第8章

ApartfromtherevelationofMill’scharacter，theonlyquestioniswhetheranyintellectualinfluenceistobeattributedtoMrsMill。Itiseasytosuggestthatheadmiredherbecauseshewasskilfulinechoinghisownopinions。TothisProfessorBainrepliesthatMillgenerallylikedintelligentopposition，andholdsthatinfactMrsMilldidsethismindtoworkbystimulatingconversation。(68*)Thismaybetruewithinlimits。Mill，however，himselfassignscoincidenceoncardinalpointsofopinionasanecessaryconditionoffriendship。(69*)Itisplainthatsuchanagreementexistedbetweenhimselfandhiswife。Thathecoulddetectnoerrorinherprovessimplythatsheheldwhathethoughttobetrue，thatis，hisownopinions。Hehasindeedsaidenoughtoexplainthegeneralrelation。ShehadnothingtodowiththeLogic，exceptastotheminutermattersofcomposition；hehadalreadycometobelieveinwoman’srightsbeforeheknewher；shedidnotaffectthelogicalframeworkofthePoliticalEconomy，butshesuggestedthechaptertowhichheattributesmostinfluenceuponthefutureofthelabouringclasses；andgavetothebook，thegeneraltonebywhichitisdistinguishedfromprevioustreatises。’’Whatwasabstractandpurelyscientific，’hesaysbywayofsummary，’wasgenerallymine；theproperlyhumanelementcamefromher。’(70*)Inotherwords，herinfluencewasratheruponhisemotionsthanuponhisintellect，andledhimtoapplyhisabstractprinciplestotheactualstateofsocietyandtoestimatetheirbearinguponhumaninterestsandsympathiesmoreclearlyandwidelythanhewouldotherwisehavedone。UndoubtedlywemaygladlyadmittheimportanceofthiselementinMill’slife；wecanfullybelievethatthis，theonegreataffectionofhislife，hadenabledhimtobreatheamoregenialatmosphereandhelpedtosavehimfromtherigidityanddrynessofsomeofhisallies。Itis，however，impossibletoattributetoMrsMillanyrealshareinframinghisphilosophicaldoctrines；andtheimpossibilitywillbethemoreevidentwhenwehavenoticedtowhatanextenttheyweresimplythedevelopmentofthecreedwhichhehadbeenimbibingfromhisearliestyears。MillwasessentiallyformedbyBentham，JamesMill，andRicardo；whiletherelationtoMrsMillencouragedhimtoamorehumanversionoftheoldUtilitariangospel。Theattributionofallconceivableexcellencestohiswifeshowsthatheloved，ifImaysayso，withhisbrain。Thelovewasperfectlygenuineandofmostunusualstrength；butheinterpreteditintotermsofreason，andspeaksofaninvaluablesympathyasifitimpliedakindofphilosophicalinspiration。

Mill，nowreleasedfromhisofficiallabours，settleddownasheexpected，fortheremainderofhisexistenceintoapurelyliterarylife。’(71*)Forsixorsevenyears(endof1858tosummerof1865)hecarriedoutthisdesign，andwrotemuchbothonpoliticalandphilosophicaltopics。HefirstpublishedtheLiberty，inwhich，afterthedeathofhiswife，heresolvedtomakenofurtheralterations。Hegavetheweightofhisapprovaltothecongenialworkofhisfriend，ProfessorBain，byareviewintheEdinburghofOctober1859。Heputtogether，frompreviouslywrittenpapers，hisshorttreatiseuponUtilitarianism。(72*)InOctober1863hereviewedintheEdinburghtherecentlypublishedlecturesofhisoldfriend，JohnAustin，therepresentativeUtilitarianjurist。TwoarticlesuponComte(73*)in1864gavehisfinaljudgmentofoneofthethinkerstowhomheowedmostoutsideoftheUtilitariancircle。Hismostelaborateperformance，however，washisexaminationofSirWilliamHamilton’sphilosophy。ThiswassuggestedbytherecentpublicationofHamilton’sLectures，whichheatfirstintendedonlytoreview。Theworkswelleduponhishands；hereadallHamilton’swritingsthreetimesover，andmuchotherliterature；

hecompletedthebookintheautumnof1864，andpublisheditinthefollowingspring。Itinvolvedhiminsomeverysharpcontroversies，andcontainedhisfinalandmostelaborateprotestagainsttheIntuitionistschool。This，too，withthethreeposthumousessays，(74*)giveshispositionuponthegeneralphilosophicalquestionswhichwerenottreatedintheLogic。Inhisearlierbookshehadbeensystematicallyreticenttoadegreeofwhichheafterwardsdisapproved。(75*)Theintelligentreader，indeed，couldperceivetowhatconclusionshisprinciplesled；

buttheintelligentreaderisararity。When，in1865，hispoliticalopponentstriedtoturnhisunpopularopinionstoaccount，theonlyphraseuponwhichtheycouldfixwasthereallyveryorthodoxsentiment(intheexaminationofHamilton)thathewouldgotohellratherthanworshipanunjustGod。Hehadintended，itmaybenoticed，topublishtheessayUponNaturehimself；buttheothersweretobestillheldback。Theselastutterances，however，takentogether，giveasufficientaccountofMill’sfinalpositioninphilosophy。

VI。POLITICALACTIVITY

Meanwhile。hehadbeenagaindrawntopolitics。AfterindifferencewhichfollowedthefinalthelongperiodofdecayofthephilosophicalRadicals，theEnglishdemocracywasshowingmanysymptomsofrevivedanimation。ThenewReformBillwasbecomingtheobjectofpracticalpoliticalagitation；anditseemedthatthehopesentertainedoftheReformBillof1832hadnowatlastaprospectofrealisation。Millthoughtin1861thattherewas’amoreencouragingprospectofthementalemancipationofEngland，’andthatthingswerelookingbetterforthegeneraladvanceofEurope。(76*)ThesurvivingUtilitarianshaddeclinedfromthetruefaith。JohnAustinbeforehisdeathhadbecomedistinctlyConservative；andthesacredfireofBenthamismwasnearlyextinct。Millhimselfhadchangedinsomerespects。Whilemoreawaketocertaindangersofdemocracy，hewasthemorestronglyconvincedofthepossibilityofmeetingthembyappropriateremedies。MeanwhileRadicalisminvariousformswasraisingitshead，andwillingtoacceptMill，nowawriterofthefirstcelebrity，asitsauthorisedinterpreter。Hewrotemuchatthisperiod，whichdefineshispositionandshowshisrelationtothenewparties。HisfirstpublicationwasapamphletonParliamentaryReform，suggestedbythefutileReformBillofLordDerbyandDisraeliin1859。Henowobjectedtotheballot，thefavouritenostrumofthephilosophicalRadicalstowhichGrotestilladhered，buthismainsuggestionswereinharmonywiththeschemeproposedbyMrHare。Afterthepublicationofhisownpamphlet，hebecameacquaintedwiththisscheme，ofwhichheimmediatelybecameanardentproselyte。In1860and1861hewrotetwotreatises。HeexpoundedhiswholepoliticaldoctrineinhisConsiderationsonParliamentaryGovernment(1861)，andhewroteforfuturepublication——’atthetimewhenitshouldseemmostlikelytobeuseful’——hisSubjectionofWomen。(77*)Inthis，asheintimates，’allthatismoststrikingandprofoundbelongstohiswife’；whileitappearsthathisstepdaughterhadalsosomeshareinthecomposition。TheoutbreakofthecivilwarinAmericaledhimtopronouncehimselfstronglyinsupportofBrightandothersympathiserswiththecauseofunion。(78*)

AlthoughhisopinionswereopposedtothosecommonestamongtheEnglishupperclasses，theyfellinwiththoseoftheRadicals，andmadehimatoncearepresentativeofagreatcurrentofopinion。HisoccupationwithHamiltonnowwithdrewhimforatimetoanotherdepartmentofthought。

Inthebeginningof1865MillpublishedpopulareditionsofhisPoliticalEconomy，hisLiberty，andhisRepresentativeGovernment。AtthegeneralelectionofthatyearhewasinvitedtostandforWestminster。Millacceptedtheinvitation，thoughupontermswhichshowedemphaticallythathewouldmakenosacrificeofhisprinciples。Hedeclinedtoincuranyexpense。Hewouldnotcanvass，althoughheattendedafewpublicmeetingsintheweekprecedingthenomination。Hedeclaredthathewouldanswernoquestionsabouthisreligiousbeliefs，butuponallothertopicswouldanswerfranklyandbriefly。’Didyou，’hewasaskedatonemeeting，’declarethattheEnglishworkingclasses，thoughdifferingfromsomeothercountriesinbeingashamedoflying，wereyet“generallyliars“？’Hisanswer，’Idid，’

produced，hesays，’vehementapplause。’Itcertainlydeservedtheapplause。Uponsomepoints，too，oftheRadicalcreed，Mill’sviewswerenotacceptable。Hiscondemnationoftheballot，andhisadherencetowomen’ssuffrageandtominorityrepresentationmarkedhisoppositiontosomedemocratictendencies。Theseopinions，however，referredtoquestionsnotprominentenoughatthetimetobeimportantasdisqualificationsinacandidate。Hiselectionbyaconsiderablemajorityrousedgreatinterest。Hecameinuponawaveofenthusiasm，whichaccompaniedthebeginningofanewpoliticalera。TheRadicalismwhichwastosucceedwas，indeed，veryunliketheoldRadicalismof1832；but，forthetimeatleast，itbelieveditselftobesimplycontinuingtheoldmovement，andwaswillingtoacceptthemostdistinguishedrepresentativeofthecreedforoneofitsleaders。

InhisAutobiographyMillshowsacertainself-complacencyindescribinghisproceedingsinthenewparliament，whichisnotunnaturalinamancalledfromhisstudybythestrongdemandfrompracticalpoliticians。Thevoicewhichhadbeencryinginthewildernesswasnowtobeheardinthesenate，andphilosophytobemarriedtopractice。Milltookuphisdutieswithhisusualassiduity；hewatchedbusinessascloselyasthemostdiligentofpartisans，andwasasregularintheHouseashehadbeeninhisoffice。Thescenesinwhichheappearedasanoratorwereremarkable。Hisfigurewasspareandslight，hisvoiceweak；aconstanttwitchingoftheeyebrowbetrayedhisnervousirritability；hespokewithexcessiverapidity，andattimeslostthethreadofhisremarks，andpauseddeliberatelytoregainself-possession。(79*)Buthepouredoutcontinuousandthoroughlywell-arrangedessays——lucid，fullofthought，andfrequentlytouchingthepointepigrammatically。HisoldpracticeatdebatingsocietiesandthePoliticalEconomyClubhadqualifiedhimtogivefullexpressiontohisthoughts。Ageneralcuriositytoseesostrangeaphenomenonasaphilosopherinparliamentwasmanifest，andMillundoubtedlyintroducedanorderofconsiderationsfarhigherthanthoseoftheaveragepolitician。

Thetoneofthedebates，aswassaidbycompetentwitnesses，wasperceptiblyraisedbyhisspeeches。Theacceptedleaders，suchasBrightandGladstone，welcomedhimcordially，andweredoubtlesspleasedtofindthattheyhadbeentalkingsomuchphilosophywithoutknowingit。Theyoungmellwhowerethenenteringpubliclifelookeduptohimwithreverence；and，foratime，eventhesquires，theembodimentsofToryprejudice，werefavourablyimpressed。Thatcouldnotbeforlong。OneofthehitstowhichMillreferswithsomegleeintheAutobiography(80*)gavethenicknameofthe’stupidparty’totheConservatives。Itexpressedhisrealviewalittletooclearly。Betweenhimandthetypical’JohnBull’agreatgulfwasfixed。Hecouldnevercontrive，thoughhehonestlytried，toseeanythingintheclasswhichmostfullyrepresentsthatideal，excepttheembodimentofselfishstupiditygeneratedbyclassprejudice，Andthecountry-gentlemennaturallylookeduponhimastheirancestorswouldhavelookeduponSieyes，couldtheFrenchmanhavebeensubstitutedforCharlesFox。TheycoulddimlyunderstandWhiggism，embodiedinagenial，heartymemberoftheirownclass；buttheflavouroftheFrenchphilosophy，oritsEnglishcorrelative，wasthin，acid，andcalculatedtosettheirteethonedge。Theyshowedthefeelingafteratime，andMillretortedbysomeirritabilityaswellasscorn，Hedid-not，Ifancy，obtainthatkindofpersonalweightwhichissometimesacquiredbyamanwho，thoughhepreachesequallyoffensivedoctrines，ismoreobviouslymadeofthesamefleshandbloodashisadversaries。(81*)

Milltookapartinvariousparliamentaryproceedings。HehelpedtopasstheReformBillof1867；heactedasamediatorbetweentheministersandtheRadicalswhowereresponsibleforthefamousmeetinginHydePark；andhemadeaweightyprotestonbehalfofagenerousandthoroughgoingIrishpolicy。Hethoughtthataseparationwouldbemischievoustobothparties；butheadvocatedaschemeforgivingapermanenttenuretoexistingtenants，withadueregardtovestedinterests。(82*)Heobtainedlittlesupportforapolicywhich，atleast，wenttotherootofthegreatdifficulty；butthewisdomofhisview，whateveritsshortcomings，ismorelikelytoberecognisednow。ThemainpeculiarityofMill’sposition，however，isallthatIamabletonotice。Inspiteofhisphilosophy，heappearedtobeathoroughpartyman。Hefullyadopted，thatistosay，theplatformoftheRadicalwing，andvotedsystematicallywiththemonallpoints。

Hisphilosophyledhim，ashesays，(83*)toadvocatesomemeasuresnotpopularwiththebulkoftheLiberalparty。Ofthesethemostimportantweretheextensionofthesuffragetowomenandtheprovisionofrepresentationforminorities。Manypeople，heobserves，tookthesetobe’whimsofhisown。’Mill，infact，wascontributingtotheadvanceofdemocracy。Inhiseyes，thesemeasureswereofvitalimportanceassafeguardsagainstdemocratictyranny。Thedemocratwas，ofcourse，contenttoaccepthisalliance，andtoallowhimtoamusehimselfwithfancifulschemes，whichforthetimecouldmakenodifference。