_THE CENTURY SCIENCE SERIES_ EDITED BY SIR HENRY E. ROSCOE, D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S. HUMPHRY DAVY POET AND PHILOSOPHER The Century Science Series. EDITED BY SIR HENRY E. ROSCOE, D.C.L., F.R.S. =John Dalton and the Rise of Modern Chemistry.= By Sir HENRY E. ROSCOE, F.R.S. =Major Rennell, F.R.S., and the Rise of English Geography.= By Sir CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, C. B., F.R.S., President of the Royal Geographical Society. =Justus von Liebig: his Life and Work (1803-1873).= By W. A. SHENSTONE, F.I.C., Lecturer on Chemistry in Clifton College. =The Herschels and Modern Astronomy.= By AGNES M. CLERKE, Author of “A Popular History of Astronomy during the 19th Century,” &c. =Charles Lyell and Modern Geology.= By Rev. Professor T. G. BONNEY, F.R.S. =James Clerk Maxwell and Modern Physics.= By R. T. GLAZEBROOK, F.R.S., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. =Humphry Davy, Poet and Philosopher.= By T. E. THORPE, LL.D., F.R.S., Principal Chemist of the Government Laboratories. In Preparation. =Michael Faraday: his Life and Work.= By Professor SILVANUS P. THOMPSON, F.R.S. =Pasteur: his Life and Work.= By M. ARMAND RUFFER, M.D., Director of the British Institute of Preventive Medicine. =Charles Darwin and the Origin of Species.= By EDWARD B. POULTON, M.A., F.R.S., Hope Professor of Zoology in the University of Oxford. =Hermann von Helmholtz.= By A. W. RÜCKER, F.R.S., Professor of Physics in the Royal College of Science, London. MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED, _New York_. [Illustration: HUMPHRY DAVY. _ÆTAT 45._ (_From a painting by Jackson_)] _THE CENTURY SCIENCE SERIES_ HUMPHRY DAVY POET AND PHILOSOPHER BY T. E. THORPE, LL.D., F.R.S. New York MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED 1896 PREFACE For the details of Sir Humphry Davy’s personal history, as set forth in this little book, I am mainly indebted to the well-known memoirs by Dr. Paris and Dr. John Davy. As biographies, these works are of very unequal value. To begin with, Dr. Paris is not unfrequently inaccurate in his statements as to matters of fact, and disingenuous in his inferences as to matters of conduct and opinion. The very extravagance of his laudation suggests a doubt of his judgment or of his sincerity, and this is strengthened by the too evident relish with which he dwells upon the foibles and frailties of his subject. The insincerity is reflected in the literary style of the narrative, which is inflated and over-wrought. Sir Walter Scott, who knew Davy well and who admired his genius and his many social gifts, characterised the book as “_ungentlemanly_” in tone; and there is no doubt that it gave pain to many of Davy’s friends who, like Scott, believed that justice had not been done to his character.