Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 12: Little Journeys to the Homes of Great ScientistsHubbard, Elbert
Science
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 12: Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Scientists
Hubbard, Elbert
Scientists -- Biography
Ernst Haeckel gathers his manna fresh every day. I believe Haeckel
enjoys his pipe and mug after the day's work is done; but for stimulants
in a general sense, he has no use. In his book on Ceylon, he attributes
his escape from the jungle fever, from which most of his party suffered,
to the fact that he never used strong drink, and ate sparingly.
He is jealous of the sunshine--a great walker--works daily with hoe and
spade in his garden; and breathes deeply, pounding on his chest, when
going from his house to the college, in a way that causes considerable
amusement among the fledglings. Tall, spare rather than stout, bronzed,
active, wearing shoes with thick soles, plain gray clothes, often
accompanied by a half-dozen young men, he is a common figure on the
roads that wind out of Jena, and lose themselves amid the mountains.
The distinguishing feature of the man is his animation. He is full of
good cheer, and acts as if he were expecting to discover something
wonderful very soon.
To find the balance between play and work has been the aim of his life;
and surely, he has pretty nearly discovered it.
Once when a caller asked him what he considered the greatest achievement
of his life, he took out of his pocket a leather case containing a
bronze medal, and proudly passed it around.
This medal was presented to him in the year Eighteen Hundred Fifty-nine,
in token of a running high jump--the world's record at the time, or not,
as the case may be. Haeckel is essentially an out-of-door man, as
opposed to the philosopher who works in a stuffy room, and grows
round-shouldered over his microscope. "I may entrust laboratory analyses
to others, but there is one thing I will never let another do for me,
and that is take my daily walk a-field," he once said.
While lecturing he sits at a table and simply talks in a very informal
way; often purposely arousing a discussion, or awakening a sleepy
student with a question. Yet on occasion he can speak to a multitude,
and, like Huxley, rise to the occasion. Oratory, however, he considers
rather dangerous, as the speaker is usually influenced by the opinions
of the audience, and is apt to grow more emphatic than exact--to
generate more heat than light.
The comparison of Haeckel with Huxley is not out of place. He has been
called the Huxley of Germany, just as Huxley was called the Haeckel of
England. In temperament, they were much alike; although Haeckel perhaps
does not use quite so much aqua fortis in his ink. Yet I can well
imagine that if he were at a convention where the Bishop of Oxford would
level at him a few theological spitballs, he would answer, unerringly,
with a sling and a few smooth pebbles from the brook. And possibly,
knowing himself, this is why he keeps out of society, and avoids all
public gatherings where pseudo-science is exploited.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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