"Educated man, misusing the glorious gift of reason which raises him above the brute, actually lowers himself below the creatures endowed only with instinct; inasmuch as he casts aside the natural sense which might guide him, and in his credulous folly pretends to discover and investigate phenomena which reason would not for a moment allow, and which, in fact, are utterly absurd. "Let my young hearers mark and remember my words. I desire that they should dwell in their memory as a protest uttered in this Institution against the progress of error. Whatever be the encouragement it may receive elsewhere, may we, at any rate in this place, raise a bulwark which shall protect the boundaries of truth, and preserve them uninjured during the rapid encroachments of gross ignorance under the mask of scientific knowledge." Faraday's high position in the world of science and his well-known thoroughness in investigating any subject in which he interested himself, made his utterances on the subject of spirit-rapping and table-turning convincing to a large number of people. He was, however, for many years occasionally pestered with questions about it, by persons who thought they could prove to him that he was wrong; perhaps in no matter did Faraday so nearly lose his patience as over this; at no other time did he so nearly exhibit that volcano of fiery passion which, according to Tyndall, underlay the sweetness and gentleness of disposition which were his ever-obvious qualities. He had, as Tyndall well puts it, "through high self-discipline 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." Miss Barnard, from her long and intimate acquaintance with her uncle, quite endorses what Professor Tyndall says. She says that a most fiery passion was kept under by the most perfect master, and during all the years she knew him she could not recollect above two occasions when Faraday, even for a moment, let his passion get the better of him.