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
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。HeexpoundedhiswholepoliticaldoctrineinhisConsiderationsonParliamentaryGovernment1861，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。OneofthehitstowhichMillreferswithsomegleeintheAutobiography80*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。