In his singular character the dual nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and astuteness represented, as I have often thought, the reaction against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him.
La curiosa dualidad de la naturaleza de su carácter se manifestaba alternativamente, y muchas veces he pensado que su exagerada exactitud y su gran astucia representaban una reacción contra el humor poético y contemplativo que de vez en cuando predominaba en él.