He was of a robust and athletick constitution of body, so
hardened by early severities and wholesome fatigue that he was
insensible of any sharpness of air, or inclemency of weather. He was
tall, and remarkable for extraordinary strength. There was in his air
and motion something rough and artless, but so majestick and great at
the same time, that no man ever looked upon him without veneration, and
a kind of tacit submission to the superiority of his genius.... He was
never soured by calumny and detraction, nor ever thought it necessary to
confute them; "for they are sparks," said he, "which, if you do not blow
them, will go out of themselves."... He was not to be overawed or
depressed by the presence, frowns, or insolence of great men; but
persisted, on all occasions, in the right with a resolution always
present and always calm.... Nor was he unacquainted with the art of
recommending truth by elegance, and embellishing the philosopher with
polite literature.... He knew the importance of his own writings to
mankind, and lest he might by a roughness and barbarity of style, too
frequent among men of great learning, disappoint his own intentions, and
make his labours less useful, he did not neglect the politer arts of
eloquence and poetry.
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