They amounted to sheer contradictions, but their explanation was to be looked for in the environment of his life.
Physically he was still young, but his mind seemed very old, and had that appearance of dwelling quietly apart which is the privilege of wise minds who have done with life, and who look on at the close of the comedy free from illusions.

His eyes often flashed with enthusiasm, but his speech was always gentle and quiet.

In his relations with other men he had the decided manner of one who was accustomed to command, and at the same time the kindness of a patriarch for his children.

He was a moderate sceptic, nevertheless he combined with it a mysticism which a superficial judge might have denounced as superstition.

He believed, for instance, that many persons had power over wild animals; that they could raise themselves into the air; that they could interrupt the duration of their lives for months, or even for years, and then resume it again; that they could read the thoughts of others, and communicate without help the speech of others over unlimited distances.