Lord Lister: his life and work / by G. T. Wrench.

  • Wrench, Guy Theodore, 1877-
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Lord Lister: his life and work / by G. T. Wrench. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    was, indeed, peculiarly sensitive, and gave him a refined sense of truth both to himself and to others, which showed him as free from guile, and gave him the accurate sense of reality which became so profitable to the world. His life as a child was happy and serene. There are no notable anecdotes connected with it, and he himself was the last to desire the repetition of such anecdotes. “ A scientist’s public life lies in the work that is his,” was his saying, and in the biography of his father which he wrote for the “ Dictionary of National Biography,” he carefully observed this rule. He made no mention of the childhood or private life of his father, but retailed in full the history and character of his contribution to the world’s knowledge. Such is the standard of scientific biography which Lister himself set, a standard he was anxious should be observed in the case of his own life. His early education was given to him at the Quaker school, at Grove House, Tottenham. Amongst his schoolfellows was Wilson Fox, the well-known physician, who was three years younger than Lister, and William Forster, the Liberal statesman, who was a few years older. The headmaster of the school was a Mr. Binns, a good but in no way remarkable man. The character of Mr. Binns with the traditions of Quakerism formed the character of the school. To us, who in these latter days have what, I cannot but think, is a somewhat dangerous free-