Distance with him is immaterial. His strength as a
generalizer enables him to dissolve the idea of magnitude; and if
you abolish the walls of the room--even the earth itself--he would
make the sun and planets the outer coating of his jar. I dare not
contend that Faraday in these memoirs made all his theoretic
positions good. But a pure vein of philosophy runs through these
writings; while his experiments and reasonings on the forms and
phenomena of electrical discharge are of imperishable importance.
Footnotes to Chapter 8
[1] Newton's third letter to Bentley.
[2] Had Sir Charles Wheatstone been induced to resume his measurements,
varying the substances through which, and the conditions under which,
the current is propagated, he might have rendered great service to
science, both theoretic and experimental.
Chapter 9.
Rest needed--visit to Switzerland.
The last of these memoirs was dated from the Royal Institution in
June, 1838. It concludes the first volume of his 'Experimental
Researches on Electricity.' In 1840, as already stated, he made his
final assault on the Contact Theory, from which it never recovered.[1]
He was now feeling the effects of the mental strain to which he had
been subjected for so many years. During these years he repeatedly
broke down. His wife alone witnessed the extent of his prostration,
and to her loving care we, and the world, are indebted for the
enjoyment of his presence here so long. He found occasional relief
in a theatre.
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