萬物簡史 第111期:勢不兩立的科學(19)

Capitalizing on Mantell's enfeebled state, Owen setabout systematically expunging Mantell'scontributions from the record, renaming speciesthat Mantell had named years before and claimingcredit for their discovery for himself. Mantellcontinued to try to do original research but Owenused his influence at the Royal Society to ensure thatmost of his papers were rejected.

歐文利用曼特爾體弱多病的狀態(tài)，著手系統(tǒng)地從檔案中勾銷他的貢獻，重新命名曼特爾多年以前已經(jīng)命名過的物種，把他發(fā)現(xiàn)這些物種的功勞占為己有。曼特爾還想搞一些創(chuàng)新的研究工作，但歐文利用自己在皇家學會的影響，確保曼特爾的大部分論文被拒絕采用。

In 1852, unable to bear any more pain or persecution, Mantell took his own life. His deformedspine was removed and sent to the Royal College of Surgeons where—and now here's an ironyfor you—it was placed in the care of Richard Owen, director of the college's Hunterian Museum.

1852年，曼特爾再也無法忍受疼痛或迫害，結(jié)束了自己的生命。他那根變了形的脊椎被取出來送到皇家外科學院——這又是一件很有諷刺意味的事——由該學院的亨特博物館館長理查德·歐文保管。

But the insults had not quite finished. Soon after Mantell's death an arrestingly uncharitableobituary appeared in the Literary Gazette. In it Mantell was characterized as a mediocreanatomist whose modest contributions to paleontology were limited by a "want of exactknowledge." The obituary even removed the discovery of the iguanodon from him and creditedit instead to Cuvier and Owen, among others. Though the piece carried no byline, the style wasOwen's and no one in the world of the natural sciences doubted the authorship.

但是，污辱沒有完全結(jié)束。曼特爾死后不久，《文學》雜志刊登了一篇極其無情的悼文。在那篇文章里，曼特爾被描述成一名二流的解剖學家，他對古生物學的一點兒貢獻“由于缺乏過硬的知識”而受到限制。悼文甚至抹去了他發(fā)現(xiàn)禽龍的功勞，把這個功勞歸于居維葉和歐文等人。悼文沒有署名，但其風格是歐文的，自然科學界誰也不會懷疑作者是誰。