434 Prof. A. de la Rive's Memoir of 



magnetic and diamagnetic bodies, and upon the possible relation 

 between gravity and electricity. In 1850 Faraday reverted to 

 this question, which he had previously attempted but without 

 success. We see that it is with regret that he is obliged to re- 

 linquish the discovery of this relation, which he had twice sought 

 after; but with his usual good faith he admits that, although 

 convinced that it exists, he was unable to find any fact to esta- 

 blish it. If experiment, which he knew so well how to employ 

 constantly, gave him a negative response, would not this be 

 because his point of view was not correct? and did not his 

 error arise from his forming too vague ideas as to the transfor- 

 mation of forces, not taking sufficiently into account that it is 

 the work effected by the force, and not the force itself, that must 

 be considered in questions of this kind ? 



V. 



We have passed in review the principal labours of Faraday ; 

 and it only remains for us, in order to complete this notice, to 

 endeavour to form an idea of the special character of these la- 

 bours, and of the influence which they have exerted on the pro- 

 gress of science. 



The first character that strikes us is their number. What 

 Faraday published in the form of memoirs from 1820 to 1855 is 

 incredible. And what would it have been if, side by side with the 

 multitude of experiments which he has made known, we placed 

 in a parallel series those which he never published ? It is true 

 that if he has left them buried in his journal, it is because they 

 gave him negative results ; but from how many fruitless essays 

 and erroneous attempts he would have preserved scientific men 

 if he had not been so discreet ! 



A second character is the exactitude of the results obtained : 

 I do not think that Faraday has once been caught in a mistake; 

 so precise and conscientious was his mode of experimenting and 

 observing. It must be admitted that in him the hand marvel- 

 lously seconded the head ; he was of remarkable dexterity, and 

 possessed a practical talent, rare and precious in men of science, 

 which enabled him, when necessary, to construct and modify his 

 apparatus for himself, with the view of attaining with more cer- 

 tainty the desired result. 



A third character, of quite a different kind and of much greater 

 value, is the orginality of the works of Faraday. A disciple of 

 Davy, he undoubtedly shows traces of the school from which he 

 came, especially in the choice of the subjects of which he treats; 

 but he does not blindly follow either the method or the steps of 

 his master, and, soon quitting the beaten track, he strikes out a 



