Du temps perdu a la recherche.

An attempt has been made to justify an academic career by outlining the approximate history of the development of ideas and tracing their origins and arborization. Because there are multifarious influences and formative factors involved in their genesis it has proved almost impossible to acknowledge all the important contributors to the patchwork of investigations that are summarized. However, whilst the review is incomplete and necessarily brief, it is hoped that a glimpse of some twentieth century preoccupations with biological science is afforded.