering humanity will find by +gradually widening the limits of knowledge with the help of Work and of +Will. + +Thus all his writings offer us encouragement and support. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXI + + A bacteriological expedition to the Kalmuk steppes, 1911. + + +During his preceding journeys in the Kalmuk steppes, Metchnikoff had +often heard it said that tuberculosis was almost unknown there, but +that the Kalmuks took it very easily when brought into contact with +foreigners. As all means of combating this disease had hitherto given +very unsatisfactory results, Metchnikoff thought that researches should +be started along a new path. He had long thought that observations on +the extreme liability of Kalmuks to tuberculosis might perhaps provide +some new data. But the study of the question necessitated a very +distant journey which he now at last had the opportunity of realising. + +According to Metchnikoff's hypothesis, a _natural_ vaccination +takes place among us against tuberculosis which would explain the +resistance of the majority of human beings in spite of the enormous +diffusion of the disease. He concluded that some attenuated breeds of +microbes become introduced into our organism during our childhood, +thus vaccinating us against the virulent tuberculous bacillus. This +supposition seemed to him plausible, for he had long ago found that +some micro-organisms (Cienkovsky's bacillus, the cholera bacillus, +etc.) become modified in different environment and conditions, both +in form and in virulence. He had described this phenomenon in 1888 +in a memoir entitled _Pleomorphism of Microbes_. His hypothesis would +explain the liability of the Kalmuks, since, if no tuberculous bacilli +existed in the steppes, the inhabitants could not acquire a natural +vaccination. When placed in an environment which was not free from +tuberculosis, they became infected very easily, being in no wise +prepared for the struggle against the virus. + +The expedition to the Kalmuk country was therefore planned in order to +ascertain whether tuberculosis was really absent from the steppes. This +could easily be done by Pirquet's test,[27] which at the same time would +show whether the number of Kalmuks infected increased from the centre +to the outer limit of the steppes and corresponded with the greater +degree of contact with the surrounding population. If the enquiry +confirmed the hypothesis, there would remain to be seen which microbes +might best be used as vaccines. + + [27] A cutaneous scarification by tuberculin which provokes local + inflammatory redness on the scarified point in tuberculous + subjects only. + +The expedition was also intended to elucidate a few questions on the +etiology of endemic plague in the Kirghiz steppes. When this intention +became known, the Russian authorities desired to add to it a local +mission on the study of plague epidemics in the steppes. Metchnikoff, +who was chiefly concerned with the question of tuberculosis, was only +able to draw up a plan of work for the Russian mission and to start it +going in one of the plague centres. + +The Pasteur Institute expeditionary party comprised, besides +Metchnikoff, MM. Burnet, Salimbeni, and Iamanouchi. They were joined at +Moscow by Drs. Tarassevitch and Choukevitch, and at Astrakhan by the +physicians of the Russian plague mission. The Institut Pasteur party +left Paris on May 14, 1911, full of spirits; Metchnikoff, eager to make +the journey pleasant for his companions, was doing the honours of his +country to the best of his ability; he fully succeeded, owing to the +warm welcome and liberal hospitality which they received in Russia, +where every one tried to contribute not only to the success of the +expedition but to the comfort and pleasure of its members. The latter, +indeed, preserved a most pleasant recollection of this journey, and, in +later years, always spoke of it with pleasure. + +Navigation on the Volga from Nijni Novgorod to Astrakhan was full of +peculiar charm. That five days' journey was one of the rare periods +of complete rest in Metchnikoff's life. He indulged in the _dolce far +niente_ as he watched the peaceful landscape on the passing banks. The +Volga, then in flood, covered immense spaces. Here and there, whole +forests emerged from the river which reflected them as in an enchanted +dream. From time to time, little isolated villages appeared with the +gilt cupola of a church or a monastery, then meadows, forests, steep +cliffs, or gentle slopes down to the river. What poetry, what grandeur +in simplicity! As in a kaleidoscope, types of varied populations and +pictures of local customs followed upon each other. + +Along the banks now and then were seen processions of pilgrims. Their +humble, gray, stooping figures breathed deep faith and resignation. +Sometimes popular songs arose from the Volga, sad, expressive, +soul-penetrating chants. + +This contemplative quietude was only interrupted by stations in the +ports of large towns where deputations of the educated inhabitants came +to wish the mission welcome. These functions had a cordial and touching +character, for it was obvious that such enthusiastic demonstrations had +for their source a sincere cult for the knowledge whose representatives +were being fêted; it was touching to see such a living ideal in this +distant and oppressed land. + +At Tsaritsine, several Kirghiz embarked on our boat in order to go to +a large fair which the inhabitants of the steppes attended in numbers. +Metchnikoff thought this was a unique opportunity to learn whether +there were any carriers of the plague bacillus among those many natives +coming from all parts of the steppes. He therefore decided that those +members of the expedition who had come to study plague would go to the +fair with the Kirghiz, whilst he, with the rest of the expedition, +would make observations on the Kalmuks of the Astrakhan region. + +A most hospitable welcome awaited us there; people vied with each other +in their efforts to assist the expedition. The Governor-General of +Astrakhan had ordered all preparations to be made, and the mission was +provided not only with necessaries but with comforts which did much to +alleviate the fatigue of the long journey. + +Whilst waiting for our companions, we had time to verify several +diagnostical reactions, the Kalmuks lending themselves willingly to the +operation. We heard later that they thought they were being vaccinated +against small-pox, a disease much feared in the steppes. + +As soon as the plague mission arrived, we started towards the Kirghiz +steppes, for there was a plague centre north of the Caspian Sea. When +we were out at sea, an intense north wind began to blow the waves away +from the Kirghiz bank, and soon the depth lessened to such an extent +that we could make no progress. The sailors were perpetually making +soundings, and their repeated cries of "Two and a half feet!" became +a regular nightmare. The situation seemed critical, and returning to +Astrakhan was suggested; an idea which infuriated Metchnikoff; he would +not hear of it. At last, after several incidents we reached the Kirghiz +bank, the crossing having lasted three days instead of the usual +twenty-three hours. + +As we arrived, we could see from afar a sort of Valkyries' ride of +natives clad in brilliant colours and riding up at full gallop with +wild cries and exclamations. Before us spread a barren and sandy +steppe, producing the sad impression of a land forsaken by God and +man. How could life be possible there? But gradually, as we became +captivated by the charm of the boundless space, the purity of the air, +the harmonious colouring and the scent of wild heliotrope and wormwood +which alone can grow in those sands, we began to understand that it was +not only possible to live in those steppes, but also to love them. + +The plague centre stood among sandy hills with low-growing grass; the +summit of one of them was black with charred remains of burnt objects; +the corpses were buried in the same place. Only a few wretched forsaken +hovels remained. In order to throw light upon endemic plague in the +steppes, it was first of all necessary to ascertain whether the plague +microbes remained alive for some time in places where the scourge had +raged; if they were preserved in dead bodies which had been singed +rather than burnt; if the worms, insects, rodents, and domestic animals +on the spot were or were not carriers of the plague microbe, and could +or could not transmit it to a distance from the initial focus. + +After organising a small emergency laboratory, the corpses were +exhumed, and Dr. Salimbeni made a post-mortem examination. These +corpses, having been in the ground for three months, were in a state of +advanced decomposition and contained no living microbes. + +Having set the work of the plague mission going, Metchnikoff parted +from it in order to accomplish the projected investigations on +tuberculosis in the Kalmuk steppes. He made a very solemn entry into +these steppes; a Kalmuk deputation welcomed the mission and presented +Metchnikoff with a bronze Buddha. + +The aspect of those natives is sad and humble, their movements are +slow, their eyes dull. In this they contrast with their neighbours, +the quick and intelligent Kirghiz, and one reason for it is that the +latter, being Moslems, absorb no alcohol, while the Kalmuks consume +fermented milk (alcoholic fermentation) which poisons them slightly but +continuously; this observation had already been made by Metchnikoff at +the time of his previous visit. + +The Kalmuks live in tents covered with coarse felt; they transport +these dwellings on camels from one place to another when their herds +of sheep or horses have consumed the scanty pasture grass around the +camp. There is no attempt at cultivation, and the steppes become more +and more barren as the pastures become exhausted. In order to remedy +this evil, the Russian administration has begun various experimental +plantations. In some places the steppes are covered with small tamarisk +bushes or with silky grass, but, as a rule, the chief growth is of +silver wormwood. The monotony is not so great as one might think, for +the steppes, like a mirror, reflect all the divers light-changes, and +wonderful natural phenomena take place there. During the great heat, +mirages are to be seen in the distance--a river, lakes, reed-grown +shores; sometimes a sand-storm supervenes, more infernal than +fairy-like, called here "smertch." The wind raises the sand in tongues +of flames or in funnels running up to the sky with giddy rapidity. +Gradually, all the separate turmoils join in a gigantic wall of sand, +advancing in an orgy of movement; the heavy clouds fall towards the +ground, the sand rushes upwards, everything becomes confounded in +darkness and chaos. + +One feels so entirely in the power of natural forces that the fatalism +of the poor inhabitants of the land is easily understood. The Kalmuks, +primitive and nomadic, produce the impression of ghosts from distant +centuries. + +Metchnikoff noticed that since his last visit in 1874, fatal influences +had worked havoc on the population. Four scourges, all of them coming +from outside, are destroying the Kalmuks: syphilis, alcoholism, +tuberculosis, and the Russians who are constantly pushing them back. +Those poor people realise the fate which is awaiting them, and resign +themselves like a sick man who knows his sickness to be incurable. + +The spiritual life of the Kalmuks reduces itself to their religious +cult. There are many Buddhist convents where children are being brought +up for a monastic life. Religious rites are performed by priests +dressed in purple and brilliant yellow; for the uninitiated, their +part consists in unrolling interminable bands on which prayers are +inscribed, and in executing a religious music which seemed a mixture +of a camel's grunt, a dog's howling, and an infinitely sad plaint. Of +the pure cult of Buddha, nothing seems to remain but an empty form. +However, there is a convent in the steppes--Tshori--a sort of religious +academy, where an effort is being made to restore the cult to the +original level of Buddhist doctrines. + +Whilst gathering observations on tuberculosis, we traversed the steppes +in a north-easterly direction as far as Sarepta. This town seemed like +a civilised centre after the steppes, where the conditions of life were +somewhat hard in spite of the cordial reception accorded us everywhere. +The food, consisting solely in tinned goods and mutton, had caused +intestinal trouble in nearly all the members of the expedition; on the +other hand, we were greatly incommoded by the heat, lack of water, and +abundance of insects of all kinds. + +In spite of all, Metchnikoff had hitherto borne the journey fairly +well. However, since we left Moscow he had had frequent cardiac +intermittence, accompanied sometimes by sharp pains along the sternum. +But the stay at Sarepta especially tried his health; the heat reached +35° C. (95° F.) in the shade and 52° C. (about 125° F.) in the sun; in +the evening the windows could not be opened because of the mosquitoes. +Metchnikoff, who had shown so much endurance, now became weak, drowsy, +and nervous; he attributed his condition to the excessive heat. Yet +he could not leave Sarepta, for all the members of both branches of +the mission had agreed to meet there in order to sum up the results of +their observations. + +The researches of the expedition for the study of plague were not +finished, and the Russian mission had agreed to complete them. So far, +it was established that neither the corpses--after a certain time--nor +the ground, nor the surrounding animals contained any plague microbes, +and no carriers had been found among the Kirghiz population. + +The data gathered among the Kalmuk population justified Metchnikoff's +hypothesis. In the centre of the steppes, where the Kalmuks were still +isolated, tuberculosis was completely unknown; diagnosis reactions +were negative. They became positive more and more frequently as we +came nearer the periphery of the steppes and the Russian population. +The extreme sensitiveness of the Kalmuks must therefore depend on the +fact that they have suffered no natural vaccination in the steppes, +which would support the idea that some natural vaccine exists amongst +us. Metchnikoff therefore concluded that he might direct ulterior +researches towards the quest of natural tuberculous vaccines. Such were +the scientific results of the expedition. + +Apart from that, the journey to Russia had a strong personal influence +on Metchnikoff. He had formerly left his country under the impression +of the fatal error committed by the revolutionaries in killing +Alexander II., an error which had led to a protracted reaction. He had +therefore remained very sceptical concerning the Russian revolutionary +movement; he thought that the necessary reforms might come from a +Government evolution. But, during his sojourn in Russia, he was able +to appreciate events which modified his ideas to a great extent. He +was impressed by the contrast between the progressive aspirations of +the "intellectuals" and the inertia or noxious activity of the rulers. +The policy of Casso, the Minister of Public Instruction, who ordered +regular raids in the universities, the persecution of Poles and Jews, +the encouragement of the "black band" obscurantism, giving plenary +powers to creatures of darkness like Rasputin and his peers, all these +things excited indignation in a man who placed the free development of +human culture above everything. + +He thus ceased to count upon the progressive evolution of a Government +which was incapable of solving the complicated problems of Russian +life, and henceforward thought that those problems would be solved by +the "intellectuals" apart from the Government and in opposition to it. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXII + + Further researches on the intestinal flora--_Forty Years' Search for + a Rational Conception of Life._ + + +Since Metchnikoff had conceived the idea that a considerable part was +played in human life by the intestinal flora, his thoughts had centred +around a study which he thought profitable: that of the influence of +intestinal microbes on the normal and on the pathological organism. + +So, on his return from Russia, he took advantage of the fact that an +epidemic of infantile cholera had broken out in order to continue his +former investigations of that disease. The numerous cases which he +thus studied allowed him finally to establish the specific part of the +_B. proteus_ as well as the similarity between infantile cholera and +Asiatic cholera. This time he succeeded in contaminating, not only +young anthropoid apes, but also new-born rabbits, and that not only +through sick children's excreta, but by pure cultures of the _proteus_, +which eliminated every doubt of the specificity of this microbe. + +Metchnikoff explained the contamination of children exclusively +breast-fed, either by the presence of a carrier personally refractory, +among the entourage, or by the transport of dirt, by means of flies, +on the objects which infants so readily put into their mouths. +He therefore advised preventive means of absolute hygiene and +cleanliness, especially where suckling infants are concerned. + +During the year 1912, he studied the intestinal flora and the influence +of divers food diets. He experimented upon the rat, an omnivorous +animal whose mode of feeding resembles that of man. The rats were +divided into three lots, of which one was kept to a meat diet, another +to a vegetarian régime, and the third to a mixture of both. The meat +diet was least favourable, and the best results obtained by the mixed +food. + +These observations led Metchnikoff to the study of other problems +intimately connected with the same question. + +He undertook a series of researches in collaboration with his pupils, +MM. Berthelot and Wollman, on the conditions which cause the diminution +within the organism of the toxic products of intestinal microbes. They +found that the quantity of these products was very small in those +animals which feed on vegetable or fruit containing much sugar, such +as carrots, beetroot, dates, etc. This is explained by the fact that +the products of the decomposition of sugar are acids which prevent the +development of putrefying microbes. But the sugar, rapidly absorbed by +the walls of the small intestine, only reaches the large intestine in a +much reduced quantity, for it is only up to a certain point during its +journey that the cellulose of vegetables, rich in sugar, protects that +substance. The question, therefore, was to find the means of making +it reach the large intestine in greater quantities. In the intestine +of a normal dog, an innocuous microbe was found, the _Glycobacter +peptonicus_, which decomposes starch into sugar. + +Metchnikoff made some laboratory animals ingest this microbe together +with food, and ascertained that it reached the large intestine and +decomposed in it the starch of farinaceous food into sugar, of which +the acid products prevented the swarming of putrefying microbes. By +this process it is possible to reduce to a minimum and even sometimes +to eliminate the production of phenol and indol in rats subjected to a +mixed diet and made at the same time to ingest cultures of the lactic +bacillus and of the glycobacter. + +Metchnikoff applied these different diets to himself and to other +individuals and obtained concordant results. + +However, he ascertained that it is not only the food diet which +regulates the quantity of microbian poisons contained in the organism; +that quantity sometimes varies very much in spite of an identical +diet. He thought that a very important part of influence is due to +pre-existing microbes which prevent or favour the development of +microbes of putrefaction. All these questions, complicated by the +richness and variety of the intestinal flora, still demanded a long +series of laborious researches. + +At the end of the winter he felt tired, and we went to the seaside +during the holidays. But the sharp sea air did not suit him; he had +a beginning of cardiac asthma and nearly fainted during a walk. We +therefore had to come away from the sea, and went inland, to Eu. At the +beginning of our stay, Metchnikoff did not feel well, walking tired +him, he suffered from cardiac intermittence; it was only gradually +that his condition improved and he was able to write the preface to a +Russian edition of his philosophical articles. + +This book was entitled _Forty Years' Search for a Rational Conception +of Life_, and the articles record the evolution of his ideas and his +search "not only for a rational understanding of life, but also for the +solution of the problem of death, which is so full of contradictions." + +This collection of articles enables us at the same time to follow the +gradual transition from the pessimism of his youth to the optimism of +his maturity. His first writings[28] relate to the discords of human +nature and the lack of a solid basis for morals. + + [28] _Education from an Anthropological Point of View_, _The + Matrimonial Age_, _The Conception of Human Nature_, _The + Struggle for Existence in a General Sense_. See Bibliography. + +But, already in 1883, he concluded an opening _Causerie_ at the +Naturalists' Congress in Odessa, by the following words: "The +theoretical study of natural history problems, in the widest sense of +the word, alone can give a sound method for the comprehension of truth +and lead to a definite conception of life--or at least to an approach +to it." + +Another article, _The Curative Forces of the Organism_, sums up his +phagocyte theory, and states the fact that the organism possesses +special powers of struggle against enemy elements. + +In 1891, he wrote _The Law of Life_, in which we find the dawning idea +that the lack of harmony in human structure does not make a happy +existence and a rational code of morals impossible. Morals must consist +"not in rules of conduct adapted to our present defective human nature, +but on conduct based upon human nature modified, according to the ideal +of human happiness." + +_The Flora of the Human Body_, published in 1901, is a study in which +Metchnikoff's optimism assumes a definite form, for he speaks of the +efficacy of certain means of struggling with our lack of harmony. + +The last chapter in the book, "A Conception of Life and of Medical +Science," introducing the word Orthobiosis, strikes the optimistic +chord, winged and conclusive, which must result from victory over the +disharmonies of human nature. This is Metchnikoff's ultimate formula, +summing up the problems of life and of morals: + + The ethical problem reduces itself to this: to allow the majority of + human beings to reach life's goal, that is, to accomplish the whole + cycle of a rational existence to its natural end. We are still very + far from that. We can but sketch the rules to follow in order to + attain this ideal. Its final realisation will demand more scientific + researches, which must be allowed the widest and freest scope. It is + to be foreseen that existence will have to be modified in many ways. + Orthobiosis demands an active, healthy, and sober life, devoid of + luxury and excess. + + We must therefore modify present customs and eliminate those extremes + of wealth and poverty which now bring us so many evils. As time goes + on, when Science has caused present evils to disappear, when men no + longer tremble for the life and welfare of their dear ones, when + individual life follows a normal course--then Man can attain a higher + level and more easily devote himself to exalted goals. + + Then Art and pure Science will occupy the place which is due to them + and which they lack at the present moment in consequence of our many + cares. Let us hope that men will understand their true interests and + contribute to the progress of orthobiosis. + + Many efforts are necessary, much self-sacrifice, but they will be + attenuated by the consciousness of an activity directed towards the + real goal of human existence. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + + First our pleasures die, and then + Our hopes, and then--our fears, and when + These are dead--the debt is due. + Dust claims dust--and we die too. + + SHELLEY. + + Unpleasant incidents--The fabrication of lacto-bacilli--St. + Léger-en-Yvelines--Return to Paris--First cardiac attack--Evolution + of the death-instinct--Notes on his symptoms. + + +The end of 1912 had some unexpected emotions in store for us. + +Metchnikoff had always been able to congratulate himself on the cordial +hospitality which he had found in France, and to the end of his life he +remained deeply grateful for it. + +But, in any country, incidents may occur about which it would be +unjust to generalise when they are due to individuals or to particular +limited circles, as was the fact in the present case. In spite of the +broad and generous ideas so widespread in France, a sudden current +of narrow nationalism became manifest, at this moment, in certain +quarters. Foreigners were accused of invading the country, of occupying +lucrative posts and increasing the difficulties of the bitter struggle +for existence. At first, only vague allusions were made, but, little +by little, the attacks of that nationalist circle went beyond all +bounds of justice and decency and turned into brutal provocations. The +contemptuous word _métèque_ was resuscitated. + +One newspaper especially led a furious propaganda and hesitated at no +means of overwhelming its victims, one of whom was Metchnikoff. + +Those coarse attacks might have been ignored with the contempt which +they deserved had they not been echoed by a writer in a serious +publication. Dr. Roux then wrote a reply in the same paper, and the +campaign ceased. + +A proverb says with truth, "Slander away! something will always +stick." And it was thus in this case. Metchnikoff was reproached with +having made money by his scientific discoveries. The story of his +whole life and the fact that he left no fortune should suffice to +answer this calumny, yet I am obliged to dwell on it, though I should +have preferred not to do so. The incident is too characteristic of +Metchnikoff to be omitted in this biography, which must be a faithful +testimony. The calumny was based on a real fact, but the interpretation +of it was absolutely false. After Metchnikoff's experiments on the +lactic bacillus, a notion of the hygienic power of pure sour milk began +to spread among the public. A manufacturer had the idea of preparing +it on a large scale, according to the new scientific principles, and +wished to form a company to that effect; he asked Metchnikoff to +recommend to him some one whom he could entrust with the technical work +of preparing the pure curded milk. It happened that we were just then +trying to find a post for a young couple in whom we were interested, +and whose child was my husband's goddaughter. He trained his protégé +in the technique required, and was therefore able to recommend him. +A short time later, the manufacturer declared that he could not be +sure of the success of his enterprise without the guarantee of the +name of Metchnikoff, whose researches had proved the advantages of +the preparation in question. After consulting the legal adviser of +the Pasteur Institute, Metchnikoff consented to this, without of +course having any pecuniary interest in it; the formula chosen was, +"sole provider of Professor Metchnikoff." The undertaking succeeded, +and our protégé's future was assured. Metchnikoff himself, however, +was attacked and accused most unjustly, though he had never made any +personal profit whatever from the enterprise. And yet, when his friends +told him that it had been very reckless on his part thus to expose +himself, he answered that he thought it impossible to hesitate between +the welfare of a whole family and the possibility of gossip. His +reasoning was imprudent and perhaps erroneous, but he never hesitated +between doing a kindness and the possible unpleasant consequences it +might have for himself. If some people could not understand him, it was +because he was far from the commonplace, "not like other people," a +quality often misunderstood and unforgiven. + +Such are the facts. "Honi soit qui mal y pense!" + +The desire to lessen the ills around him was, in general, the cause of +heavy anxieties in his later years. He had learnt that the discovery of +an industrial process, of which the realisation required capital, would +be an excellent investment. He immediately wished to make his friends +profit by it, as well as himself, in order to alleviate material +difficulties. But until the end of his life the undertaking had no +results, and he was obsessed by the fear of having given bad advice to +those who followed him. + +He knew not how to refuse, even when he should have done so; therefore +he was odiously exploited. Often he worked, in his rare leisure +moments, for people who were unworthy of his kindness. During the last +years of his life, all these incidents grieved him so much that he used +to say he felt the burden of existence. His soul was darkened, he felt +very depressed, and his health suffered. + +We spent the summer holidays of 1913 at St. Léger-en-Yvelines, a +pretty place on the edge of the Rambouillet forest. In his choice of a +holiday resort, my husband was always guided by the desire to find a +place favourable to my sketching, and St. Léger answered the purpose +wonderfully. The fields with their vast horizons, the forest with its +graceful bracken and carpets of softly-tinted heather, the mysterious +ponds, all went to compose an admirable symphony, full of artistic +suggestion. + +Elie himself was gay and full of spirits. He worked in the morning, and +we spent the rest of the day in the forest. He often read aloud; he +rested and enjoyed the peaceful calm, pure air, and verdure which he +loved so much. + +He had arranged to take advantage of these holidays to execute work of +which he had been thinking for a long time. As it has been said above, +he thought that the life instinct was only developed gradually and +produced at the same time an optimistic conception of life; he wished +to verify this personal impression by the psychological evolution of +divers other thinkers. He turned to Maeterlinck, as a representative of +modern ideas. This author, mystical and pessimistic in his youth, had +acquired in his maturity a far more optimistic conception of life. He +himself explained this change by the influence of circumstances, but +Metchnikoff saw in it a deeper cause, connected with the progressive +evolution of the vital instinct which, by bringing equilibrium with +it, suggests optimism. The study of Maeterlinck's works confirmed his +opinion. + +Time flowed peacefully between rest and these occupations; at the end +of the holidays, we congratulated ourselves on their result on my +husband's health; on our return, his friends thought him looking well. +Yet on the 19th October, about seven in the morning, he had a terrible +cardiac attack without any apparent cause. I found him seated at his +desk, and was terrified by his appearance; his lips were blue, and he +was breathing with difficulty. And yet he was writing, and this is what +he was writing: + + SÈVRES, _19th October 1913_, 7.45 A.M. + + This morning, after a good night, my heart was working well; I had + from 58 to 59 regular pulsations. But, as I rose, I suddenly felt + acute pain along the sternum; at the same time began a strong crisis + of tachycardia. I had never in my life felt anything like it.... + +Here he had to stop as the crisis was becoming intolerable, but a few +hours later he took up his pen again: + + _19th October_, 3 P.M. + + The crisis lasted till one o'clock (six hours' duration). + + There were times when the pain in the chest was unendurable. + + I was thirsty and drank hot, weak tea; I vomited; I felt wind in the + stomach and the intestine. About noon the pain decreased, but the + heart-beats were frequent and extremely irregular. I lunched in + order not to alarm my wife, though I feared to aggravate the attack + by filling my stomach. + + But the opposite happened. From the first mouthfuls (I naturally + eat very little) the pain became more tolerable and the pulse less + frequent. After lunch, everything became normal again; the pain + ceased, the pulsations slackened (78-80 per min.) and became much + more regular. Intermittence was rare, and I several times counted + 100 regular beats in succession. I remained absolutely conscious + during the whole crisis, and what chiefly pleased me is that I felt + no fear of death, which I was expecting at every moment. It was not + only _reasoning_ which made me understand that it was better to die + now, whilst my intellectual powers had not yet gone from me and I had + evidently accomplished all of what I was capable; I resigned myself + also _in feeling_, and quite serenely to the catastrophe which was + coming upon me and which would be far from unexpected. + + My mother, who had suffered from heart attacks during a great part of + her life, died at 65. My father died of apoplexy in his 68th year. + + My eldest sister succumbed to an oedema of the brain; my brother + Nicholas died at 57 of _angina pectoris_. + + Undoubtedly my cardiac heredity is a bad one. Already in my youth, I + suffered from my heart. At 33 I had such cardiac pains that sometimes + I had to rest after walking a few paces. At 34, I had much giddiness + and a feeling of heaviness in the head. I could not read a few lines, + a poster even, without a painful sensation. In 1881, during relapsing + fever, I had severe cardiac intermittence, very fatiguing and only + relieved by small doses of digitalin. + + I afterwards had periodical attacks of intermittence but never any + tachycardia, at least none that lasted more than a few seconds. + A little tincture of strophanthus used to relieve me during + intermittence. I ended by consulting Dr. Vaquez, but the treatment + he prescribed gave me no relief. As I attributed my condition to + poisoning by the toxins of intestinal microbes, I resolved to give + up raw food and to purge myself now and then with Carabaña water. + The success of this treatment was indisputable, and in 1897 the + intermittence ceased. In the autumn of 1898 I was beginning to suffer + from polyuria; I consulted Albaran, who counselled Contrexéville + water, but this cure caused the appearance of _albumen_ in my urine. + In 1898 I consulted Norden at Frankfort and Leube in Paris during + the Exhibition of 1900. Neither found anything alarming. Norden had + told me that I had _symptoms of arterio-sclerosis inherent to my age_ + (53). I adopted a mixed diet; I took, regularly, sour milk prepared + with cultures of the Bulgarian lactic bacillus, and, during some + years, my health was quite satisfactory. + + It was only after my journey to Russia in 1909 that a notable + aggravation supervened. I felt acute pains in the chest, along the + sternum, especially after eating or walking. + + In 1911 the intermittence reappeared. In January 1911, I consulted + Dr. Heitz in order to know whether I could undertake an expedition in + the Kalmuk steppes, where hygienic conditions are very unfavourable. + Dr. Heitz found my heart hypertrophied, some slight galloping noise, + the blood-pressure (Pachon's apparatus) 17-16-15. He said, however, + that I might undertake the journey, but added, "People die suddenly + with less the matter than that with their hearts." The journey went + well, though I suffered from frequent intermittence and pains along + the sternum when I walked. + + After my return, my heart was fairly satisfactory. + + What consoles me especially is that I have preserved my activity, my + passion for work, and my intellectual powers. But, naturally, I am + ready to die at any moment. + + At the beginning of the summer I was sounded by Dr. Manoukhine and + Professor Tchistovitch; both thought the heart-sounds satisfactory, + but Manoukhine was rather struck by the weakness of the first + aortic sound whilst the second was very strong. I had frequent + intermittence, but with intervals of normal pulsations. Latterly I + have felt better in that respect, and the pain along the sternum only + occurred in exceptional cases. + + Whilst preparing for my end, I am glad that I can face it with + courage and serenity. + + As I look back upon my life, it seems to me to have been as + "orthobiotic" as possible. + + If it may seem premature to die at 68 years and 5 months, it must not + be forgotten that I began to live very early (I published my first + scientific work at 18); that I have had many emotions during my life; + that I was, so to speak, in a state of continual ebullition. + + The polemics concerning phagocytosis might have killed or finally + enfeebled me much earlier. At times (for instance, I refer to + Lubarsch's attacks in 1889 and those of Pfeiffer in 1894) I was ready + to rid myself of life. + + Moreover, I only began to follow a rational hygiene (according + to my opinion) after I was 53 years old and already had symptoms + of arterio-sclerosis. I have been fairly successful in combating + intestinal putrefaction (phenols and indols),[29] but I could not + succeed in getting rid of abundant _clostridium butyricum_ which were + implanted in my intestine. + + To sum up, I rejoice that I have had an existence not devoid of + sense, and I feel some satisfaction in considering my conception of + the problem of life as being accurate. + + As I prepare to die, I have not the shadow of a hope of a life + beyond, and I calmly look forward to complete annihilation. + + It is possible that having very early begun a very intense life, I + have attained at 68 a precocious satiety of living, just as certain + women cease to menstruate earlier than the great majority. + + EL. METCHNIKOFF. + + _P.S._--I believe everything is in order in view of my end (my will, + my affairs, etc.). + + _P.S._--Let those who think that, according to my principles, I + should have lived a hundred years, "forgive" me my premature end in + view of the extenuating circumstances above-mentioned (intense and + precocious activity, excitable temperament, nervous disposition, and + late beginning of the rational diet). + + E. M. + + [29] 28th _June_ 1914.--I have again analysed my urine and I + again find indican in fairly large quantities in spite of + a diet which is as rational as possible. I am trying to + elucidate this strange contradiction. + +The very next day he felt well enough to return to his work. + +When urged to settle down in Paris in order to avoid the fatigue of +the journey, he replied that the peace and pure air of Sèvres were +indispensable to his health, that the journey did not fatigue him in +the least, but on the contrary provided him with wholesome exercise and +a pleasant walk. Knowing how prudent he was, I did not dare to insist +for fear of mistaking what was really best for him. And life gradually +resumed its normal course.... + +For a long time Metchnikoff had been observing himself very +attentively; he took regular notes on the influence of the food +diet which he followed; by the analysis of his urine, he sought for +indications respecting the toxic products of his intestinal flora; he +studied upon himself the advance of senility, whitening of hair, etc. + +Since his crisis he had adopted the habit of writing occasional notes +on his psychical state. This is what he wrote on the 23rd December 1913 +at Sèvres: + + Two months and more have passed since I wrote the preceding lines. + During that period my health has been satisfactory; nevertheless I + have wondered every day whether it would be my last. + + I am therefore hastening to write my memoir on infantile cholera. + + The cardiac intermittence has been more or less frequent, yet every + day I have had periods of regular pulsations (58-66-72 per minute) as + usual. + + The day before yesterday I contracted a bad cold, accompanied by a + little fever. Wondering if it would degenerate into pneumonia, I + faced anew the possibility of a near end, and I resumed the analysis + of my thoughts, feelings, and sensations. + + As my 70 years draw near to their close, it seems to me that a + feeling of satiety with life, what I call the "natural death + instinct," is gently beginning to evolve. + + When, in autumn 1910, experimenting with typhoid cultures, I had + soiled my face and mouth, I naturally said to myself that it might + give me typhoid fever. I washed my face and beard with soap and a + solution of sublimate without considering that I was safe against + the infection. I _reasoned_ that it would be preferable to contract + the disease and to die of it. (At my age typhoid fever is almost + always fatal. I had never had it, and might therefore consider myself + in a state of receptivity.) It is fine to fall on the battlefield, + especially at an age when life and activity are already on the + wane. But all that was pure _reasoning_; _instinctively_ I still + felt a great desire to live, and it was with joy that I counted + the days which separated me from the danger of having contracted + typhoid fever. I felt much relieved a fortnight after the incident, + considering that the limit of incubation was passed. + + Thus _reasoning_ and feeling or _instinct_ were not in accord. + + Since then, in the three following years, a modification has taken + place in my psychical condition. + + The prospect of death _frightens me less than before_. During my + cardiac crisis of the 19th October 1913 I even felt no fear of death, + and my satisfaction at my recovery was _less_ than before. + + I think it is that difference in quantity which constitutes the first + symptoms of _indifference_ towards death, an indifference which is + hardly perceptible at first. + + Satiety with life is sometimes observed in old people of 80; it is + not surprising to feel the first approach of it about 70, especially + in the case of a man like myself who began very early to lead a very + intense life. + + Other special circumstances influence even more this precocious + satiety of life. As I become more indifferent to my own life I feel + a more and more acute anxiety for the health, life, and happiness of + those who are dear to me. + + I am especially troubled by a consciousness of the imperfection + of modern medicine. In spite of the progress realised in these + latter days, it is still powerless against a multitude of diseases, + threatening us on all sides. + + Pulmonary lesions (tuberculosis, pneumonia, etc.), the nephrites, and + an infinite quantity of other diseases can yet neither be prevented + nor cured. So we live in constant fear for those we love. When + medicine shall (as I am persuaded) have conquered all these evils, + one cause of the bitterness of life will cease--but that is not yet + the case. + + That is why, besides the weakening of the life-instinct, a + resignation towards death grows in us, as a means of no longer + feeling the ills which afflict our neighbours. + + With time, when that source of unhappiness has been eliminated by + medicine, old age will be more attractive, and an orthobiotic life + will become normal and realisable. + + At the ages of 50, 60, 65, I felt an intense joy in living, such as I + described in my _Studies on Human Nature_ and _Optimistic Essays_. In + the last few years it has lessened markedly. + + Scientific work still provokes in me an invincible enthusiasm, but I + am becoming more indifferent to many of the pleasures of life. + +And indeed he no longer had the joyous soul of former days; into his +life a funereal note had crept, low but continuous and obstinate. He +gave all the more energy to the study of those questions the solution +of which was to bring about the reign of orthobiosis. He spent +the whole winter in researches on the intestinal flora and on the +completion of his studies on infantile cholera. + +In the spring, on the occasion of his anniversary, he wrote the +following: + + SÈVRES, _16th May 1914_. + + I have to-day entered my 70th year; it is a great event for me. As I + analyse my feelings, I realise more and more the _weakening_ of my + "life-instinct." + + In order to verify my impressions, I wished to hear again the + musical compositions which formerly used to make me shed tears of + enthusiasm (for instance, Beethoven's 7th Symphony or Bach's aria + for the violin). Well, my impressionability towards music has very + much lessened. In spite of the facility with which old people weep, I + hardly shed a single tear, save with rare exceptions. + + I observe the same change in other circumstances. + + This spring, the blossoming of flowers, buds, bushes, and trees, all + this renascence of nature, has not excited in me a shadow of the + emotion of preceding years. + + Rather I felt a melancholy, not on account of my coming end, but + because of the consciousness of the burden of existence. + + There is no question for me now of the old joy of living; my + predominant feeling is _infinite anxiety_ for the health and + happiness of those I love. I now so well understand Pettenkoffer, + who committed suicide at 84 after losing all his family. Their + death had evidently been precocious because of the impotence of + medicine. At every step, one comes across cases where neither + hygiene nor therapeutics can do anything. How many are infected with + tuberculosis, no one knows how or where. What is to be done to avoid + it? And the consequences of measles, of scarlet fever, perhaps of a + simple sore throat, followed sometimes by tuberculosis or nephritis! + + What is the use of being able to foretell, by means of the proportion + of urea in the blood, the precise moment of the death of an + "azotemic" patient when you cannot prevent it or cure him? + + This imperfection of medical science prevents many from reaching true + _orthobiosis_, and it is understandable that, seeing the present + state of medicine, the feeling of the "burden of existence" may be + precocious, as in my case. + + But it is indubitable that, in spite of the slowness with which + medical science is developing, it will in the future reach a degree + which will enable us to cease to tremble any longer before all sorts + of incurable diseases. Orthobiosis will then appear, no longer under + its present incomplete form, but as the solid and essential basis of + life. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIV + + Return to St. Léger-en-Yvelines--Norka--Studies on the death of the + silk-worm moth--War declared--Mobilisation. + + +The drawback of the holidays consisted, for Metchnikoff, in coming away +from his laboratory and in the impossibility of following his diet in a +hotel or a boarding-house. We therefore resolved to hire a cottage in +some quiet place, to organise a small laboratory, and to continue our +usual mode of life. + +St. Legér-en-Yvelines, where we had spent part of the preceding summer, +answered all our requirements. We took a small villa there and called +it "Norka," which means in Russian "little hole," "little refuge," and +came there for the holidays in July 1914. + +Elie seemed pleased to be there; thanks to the laboratory, he could +easily vary his occupations, for continuous reading fatigued him. His +reflections having led him to the problem of natural death, he had +for some time been seeking for a subject on which he could study the +mechanism of the phenomenon. He had formerly studied the May-flies +(Ephemeridæ), predestined to a natural death by their rudimentary +buccal organs, incapable of use in feeding. But the life of those +insects, a life of a few hours or a few days at the most, was too short +to allow the necessary researches. The males of the Rotifera, which are +also deprived of buccal organs and even of digestive organs, were too +small in size for physiological experiments. Thus, those two examples +of natural death among multicellular beings were unsuitable to the +projected study. + +He found a more favourable subject in the moth of the silk-worm +(_Bombyx mori_); the rudimentary buccal organs of that insect make all +feeding impossible and predestine it to a natural death. The dimensions +of the silk-worm moth are large enough and it has a life duration of +twenty-five or thirty days, therefore sufficient to allow the study of +the mechanism by which its death is brought about. Metchnikoff procured +a quantity of silk-worms, and soon the moths hatched and covered all +the mantelpieces and tables in Norka with white flakes. He ascertained +that it was not hunger which brought about the death of the moths, for +their organism was not in the least exhausted. + +The nutrition of the latter takes place at the expense of the fatty +substance which remains after the metamorphosis of the chrysalis into +a moth. The dissolution of this fatty substance produces toxins which +pass into the urine. Thus the obvious cause of the death of the moth +is an acid intoxication by toxic urine secreted in the bladder. As the +latter does not empty itself, uræmia becomes inevitable. + +The majority of moths contain no micro-organisms which could suggest +death by infection. + +The only theoretic objection against a natural death might consist +in the existence of "invisible microbes." Indeed, the question +of invisible microbes revealed in certain infections perturbed +Metchnikoff's mind to such an extent that, during his last illness, +he used to say that it would have been a curse to his ulterior +activity, a sort of ghost preventing all definite conclusions in +problems connected with the absence or presence of microbes. The last +word on natural death, he said, will only be spoken when, owing to +the improvement of the microscope, those microbes which are as yet +invisible to us will become visible. Nevertheless, as far as can be +judged at present, the death of the _Bombyx mori_ is due, not to +external causes, but to the structure of the insect itself, and is +therefore a natural death. + +During these holidays, Metchnikoff also wrote reminiscences of his +friend the physiologist Setchénoff.[30] + + [30] In the Russian Review, _Messenger of Europe_. + +We went quietly for fairly long walks; Metchnikoff rested on the shores +of his favourite lake (Vilpert), and his health was very satisfactory. + +After the intense heat, some rain came and the weather became ideal; +there was a perceptible lull in nature; the underwood was becoming +purple with heather; the corn was ripening; harvest had begun, and +sheaves stood up in the fields. All was calm and peaceful; we never +tired of the charm of the forest, of the fields, of the beautiful +rustic surroundings, and our souls sang in unison with Nature.... + +Suddenly, like a flash of lightning in the pure sky, the news of the +war burst out! + +The possibility had so often been mentioned in late years that no one +believed in it. Even now, on the eve of the catastrophe, it was hoped +that all would settle down.... + +Until the last moment Metchnikoff refused to believe in it; he could +not admit that a pacific solution was impossible. "How is it possible +that in Europe, in a civilised country, mutual interests should not be +reconciled without killing?" he said. "A war would be madness, even +from the point of view of Germany, who risks having to face three great +powers. No, war is not possible." + +And yet war was spreading all over Europe. + +The situation of France seemed critical, for the country had just gone +through a series of internal storms. The labour question, that of +income tax, and that of the three years' military service had raised +sharp controversies; the Caillaux affair had revealed hidden sores in +political life; the insane assassination of Jaurès, of which the reason +was still unknown, gave rise to the blackest prognostications. + +Already on the 28th July, date of the declaration of war by Austria +against Serbia, anxiety had become intense, but it was hoped that +Russia would settle matters between the two countries, and that the +trouble would remain local. + +On the 1st August, Germany declared war on Russia, and it became +obvious that the storm was coming on apace. The aspect of life suddenly +changed; a feeling of dread and expectancy unnerved everybody; +mobilisation was mentioned; automobiles at full speed hurried along the +roads; the harvest was hastily gathered.... We could no longer work, go +for walks, or admire nature without a feeling of heavy anxiety. + +We went about like automatons, all our thoughts centred on one +point--the threatening, inevitable war. Everything had put on a +sinister aspect, and Nature herself joined in the general gloom; the +weather became stormy, thunder rolled alarmingly, heavy clouds hurried +and met in a gigantic struggle, evoking the image of other coming +struggles. During the night of the 1st August the storm never ceased, +we could not sleep; all night long, frenzied automobiles raced along +the high road, sounding their lugubrious horns. In the middle of the +night, we heard some one knocking at the doors of the police station +opposite. What was happening? In the darkness, illumined by flashes of +lightning, we saw horsemen with lanterns; they were messengers bringing +the orders for mobilisation. It was proclaimed the next day. + +The population gathered at the _mairie_, a grave, silent crowd; the few +words exchanged only concerned war and partings. Old men, who had lived +through 1870, were low-spirited; young ones, on the contrary, were +excited. + +We had to think of our return home, which might be difficult later. +We went into the forest for the last time; the evening was mild and +calm after the storm. The peace and beauty around us were such that +we longed not to believe in the terrible reality. But we had to bid +farewell to all that had charmed us. We went once again into the +meadows near Norka. The hayricks were standing in rows, their soft, +golden silhouettes harmoniously outlined against the hilly background +purple with heather. We sat down on the mown grass. Suddenly, in the +calm of the evening, bells began to sound. It was not the distant and +poetic call for vespers, nor the sad sound of the passing bell, but the +hard, sinister, ill-omened tocsin, warning the whole countryside, down +to the most distant, most peaceful hamlets and to the wood-cutters in +the forest, that mobilisation had commenced.... + +Another storm broke out in the night. Again the rolling of the +thunder shook our nerves and seemed like the echo of distant battles; +again mysterious automobiles and horsemen raced along the road, and +everything, every sound, every shadow seemed sinister. + +We did not feel any fear, but a kind of insupportable nervous tension. +Later, when we were much nearer real danger, we did not experience this +electric, almost morbid feeling. + +The next day, Germany had declared war on France. + +It was only with much difficulty that we found a carriage to take us +to the station. On the road we were constantly being passed by various +vehicles, crowded with soldiers and young men going off. The little +station was full of people, the train also. Moved and excited, the +people shouted, "Vive la France!" and sent friendly salutes to unknown +soldiers in the train. Women, seeing their men off, were trying to be +gay; they encouraged the departing ones, and only wept after they were +gone. The general impression, both moral and material, was excellent; +every one seemed equal to his task, conscious of his duty, and desirous +of fulfilling it well. The mobilisation seemed well organised, +everything was being accomplished without any flurry or bustle, even +the trains were almost punctual. + +All small personal interests and party quarrels which had latterly +poisoned life now suddenly disappeared; everywhere the desire to be +useful was noticeable; people became better, there was more sympathy, +more solidarity; the distance between classes seemed to decrease, the +common trial made all equal. + +There was beauty in that moment, for it showed that the greatest of +evils might yet exalt and purify the human soul. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXV + + Return to Paris--The deserted Institute--Memoir on the Founders of + Modern Medicine--Metchnikoff's Jubilee--Last holidays at Norka. + + +This was but the beginning of the war; soon it spread with vertiginous +rapidity, and made its cruel destructive force felt. + +On our return from Norka, we found everything on a war footing. The +very next morning, Metchnikoff hurried to the laboratory. He only +reached Paris with some difficulty, all means of communication being +encumbered by soldiers. He had left the house nervous and excited but +full of courage and energy. I shall never forget his return home.... + +I was awaiting him as usual, just outside the station, and, as he got +out of the train, I did not recognise him. I saw a stooping old man, +bent as under a heavy burden; his usual vivacity was gone, and had +given place to the deepest depression. + +He told me in a broken voice that the Institute was already deserted; +that it was under the orders of the military authorities, and +completely disorganised for scientific work. The younger men were +mobilised; the laboratories empty; the animals used for experiments had +been killed on account of the departure of the servants, and for fear +of a lack of food. Everything that had been devoted to the service of +science and of research into means of preserving life had been handed +over to the service of war. Normal and cultured life was arrested. And +that was the outcome of civilisation. + +Metchnikoff felt as if he had suddenly been dropped into the abyss of +centuries, into the times of human savagery. He could not accustom +his mind to the idea of such a fall; it seemed to him a paradox, an +impossibility, that civilised peoples could not do without sanguinary +fights in order to solve questions of mutual relations. + +The events which were taking place agitated and depressed him all the +more that he had not the possibility of becoming absorbed in scientific +investigations; he was completely thrown off his balance. + +And as, one by one, the news came of the death in action of several +of the young men who had left the Institute, Metchnikoff's grief knew +no limits. He could not bear the idea, now a terrible reality, that +these brilliant young lives should be sacrificed, victims of those who +should have directed the peoples towards peace and a rational life, +and who, instead of that, threw the most precious part of humanity +into the abyss of death. War became a dark, sinister background to +his daily life. The victims of war were not only those who fell on +the battle-field, but included him whose whole life-effort had been +directed towards the conservation of human existence and the search +for rational conceptions. The contrast between his aspirations and the +cruel reality had been to him a blow which his sensitive and suffering +heart was not fit to bear. + +The Germans were advancing rapidly. Then came the sad days of panic, +when the inhabitants were leaving Paris in numbers and the Government +started for Bordeaux. At night, the sky was swept by the gigantic, +luminous sword of the searchlights; the rumble of cannon could be heard +in the distance.... + +Metchnikoff, however, had no personal fear whatever. He very simply +decided on his course of action, which was to remain at the Institute +if his presence there could be of use; if not, to retire to some quiet +place where he could work. As there was hardly any staff left at the +Institute on account of the mobilisation, he did not go away, but, on +the contrary, we came to live in Paris, the communication with Sèvres +being very difficult. + +The day we arrived was that on which the first German aeroplanes +appeared, and they dropped bombs near the St. Lazare station just as we +were alighting from the train. For some time after that, they carried +out a raid above Paris every Sunday. + +In spite of the disorganisation of his whole life, Metchnikoff had +succeeded in resuming his work to a certain extent. He took advantage +of an opportunity to observe an old dog who was suffering from +diabetes, and hastened to examine his organs as soon as he died, whilst +they were still fresh. He had for some time supposed that diabetes +might be an infectious disease; yet he was unable to discover any +specific microbe either in the humors or in the organs of the dog. But +he succeeded in provoking symptoms of the disease (traces of sugar in +the urine) in a healthy dog, by inoculating him with the pancreatic +gland of the diabetic dog. He was much encouraged by this result, +and would have liked to continue his researches, but was unable to +do so because of the general disorganisation and the impossibility +of obtaining animals for experiments. He had to content himself with +continuing his memoir on infantile cholera and his observations on the +silk-worm moth. + +As he was almost altogether precluded from laboratory work, he began +to write a study on "The Founders of Modern Medicine," in order to +demonstrate, by concrete examples, the importance of positive science +in its application to life. This is what he said in his preface to the +book: + + These pages were written under special circumstances. If not in the + actual hearing of guns, it was in expectation of it that I had to + spend several weeks in my Paris laboratory, now under war conditions. + These meant an almost complete cessation of any scientific activity + in our Institute. + + For fear of a lack of food, the animals used for our experiments had + been killed, which deprived us of the possibility of proceeding with + our researches. + + The stables of the Institute were filled with cows who provided milk + for the hospitals and children's homes. + + The greater number of our young collaborators, assistants, or + laboratory attendants were mobilised, and only the female employees + and old men remained. One of the latter, I found myself in the + impossibility of pursuing my investigations and in possession of much + leisure. I made use of it to write this book in the hope that it + might be helpful. + + It is not intended for physicians, for they know all that is + expounded in it, but for young men who are seeking a scope for their + activities. + + We may be sure that the insane war which broke out in consequence of + the lack of knowledge or of power of those who should have watched + over peace, will be followed by a long period of calm. It is to be + hoped that this unexampled butchery will, for a long time, do away + with the desire for fighting, and that soon the need will be felt + of a more rational activity. Let those who will have preserved the + combative instinct direct it towards a struggle, not against human + beings, but against the innumerable microbes, visible or invisible, + which threaten us on all sides and prevent us from accomplishing the + normal and complete cycle of our existence. + + The results acquired by the progress of the new medical science allow + us to hope that, in a more or less distant future, humanity will be + freed from the principal diseases which oppress it. + +After describing the state of medical science before Pasteur, Lister, +and Koch, Metchnikoff compared with it modern medicine, created by +these three Founders, and showed the great horizons opened by them to +the medicine of the future. + +On the 26th of September 1914, whilst we were still in Paris, he had, +in the laboratory, an attack of tachycardia, which lasted three hours +but was much less violent than that of the year before. The winter, +however, passed fairly well in spite of the emotions and continuous +excitement caused by the war, and he had no other attack until April +1915, when again he had a slight tachycardiac crisis of a short +duration. Yet he was very much changed: his hair was much whiter, his +movements were slow, and his figure bent. His infectious gaiety and +vivacity had disappeared, but he remained energetic and enthusiastic in +his work, and gained more and more in serenity. + +Little children in the street called him "Father Christmas," and came +confidingly to ask him for presents. They knew him well, and were aware +that his pockets were always filled with sweets for them. He used +to say that his growing love for children was the revelation of the +grandfatherly instinct, for which he had reached the proper age. He +especially loved one of his god-daughters, little Lili; he had become +attached to the child on account of her kind heart and exceptional +sweetness, and also because, from the cradle, she had shown a marked +preference for him. And yet his love for children was not to him a +source of joy, for anxiety on their account predominated over other +feelings. + +In spite of the physical change which had supervened, his brain +continued to work untiringly as in the past, and he tackled new +problems with youthful courage and boldness. He had planned a work on +the sexual question, which, according to him, was treated erroneously, +with the result that grave disharmonies occurred in human existence. + +Thus he reached some quite revolutionary conclusions respecting +education and marriage. He thought that morality should be set upon +a quite different basis, new and rational; and that was the question +which he prepared to treat. + +The 16th of May of that year was his seventieth anniversary. + +His satisfaction was great at having reached the normal limit of age, +for he saw in that a conclusive proof of the efficacy of his hygiene. +Indeed, he showed on that day a sort of rejuvenation: his aspect was +quite different, he was gay and animated as he had not been for a long +time. + +The Pasteur Institute celebrated his jubilee. In spite of the absence +from "The House" of many members on account of the war, the library +filled with people, and the fête had a cordial and intimate character. +Dr. Roux's speech[31] will remain the best description of E. Metchnikoff +and of his scientific activity. He himself responded to all those +manifestations of sympathy by a spirited speech, in which, _à propos_ +of his own particular case, he expounded his ideas on senility and the +duration of life in general. This is what he wrote on that same day in +his note-book: + + [31] _Annales de l'Institut Pasteur_, Jubilé d' E. Metchnikoff, + 1915. + + 16th May 1915. To-day I have at last accomplished my seventy years! + I have attained the normal limit of life, a limit mentioned by King + David and confirmed by the statistical researches of Lexis and + Bodio.[32] I am still capable of work and of reflection. But the + changes in my psychical state which I had observed a year ago have + become sensibly accentuated. The difference in acuteness both of + pleasant and painful sensations is becoming more and more marked. + Agreeable sensations are becoming weaker; I am now indifferent to + many things which I used to appreciate very much. + + It is useless to say that I am indifferent to the quality of my food; + my need of musical impressions has become so much less that I hardly + feel the desire to satisfy it. The charm of spring no longer touches + me and only provokes sadness in my mind. + + On the other hand, my anxiety for the health and happiness of those + I love is getting more and more acute. I find it difficult to + understand how I ever could bear it. + + The powerlessness of medicine grieves me more and more, and, + as a last straw, the war has interrupted all the work that had + been undertaken against disease. In these conditions, it is not + astonishing that I should feel a growing satiety with existence. + Last year [16th May 1914 to 16th May 1915] I had two attacks of + tachycardia, during which I should have been glad to die, but in + general my health is satisfactory and that sustains me. What would + have become of me if, to crown my misfortunes, I had fallen ill! I + certainly no longer fear death, but I desire to die suddenly during a + heart attack and not to go through a long illness. + + My comparative longevity is not due to family heredity (my father + died in his 68th year, my mother in her 66th, my sister also, my + eldest brother at 45, my second brother at 50, the third in his 57th + year; my grandparents I have not known). It is to my hygiene that I + give the credit for having attained my 70 years in a satisfactory + condition. I have taken no raw food for eighteen years and I + introduce as many lactic bacilli as possible into my intestines. But + it is but a first step; in spite of all, I am being poisoned by the + bacteria of butyric fermentation. However, I have practically reached + the normal term of life and I must be satisfied. I have, so to speak, + accomplished the programme of a "reduced orthobiosis." + + When macrobiotics become more perfect, when people have learnt how to + cultivate a suitable flora in the intestines of children as soon as + they are weaned from their mother's breast, the normal limit of life + will be put much further back and may extend to twice my 70 years. + Then, also, satiety with existence will appear much later than it has + done in my case. + + To-day they celebrated my jubilee at the Pasteur Institute, which + touched me very much, in spite of my distrust of sentimental + manifestations, for I realised their sincerity. I should have liked + to set out a programme of the researches which should be accomplished + by the Pasteur Institute, but I feared to detain my audience too long. + + I believe that Science will solve all the principal problems of Life + and Death and that she will enable human beings to accomplish their + vital cycle by real orthobiosis, not by a reduced caricature of it as + in my case. Nevertheless, I consider the experiment practised upon + myself as having already given some result and that is to me a real + satisfaction. + + [32] _Annales de l'Institut Pasteur_, 1915. + +We spent that summer a few weeks at Norka, where Metchnikoff completed +his researches concerning the death of the silk-worm moth. + +We went for delicious walks; we spent all the afternoon by the lake +or under the pines in the heather, reading and working. Once only, +during a walk, he had a strong cardiac intermittence, but as a rule +he felt well. I could see, however, that he was obsessed by a grave +preoccupation which he did not express. Later, during his last illness, +he confessed to me that during the whole of that stay at St. Léger he +had feared to die suddenly during one of our walks. The thought of my +isolation weighed on his mind and he hid his anxiety so as not to alarm +me.... + +With a view to the work which he had planned on the sexual question, +he interested himself in the influence that their sentimental life had +had on the activity of great men, and we read together the biographies +of Beethoven, Mozart, and Wagner. Elie was more than ever desirous of +making our holidays as pleasant as possible, as if he already felt that +they were our last. Here are more extracts from his note-book: + + ST. LÉGER-EN-YVELINES, _24th June 1916_. + + When saying that I did not fear death, I had in view the dread of + annihilation. That fear, manifested during a long period of life + and disappearing towards the end, may be compared with the fear of + darkness which children instinctively feel and which also disappears + gradually and naturally. When, towards the end of life, the fear of + nothingness ceases, no desire remains for a future life, for the + immortality of the soul. It would even be painful to me to think + that the soul, surviving the body, could watch, from beyond, the + misfortunes of those who remain on the earth. On the contrary, + towards life's decline, a desire for complete annihilation becomes + developed. + +He spent the autumn collecting and preparing the materials he required +for his book on the sexual function. It was a relief from the sad +impressions of the war and the deserted laboratory. But new troubles +were in store for us; I became ill, and had scarcely recovered when we +heard the news of the death of a nephew who was very dear to us. The +death of the young had always deeply moved Metchnikoff, and it was so +in this case. It was another weight thrown into the already descending +scale. + +In spite of all, he continued to work with enthusiasm, planting young +trees that future generations might enjoy their shade. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXVI + + Bronchial cold--Aggravated cardiac symptoms--Farewell to Sèvres + --Return to the Institute--Protracted sufferings--Intellectual + preoccupations--Observations on his own condition--The end-- + Cremation. + + +If in this sad last chapter I occasionally dwell on details which may +seem insignificant in themselves, it is because, at this supreme moment +of Elie Metchnikoff's existence, everything was full of significance, +for everything converged to emphasise the powerful unity and the +ascending and continuous progress of his ideas. + +His attitude in the face of illness and death was a teaching, a +support, and an example. That is why, relating the story of his last +days, I piously describe everything. + +Towards the end of November, he caught a slight cold, which did not +prevent him from leading his usual life, but which, nevertheless, was +the starting-point of the illness which took him from us. + +On the 2nd of December, during a walk, he suddenly felt a cardiac +commotion such that he thought he was dying. For hours, his pulse +remained intermittent and very rapid, and from that day he felt unwell +but continued to go to the laboratory. + +On the 9th of December his condition became worse and forced him to +interrupt his normal life. All the doctors were away or very busy on +account of the war, and it was only on the 11th that Dr. Renon could +give him a consultation at the Laënnec Hospital. He found Metchnikoff's +heart very tired and nervous, prescribed a treatment, and told us to +come back in twenty-five days. + +But the disease was making giant strides. In the night of the 12th to +13th a first attack of cardiac asthma supervened, an extremely painful +one; we had the impression that the end was near. Elie suffered agonies +but remained morally calm and ready for death, as he had ever been +since his first heart attack, two years previously. He repeated that he +had accomplished his task and run through his vital cycle; that what he +could yet do would be but a supplement, and that it was better to die +than to outlive his own decadence. + +He only wished not to suffer too long, but that humble desire was not +to be realised. We spent two more nights at Sèvres, terrible nights not +to be forgotten if one had centuries to live, and we then decided to go +to a nursing home in Paris, as it was imprudent to remain any longer +isolated as we were. + +Having heard of Metchnikoff's illness, Dr. Roux offered to receive us +at the Pasteur Institute in a small lodging which was now free, the +house-physician who had occupied it having been killed. + +Dr. Widal, in whom Metchnikoff had absolute confidence, came to +Sèvres on the 14th and found myocarditis. Thanks to an absolutely +incomprehensible phenomenon, Elie had suddenly ceased to realise the +rapidity of his pulse; he had 160 beats in a minute and only perceived +less than half; it was therefore easy to keep the truth from him. + +After a last night of suffering we left our Sèvres nest, which we had +so loved. Leaning on my arm, he slowly walked through the little +garden and gazed for the last time at the home that we were leaving for +the unknown.... He looked worn and bent under the weight of suffering, +but he was quite calm, and his eyes, though firm and gentle, already +seemed to me to be looking very far away. + +The automobile bore us slowly from Sèvres to the Pasteur Institute, +and we found ourselves in the small flat which had been inhabited by +the young doctor who had been killed in the war. He had only spent a +short stage of his life there. How long should we remain? And what road +should we take when we left it? We tried to smile, though our hearts +were terribly heavy, in order to cheer each other. + +But, in the course of the day, we were surrounded by friends full of +solicitude, the tension relaxed, and we felt a growing sense of comfort +and security. No more nights of mortal dread and loneliness, with no +help at hand! That thought alone inspired courage and hope. In case of +need, I had only to send down to the next floor to ask for a doctor. + +For a few days, Elie felt much better, perhaps on account of the mental +relief, but his heart was weak and his pulse extremely rapid. Drs. +Widal, Martin, Veillon, Salimbeni, and Darré came to see him every day; +during the whole of his long illness, they never ceased to show him the +most attentive and devoted care. They attempted by every means to save +him from pain, for, alas, they had no hope of curing him. Nothing was +neglected, and many still greater sufferings were spared him.[33] + + [33] For instance, Dr. Widal, very early in his illness, had + advised a saltless diet, which caused the infiltration in + the tissues to remain comparatively slight. + +The war was an inexhaustible and passionately interesting subject +of conversation; Elie read a number of newspapers and listened with +avidity to every news from private sources. Often, too, scientific +questions were discussed, which continued to interest him intensely. +These talks were an invaluable relaxation. + +Feeling infinitely grateful towards his medical advisers and friends, +he showed himself a most docile patient, following their prescriptions +with absolute punctuality. When his condition grew worse and he felt +no hope whatever of his recovery, he often used to say, "What is to be +done? the doctors can do nothing, for medicine is powerless. Unhappily, +it will remain so for a long time. Much work will have to be done to +rid humanity of the scourge of diseases. But, surely, one day science +will succeed in doing so; that will be chiefly through prophylaxis and +rational hygiene. There will also be a new science--the science of +death; it will be known how to make it less hard." + +After lunch and a short sleep, he received the daily visit of his +friend Dr. Roux, with whom he talked in the full intimacy of friendship +and affection. He confided to him his apprehensions and desires, and +felt unlimited gratitude for his kindness to us, often saying to me, +with tears in his eyes, "I knew Roux was a kind man and a true friend, +but I see now that he is incomparable." Other friends also did their +utmost to serve him and to show their sympathy. He had the great joy +of feeling himself beloved and surrounded with an atmosphere of real +kindness. Many times he said to me, "Now, only, have I appreciated the +warm-heartedness of the French at its full value. Do not fail, in my +biography, to emphasise how deeply I feel it, and how grateful I am. I +want them to know it." + +Yet all the care and devotion of which he was the object could neither +arrest the fatal progress of disease nor spare cruel suffering to him +who had thought of nothing but relieving the pains of others. All our +efforts were as flowers scattered over a tomb; he, poor tortured one, +was slowly, consciously sinking into it through the implacable logic +of Fate. From the beginning of his illness, he foresaw the issue; he +lived in constant expectation of death, on the threshold of which his +calm and serenity remained as unalterable as were his patience and +resignation. + +After a temporary and comparative lull, which lasted until the end of +December, the disease began to progress again, and almost every week +brought a fresh alarming symptom. It was especially during the night +that the pain, treacherously, reappeared. After dropping asleep fairly +early, he would begin to breathe with difficulty and then awake in +an indescribable state of anguish; perspiration drenched his head, +neck, and chest, several towels often being required to dry him. His +breathing was hard; during bad attacks, the wheezing of his bronchial +tubes was terrifying. + +He would sit up, his hands clenched, his face blue and contracted by +suffering, his darkened lips apart, his eyes dilated--the face of a +man on the rack. He gasped like a suffocating man; at last a tearing +cough supervened, followed by expectoration, and the attack gradually +subsided. + +For a time we were able to relieve him without the use of narcotics. As +long as there was a ray of hope--not of recovery, but of a bearable +life and further work--he wished at all costs to avoid the influence of +narcosis. He breathed fumes of pyridin or ether, he smoked Escouflaire +cigarettes, and inhaled various other things. In order to sleep after +an attack, he ate a few biscuits, and I sprinkled his head with a +menthol solution, with which I damped his temples and forehead. That +eased him, and sometimes he slept again for a few hours. + +But how many were the nights of insomnia and suffering! How many times +did he call for death as a deliverer, and say that he _resigned_ +himself to live for my sake only! + +And in spite of the martyrdom he endured, he always had gentle words, +a caress, a consolation even! He constantly returned to the thought +that he had nothing to complain of, that he had had a large share of +happiness and good fortune in having accomplished his task, and even +arrived at the development of the natural death-instinct. + +All those who saw him every day knew that he was courageous and +patient, every one admired his serenity, but no one could realise the +_degree_ of his courage and patience, for no one had seen and lived +through those miserable nights. + +Often, even, when asked how he was, he said "not bad!" after a terrible +night, saying to me afterwards in explanation, "Why grieve them, since +it cannot be helped?" + +At the beginning of our stay in the Institute, he was not yet quite +bedridden. After his morning toilet, he would lie for some hours on a +sofa, reading almost continuously, newspapers, scientific reviews, and +many works in connection with the book he had planned on the sexual +function, of which he wrote only the introduction and a few lines of +the first chapter.[34] + + [34] He expounded the theory that ideas on the sexual function + had been falsified through fear of venereal diseases at a + time when people did not know either how to avoid or cure + those diseases. He showed that the condemnation of a natural + function by divers religions was based on that fear. He + analysed the deplorable consequences of that, and set forth + the necessity of returning to more wholesome ideas, more in + conformity with nature and allowing the study and avoidance + of many evils. He thought that, in this connection, a new + direction should be given to the education of children + and to marriage. He then examined the part played by the + sexual function in the lives of men of genius and, with + that object, read many biographies and literary works. + During his illness he read books concerning Victor Hugo and + Napoleon, J. J. Rousseau's _Confessions_ and even parts of + the _Nouvelle Héloïse_. + +Another question occupied him at that time, that of first-born +children. Certain data led him to think that men of genius were but +rarely the first-born of their parents, and he sought for every +possible information on the subject. In his constant desire to improve +life-conditions, he even thought that a demonstration of this fact +might have a desirable influence on the increase of population in +France after the war; if it were proved that the most successful +children are not the first-born, perhaps the system of having two +children only would be given up in order to have a chance of giving the +country a more capable population. + +His reflections on the sexual questions led him to seek for +experimental means of studying gonorrhoea. He thought of inoculating +the gonococcus into the eye of new-born mice and entrusted M. +Rubinstein, the only worker left in the laboratory, with these +experiments. The latter began them and obtained encouraging results, +but he left Paris in the spring and the work remained unfinished. + +Metchnikoff's mind never ceased to work unless interrupted by acute +pain; until the very end, his brain never failed him. He often used to +say how far he was from any mystic aspirations, and how sure he was of +remaining a rationalist until the end. And such was the case. Faithful +to himself, not even in the most painful moments did he feel a desire +to look for support outside the ideas and principles of his whole life. +Yet his soul was sad and full of care; the war grieved him utterly, +every newspaper he read renewed his sorrow. When a severe engagement, +Verdun for instance, was going on, he lost the little sleep he had, and +his agitation became painful. + +He was deeply disillusioned by the Germans. Having always felt great +esteem for their scientific work, he had believed in their high +culture, and now he was absolutely disconcerted by the mentality which +they manifested during the war. + +Neither could he understand how the war had been allowed to come +about. He thought it ought to have been avoided, and considered the +authorities guilty for not having done so. He said that nothing could +compensate the harm done by this insane butchery. + +The deserted laboratories, the interruption of scientific work, filled +his soul with melancholy. For, he said, all the great, all the real +questions should have been solved by Science and were kept waiting.... + +He also had material worries, the war having brought great perturbation +in his affairs. The fate of his mobilised pupils preoccupied him +constantly. The least indisposition, however trifling, of those he +loved made him unhappy. His sensibility, which had always been very +marked, increased still more, and consumed him; it surely was one of +the causes that had worn his heart out. When already very weak and ill, +he constantly thought of giving pleasure to those who were with him; he +read innumerable reviews and periodicals, and would tell each friend +what he had found of particular interest to the latter, even when +speech was difficult to him. His gentleness and cordiality were most +touching during the whole of his illness, though he preserved his usual +outspokenness.... It seemed to me that this offended no one; they all +understood Elie now. + +He sought a refuge from his sufferings in his own ivory tower; these +sufferings themselves were to him a source of observations. He +studied his body and his soul as he would have studied any subject +under experiment. Every day he wrote down his auto-observations, and +carefully read the diary which I kept for him. + +During the whole of the winter he had ups and downs. Towards the end +of December the cough and respiratory symptoms increased, and at the +beginning of January he expectorated clots of blood, due to a passive +congestion of the right lung. + +On the 19th January, some liquid appeared in the pleura on the same +side. Pleurisy persisted for a whole month and necessitated three +punctures. Every time we feared to tell him that the puncture was +necessary, but he received the news with complete coolness, saying that +he had always been in favour of radical measures. + +After the third puncture, which took place on the 19th February, a +marked relief supervened, and the improvement lasted for some time; it +was the only moment when we saw a ray of hope. + +Though keeping to his bed, he worked a great deal, read, and received +not only his friends but other visitors. At the beginning of March and +at the end of April he again expectorated blood, and the terrible, +tragical nights began again. Yet the days were fairly good. + +During that period, he had the pleasure of seeing some of his pupils +again, and of receiving several Russian deputies and journalists. They +talked to him of political events, of the war, of the moral state of +Russia. All that interested him immensely; he plied them with the most +varied questions. It must be remembered that, before that interview, we +had lost all touch with Russia. + +During the whole of May he again had ups and downs, but the progress of +the disease was indisputable. + +Tachycardia was constant, urine more and more scanty, the swelling of +the legs never decreased, cough and oppression occurred frequently +even during the day. Elie awaited his seventy-first birthday with +impatience. Often during the night, after a painful attack, he would +count the days, hours, and minutes which separated him from that date. +At last it arrived. Here are the lines which he added to his notes on +that day: + + 16th May. Against all expectation, I have lived until this day. I + have reached my 71 years. My dream of a rapid death without a long + illness has not been realised. I have now been bedridden for five + months. After several crises of tachycardia, following upon a slight + grippe with asthma, I had congestion of one lung with pleuritic + exudate. Though some improvement followed after that, nevertheless I + am tormented by fits of sweating followed by cough and oppression. I + suffer chiefly in the night from those attacks; they provoke insomnia + which can only be combated by pantopon. + + My psychical state is twofold. In one way, I should like to get well, + but, on the other hand, I see no sense in living any longer. Illness + has not provoked in me any fear of death, and I am more deprived than + formerly of the joy of living. The reawakening of spring leaves me + quite indifferent. There can be no question for me of that pleasure + which convalescents often feel, nor indeed of any pleasure. To the + despair that I feel in the face of medicine's powerlessness to cure + the ills of my friends is added the feeling of its powerlessness + towards my own illness. I think that my desire to recover and to + continue to live is connected with practical causes. + + The war has compromised our finances, our income from Russia has + practically disappeared. If I die, my wife may find herself in a very + difficult situation. Given her lack of practical notions, that may + lead to very sad results. Yet it is quite impossible to straighten + our affairs before the end of the war and the re-establishment of + normal conditions. + +These were the last words he wrote in his book of notes; his hand had +become weak and trembling; he tired very soon, and henceforth I wrote +under his dictation. On the 18th June, one month before his cremation, +he dictated to me for the last time, and this is what he said: + + This is the seventh month that I have been ill and it brings my + thoughts back to the gravity of my condition. I therefore continually + realise how much satisfaction I have derived from life during my long + years. The gradual disappearance of my "life-instinct," which already + began a few years ago, is now more marked, more precise. I no longer + feel that degree of pleasure which I felt only a few years ago. My + affection for my nearest and dearest shows itself much more by the + anxiety and suffering provoked by their diseases and sorrows than by + the pleasure I derive from their joys or normal health. + + Those to whom I describe my feelings tell me that satiety with living + is not normal at my age. To that I oppose the following: Longevity, + at least to a certain point, is hereditary. Now I have already + mentioned, on the occasion of my 70th anniversary, that my parents, + sister, and brothers died before reaching my present age. I knew + neither of my grandparents, which shows that they could not have been + very old when they died. + + Let us now turn to the profession, since it is an established fact + that it has an influence on the duration of life. Pasteur died at 72, + but for a long time he had been unable to do scientific work. Koch + did not reach the age of 67. Other bacteriologists died at a much + earlier age than I (Duclaux, Nocard, Chamberland, Ehrlich, Büchner, + Loeffler, Pfeiffer, Carl Fraenkel, Emmerich, Escherich). + + Among those bacteriologists of my generation who are still living the + majority have already ceased from working. All that should indicate + that my scientific life is over and confirm at the same time the fact + that my "orthobiosis" has actually reached the desirable limit. + +He was anxious to prove that his end, which seemed premature at first +sight, did not contradict his theories, but had deep causes such as +heredity and the belated introduction of a rational diet. He had only +begun to follow it at fifty-three. Facts corroborated him after his +death, for the post-mortem examination showed that the heart lesions +were of long standing. He himself thought they went back at least to +1881, when he had had a very grave relapsing fever. The doctors even +wondered how he had lived with his heart in such a state, and only +accounted for it by the strict régime which he had followed during the +latter part of his life. + +And indeed when it is remembered how pugnacious, how vehement he +was--always, so to speak, in a state of ebullition, feverishly active, +intensely sensitive--it must be admitted that his life really held more +than an ordinary life of longer duration. + +He was very desirous that the example of his serenity in the face of +death should be encouraging and comforting. It should prove that, at +the end of his vital cycle, man fears death no longer; it has lost its +sting for him. + +Early in June his condition became still worse. The nights were so +painful that, every evening, recourse had to be had to pantopon.[35] It +was with the greatest impatience that he awaited his "dear Darré and +dear Salimbeni," as he called them. + + [35] Pantopon is a narcotic drug prepared from opium. + +After Dr. Darré had finished his complete and thorough medical +examination, we three remained talking around Elie's bed for a short +hour. He often recalled his personal or scientific memories when he was +not too weary; we talked of the war, of medical questions; often, too, +we would evoke, with Salimbeni, recollections of our journey to the +Kalmuk Steppes. + +We loved that peaceful hour, which ended by an injection of pantopon, +the only relief, alas, that could be procured for him. He would thank +Dr. Darré with gratitude, and drop his poor weary head on the pillow, +awaiting in absolute security the blessed sensation of warm heaviness +which pervaded him, for he knew that sleep and rest from his sufferings +would not be long in coming. The spectre of tragical nights never +ceased to haunt us. + +Until the hot weather came, he was quite comfortable in the small flat +in the Pasteur hospital; the temperature there had been perfectly +regular all through the winter; but now he began to be incommoded by +the heat. + +M. Roux then proposed that we should be transferred to Pasteur's old +flat; the rooms were spacious and much cooler. This idea rejoiced and +touched Elie very much. As he thanked M. Roux, he said to him: "See +how my life is bound with the Pasteur Institute. I have worked here +for years; I am nursed here during my illness; in order to complete +the connection I ought to be incinerated in the great oven where our +dead animals are burnt, and my ashes could be kept in an urn in one +of the cupboards in the library." "What a gruesome joke!" answered M. +Roux, really taking those words for a joke. But directly after he was +gone Elie turned to me with an anxious look and said, "Well, what do +you think of my idea?" I saw by his earnest expression that he meant +what he said, and I answered that I thought it a very good idea. +The Pasteur Institute had become his refuge, the centre of all his +scientific interests; he loved it; he had spent his best years there. +Let his ashes be laid there some day; it would be in perfect harmony +with his past. Let us only hope that would not be too soon! But why had +he given his words that jesting form which must have misled M. Roux? He +explained it to me: knowing how deeply conscientious his friend was, +he did not wish to express his desire as a dying wish in order that he +should feel no obligation. A simple jest, on the contrary, left him +absolutely free. + +On the 26th June, Elie was carried into Pasteur's flat; it was a very +great satisfaction to him, it brought him nearer his laboratory. Now +and then, very seldom now, he thought he might return there one day; +he said I should wheel him there in his bath-chair. "I know I could +scarcely work there myself. But perhaps I might still play the part of +a ferment, be useful to my pupils by giving them advice. I am leaving +so much unfinished work which it would be interesting to go on with: +the question of intestinal flora, that of diabetes, which surely +is an infectious disease--but that will have to be proved,--and my +experiments on the subject were scarcely begun. I think the study of +gonorrhoea will give very interesting results when they succeed in +inoculating it in new-born animals. And the question of tuberculosis is +well started! I could still help my pupils and encourage them if I were +a little better!... But I have no illusions! I must live now only from +day to day...." + +Those words were uttered with heart-rending resignation. + +He continued to get worse.... + +It was fortunate that pantopon should have given him good nights, for +attacks of oppression now supervened several times during the day; +tachycardia was continuous, the heart was weakening. The quantity of +urine diminished; it often did not surpass 250 cubic centimetres, and +no diuretic succeeded in increasing it; the legs remained swollen, +ascitis was beginning to become visible; in the night he occasionally +grew slightly delirious. + +At the beginning of July he wished to sit up; he spent part of the +afternoon in an armchair, his legs lying on cushions. We thought it +was a good sign, but in reality he found it difficult to breathe lying +down. Several times he asked me to play to him, very soft music, as +noisy sounds wearied him. I played him some Beethoven, some Mozart; +the last time it was a Chopin prelude. + +On the 9th his temperature went down in an alarming way to 35.2° C. +(95 F.). For the first time he would not write down his ordinary +observations. "What is the good?" said he, "it has no longer any +interest." Yet the next day he did so, for the last time. On the 11th +and 12th he put down his temperature, and glanced superficially at the +notes I had written. On the 12th, about five o'clock in the morning, he +had a bad fit of breathlessness followed by coughing, and brought up +large clots of very red blood. He smiled faintly. "You understand what +that means," he said, adding some tender words. + +I wheeled him to his bed, which he never left again. + +On the 13th, in the early morning, he felt very ill. Calmly and gently +he warned me to be ready. "It will surely be to-day or to-morrow." + +My heart breaking, I asked him why he said that; was he feeling very +weak? or suffering very much? + +"No," he said, "it is difficult to say what I feel; I have never felt +anything like it; it is, so to speak, a death-_sensation_.... But I +feel very calm, with no fear. You will hold my hand, will you not?" + +How can I describe those last three days? He preserved all his lucidity +and serenity, often smiling at me and drawing me towards him. He +inhaled oxygen very often, as breathlessness became almost continuous. + +On the 14th there was to be a _matinée_ performance of _Manon Lescaut_, +and remembering that his god-children had long wished to see that +opera, he had had a box taken for them. He was now quite uneasy about +it. "What ill-luck," he said, "if _it_ happened just before and +prevented them from going. In any case they must not come here on their +way to the theatre, so that if _it_ happens they will not know, and can +still enjoy the performance." + +Thanks to pantopon, he spent a very good night. He awoke about five +o'clock, but remained so quiet that I thought him asleep. When I rose +about six he held out his hand to me and told me he had been awake for +a long time. He talked to me tenderly, in the full intimacy of our +affection; he spoke sweet, unforgettable words. He made me promise once +again not to give way to grief. "At first, our friends will help you, +and then work, that infallible remedy, and duty.... You will have that +of writing my biography. Remember how much I wish the _last_ chapter to +be complete. You alone can write it, for you have seen me all the time; +I have told you all my thoughts, and yet...." I understood that he had +occasionally, out of pity for me, hidden his sufferings and his sad +thoughts. But he did not know how often I guessed what he did not say; +love and pain have a dumb language, more eloquent than any human words. + +"You will hold my hand when the moment comes," he repeated. "But do +not think I am afraid, now that it is near. No, I assure you, I have +an absolute serenity of soul! I spent a divine night. It seemed to +me that I was already half outside life. This night has taught me +many things.... Everything which troubled me, everything that seemed +so disturbing, so terrible, like this war for instance, seems so +transitory now, such a small thing by the side of the great problems of +existence!... Science will solve them some day." He ceased speaking. He +seemed illumined by a very exalted feeling; it was like the last chord +of his harmonious soul. What a consolation if he could have died then! + +But life is cruel. He lived through two more days of suffering. On +the 14th he inhaled oxygen almost continually. He asked for pantopon, +but we feared to give him too much. I told him it would induce such +continuous sleep that he would not even be able to enjoy it. "But an +eternal sleep is precisely what I want! Do understand that now nothing +is left to me but pantopon. What is the good of making me last? Is +this a life? A few days or a month have no importance when one is not +going to recover. And you cannot wish to prolong my sufferings." His +breathlessness increased; he said, "Give me your hand; stay near me!" I +knew what he meant; he had the "death-sensation." + +His poor hands were hot and warmed my cold ones.... The next day I +could not warm his hands, ice-cold for ever. + +The whole day he awaited with impatience the hour for pantopon. About +nine o'clock, when Dr. Darré came in, he said, "Dear Darré, at last!" + +There was no talk that evening, he was so weary. With what anguish I +awaited the stroke of midnight, which ended those two dread days! He +had been mistaken by barely one day. The night was not bad, in spite +of breathlessness and some fits of coughing. The next morning he felt +better. He had not read the papers the day before, to-day I read him +the communiqués in the _Petit Parisien_, he said it was enough. He also +turned the pages of a book he had recently begun to read, _La Science +et les Allemands_. + +I told him how pleased I was to see him better. "It is true," he said, +"to-day I have no death-sensation, but I beg you, have no illusions!" + +Always that preoccupation of breaking the shock for me. He made me +bring a pocket-book with some money in it and a few envelopes; in each +of them he made me place notes of similar value, then with his already +shaking hand, he himself wrote on each envelope the value of the notes +multiplied by their number, and explained that it was to help me to +find quickly what I should require after the catastrophe. + +He ate better at lunch than he had done lately; but already at two +o'clock the breathlessness increased. Yet he did not look pale; he had +preserved his rosy complexion. As he inhaled the oxygen, he was shaken +by a hiccough. He pressed my hand. "It is the end," he said, "the death +rattle; that is how people die." He looked at his watch on the small +table, it marked four o'clock. + +"No," he said, "it must have stopped. Four o'clock struck some time +ago." And he smiled. "Is it not strange that it should have stopped +before I? Go and see what time it is." + +I ran out to see the clock from the window of another room; it was +twenty minutes to five. I met some one in the passage and asked him to +go quickly to fetch one of the Institute doctors. Then I begged Elie +not to have such ideas, and tried to cheer him. + +"But, my child, why do you want to calm me? I am quite calm; I am only +stating facts," he said, adding tender words. + +At that moment Salimbeni came in. Elie said to him: "Salimbeni, you are +a friend; tell me, is it the end?" And as he protested, he added, "You +remember your promise? You will do my post-mortem? and look at the +intestines carefully, for I think there is something there now." MM. +Roux and Martin then arrived. The feeling of weight in the intestines +of which he complained was mentioned. He did not know that he had +ascitis in the peritoneum. + +As I was attending to him I felt him move suddenly, and said, "I beg +you, do not make such sudden movements; you know it is not good for +you." He did not answer. I raised my head; his was thrown back on the +pillows, his face had assumed a blue tinge, the white of the eyes alone +could be seen under the half-closed lids. + +Not a word, not a sound. + +All was over.[36] + + [36] It was 5.20 by the conventional war time, 4.20 in reality. + +Then an abyss of oblivion.... + +I saw him again, stretched on his deathbed. He was white, cold, and +dumb. His face bore a calm and very serious expression. He looked like +a martyr who had at last entered into rest. Death had marked his face +with no dread seal. The lids had closed of their own accord, and he +seemed to be sleeping after great lassitude; one might have thought +that, with his usual kindness, he wished to spare us all too painful an +impression.... + +All through the night and the next morning his face preserved the same +expression. + +In the afternoon Salimbeni performed the autopsy. Then he was laid in +his coffin; twenty-four hours had elapsed since the end. Wrapped in a +white sheet, which framed his fine face, he had the appearance of a +biblical prophet. + +Now his expression had assumed absolute serenity, illumined by +gentleness and kindness. He had a look of elevation, grandeur, and +beauty which was really divine. It was an apotheosis. His beautiful +soul beamed in its full purity; neither suffering nor any earthly +preoccupation had any hold on it. He gave an impression of eternal rest. + +It was his final image, a splendid one, the last ... for ever. + +The bier was closed and covered with a heavy black pall. On life also a +blacker and heavier pall had fallen. The light had gone out. + +Two days later, on the 18th July, he was carried to the cemetery of +the Père Lachaise, to be cremated in all simplicity, as he had wished. +Faithful to his ideas, he had wished for a lay funeral, with no +speeches, flowers, or invitations. + +His bier disappeared into a large sarcophagus; on each side black +curtains fell to hide what was going on.... Then one hour of heavy +silence whilst the poor body was being consumed by the flames.... + +A death silence.... + +And that was all.... + +The mercurial, vivacious child, good-hearted, intelligent, and +precocious; the young man, ardent, impetuous, passionate, a lover of +science and of all that was exalted; the mature man, a bold thinker, +an indefatigable investigator, eager, generous, tender, and devoted; +the old man, in everything faithful to himself, but progressing in +serenity, shining with an ever softer light, like a mountain peak in +the setting sun; the martyr at last, enduring suffering with patience +and resignation, seeing the approach of death without fear, observing +it as he had observed life.... + +The hour of silence was over; the incineration accomplished. Of his +body, little was left--a handful of ashes. They were enclosed within an +urn and placed in the library of the Pasteur Institute. + +But his beautiful, ardent soul, his audacious and fertile ideas, all +that rich inner life which had developed into a harmonious and puissant +symphony, all _that_ cannot be dead, cannot disappear! The ideas, the +influence we give to life must persist, must live; they are the sacred +flame which we hand on to others and are eternal. + + + + + EPILOGUE + + +The life and work of Elie Metchnikoff are so intimately bound together +that, in a biography, it is impossible to separate them. That is why +the description of his work necessarily has been dispersed along the +story of his life; but, just as, in order to judge of a work of art, +one has to draw back and contemplate the whole, we must also, after +following the evolution and successive stages of E. Metchnikoff's +scientific works, take a full view of his work as a whole. + +He was a born biologist; everything connected with life interested +him. In his childhood, he observed plants and animals. At the age of +fifteen, he became acquainted with microscopic beings; they aroused in +him such powerful interest towards the primitive forms of life that, +from that moment, not only his future path was marked out for him but +also his method of starting from the simple to elucidate the complex. +He was imbued with Darwin's theory of evolution; having begun by the +study of inferior animals, he began to look for their connections with +other groups. + +He endeavoured to establish the continuity and the unity of phenomena +in all living beings. According to his method of studying first what +was simplest, he turned to embryology, for in the egg and the embryo +it is possible to follow step by step the transformation of the +simple to the complex and to see the origin and development of all the +constituent parts of the organism. Moreover, the embryo is exempt from +secondary complications, due to the multiple external conditions of +post-embryonic life. + +Metchnikoff was able to establish, from embryological data, that the +development of lower animals takes place according to the same plan +and under the same laws as that of higher animals. In all of them, +the segmentation of the egg is followed by the formation of embryonic +layers, of which each gives birth to cells and to definite organs. +Superior forms repeat, in their embryonic life, the evolution cycle of +inferior forms.[37] + + [37] Thus the _parenchymella_, _phagocytella_, and _gastrula_ + stages correspond in the embryo with the adult form of + certain very primitive Metazoa and even to a colony of + unicellular animals. + +This common plan in the embryology of all animals established their +genealogical continuity and strengthened the Darwinian theory. + +Metchnikoff's studies, carried out on the various groups of animals, +contributed towards the foundation of comparative embryology. Owing to +the comparative method, he had made himself familiar not only with the +morphological and functional continuity of divers organisms, but also +with that of their constituting cells; a comparison between the latter +and unicellular beings was inevitable. That is why, having ascertained +that the mobile cells of the lower Metazoa absorbed foreign bodies by +inclusion, he naturally concluded that that phenomenon was similar to +digestion in unicellular beings. + +Having established the fact of intracellular digestion in lower +animals, he extended it to certain cells of the higher animals; thus +his phagocyte theory was born. + +Seeing that unicellular beings, like the mobile cells of Metazoa, +englobe, not only food, but foreign bodies, he asked himself whether +this was not at the same time a defensive action. Such a possibility +brought no surprise to a zoologist, accustomed to see that, in the +struggle for existence, animals often devoured their enemies. + +All the materials for the building up of the phagocyte theory were +therefore ready in Metchnikoff's mind when he asked himself, as by an +intuition, whether the white globules of our blood, globules so similar +to amoebæ, do not play the part of a defensive army in our organism +when they envelope in accumulated masses intrusive bodies injurious to +the organism. + +The thought was but the result of a preparatory work already +accomplished; it was the butterfly escaping out of the chrysalis. + +Metchnikoff had recourse to his method of simplification in order to +solve the question. + +The organism of the higher animals being extremely complicated, he went +down as far as the transparent larva of the starfish (bipinnaria) in +order to watch with his own eyes the phenomena which take place within +it. He introduced a rose-thorn into the transparent body of the larva, +and noted the next day that the mobile cells in the latter had crowded +towards the splinter, like an army rushing to meet a foe. + +The analogy of this phenomenon with inflammation and the formation +of an abscess was striking. Metchnikoff said to himself that since +most diseases in the higher animals are accompanied by inflammation +and provoked by microbes, it was chiefly against these microbes that +our defensive cells had to struggle. He named the defensive cells +_phagocytes_. + +He confirmed his hypothesis by another observation, equally simple. In +a little transparent crustacean (Daphnia) infected by a small parasitic +fungus, (_Monospora bicuspidata_), he was easily able to observe the +struggle between the animal's mobile cells and its parasites. + +These two simple observations served as foundation and supports to the +bridge by which Metchnikoff connected normal biology with pathological +biology. Having entered the domain of the latter, he studied various +microbian diseases, and asked himself why the organism was sometimes +liable and sometimes refractory. In order to elucidate this question, +he turned again to lower animals, in which he could easily observe the +most intimate phenomena, simplified. + +He ascertained that liability in an animal corresponded with the fact +that microbes introduced into the organism remained free and invaded +it, whilst immunity coincided with the inclusion and digestion of the +microbes by phagocytes. + +He also found that, in artificial immunity, the phagocytes are +accustomed gradually, by preventive inoculations, to digest microbes +and their toxins. + +Thus he established the fact that phagocytosis and inflammation are +curative means employed by the organism. + +All his ulterior researches, his studies on the various categories of +phagocytes and their properties, on their digestive liquids, on the +formation of antitoxins, on the different properties acquired by the +blood, etc., were but the natural development of those premises. + +He had proved that the part played by the phagocytes consists, not only +in the struggle against microbes and their poisons, but also in the +destruction of all the mortified or enfeebled cells of the organism, +and that atrophies are nothing more than the absorption of cellular +elements by the phagocytes. + +He found that senile atrophies have the same cause, and asked why the +cells of old people's organisms should become enfeebled. + +He demonstrated that the principal cause is the chronic poisoning +of the cells by toxins manufactured by microbes in the intestine. +Premature senility was the result--a phenomenon as pathological as any +disease. + +The source of the evil, therefore, resides in the intestinal flora. +Accordingly he started to study the latter, as also senility, in order +to find means of struggling against both. + +His researches enabled him to indicate a series of means, based, on the +one hand, on the struggle against microbes, and, on the other, on the +defence of the noble cells against destructive ones.[38] + + [38] Replacement of the wild and noxious flora of the intestines + by antagonistic cultivated microbes; strengthening and + vaccinating of noble cells. + +The study of old age led him to that of syphilis, a disease which +provokes an arterio-sclerosis which is similar to that of old people; +the study of the normal intestinal flora was followed by that of +intestinal diseases, such as typhoid fever and infantile cholera. + +Finally, he progressed towards the last phenomenon, the most mysterious +in nature, Death. + +Researches on the silk-worm moth--a rare example of an animal the life +of which ends in natural death--allowed him to conclude that the latter +is due to an auto-intoxication of the organism. + +But he only just raised the veil of the great mystery; it was his last +work.... + + * * * * * + +Metchnikoff's philosophical evolution ran on parallel lines with his +scientific researches. + +When studying the laws and the unity of vital phenomena he found that +their harmony was occasionally broken by the collision of internal +conditions with the environment and that regrettable consequences +ensued. He saw an example of that in human nature, full of disharmonies +due to its animal origin. + +These considerations caused the pessimism of his youth. But his +energetic, pugnacious temperament could not remain content with a +passive acceptance of facts. + +He started to study the lack of harmony in human nature and its causes, +and sought for means to combat these causes. Gradually he reached the +conclusion that the greatest human disharmonies are provoked by the +rupture of the normal cycle of our life, by the precocity of senility +and of death, chiefly arising from a chronic poisoning by the toxins of +intestinal microbes. + +But having acquired the conviction that it is possible to struggle +against that intoxication, he concluded that science, which has already +done so much to fight diseases, would also find means of struggling +against _premature_ old age and _precocious_ death, thus leading us to +the normal vital cycle, _orthobiosis_. + +Then disharmony, transformed into harmony, will cause the greatest of +ills to disappear. + +Faith in the power of Science and in the possibility of modifying human +nature itself through Science was the foundation of the optimistic +philosophy of his maturity. Thoughts full of strength and hope shine +like leading stars all along his philosophical works. + +"Alone, Rational Science is capable of showing humanity the true path." + +"The real goal of human existence consists in an active life in +conformity with individual capacity; in a life prolonged until the +appearance of the _death-instinct_, and until Man, satisfied with the +duration of his existence, feels the desire for annihilation." + +"Man is capable of great works; that is why it is desirable that +he should modify human nature and transform its disharmonies into +harmonies." + +"If an ideal capable of uniting _men_ in a sort of religion is +possible, it can only be founded on scientific principles. And, if it +is true, as is often affirmed, that man cannot live without faith, it +must be faith in the power of Science." + +Thus Elie Metchnikoff had begun by the study of nascent life in +inferior beings; by a logical and continuous chain, he had followed the +whole cycle of development of living beings in their continuity and +their whole. + +From the initial question of intracellular digestion he had reached the +most exalted problems which can occupy our minds, the harmonising of +human discords through knowledge and will. + +Such is the harmonious edifice which he has built. + +No vital question was indifferent to him. He tackled the most difficult +and most mysterious among them with courage, moved by an invincible +impulse towards Truth and sustained by enthusiasm and faith in the +power of Science. + +The beauty of a work of art consists in the harmony and unity of a +realised conception. + +Thus a Gothic cathedral, by its graceful and harmonious lines, +expresses an impulse towards higher spheres; it leans solidly on the +earth only in order to soar better towards the heavens. + +Such is also the character of Elie Metchnikoff's life-work. + + + + + BIBLIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX + + + WORKS OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF + + 1865. "Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Chaetopoden," Zeitschrift für + wissenschaftliche Zoologie, xv. 3, p. 328. + + "Über einige wenig bekannte Thierformen," Zeit. f. wissen. + Zool. xv. 4, p. 450. + + "Über Geodesmus bilineatus Nob. (Fasciola terrestris), eine + europäische Landplanarie, Mélanges biologiques" (Bull. de + l'Académie des Sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg, vol. v.). + + 1866. "Untersuchungen über die Embryologie der Hemipteren + (vorläufige Mitteilung)," Zeit. f. wissen. Zool. xvi. 1, p. + 128. + + "Zur Entwicklungsgeschichte von Myzostomum," Zeit. f. wissen. + Zool. xvi. 1, p. 326. + + "Apsilus lentiformis, ein Räderthier," Zeit. f. wissen. Zool. + xvi. 3, p. 1. + + "Embryologischen Studien an Insecten," Zeit. f. wissen. + Zool. xvi. Entgegnung auf die Erwiederung des Her. Prof. + Leuckart in Giessen, in Betreff der Frage über die + Nematodenentwicklung (Göttingen, Verlag von Adalbert Rente). + + 1867. "Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte der Würmer," Zeit. f. wissen. + Zool. xvii. 4, p. 539. + + "Embryology of the Sepiola" (in Russian), Archives des Sciences + physiques et naturelles, Genève, vol. 21. + + 1868. "Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Entwicklungsgeschichte der + Chaetopoden" (in collaboration with Ed. Claparède), Zeit. f. + wissen. Zool. xviii. + + 1869. "Embryology of Nebalia" (in Russian), Mélanges biologiques + de l'Académie de Saint-Pétersbourg, vi. p. 730. + + "Untersuchungen über die Metamorphose einiger Seethiere, + Tornaria," Zeit. f. wissen. Zool. xx. p. 131. + + "Über ein Larvenstadium von Euphausia," Zeit. f. wissen. Zool. + xix. 4, p. 179. + + "Über die Entwicklung der Echinodermen und Nemertinen," + Mémoires de l'Acad. de Saint-Pétersbourg, xiv. 8, p. 33. + + 1870. "Bemerkungen über Echinodermen," Bulletins de l'Acad. de + Saint-Pétersbourg, xiv. p. 51. + + "Embryologie des Scorpions," Zeitschr. f. wissen. Zool. xxi. + + 1871. "Über die Metamorphose einiger Seethiere," Zeit. f. wissen. + Zool. xxi. 2, p. 235. + + "Entwicklungsgeschichte des Chelifers," Zeit. f. wissen. Zool. + xxi. p. 513. + + "Über den Naupliuszustand von Euphausia," ibid. Bd. xix. + + 1872. "Zur Entwicklungsgeschichte der einfachen Ascidien," Zeit. + f. wissen. Zool. xxii. 3, p. 339. + + "Vorläufige Mitteilung über die Embryologie der Polydesmiden," + Mélanges biologiques des Bullet. de l'Académie des Sciences + de Saint-Pétersbourg, vol. viii. + + "Zur Entwicklungsgeschichte der Kalkschwämme," Zeit. f. wissen. + Zool. xxiv. p. 1. + + "Studien über die Entwicklung der Medusen und Siphonophoren," + Zeit. f. wissen. Zool. xxiv. p. 15. + + "Embryologie der doppelfüssigen Myriapoden," Zeit. f. wissen. + Zool. xxiv. p. 253. + + 1874. "Embryologisches über Geophilus," Zeit. f. wissen. Zool. + xxv. p. 313. + + 1876. "Beiträge zur Morphologie der Spongien," Zeit. f. wissen. + Zool. xxvii. p. 275. + + 1878. "Spongiologische Studien," Zeit. f. wissen. Zool. xxxii. p. + 349. + + 1879. "Spongiologische Studien," Zeit. f. wissen. Zool. xxxii. p. + 374. + + 1880. "Über die intracelluläre Verdauung bei Coelenteraten," + Zoologischer Anzeiger, No. 56, p. 261. + + "Untersuchungen über Orthonectiden," Zeit. f. wissen. Zool. + xxxv. p. 282. + + "Über die systematische Stellung von Balanoglossus," + Zoologischer Anzeiger, pp. 139, 153. + + 1881. "Zur Lehre über die intracelluläre Verdauung niederer + Tiere," Zoologischer Anzeiger, p. 310. + + _Vergleichend-embryologische Studien_: + + 1. Entodermbildung bei Geryoniden. + + 2. "Über einige Studien der Cunina," Zeit. f. wissen. Zool. + xxxvi. p. 433. + + 1882. 3. "Über die Gastrula einiger Metazoen," Zeit. f. wissen. + Zool. xxxvii. p. 286. + + "Die Embryologie von Planaria polychroa," Zeit. f. wissen. + Zool. xxxviii. 3, p. 331. + + 1883. "Untersuchungen über die intracelluläre Verdauung bei + wirbellosen Tieren," Arbeiten d. zool. Instituts zu Wien, v. + 2, p. 14 (Quarterly Journal of Micr. Science, vol. 93). + + "Untersuchung über die mesodermalen Phagocyten einiger + Wirbeltiere," Biologisch. Centralblatt, No. 18, p. 560, Bd. + iii. + + 1884. "Embryologische Mitteilungen über Echinodermen," + Zoologischer Anzeiger, vii. Nos. 158, 159. + + "Über eine Sprosspilzkrankheit der Daphnien; Beitrag zur Lehre + über den Kampf der Phagocyten gegen Krankheitserreger," + Virchow's Archiv, vol. 96, p. 177. + + "Über die Beziehung der Phagocyten zu Milzbrandbacillen," + Virchow's Archiv, vol. 97, p. 502. + + "Über die pathologische Bedeutung der intracellulären + Verdauung," Fortschritte der Medizin, 1884, p. 558, No. 17. + + 1885. _Vergleichend-embryologische Studien_: + + 4. "Über die Gastrulation und Mesodermbildung der Ctenophoren," + 648. + + 5. "Über die Bildung der Wanderzellen bei Asterien und + Echiniden," Zeit. f. wissen. Zool. xlii. p. 656. + + 1886. "Medusologische Mittheilungen," Arbeiten d. zool. Instituts + zu Wien, vi. 2, p. 1. + + Embryologische Studien an Medusen, ein Beitrag zur Genealogie + der Primitivorgane, Wien, 1886. + + 1887. "Sur l'atténuation des bactéridies charbonneuses dans le + sang des moutons réfractaires," Annales de l'Institut + Pasteur, i. p. 42, No. 1. + + "Über den Kampf der Zellen gegen Erysipelkokken, ein Beitrag + zur Phagocytenlehre," Virchow's Archiv, vol. 107, p. 209. + + "Über den Phagocytenkampf bei Rückfalltyphus," Virchow's + Archiv, vol. 109, p. 176. + + "Sur la lutte des cellules de l'organisme contre l'invasion des + microbes," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, i. p. 321, No. 7. + + "Kritische Bemerkungen über den Aufsatz des Herrn + Christmas-Dirckinck-Holmfeld, I. V.," Fortschritte der + Medizin, 17, p. 541. + + 1888. "Über die phagocytäre Rolle der Tuberkelriesenzellen," + Virchow's Archiv, vol. 113, p. 63. + + "Pasteuria Ramosa, un représentant des bactéries à division + longitudinale," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, p. 165, t. + ii. No. 4. + + "Über das Verhalten der Milzbrandbakterien im Organismus," + Virchow's Archiv, vol. 114, p. 465. + + "Réponse à la critique de M. Weigert au sujet des cellules + géantes de la tuberculose," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, + ii. p. 604. + + 1889. "Recherches sur la digestion intracellulaire," Annales de + l'Institut Pasteur, iii. p. 25, No. 1. + + "Contribution à l'étude du pléomorphisme des bactéries," + Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, iii. p. 61, No. 2. + + "Note sur le pléomorphisme, etc.," Annales de l'Institut + Pasteur, iii. p. 265, No. 5. + + _Studies on Immunity_: + + 1. "Immunité des lapins contre le bacille du rouget des porcs," + Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, iii. p. 289, No. 6. + + 1890. 2. "Le Charbon des pigeons," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, + iv. p. 65, No. 2. + + 3. "Le Charbon des rats blancs," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, + iv. p. 193, No. 4. + + 1891. 4. "L'Immunité des cobayes vaccinés contre le Vibrio + Metchnikowii," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, v. p. 465, No. + 8. + + "Sur la propriété bactéricide du sang de rat" (in collaboration + with Dr. Roux), No. 8. + + "Recherches sur l'accoutumance aux produits microbiens" (in + collaboration with Dr. Roudenko), Annales de l'Institut + Pasteur, v. p. 567, No. 9. + + "Beiträge zur vergleichenden Pathologie der Entzündung," + Virchow Festschrift, vol. 11. + + 1892. "La Phagocytose musculaire" (in collaboration with Dr. + Soudakevitch), Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, vi. p. 1. + + Leçons sur la pathologie comparée de l'inflammation. Paris, + 1892. + + "On Aqueous Humour, Micro-organisms and Immunity," Journal of + Pathology, i. + + _Studies on Immunity_: + + 5. "Immunité des lapins vaccinés contre le microbe du + Hogcholéra," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, vi. p. 189, No. + 5. + + "Atrophie des muscles pendant la transformation des + batraciens," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, vi. No. 1. + + "Note au sujet du mémoire de M. Soudakevitch (Parasitisme + intracellulaire des néoplasmes cancéreux)," No. 3. + + "Über Muskelphagocytose," Centralblatt für Bakteriologie, 1892. + + "La Lutte pour l'existence entre les diverses parties de + l'organisme," Revue scientifique, 10 sept. 1892, No. 11. + + 1893. "Recherches sur le choléra et les vibrions, 1er mémoire" + (Sur la propriété préventive du sang humain vis-à-vis du + vibrion de Koch), Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, vii. p. + 403, No. 5. + + 2. "Mémoire," idem (Sur la propriété pathogène des vibrions), + tome vii. p. 562, No. 7. + + Comparative Pathology of Inflammation. Lectures at the Pasteur + Institute. Paul: London, 1893. 8vo. (The name of the + translator is not stated.) + + 1894. 3. "Mémoire," idem (Sur la vaccination artificielle du + vibrion cholérique), Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, viii. p. + 257, No. 5. + + 4. "Mémoire," idem (Sur l'immunité et la réceptivité vis-à-vis + du choléra intestinal), tome viii. p. 529, No. 8. + + "L'état actuel de la question de l'immunité" (Rapport du + Congrès international de Budapest), Annales de l'Institut + Pasteur, viii. p. 706, No. 10. + + 1895. _Studies on Immunity_: + + 6. "Sur la destruction extracellulaire des bactéries dans + l'organisme," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, ix. p. 433, No. + 6. + + 1896. "Toxine et antitoxine cholériques" (in collaboration with + Drs. Roux and Salimbeni), Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, x. + p. 25, No. 5. + + "Quelques remarques à propos de l'article de Gabritchevsky sur + la fièvre récurrente," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, x. No. + 11. + + _Recherches sur l'influence de l'organisme sur les toxines_: + + 1897. 1st Memoir. "Recherches sur l'influence de l'organisme sur + les toxines," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, xi. p. 801. + + "Réponse à M. Gabritchevsky," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, + xi. No. 3. + + "Immunität," Weyl's Handbuch der Hygiene. Jena, 1897. + + "Recherches sur l'influence de l'organisme sur les toxines" + (Communication faite au congrès de Moscou en août 1897), + Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, xi. No. 10. + + 1898. 2nd Memoir. "Influence du système nerveux sur la toxine + tétanique," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, xii. No. 2, p. 81. + + 3rd Memoir. "Toxine tétanique et leucocytes," Annales de + l'Institut Pasteur, xii. No. 4, p. 263. + + 1899. "Résorption des cellules," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, + xiii. No. 10, p. 737. + + 1900. _Researches on the Influence of the Organism on Toxins_: + + 4ème mémoire. "Sur la spermotoxine et l'antispermotoxine," + Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, xiv. p. 5. + + "Sur les cytotoxines," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, xiv. No. + 6. p. 369. + + "Recherches sur l'action de l'hémotoxine sur l'homme," Annales + de l'Institut Pasteur, xiv. No. 6, p. 402. + + 1901. _Biological Studies on Old Age_: + + 1st Memoir. "Sur le blanchiment des cheveux et des poils," + Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, xv. No. 12, p. 865. + + L'Immunité dans les maladies infectieuses. Paris, 1901. + + 1902. _Biological Studies on Old Age._ "Recherches sur la + vieillesse des perroquets" (in collaboration with Drs. + Mesnil and Weinberg), Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, xvi. + No. 12. + + The Nature of Man. Studies in optimistic philosophy. The + English translation by P. Chalmers Mitchell. Heinemann: + London; Putnams: New York, 1903. 8vo. + + 1903. _Studies on Human Nature_: Paris, 1903. + + Études expérimentales sur la syphilis (in collaboration with + Dr. Roux): + + 1st Memoir. Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, xvii. No. 12, p. 809. + + 1904. 2nd Memoir. "Études expérimentales sur la syphilis" (in + collaboration with Dr. Roux), Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, + xviii. No. 1, p. 1. + + 3rd Memoir. Id. No. 11. + + 1905. 4th Memoir. Id. Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, xix. No. 11. + + Immunity in Infective Diseases. Translated from the French by + F. G. Binnie. University Press: Cambridge; The Macmillan + Co.: New York, 1905. 8vo. + + 1906. 5th Memoir. Id., Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, xx. No. 10. + + The New Hygiene: three lectures on the prevention of infectious + diseases. Translated and a preface written by E. Ray + Lankester. Heinemann: London, 1906. 8vo. + + [Another edition.] Chicago Medical Book Co.: Chicago, 1906. 8vo. + + 1907. [Another edition.] W. T. Keener & Co.: Chicago, 1907. 8vo. + + "Sur la prophylaxie de la syphilis" (Paper read at the XIIth + International Congress in Berlin), Annales de l'Institut + Pasteur, xxi. No. 10. + + The Prolongation of Life: optimistic studies. The English + translation edited by P. Chalmers Mitchell. Heinemann: + London, 1907. 8vo. + + _Essais optimistes._ + + 1908. "Études sur la flore intestinale," "Putréfaction + intestinale," Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, xxii. No. 12. + + 1909. Idem. "Roussettes et microbes" (in collaboration with MM. + Weinberg, Pozersky, Distaso, Berthelot), Annales de + l'Institut Pasteur, xxiii. No. 12. + + Notes on Sour Milk and other Methods of administering Selected + Lactic Germs in Intestinal Bacterio-therapy. J. Bale, Sons & + Co.: London, 1909. 8vo. + + 1910. Idem. "Poisons intestinaux et scléroses," Annales de + l'Institut Pasteur, xxiv. No. 10. + + The Prolongation of Life. New and revised edition, Heinemann: + London; Putnams: New York, 1910. 8vo. + + 1911. "Sur la fièvre typhoïde expérimentale" (Metchnikoff et + Besredka), Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, xxv. No. 3. + + Annales de l'Institut Pasteur: + + Tome xxv. No. 6. Quelques remarques sur la vaccination à propos + du mémoire de M. Choukevitch sur le choléra. + + Tome xxv. No. 6. Réponse de MM. Metchnikoff et Besredka à M. le + Dr. Vincent (remarques sur la vaccination antityphique). + + Tome xxv. No. 11. El. Metchnikoff, E. Burnet et L. + Tarassevitch, "Recherches sur l'épidémiologie de la + tuberculose dans les steppes Kalmouks." + + Tome xxv. No. 12. El. Metchnikoff et A. Besredka, "Des + vaccinations antityphiques (2nd Memoir)." + + 1912. Tome xxvi. No. 11. El. Metchnikoff et Eug. Wollman, "Sur + quelques essais de désintoxication intestinale," + "Bactériothérapie intestinale." + + The Warfare against Tuberculosis--being the Priestley Lecture + of the National Health Society for the year 1912. Published + in Bedrock, January 1913. Constable: London. + + 1913. _Études sur la flore intestinale._ + + Tome xxvii. No. 8. "Des vaccinations antityphiques" (El. + Metchnikoff et A. Besredka). + + Tome xxvii. No. 11. "Toxicité des sulfoconjugués de la série + aromatique." + + 1914. Tome xxviii. No. 2. "Études sur la flore intestinale" (4ème + mémoire). "Les diarrhées des nourrissons." + + 1915. Tome xxix. No. 8. "Causerie de El. Metchnikoff à l'occasion + de son jubilé." + + Tome xxix. No. 10. "La Mort du papillon du mûrier." + + "Founders of Modern Medicine: Pasteur, Lister, Koch" in Russian + (a French translation to appear shortly). + + 1915-16. "Introduction à 'Études sur la fonction sexuelle'" + (posthume, dans Le Mercure de France, 1917). + + 1916. The Nature of Man. Popular edition. Heinemann: London, 1916. + 8vo. + + _Note._--Sources consulted: British Museum Catalogue; English + Catalogue; American Catalogue. + + + + + INDEX + + + Acoelomata, development of, 73 + + Albaran, Dr., 231 + + Alexander I., Tsar of Russia, 26 + + Alexander II., 28; + assassination of, 101, 104, 218 + + Alexis Michailovitch, Tsar, sends Spatar on mission to China, 24; + death of, 25 + + Alhambra, the, 124 + + Amour (Amur) river, Spatar's exploration of, 24 + + _Anisoplia austriaca_, experiments on, 111 + + _Annales de l'Institut Pasteur_, 1915, 249-50 _n._ + + Anthrax vaccine experiment, unfortunate result of, 133-4 + + Anthropoid apes, Metchnikoff's desire to experiment with, 140, 189; + syphilis experiments with, 190, 191; + infantile cholera experiments with, 207, 220; + typhoid fever experiments with, 207 + + Antitoxins, Metchnikoff's experiments with, 162 + + _Arbeiten des zool. Inst. zu Wien_, publication of Metchnikoff's + "Untersuchung über die intracelluläre Verdauung bei wirbellosen + Tieren," 119 _n._ + + Arterio-sclerosis, 189, 206 + + Ascidia, Metchnikoff's difference with Kovalevsky _re_, 62, 73 + + Asiatic cholera, 220 + + Astrakhan steppes, 84, 85 + + Austria, declaration of war on Serbia, 1914, 240 + + + Baer, Prof., and Baer Prize, 58 + + Bakounine, 52, 56 + + Bardach, Dr., 127, 133 + + Bassarab, Constantine, 24 + + Baumgarten, Prof., hostile criticism of phagocyte theory, 126, 129; + criticism refuted, 148 + + Behring, theory of immunity, 148; + discovery of antitoxins, 149, 150 + + Békétoff, Prof., 40, 58 + + _Bell_, the, 29 + + Berlin Congress, 1890, 148-9 + + Berthelot, M., pupil and collaborator of Metchnikoff, 197, 221 + + Besredka, Dr., researches, 161-2, 207-8 + + Birsch, 169 _n._ + + Bobrinsky, Count, 111, 112 + + Bogomoloff, 29 + + _Bombyx mori_ (moth of the silk-worm), Metchnikoff's experiments + with, 238-9, 251 + + Bordet, M. I., important researches and experiments, 165 + + Borrel, M., 162 + + Brockhaus and Effrone, _Encyclopædia_ quoted, 25-6 + + Bronn, _Classes and Orders of the Animal Kingdom_, 31 + + Büchner, 169, 265; + paper on humoral theory, 150 + + Buckle, _History of Civilisation_, 29 + + Buda-Pest Congress (International, 1894), 159 + + _Bulletin of the Moscow Society of Naturalists_, 33 + + Bunsen, 48 + + Burnet, M., 211 + + + Caillaux affair, 240 + + Cantemir, Prince, 26 + + Casso, Minister of Public Instruction, 219 + + Cephalopoda, Metchnikoff's study of, 56, 57 + + Chamberland, 265 + + Chauveau, 169 and _n._ + + Cholera outbreak in France, 1892, 154; + Metchnikoff's experiments with cholera vibrio, 154-7, 158 _seq._ + + Choukevitch, Dr., 212 + + Cienkovsky, friendship for and interest in Metchnikoff, 59, 60, 73; + resigns from Odessa University, 75; + bacillus, 210 + + Claus, Prof., 48, 119 + + Coelentera and intracellular digestion, 107, 110, 116 + + Coelomata, development of, 73 + + Cohendy, M., research work of, 196 + + Cohn, association with and interest in Metchnikoff, 43, 45 + + "Conception of Nature and of Medical Science, A," Metchnikoff's + Stuttgart Lecture, 1909, 209, 224 + + Crimea, and Black Sea fauna, 59 + + Ctenophora, 73 + + "Curative Forces of the Organism, The," Metchnikoff Lecture on, in + Berlin, 1908, 208, 223 + + Curded milk, manufacture, Metchnikoff's connection with, 226-7 + + + Daphniæ, experiments with, 121, 279 + + Darré, Dr., 256, 266, 271 + + Darwin, _The Origin of Species_, 41; + theories, 276, 277 + + Diabetes, 246 + + Dubois-Reymond, journal of, 48 + + Duclaux, M., 137, 265 + + Duniasha (Avdotia Maximovna), 4, 10 + + + Eberth's bacillus, 207-8 + + Echinodermata, Metchnikoff's researches, etc., 61, 62, 70; + metamorphoses of, 72, 73; + and intracellular digestion, 107, 110, 116; + observations on larvæ transformation, 119 + + _Education from an Anthropological Point of View_, Metchnikoff's + paper on, 63, 74 + + Ehrlich, Prof., 199, 265 + + Embryology, comparative, Metchnikoff's studies in, 50-51, 56, 57, + 107, 277 + + Emmerich, 265; + attack on phagocyte theory, 131; + attacks refuted, 148 + + Engelmann, 45 + + Ephemeridæ, Metchnikoff's study of, 105, 106, 193, 237 + + Escherich, 265 + + _Essais optimistes_, 191-2, 209 + + _Études sur la nature humaine_, 185, 191, 209; + quoted, 188 + + Evolution, Metchnikoff's researches in, 50-51 + + + _Fabricia_, Metchnikoff's researches on, 43 + + Fédorovitch, Mlle. Ludmilla, afterwards Madame Elie Metchnikoff, 63; + engagement to Metchnikoff, 65-9; + marriage to Metchnikoff, 69; + illness of, 69-70; + a clever draughtswoman, 71; + temporary recovery of, 73; + relapse, 74, 75, 78; + death, 79 + + Fédorovitch, Mlle., 71, 74, 78, 80; + account of interview with Metchnikoff, 83 + + "Flora of the Human Body," Wilde Lecture, 1901, 182 + + _Flore du corps humain_, La, 224 + + "Forces curatives de l'organisme," quoted, 120-21 + + _Forty Years' Search for a Rational Conception of Life_, 223 + + _Founders of Modern Medicine, The_, extract from preface to, 247-8 + + Fraenkel, Carl, 265 + + + Gamaléia, Dr., 127, 133 + + Garibaldi Movement, the, 47 + + Garnier, M., 21, 22 + + _Gastræa_, Haeckel's theory of the, 108 + + "Gastrotricha," Metchnikoff's establishment of, 42 + + Geneva, young revolutionary centre, 47-8 + + _Geodesmus bilineatus_, 106-7 + + Geophilus (_see_ Myriapoda) + + George, Henry, 202 + + Germany, Metchnikoff's appreciation of scientists of, 55 + + Germany, declaration of war on Russia, 240; + on France, 242 + + Giessen, Naturalists' Congress at, 1864, 44-5 + + _Glycobacter peptonicus_, 221, 222 + + Goethe, _Faust_, 195, 204 + + Goldschmidt, Dr., 78, 79 + + _Göttingen News_, Leuckart's memoir on Nematodes in, 48 + + Granada, 124 + + Gravitz, 169 _n._ + + Grove, _The Unity of Physical Forces_, 32 + + Guancios, Caves of the, 77 + + + Haeckel, theory of the _gastræa_, 108 + + Hayem, 169 _n._ + + Heitz, Dr., 231 + + Heligoland, flora and fauna of, 43 + + Helmholtz, 48 + + Henle, Prof., 54 + + Herzen, _Passé et pensées_, 47 + + Hirschfeld, 169 _n._ + + Hodounof, 19, 20, 22 + + Hueppe, Prof., 131 + + Hugo, Victor, 260 _n._ + + + Iamanouchi, M., 211 + + Immunity, 122; + opposing theories of Behring and Metchnikoff, 148, 149, 150, 151; + ancient and modern theories of, 168-70; + Metchnikoff's exposition of, 171-180 + + _Immunity in Infectious Diseases_, 170 + + Infantile cholera, 207, 220-21 + + _Inflammation_, Metchnikoff's lectures on, 152-3 + + Intestinal flora, problem of, 196-8, 206; + further researches, 220, 235, 280; + experiments with rats, 221, 222 + + Intracellular digestion, Metchnikoff's studies of, 57, 105, 107, 110, + 116, 170, 277, 278 + + + Jaurès, assassination of, 240 + + Jelly-fish, Metchnikoff's monograph on embryology of, 126 + + Jenner and method of antivariolic vaccination, 168 + + _Journal de Moscou_, Elie Metchnikoff's first publication in, 33 + + Jupille, M., 155 + + + Kalmuk steppes, Metchnikoff's journey to, 82-3; + description of, 215-16; + Metchnikoff's anthropological work among natives of, 84-5; + liability of natives to tuberculosis, 210-11; + Pasteur Institute expedition to, 212; + description of, 215-17 + + Keferstein, Prof., 54 + + Kent, Saville, discoveries of _Protospongia_, 110 + + Kharkoff, 1, 16, 20; + Lycée, progress in, 28; + University, ancient methods in, 31-2, 37, 40 + + Kherson, peasants' grievances and vexatious conduct in, 113, 114 + + Kirghiz steppes, endemic plague in, 211; + Russian plague mission to, 211, 215, 218; + description of, 214 + + Kleinenberg, Prof., encouragement of Metchnikoff, 118, 119 + + Kleps, 169 _n._ + + Koch, Prof., 265; + attitude to Metchnikoff's theory, 133, 149 + + Kölliker, Prof., 37 + + Kovalevsky, Alexander, friendship with Metchnikoff, 49, 58; + work of, 51, 52, 61, 62, 72, 73, 108; + divides Baer Prize with Metchnikoff, 58 + + Kriloff, 26 + + Kühne, 41 + + + Latapie, M., 155 + + _Law of Life, The_, 223 + + _Leçons sur la pathologie comparée de l'inflammation_, 152-3 + + Leube, Dr., 231 + + Leuckart, Prof., 43-5, 46 + + Lilienfiorse, 199 + + Lister, Dr., 148 + + Loeffler, 265 + + London Congress, 149-50 + + Lubarsch, attacks on Metchnikoff's theory, 232 + + Lucernaria, 73 + + + _Macaques_ or Barbary apes, 124; + Metchnikoff's typhoid experiments with, 207-8 + + Macrophages, 163-4, 166, 178, 184 + + Madeira, 75 + + Maeterlinck, Maurice, 228-9 + + Maisonneuve, M., 191 + + Malaga, gardens of, 124 + + Manoukhine, Dr., 231 + + Martin, Dr., 256, 273 + + Medusæ, 72, 73, 116 + + Mertens, 76, 79 + + _Messenger of Europe_, Metchnikoff's contributions to, 208-9, + 239 _n._ + + Messina, Metchnikoff's work at, 61 + + Messina, the Metchnikoff home at, 115 + + Messina, earthquake at, 1908, 115, 116 + + Metazoa, 277 + + Metchnikoff, Dmitri Ivanovitch, devotion to his brother's family, 5, + 17, 21, 28; + appearance and character, 5-6; + other references, 12, 14 + + Metchnikoff, Elie (or Ilia), parents' home at Panassovka, 1-3; + birth of, 3; + appearance and disposition in childhood, 8-11; + early indications of unusual intelligence, 9, 16, 20; + an adventurous journey to Slaviansk, 12-15; + life at Kharkoff, 16-18; + develops natural history tastes with Hodounof, 20-22; + ancestry, 23-7; + entry into and progress at Kharkoff Lycée, 28-34; + friendships and their influence, with Bogomoloff, 29, + with Tschelkoff, 32-3, 42, + with Kovalevsky, 48 _seq._, + with Cienkovsky, 59-60, + with Kleinenberg, Virchow, and others, 118-19, + with Pasteur, 132 _seq._, + various, 56, 58-9, 63, 65, 93, 137; + adopts atheism and shows continued interest in natural history, + 29-30; + love of music, 31, 34, 54-5, 93; + plans a scientific career, 31; + early publications, 33, 41; + devotion to his mother, 35, 93-4; + early love affairs, 35-6; + abortive journey to Würzburg, 37-9; + at Kharkoff University, 40-42; + an early controversy with Kühne, 41; + influenced by Darwin, 41, 50; + early researches and privations in Heligoland, 43-5; + letters to his mother quoted, 44-6, 65-9; + at Giessen Congress, 45; + work and relations with Leuckart, 45-8; + eyesight troubles, 46, 62, 82-3, 105; + visit to Geneva, 46-8; + researches, Mediterranean, 48-53, 56-7, 61 _seq._, + in the Crimea, 59-60, + at Spezzia, etc., 70-73, + anthropological among Kalmuks, 84-5, + in intracellular digestion and Ephemeridæ, 105-11, 116, + in infectious diseases, 128, + in tuberculosis and phagocytosis, 133; + at Pasteur Institute, 135-6, + in cholera, 154-157, + in immunity, 168-80, + in senile atrophies and intestinal flora, 182-9, 191, 196-8, + 206-8, 220 _seq._, + in syphilis, 189-91, + in infantile cholera and typhoid, 207-8, 220, + in tuberculosis and plague among Kalmuks, 210-19; + silk-worm moth, 238-9, 251; + contribution to foundation of comparative embryology, 51, 56; + studies in Germany and opinion of German scientists, 54-5, 57; + illnesses, 55-56, 65, 104, 181, 217, 222, 229 _seq._, 249; + return to Russia and Odessa University appointment, 58-60; + appointed Zoology Professor at Petersburg, 61; + interest in educational questions, 63, 100; + life at Petersburg, 63-4, 71 _seq._; + engagement and first marriage, 66-70; + reappointed to Odessa University and difficulties of appointment, + 73, 75, 78, 98 _seq._; + his philosophical theory and its evolution, 74-7, 184-9, 191-5, + 209, 222-4, 228-9, 281-3; + visit to and life at Madeira, 75-7; + death of first wife, 79; + attempts suicide, 80-81; + Mlle. Fédorovitch's description of, 83; + journey to Astrakhan steppes, 82-3; + studies of childhood, 86; + meeting with family of second wife and growing intimacy, 86-8, 94; + Setchénoff's description of, 88; + harmony of second marriage, 89-95; + character and disposition 96-8, 143-5; + views of women's scientific capacity, 103; + inoculates himself with relapsing fever, 104; + and the phagocyte theory, first statement of, 110, + describes first inception of, 116-17, + progress in, 117-22, 126, 128, 142, 148, 150-53, 158-66, + 183, 208-9, + controversies and attacks on, 131, 133, 142, 147-9; + difficulties over Russian estate management, 112-14; + life at Messina, 115-19; + again returns to Russia, 119; + journey through Spain to Tangiers, 123-4; + life at Tangiers and Villefranche, 125-6; + describes work at Bacteriological Institute, Odessa, 127-8; + describes first meeting with Pasteur, 132; + Pasteur's offer, 132; + visit to Berlin and reception by German scientists, 133; + work and influence at Pasteur Institute, 135-146; + M. Roux's appreciations of, 138-9, 150, 159; + other appreciations, 141, 165; + life at Sèvres and Paris, 144-5; + visit to England, 149; + triumph at London Congress, 150; + interest in Pfeiffer's phenomenon, 158-60; + theory and studies of natural death, 192-5, 230-35, 237-8, 252; + receives Nobel Prize, 199; + journey to Sweden and Russia, 199-200; + visit to Tolstoï, 200-205; + expedition to Kalmuk steppes, 210 _seq._; + unpleasant incident of lacto-bacilli fabrication, 225-7; + kindness to friends, 227-8; + descriptions of his own symptoms, etc., 229-36, 250-51, 263-5; + holidays at St. Léger-en-Yvelines, 228, 237-9, 251; + effect of war on, 239-46, 261; + preface to _Founders of Modern Medicine_ quoted, 247-8; + plans a work on sexual questions, 249, 252, 260; + jubilee celebrations, 249-50; + last illness, 254-73; + last days at Pasteur Institute, 256-73; + death, 273; + synopsis of work and achievements, 276-81 + + Metchnikoff, Madame, meeting with Metchnikoff, 87, + parents and family, 87-8, 94, + marriage, 89, 90, + relations between husband and wife, 90-95, + illness of, in 1880, 104, + loss of both parents, 112, + illnesses of, 123, 181, 252 + + Metchnikoff, Emilia Lvovna (_née_ Nevahovna), appearance and + disposition, 2, 5, 6, 93; + a capable housewife, 3; + a devoted mother, 4, 6, 13, 14, 18, 37; + delicacy of, 22; + ancestors, 26; + influence on Elie Metchnikoff's choice of a career, 41; + endeavours to prevent Elie's first marriage, 66; + letters to, from Elie quoted, 44-5, 65-69; + death of, 94 + + Metchnikoff, Elena Samoïlovna, 4, 8, 10 + + Metchnikoff, Ilia Ivanovitch, home at Panassovka, 1, + appearance and character, 2, + marriage, 2, + easy-going temperament, and extravagance, 2-6, + attitude to his family and servants, 6-7 + + Metchnikoff, Ivan, 3, 8 + + Metchnikoff, Katia, appearance and character, 8, + marriage, 16, 21, + other references, 12, 14 + + Metchnikoff, Leo, 3, 8, + illness of, 19, + gifted but superficial nature of, 19, 46-7; + activities in Geneva and connection with Garibaldi Movement, + 46-7, 80 + + Metchnikoff, Nicholas, birth of, 3; + appearance, 8; + his great-aunt's favourite, 8, 10; + boyhood pursuits, 17-18; + enters Kharkoff Lycée, 28; + life in Kharkoff, 31; + death of, 230 + + _Microphages_, 163-4, 166 + + Morosoffs, the, of Moscow, 189 + + Moscow, Anthropological Society of, Metchnikoff's report to, 85 + + Moscow, International Congress, 1897, 164-5; + Skin Disease Research Society, 189 + + Müller, Fritz, _For Darwin_, 50 + + _Müller's Archives_, Metchnikoff's memoir on the Vorticella in, 41 + + Myriapoda, embryology of, 76, 85 + + + Naegeli, 169 _n._ + + Naples, cholera epidemic in, 1865, 53; + Metchnikoff's first stay at, 49-53, + second stay, 62 + + Napoleon, 260 _n._ + + Natural death, Metchnikoff's studies of, 237, 280-81 + + Natural science, Metchnikoff's campaign for the teaching of, 100 + + Nematodes, Metchnikoff's discoveries, etc., 42, 46 + + Nevahovitch, Leo, 26 + + Nicholas I., 28 + + Nobel Prize, the, 199 + + Nocard, M., 265; + appreciation of Metchnikoff, 165 + + Norden, Dr., 231 + + + Odessa, University of, 58-9, + Metchnikoff's work at, 60-61, 98-9, + party intrigues at, 75, 101, + rights to autonomy threatened, 101-3, + Congress, 1883, 120, + bacteriological Institute founded at, 127 + + Oldenburg, Prince of, 129 + + + Panassovka, the home of the Metchnikoffs, 1, 3, + fire at, 20-21 + + _Parenchymella_, explanation of, 109-110 + + Paris, International Congress, 1900, 170 + + Paris, air raids on, 246 + + Pasteur, antirabic inoculations, 127, + Metchnikoff's first interview with, 132, + friendship with Metchnikoff and interest in phagocyte theory, 137, + experiments in vaccination and immunity, 168-9, + death of, 181, + discovery of lactic fermentation microbe, 193, + age at death, 265 + + Pasteur Institute, the, 132, + Metchnikoff's work and influence at, 134-142, 144, + Metchnikoff's appreciation of, 139, + effect of outbreak of European War on, 244-5; + celebration of Metchnikoff's jubilee, 249 + + Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, 24, 25, 26 + + Petersburg, 2, 19, + Congress of Russian Naturalists at, 1867, 60-61, + difficult conditions of Metchnikoff's work at, 63-4, 71, + foundation of Bacteriological Institute at, 129 + + Petersburg Geographical Society, 82 + + Petrushka, 4, 12, 13 + + Pettenkoffer, 154, 236 + + Pfeiffer, 265, + experiments in extracellular destruction of microbes, 158-60, + 165-6, 175; + attacks on Metchnikoff's theory, 232 + + _Phagocytella_, 110, 126 + + Phagocytes, origin of Metchnikoff's theory of, 51, 57, 278, + development of theory, 110, 111, 113, 120-22, 142, + inception of theory, 116-19, + Baumgarten's hostile criticism of theory, 126; + application of theory to erysipelas, 128, + opposition to theory, 131, 151, + controversy, 148, + renewed experiments for proving theory, 148, 149, 150, 151, + 152, 153, 279; + vindication of, at Buda-Pest Congress, 159, 160; + experiments with toxins and poisons, 160-62; + experiments with antitoxins, 162-164, + and doctrine of immunity, 170-80, + and senility, 183, 280 + + Phagocytosis, Metchnikoff's first paper on, read at Odessa Congress + of Physicians and Naturalists, 1883, 120 + + _Phyllirhoë_, 175 + + Picot, E., _Chronicle of John Neculua_ quoted, 23 + + Pirquet's test, 211 + + _Pleomorphism of Microbes_, Metchnikoff's memoir, 1888, 211 + + Poland, Revolution in, 1830, 26 + + Polypi, 72 + + _Popular Star_, 29 + + Preyer, theory of fatigue and sleep, 194 + + _Protospongia_, discovery of, by Saville Kent, 110 + + Pushkin, 2, 26 + + + Radlkoffer, _The Crystals of Proteic Substances_, 33 + + Rasputin, 219 + + Recklinghausen, 169 _n._ + + Relapsing fever, experiments to prove phagocytic reaction, 129 + + Renon, Dr., 255 + + Rotifera, 193, 237-8 + + Rousseau, J. J., _Confessions and the Nouvelle Héloïse_, 260 _n._ + + Roux, Dr., 137, 255, + appreciation of Metchnikoff quoted, 138-9, 141, 159, 249; + collaboration with Metchnikoff, 150, 162, 163, 164, + wins Osiris Prize, 189; + reply to campaign against Metchnikoff, 226; + friendship with and visits to Metchnikoff in his last illness, + 257, 267, 273 + + Rubinstein, M., 260 + + + St. Léger-en-Yvelines, 228, 237 + + Salimbeni, Dr., 163, 184, 211, 215, 256, 266, 272-3 + + Sanarelli, Dr., discovery of choleriform bacilli, 156 + + Sarepta, 217-18 + + Schaudinn, discovery of syphilitic treponema, 190 + + Scorpion, the, Metchnikoff's researches concerning the development + of, 71 + + Senility and death, Metchnikoff's views on and researches, 182-8, + 191-5 + + Serums, their action, 177 + + Setchénoff, Prof., 52-3, 71, 73, 78, 239; + autobiography quoted, 88 + + Sèvres, Metchnikoff Villa at, 144, 145 + + Siphonophora, 72 + + Slaviansk, adventurous journey of the Metchnikoff family to, 12 + + Spain, Metchnikoff's eventful journey through, 80 + + Spatar, Joury Stepanovitch, 26 + + Spatar, Nicholas Milescu, exploits and adventures of, 23-4, + mission to China, 24, + literary activities and services to Peter the Great, 25, + death of, 25 + + Spezzia, the Metchnikoffs sojourn at, 70-71 + + Sponges and Echinodermata, Metchnikoff's study of, 61, 72, 106, 117 + + Stepanita, Prince, his dealings with Nicholas Milescu Spatar, 24 + + Syphilis, Metchnikoff's researches on, 189-91, 280 + + + Tangiers, journey to, through Spain, 123-4, + description of, 124-6 + + Tarassevitch, Dr., 212 + + Tchistovitch, Dr., 231 + + _Time for Marriage, The_, Metchnikoff's paper on, 77 + + Tolstoï, Léon, a day at Iasnaïa Paliana, 200-205 + + Tolstoï, Countess, 203 + + Tornaria, Metchnikoff's discovery concerning, 70 + + Toxins and the phagocyte theory, experiments, 160 seq. + + _Trattoria della Harmonia_, the, 53 + + Trieste, Metchnikoff's work at, 62 + + Tschelkoff, Prof., 32, 33, 40, 41, 42 + + Tshori, Convent of, 217 + + Tuberculosis, researches on phagocytosis, in, 133; + Metchnikoff's theory of natural vaccination, 210-11, 218 + + Typhoid fever, 207-8 + + + Vaquez, Dr., 230 + + Veillon, Dr., 256 + + Vienna, Hygienists' Conference at, 1887, 131 + + Villa Orotava, giant dragon-tree at, 77 + + Virchow, cellular theory, 32, 48, 169 _n._; + encouragement of Metchnikoff, 118-19; + _Archives_, publication of Metchnikoff's researches in, 122, 129 + + Volga, description of, 212-13 + + von Noorden, 182 + + von Siebold, Prof., 54 + + Vorticella, the, Metchnikoff's memoir on, 41 + + + Waldeyer, 169 _n._ + + Weinberg, M., 184 + + Widal, Dr., 255, 256 + + Wollman, pupil and collaborator of Metchnikoff, 196-7, 221 + + Würzburg, University of, Metchnikoff's abortive journey to, 37 + + + Zalensky, 32 + + + THE END + + + + +_Printed in Great Britain by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_. + + + + + READERS OF THIS BOOK INTERESTED + IN MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC + BIOGRAPHY ARE REFERRED + OVERLEAF + + + + + MEN OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE + + + THE LIFE OF PASTEUR. By RÉNÉ VALLERY-RADOT. Translation by Mrs. R. L. + DEVONSHIRE. New Edition with a Preface by Sir WILLIAM OSLER, Bart., + M.D., F.R.S. + + Demy 8vo. Portrait, 10s. 6d. net. + + "A classic of scientific biography."--_Saturday Review._ + + "The translation of M. Vallery-Radot's admirable biography of the + great Frenchman is a book which every English-speaking admirer of + Pasteur will desire to possess."--_The Athenæum._ + + "Pasteur's career is set out in the fullest detail, making an + absorbing narrative, and the scientific, social, and political + environment is sketched with vivid accuracy. It is the picture of + a great man, a great career, and a great epoch in the history of + France and of science."--_The Times Literary Supplement._ + + + SIR VICTOR HORSLEY. By STEPHEN PAGET. 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CHESTER. + + In this volume the author has traced the life of one of the + most remarkable men of to-day. BOOK I.--Crete before and during + the rise of Venizelos--deals with the early life of this great + patriot; his early struggles as leader of the Cretan revolution; + his final triumphal election to the Greek National Assembly. BOOK + II.--Venizelos as Maker of Modern Greece--is a history of the + gradual aggrandisement of Greece. From 1910 to 1920 the life of + Venizelos is synonymous with that of his country. + + + ISMAIL KEMAL BEY. Memoirs. With an Introduction by W. MORTON + FULLERTON. + + Demy 8vo. 18s. net. + + "An invaluable source for the historian of the downfall of the + Turkish Empire, and adds materially to our knowledge of the + intrigues of the great continental powers in Egypt and the Near + East."--_Manchester Guardian._ + + "Of profound interest and reveals some inner secrets of Near + Eastern policy."--_Sunday Times._ + + + ABDUL HAMID. By Sir EDWIN PEARS. (Makers of XIX. Century Series. See + p. 4.) + + + LI HUNG CHANG. By J. O. P. BLAND. (Makers of XIX. Century Series. See + p. 4.) + + + DIAZ. By DAVID HANNAY. (Makers of XIX. Century Series. See p. 4.) + + + NADIR SHAH. By Sir H. MORTIMER DURAND. + + Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. net. + + + THE WINTER QUEEN: The sad story of Elizabeth of Bohemia. By MARIE HAY. + + 12s. 6d. net. + + + EMMA, LADY HAMILTON. From New and Original Documents, together with + an Appendix of Notes and Letters. By WALTER SICHEL. + + Illust. 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With a Memoir by his + Wife. + + Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 16s. net. + + + + + Modern Biographies. + + With Bibliographies and Portraits. Fcap. 8vo. 1s. 6d. net each. + + + LAFCADIO HEARN. By EDWARD THOMAS. + + W. E. HENLEY. By L. COPE CORNFORD. + + TOLSTOY. By EDWARD GARNETT. + + PAUL BOURGET. By ERNEST DIMNET. + + VERLAINE. By WILFRED THORLEY. + + DR. BARNARDO. By A. R. NEUMAN. + + CARDUCCI. By ORLO WILLIAMS. + + + + + III. + + Literary, Artistic, Philosophical and General. + + + THE LIFE OF SIR E. T. COOK. By J. SAXON MILLS. + + Frontispiece. Demy 8vo. + + This is the authorised life of the famous journalist and + publicist, friend and biographer of Ruskin, who became during the + War one of the chiefs of the Press Bureau. Sir Edward Cook was + in his time editor of the _Pall Mall Gazette_, the _Westminster + Gazette_, and the _Daily News_, and Mr. Saxon Mills' book throws + much valuable light on the political and social England of the + last thirty years. Contents:--Parentage and School; Oxford Days; + Early Journalism; Early Days on the _Pall Mall_; Politics in + the 'Eighties; Editor of the _Pall Mall_; From _Pall Mall_ to + _Westminster_; The _Westminster Gazette_; The _Daily News_; The + South African Scene; Sale of the _Daily News_; As Editor and + Journalist; Literary Work; The Last Task; Death and Character; + The Age of Puff; Some Stories. + + + ARTHUR HUGH CLOUGH: A Critical Biography. By JAMES I. OSBORNE. + + Demy 8vo. 8s. 6d. net. + + "Mr. Osborne has approached his difficult task with ardour and + taste."--EDMUND GOSSE in the _Sunday Times_. + + "A very careful and interesting piece of work."--W. L. COURTNEY + in the _Daily Telegraph_. + + "A most admirable exposition of character of singular and + beautiful integrity."--NEW STATESMAN. + + "This acute and interesting book."--_Times Literary Supplement._ + + + MEMORIES OF GEORGE MEREDITH, O.M. By LADY BUTCHER. + + Three Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 5s. net. + + "All the swift criticisms and unpremeditated comments that + this indefatigable diarist has recovered from her treasures + make it clear that Meredith's wit was as spontaneous as it was + characteristic."--_Saturday Westminster._ + + "Lady Butcher deserves very hearty thanks for this little volume + of her charming memories."--CLEMENT SHORTER in _The Sphere_. + + + FREDERICK LOCKER LAMPSON. By the Rt. Hon. AUGUSTINE BIRRELL. + + Illustrated. Fcap. 4to. 25s. net. + + *** 100 copies on hand-made paper, bound in white and gold and + signed by the author, were also issued. + + "Life is more than politics, and if we deal with a book this week + it is because we have found in it an ironic and reconciling charm + to make us more content with existence as it is. We are restored + to the forgotten grace of letters, and Mr. Birrell has done this + with that way of his own which is like no other man's. This + little quarto with the rough edges, perfect in form and texture + to a book lover's eye, written with a deep-laid negligence, makes + us surer that Mr. Birrell will be remembered when more ponderous + reputations have foundered.... A collector can see at a glance + that the book lovers of posterity will always gather this volume + like amber.... This character sketch, followed by a little + masterpiece of editing applied to family letters and a book list, + makes us regret the fate that lured Mr. Birrell from writing + and wasted him on political clubs.... He is a cross between Dr. + Johnson and Charles Lamb."--_Observer._ + + "Nothing that Mr. Birrell has previously written has been + conceived in so happy a vein as this monograph.... A charming + little quarto."--_Daily Chronicle._ + + "The book to delight the heart of every one who really cares for + literature. Written with a manly and tender affection and with + the reverence which the subject demands. The publishers have done + their part admirably."--CLAUDIUS CLEAR in _The British Weekly_. + + + GEORGE MEREDITH: His Life, Genius, and Teaching. By S. C. PHOTIADES. + Rendered into English by ARTHUR PRICE. + + Extra Crown 8vo. 6s. net. + + + W. E. HENLEY. By L. COPE CORNFORD. (Modern Biographies Series. + See p. 9.) + + + HERBERT SPENCER. By HUGH S. ELLIOT. (Makers of XIX. Century Series. + See p. 4.) + + + THE MIDDLE YEARS: Reminiscences. By KATHERINE TYNAN. + + Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. net. + + + THE YEARS OF THE SHADOW. By KATHERINE TYNAN. + + Demy 8vo. 15s. net. + + THE EDUCATION OF HENRY ADAMS. With an Introduction BY HENRY CABOT + LODGE. + + 21s. net. + + "This fascinating autobiography.... A brilliant picture of + a social epoch now completely vanished, and a record of an + intellectual pilgrimage which will stand along with the few + perfect examples."--_Manchester Guardian._ + + + LETTERS TO A NIECE, and Prayer to the Virgin of Chartres. By HENRY + ADAMS, Author of _The Education of Henry Adams_, etc. + + "These letters written from Washington and during his travels + in the Pacific, in Egypt, Paris, etc., leave in their playful + and tender intimacy a pleasant impression which forms a + welcome memorial of the inner life of a distinguished man of + letters."--_Times Literary Supplement._ + + + REMINISCENCES OF ARTHUR COLERIDGE. By J. A. FULLER-MAITLAND. + + Demy 8vo. + + Arthur Duke Coleridge, born in 1830, was the grand-nephew of + the great poet, S. T. Coleridge. Educated at Eton and King's, + Cambridge, he acted for fifty-four years as an official on the + Midland Circuit. He died in October 1913. Very few people have + had so fine a gift for friendship as Arthur Coleridge. Few + also have had the privilege of knowing so many of those who + interpreted the artistic feeling of their time. He himself did + much to stimulate the vogue of the best in music. His musical + recollections are a delightful account of his important work + towards the musical revival in England. + + + VIA GIBBS. A Memoir by Mrs. ALSTON. + + Photogravure Portrait and 8 half-tone Illust. Demy 8vo. + + A memorial volume to Victoria Florence de Burgh Gibbs, C.B.E., + eldest daughter of the Rt. Hon. W. H. Long, M.P., and the wife of + Lieut.-Col. G. A. Gibbs, M.P. "The path of a good woman is indeed + strewn with flowers, but they rise behind her steps, not before + them."--RUSKIN. + + + DELANE OF THE "TIMES." By Sir E. T. COOK. (Makers of XIX. Century + Series. See p. 4.) + + + LORD STOWELL: His Life and the Development of English Prize Law. By + E. S. ROSCOE. + + Front. Med. 8vo. 7s. 6d. net. + + "Mr. Roscoe has collected diligently and reverently and has + been able to present a picture such as we have not had before + of a great judge and a constructive jurist."--_Times Literary + Supplement._ + + + THE LIFE AND A SELECTION FROM THE LETTERS OF WILLIAM STUBBS (Bishop + of Oxford). 1825-1901. Edited by W. H. HUTTON, B.D. + + Demy 8vo. 6s. net. + + "Mr. Hutton gives an excellent account of the Bishop's + career.... Of Stubbs as a historian the book can only recount + the achievements, but of Stubbs as a man it gives an excellent + portrait."--_Athenæum._ + + + PAUL VERLAINE. By HAROLD NICOLSON. + + It is not easy to write a critical biography of Verlaine without + either patronage or pomposity. Mr. Nicolson succeeds because he + treats his subject whimsically but with respect. He does not + seek to excuse or to minimise the failings of Verlaine as a man, + nor does he make extravagant claims of poetical genius, but he + tells with genial sympathy a rather pitiful life story, and by + skilful quotation enables the reader to form his own judgment + of Verlaine's work. Contents:--Youth; Marriage; Arthur Rimbaud; + "Sagesse"; Middle Age; The Last Phase; Verlaine's Literary + Position. + + + VERLAINE. By WILFRED THORLEY. (Modern Biographies Series. See p. 9.) + + + PAUL BOURGET. By ERNEST DIMNET. (Modern Biographies Series. See p. 9.) + + + VICTOR HUGO. By MARY DUCLAUX. (Makers of XIX. Century Series. See p. + 4.) + + + CARDUCCI. By ORLO WILLIAMS. (Modern Biographies Series. See p. 9.) + + + DANTE ALIGHIERI: A Biographical Study. By CHARLES A. DINSMORE. + + Large Crown 8vo. 15s. net. + + "Dante's latest biographer has made out a very just summary of + modern opinion and research."--_New Statesman._ + + + THE LIFE OF TOLSTOY. By AYLMER MAUDE. + + Vol. I. First Fifty Years to 1870. + + Vol. II. Later Years. + + Each vol. illustrated. Price per vol. 12s. 6d. net. + + + TOLSTOY. By EDWARD GARNETT. (Modern Biographies Series. See p. 9.) + + + JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH. His Life, Art, and Work. Translated from the + German of JOHANN NIKLAUS FORKEL. With Notes and Appendices by + CHARLES SANFORD TERRY, LITT.D. + + Illustrated. Demy 8vo. 21s. net. + + "Very much more than a re-translation of an old work which was + previously translated very imperfectly into English a hundred + years ago.... Though it bears the name of Forkel on the cover, + it contains material for a history of Bach criticism from + the beginning of the 19th century until the present day, and + incidentally suggests directions which future research may + follow."--_Times Literary Supplement._ + + + TSCHUDI, THE HARPSICHORD MAKER. By WILLIAM DALE, F.S.A. + + Demy 8vo. Illustrations. 7s. 6d. net. + + + MICHEL-ANGELO: A Record of his Life as told in his own Letters and + Papers. By R. W. CARDEN, R.W., A.R.I.B.A. + + Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. net. + + + LIFE AND LETTERS OF LAFCADIO HEARN. By ELIZABETH BISLAND. + + Illust. Demy 8vo. 2 vols. £3: 3s. net. + + + LAFCADIO HEARN. By EDWARD THOMAS. (Modern Biographies Series. See p. + 9.) + + + THE JAPANESE LETTERS OF LAFCADIO HEARN. By ELIZABETH BISLAND. + + Illust. Demy 8vo. 31s. 6d. net. + + + LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS. Author of "Uncle Remus." By + JULIA COLLIER HARRIS. + + Demy 8vo. Illustrated. 18s. net. + + + THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOHN FISKE. By JOHN SPENCER CLARK. + + Illustrated. Demy 8vo. 2 vols. 50s. net. + + + LETTERS OF ROBERT WATSON GILDER. Edited by ROSAMOND GILDER. + + Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 14s. net. + + + THE MEMORIAL BIOGRAPHY OF W. G. GRACE. By LORD HAWKE, LORD HARRIS, + and Sir HOME GORDON. Published under the auspices of M.C.C. + + Demy 8vo. Illustrated. 21s. net. + + "Of inestimable value.... Sir Home Gordon must have had + an extremely difficult and laborious task, and is to be + congratulated on the way in which he has accomplished + it."--_Field._ + + + + + IV. + + Scientific and Medical. + + + THE LIFE OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF. By OLGA METCHNIKOFF. Translated by Mrs. + R. L. DEVONSHIRE. + + Frontispiece. Demy 8vo. + + Reviewing the French edition of this book in January 1921, _The + Times Literary Supplement_ said: "Madame Metchnikoff's excellent + analysis of her husband's scientific theories does not hinder + her from showing us the living, the lovable, the extraordinary + human being who conceived so many ideas, who developed so many + theories, inventions, innovations.... Mme. Metchnikoff has made + us admire the man of science and warmly the man." + + + THE LIFE OF PASTEUR. By RÉNÉ VALLERY-RADOT. Translation by Mrs. R. L. + DEVONSHIRE. New Edition with a preface by Sir WILLIAM OSLER, Bart., + M.D., F.R.S. 2nd edition. + + Demy 8vo. Portrait. 10s. 6d. net. + + "A classic of scientific biography."--_Saturday Review._ + + "The translation of M. Vallery-Radot's admirable biography of the + great Frenchman is a book which every English-speaking admirer of + Pasteur will desire to possess."--_The Athenæum._ + + "Pasteur's career is set out in the fullest detail, making an + absorbing narrative, and the scientific, social, and political + environment is sketched with vivid accuracy. It is the picture of + a great man, a great career, and a great epoch in the history of + France and of science."--_The Times Literary Supplement._ + + + SIR VICTOR HORSLEY. By STEPHEN PAGET. Foreword by LADY HORSLEY. + + Illustrated. Demy 8vo. 21s. net. + + "All the aspects of Horsley's strenuous life are depicted with + the writer's accustomed sympathy and skill. Mr. Paget has given + us a study of absorbing interest.... We are never allowed to + lose sight of the restless energy and indomitable courage that + characterised all that Horsley undertook."--_British Medical + Journal._ + + "No biographer who agreed with Horsley could have given us + anything so valuable, so convincing, so vitally defined.... Mr. + Paget has never had an equal as a medical biographer, and here he + has excelled himself."--_The Observer._ + + + LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOSEPH BLACK, M.D. By Sir WILLIAM RAMSAY, K.C.B., + LL.D., F.R.S., etc. Introduction by F. G. DONNAN, F.R.S. + + Demy 8vo. Frontispiece Portrait and Illustrations. 6s. 6d. net. + + + ROBERT BOYLE: A Biography. By FLORA MASSON. + + Frontispiece. Demy 8vo. 7s. 6d. net. + + "May be recommended as an excellent study of the great Irishman + to whose services as natural philosopher and chemist even modern + scientists owe a debt of gratitude."--_Pall Mall Gazette._ + + + THE LIFE OF SIR CHARLES TILSTON BRIGHT. By CHARLES BRIGHT, F.R.S.E. + Revised and Abridged. + + Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 12s. 6d. net. + + "The life story of Sir Charles Bright presents the career + of a famous Englishman with all the charm of simplicity and + enthusiasm.... As the chief engineer of the Atlantic cable + Sir Charles Bright will always have a memorable place in the + scientific progress of this century.... These volumes possess a + special interest for men of science, but they tell with clearness + and simplicity the career of a man of whom Englishmen must always + feel proud."--_Morning Post_. + + [_Spring 1921._] + + +MESSRS. CONSTABLE will be glad to send free on application classified +Lists of their publications. The following subject headings are ready:-- + + POLITICS, POLITICAL SCIENCE, AND SOCIOLOGY. + + HISTORY. + + WAR AND MILITARY HISTORY. + + RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY. + + EDUCATION AND PSYCHOLOGY. + + ECONOMICS AND COMMERCE. + + ART AND ILLUSTRATED BOOKS. + + FICTION. + +_Please write to_ + +10-12 ORANGE STREET LONDON W.C.2. + + + + + * * * * * * + + + +Transcriber's note: + +Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been retained except in +obvious cases of typographical error. + +Names and terms which deviated between chapter headings and text have +been made consistent. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF, +1845-1916*** + + +******* This file should be named 44194-8.txt or 44194-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/4/1/9/44194 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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