The humility of greatness
During my years in Gothenburg, Sweden, there lived a gentleman not far from my home by the name of Arvid Carlsson. He was affiliated with a medical university, while I made my daily journey to Chalmers University in connection with my own work. Our routes almost coincided. I would board the tram at one stop, and he would join at the next. His destination came one stop before mine, and thus began a brief but regular companionship.
Before long, this routine tram acquaintance developed into a warm and pleasant friendship. All I knew about him was that he was a physiologist with a remarkable interest in science, culture, literature, and ideas. He was a man of exceptional courtesy. His conversation was rich in knowledge, yet entirely free of display; there was dignity in his demeanor, but no trace of arrogance. Above all, there was a gentleness about him - a quality not always encountered among those who occupy positions of distinction.
One morning he........
