This evidently irritated him. He reprinted the
paper of the learned Italians in the 'Philosophical Magazine,'
accompanied by sharp critical notes from himself. He also wrote a
letter dated Dec. 1, 1832, to Gay Lussac, who was then one of the
editors of the 'Annales de Chimie,' in which he analysed the results
of the Italian philosophers, pointing out their errors, and defending
himself from what he regarded as imputations on his character.
The style of this letter is unexceptionable, for Faraday could not
write otherwise than as a gentleman; but the letter shows that had he
willed it he could have hit hard. We have heard much of Faraday's
gentleness and sweetness and tenderness. It is all true, but it is
very incomplete. You cannot resolve a powerful nature into these
elements, and Faraday's character would have been less admirable
than it was had it not embraced forces and tendencies to which the
silky adjectives 'gentle' and 'tender' would by no means apply.
Underneath his sweetness and gentleness was the heat of a volcano.
He was a man of excitable and fiery nature; but through high
self-discipline he had converted the fire into a central glow and
motive power of life, instead of permitting it to waste itself in
useless passion. 'He that is slow to anger,' saith the sage,
'is greater than the mighty, and he that ruleth his own spirit than
he that taketh a city.' Faraday was not slow to anger, but he
completely ruled his own spirit, and thus, though he took no cities,
he captivated all hearts.
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