Chapter the First

Until Next Time


"Well done, Brother Gregory," said Brother Matthew over enthusiastically, "a good presentation. I particularly liked the part where you described how the pea plants were grown." Ruefully, Mendel smiled back at his friend.
"Thank you Brother Matthew, it is kind of you," he said softly, "but I feel that your opinion is not shared by many others." He looked around the room where small groups of men were huddled in conversation that he was sure had nothing to do with his talk. Often, after a controversial presentation, members of the audience would debate one point or another for several hours, moving the argument to the local coffee shop when they were ejected from the Realschule. But not tonight. Most of the members were now talking politics or business, not plant hybridization.

Breaking off from one such group, Abbot Napp approached the four lonely figures. Holding out his hand to Mendel, who took it firmly, he said, "Well done Brother Gregory, you spoke clearly and your voice carried well. I heard every word." He drew Mendel closer to him and put an arm around his shoulders. "But a word of advice. Next time have your data and your conclusions more firmly drawn. Do not hesitate in your presentation and be prepared to defend even the most obvious of points." Mendel agreed silently.

"Brother Timothy is ambitious," went on Napp, "but he is a good scientist, and you should listen to him." The Abbot felt obliged to apologize for his protege's behavior. "In science, as in life, there are many different types of players. Some, like your friends here," and he acknowledged Bothers Matthew and Joseph, "will agree with you no matter what you say. And some," here he nodded in the direction of Brother Timothy, "will attack you just because your success in some way lessens them." He paused to see if Mendel was following his advice.

"To them, your data, correctly interpreted, is not just a discovery or an advancement of God's truth, it is a minor victory for you, and a loss for them in a battle they fight every day to be perceived as either the first or the best." Mendel looked puzzled at these last remarks, so Napp tried to make his point more clearly. "Those who succeed, at least think they have succeeded in science, have very large egos. Few are good scientists. Large egos need constant feeding and the nourishment they need the most is praise and the perception of power or authority." Once again the humble monk was having difficulty in following his Abbot.

Napp shook his head. It would take more than one lesson to educate this gentle man who still believed that honesty and truth were the two most important virtues in science. Perhaps he would get his second lesson at the next presentation in March, but Napp was determined to make sure he was better prepared the next time.