Palla Ákos szerk.: Az Országos Orvostörténeti Könyvtár közleményei 29. (Budapest, 1963)

Dr. Harangby László: Mecsnyikov munkássága és jelentősége az orvostudományban

attacked by violent passion, its favours can be best won by gentleness". The general working trend of bacteriology had remained for a long time a breath-taking run trying to obtain successes at any rate, naturally often without thorough-going research-work. Iljich Mecbnikov gave almost the impression of strangeness in such a word: he had an exclusive interest for scientific problems and did immidiately gave up his respected emploment as an university professor at Odessa, when he was demanded to do some work outside the field of his scientific interest. Mecbnikov's present appreciation is made actual not so much by his biographical data, but much more by the fact that we have only recently been able to value the extraordinary effect of his work on the development of medical science. My present treaty wants to look particularly into the said problem, and in close connection therewith tries to find out, what impression did Mechnikov s personality and character make upon his scientific activity. Therefore 1 don't want to give you a biography and my treaty will only include such respective biographical data as they are necessary for judging Mechnikov's importance. He studied natural sciences on the university of Charkov and Würzburg, and he was interested especially in cytological studies. Returning to Russia his attention was drawn to the theory of the origin of species, Mechnikov became enthusiastic follower of the science of genetics and setting out once more on a wandering tour he was making scientific investigations about the ways and means of natural selection. He was a fanatic genius, and as such he endeacoured to prove that only the most outstanding and most suitable individuals survive the thousand dangers menacing their existence or as he used to express shortly: „The survivors are the most resistent ones". So far Mechnikov had not delt at all with questions of medical science but when he got the last mentioned statement, his look-led by his remarkable perspicacity-feth immidiately and almost involuntarly upon the living organism, attacked by pathogenic germs. The work of the scientist is not only directed by the internal structure of their personality, but, is greatly influenced by their social and personal circumtances. That was the case of Mechnikov too. Owing to his passionate inner constitution he felt in deep love with his first U