Dr. Franklin P. Mall : an appreciation / [Simon Flexner].

  • Simon Flexner
Date:
1918
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Dr. Franklin P. Mall : an appreciation / [Simon Flexner]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    between liberty and license; hence the rise under him of! a group of strong, independ¬ ent, but sound teachers and investigators. Mall would probably have combated the suggestion that he produced a school of anatomists, using the term in its usual significance. He would probably have in¬ sisted that he merely continued in Amer¬ ica the system which he pursued or saw in force in Switzerland and Germany. But I believe rather that he made such definite contributions to the higher education and training of anatomists, and produced in, alas! a few brief years so large a number of varied and capable teachers and investi¬ gators, as to mark a new era in the his¬ tory of higher educational endeavor. I said that his deep convictions of free¬ dom carried him into the wider domain of social liberty. Mall never propagandized on this subject. He however felt intensely about it. It is noteworthy that with all the admiration for the freedom of migra¬ tion from university to university and the wide election of subjects and ideas in the German university, to the social and polit¬ ical conditions of that country he was anti¬ pathetic. To so strong a “ democrat/ ’ to use that term in its wider and better sig¬ nificance, a studied paternalism and im¬ perialistic tendency were deeply unsym¬ pathetic. Mall’s sincerity, self-effacement, and never-failing consideration were at the root of his noble qualities and made companion¬ ship with him a rare privilege. I have already spoken of my own good fortune in possessing in some degree his intimate friendship. It is a rare possession indeed and one to be cherished. But I owe him also an educational impress, none the less valuable because of its subtle nature. I am of the opinion that his pupils were in¬ fluenced by this unusual quality which be¬ cause of its elusiveness seems an emana¬ tion—so little was it given off or received with immediate conscious perception. Mall was absorbed in ideas. They formed the substance of his serious talk, but he was by no means a stranger to the lighter side of human relations, for he possessed a gentle and engaging humor which might even, when provoked, become a little biting. It took time and some skill to penetrate an outer film of reserve which arose from innate modesty and shyness, but once beneath that protective covering, one readily discovered in him a simple, idealistic and gifted person of many sides, possessed of an almost miraculous power to stimulate students to put forth their best efforts. His memory and example will long survive in the achievements of his students and associates, in the broad ideas which he disseminated, and in the admiration and affection which he inspired. Simon Flexner The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research