24 JOSEPH BABINSKI: A BIOGRAPHY
Babinski’s silence was remarked on by everyone who saw him regularly in
his department.
4
He was not talkative with students, residents, or associates,
and his patients might not hear one word spoken during their examination.
He delighted in being silent, as did his master Charcot.
5
As said with admi-
ration by Albert Charpentier, Joseph Babinski was “a blond giant with blue
eyes . . . and obstinately mute.”
6
Addiction to Work
Babinski was addicted to work, as were many of his contemporaries: Alfred
Vulpian (1826–1887), Jules Dejerine (1849–1917), Victor Cornil (1837–1908),
Charles Bouchard (1837–1915), Pierre Marie (1853–1940), Gustave Roussy
(1874–1948), Maxime Laignel-Lavastine (1875–1953), Eugène Gley (1857–1930),
and Charles Robin (1821–1885) were all workaholics.
7
Babinksi’s daily life was
4
A. Tournay, “Babinski dans la vie” [Babinski in everyday life], La Presse Médicale 1958 (66):
1485–1489; Charpentier, Un grand médecin ; Vincent, “J. Babinski”; R. Moreau, “Hommage à
la mémoire de Joseph Babinski à l’occasion du 100è anniversaire de sa naissance” [Homage
to the memory of Joseph Babinski on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth],
Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société Médicale des Hôpitaux de Paris 1958 (74): 449–457;
L. Rivet, “Joseph Babinski (1857–1932),” Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société Médicale des
Hôpitaux de Paris 1932 (34): 1722–1733; V. Neri, “Centenaire de la naissance de J. Babinski”
[Centennial of the birth of J. Babinski], Rev Neurol (Paris) 1958 (98): 654–657 .
5
Rivet, “Joseph Babinski.”
6
Charpentier, “Babinski (Joseph).”
7
In his obituary at Vulpian’s funeral, Charcot reported: “Some time aft er the death of
his mother, to whom he was deeply attached, I tried to boost his morale, temporarily at a
low ebb. He said: ‘I hope to recover with work. We are so fortunate to have such a cure!’
Yes, work, always work! Th at was his ultimate refuge.” Dossier Alfred Vulpian, Archives
de l’Académie des sciences. On Dejerine: “Th e master needed to work, to work fever-
ishly and with passion. An important task seems to condition his morale. . . . Regarding
that, the correspondence of J. Dejerine with his mother is especially conclusive: ‘We
shall have always enough time to rest, we must work, always work. . . . Nothing is worth
more than the enjoyment that work and particularly science gives to us.’” E. Gauckler,
Le professeur J. Dejerine (1849–1917) (Paris: Masson, 1922), 12–13. On Cornil: “His
life has been only one immense job. . . . You will always fi nd Cornil working.” Georges
Millian, “Le Professeur V. Cornil 1837–1908,” Le Progrès Médical 1908 (XXIII):
199—200. Bouchard had “an extraordinary ability to work.” “Roger H. Bouchard
(1837–1915),” La Presse Médicale 1915 (53 supplement): 402–406. Marie was a “tireless
worker.” Le Progrès Médical 1907 (XXIII): 884–885. On Roussy, see “Discours du
Professeur Cornil (Marseille) aux obsèques de Gustave Roussy” [Cornil’s speech at
Roussy’s funeral], Dossier Gustave Roussy, Archives de l’Académie des sciences. On
Laignel-Lavastine: “For more than fi ft y years, he never stopped working.” R. Moreau,
“Maxime Laignel-Lavastine,” Rev Neurol (Paris) 1953 (89): 274–276. Gley, a professor