He then spoke to me without
hesitation or reluctance; not with any apparent desire to 'improve
the occasion,' but to give me such information as I sought.
He believed the human heart to be swayed by a power to which science
or logic opened no approach, and, right or wrong, this faith, held in
perfect tolerance of the faiths of others, strengthened and
beautified his life.
From the letters just referred to, I will select three for
publication here. I choose the first, because it contains a passage
revealing the feelings with which Faraday regarded his vocation, and
also because it contains an allusion which will give pleasure to a
friend.
'Royal Institution. [ this is crossed out by Faraday ]
'Ventnor, Isle of Wight, June 28, 1854.
'My Dear Tyndall,--You see by the top of this letter how much habit
prevails over me; I have just read yours from thence, and yet I
think myself there. However, I have left its science in very good
keeping, and I am glad to learn that you are at experiment once
more. But how is the health? Not well, I fear. I wish you would
get yourself strong first and work afterwards. As for the fruits, I
am sure they will be good, for though I sometimes despond as regards
myself, I do not as regards you. You are young, I am old....
But then our subjects are so glorious, that to work at them rejoices
and encourages the feeblest; delights and enchants the strongest.
'I have not yet seen anything from Magnus.
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