  In fact, I think that Boltzmann's rather aggressive reactions to Zermelo and Ostwald should be compared to other polemical exchanges in which he was involved, and sometimes initiated himself (e.g. against Clausius, Tait, Planck, and Bertrand — not to mention his essay on Schopenhauer). It seems to me that Boltzmann enjoyed polemics, and the use of sharp language for rhetorical   effect.[5]   Boltzmann's complaints in 1896–1898 about an hostile environment are, I think, partly explained by his love of polemic exaggerations, partly also by his mental depression in that period. (See Höflechner 1994, 198–202) for details.) Certainly, the debates with Ostwald and Zermelo might well have contributed to this personal crisis. But it would be wrong to interpret Boltzmann's plaintive moods as evidence that his critics were, in fact, hostile.