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*Forsixorsevenyearsendof1858tosummerof1865hecarriedoutthisdesign，andwrotemuchbothonpoliticalandphilosophicaltopics。HefirstpublishedtheLiberty，inwhich，afterthedeathofhiswife，heresolvedtomakenofurtheralterations。Hegavetheweightofhisapprovaltothecongenialworkofhisfriend，ProfessorBain，byareviewintheEdinburghofOctober1859。Heputtogether，frompreviouslywrittenpapers，hisshorttreatiseuponUtilitarianism。72*InOctober1863hereviewedintheEdinburghtherecentlypublishedlecturesofhisoldfriend，JohnAustin，therepresentativeUtilitarianjurist。TwoarticlesuponComte73*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，theonlyphraseuponwhichtheycouldfixwasthereallyveryorthodoxsentimentintheexaminationofHamiltonthathewouldgotohellratherthanworshipanunjustGod。Hehadintended，itmaybenoticed，topublishtheessayUponNaturehimself；buttheothersweretobestillheldback。Theselastutterances，however，takentogether，giveasufficientaccountofMill’sfinalpositioninphilosophy。
VI。POLITICALACTIVITY