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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:34:23 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:34:23 -0700 |
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diff --git a/10378-h/10378-h.htm b/10378-h/10378-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0d9ba63 --- /dev/null +++ b/10378-h/10378-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6829 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta content="pg2html (binary v0.17)" name="linkgenerator" /> + <title> + Autobiography, by John Stuart Mill + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + body { margin:15%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .75em; margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; text-align: justify; font-size: 80%; font-style: italic;} + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + .xx-small {font-size: 60%;} + .x-small {font-size: 75%;} + .small {font-size: 85%;} + .large {font-size: 115%;} + .x-large {font-size: 130%;} + .indent5 { margin-left: 5%;} + .indent10 { margin-left: 10%;} + .indent15 { margin-left: 15%;} + .indent20 { margin-left: 20%;} + .indent25 { margin-left: 25%;} + .indent30 { margin-left: 30%;} + .indent35 { margin-left: 35%;} + .indent40 { margin-left: 40%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; right: 1%; font-size: 0.6em; + font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; + text-align: right; background-color: #FFFACD; + border: 1px solid; padding: 0.3em;text-indent: 0em;} + .side { float: left; font-size: 75%; width: 15%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + .head { float: left; font-size: 90%; width: 98%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: center; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + p.pfirst, p.noindent {text-indent: 0} + span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 0.8 } + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10378 ***</div> + + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + AUTOBIOGRAPHY + </h1> + <h2> + By John Stuart Mill + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> <b>CHAPTER I</b> — 1806-1819 — + CHILDHOOD AND EARLY EDUCATION </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> <b>CHAPTER II</b> — 1813-1821 — MORAL + INFLUENCES IN EARLY YOUTH — MY FATHER'S CHARACTER AND OPINIONS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> <b>CHAPTER III</b> — 1821-1823 — LAST + STAGE OF EDUCATION, AND FIRST OF SELF-EDUCATION </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> <b>CHAPTER IV</b> — 1823-1828 — + YOUTHFUL PROPAGANDISM. THE "WESTMINSTER REVIEW" </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> <b>CHAPTER V</b> — 1826-1832 — CRISIS + IN MY MENTAL HISTORY. ONE STAGE ONWARD </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> <b>CHAPTER VI.</b> — 1830-1840 — + COMMENCEMENT OF THE MOST VALUABLE FRIENDSHIP OF MY LIFE—MY FATHER'S + DEATH—WRITINGS AND OTHER PROCEEDINGS UP TO 1840 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> <b>CHAPTER VII.</b> — 1840-1870 — + GENERAL VIEW OF THE REMAINDER OF MY LIFE.—COMPLETION OF THE "SYSTEM + OF LOGIC"—PUBLICATION OF THE "PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL ECONOMY" + —MARRIAGE—RETIREMENT FROM THE INDIA HOUSE—PUBLICATION OF + "LIBERTY" —"CONSIDERATIONS ON REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT"—CIVIL + WAR IN AMERICA —EXAMINATION OF SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON'S PHILOSOPHY—PARLIAMENTARY + LIFE —REMAINDER OF MY LIFE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_NOTE"> <b>NOTES:</b> </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I — CHILDHOOD AND EARLY EDUCATION + </h2> + <p> + It seems proper that I should prefix to the following biographical sketch + some mention of the reasons which have made me think it desirable that I + should leave behind me such a memorial of so uneventful a life as mine. I + do not for a moment imagine that any part of what I have to relate can be + interesting to the public as a narrative or as being connected with + myself. But I have thought that in an age in which education and its + improvement are the subject of more, if not of profounder, study than at + any former period of English history, it may be useful that there should + be some record of an education which was unusual and remarkable, and + which, whatever else it may have done, has proved how much more than is + commonly supposed may be taught, and well taught, in those early years + which, in the common modes of what is called instruction, are little + better than wasted. It has also seemed to me that in an age of transition + in opinions, there may be somewhat both of interest and of benefit in + noting the successive phases of any mind which was always pressing + forward, equally ready to learn and to unlearn either from its own + thoughts or from those of others. But a motive which weighs more with me + than either of these, is a desire to make acknowledgment of the debts + which my intellectual and moral development owes to other persons; some of + them of recognised eminence, others less known than they deserve to be, + and the one to whom most of all is due, one whom the world had no + opportunity of knowing. The reader whom these things do not interest, has + only himself to blame if he reads farther, and I do not desire any other + indulgence from him than that of bearing in mind that for him these pages + were not written. + </p> + <p> + I was born in London, on the 20th of May, 1806, and was the eldest son of + James Mill, the author of the <i>History of British India</i>. My father, + the son of a petty tradesman and (I believe) small farmer, at Northwater + Bridge, in the county of Angus, was, when a boy, recommended by his + abilities to the notice of Sir John Stuart, of Fettercairn, one of the + Barons of the Exchequer in Scotland, and was, in consequence, sent to the + University of Edinburgh, at the expense of a fund established by Lady Jane + Stuart (the wife of Sir John Stuart) and some other ladies for educating + young men for the Scottish Church. He there went through the usual course + of study, and was licensed as a Preacher, but never followed the + profession; having satisfied himself that he could not believe the + doctrines of that or any other Church. For a few years he was a private + tutor in various families in Scotland, among others that of the Marquis of + Tweeddale, but ended by taking up his residence in London, and devoting + himself to authorship. Nor had he any other means of support until 1819, + when he obtained an appointment in the India House. + </p> + <p> + In this period of my father's life there are two things which it is + impossible not to be struck with: one of them unfortunately a very common + circumstance, the other a most uncommon one. The first is, that in his + position, with no resource but the precarious one of writing in + periodicals, he married and had a large family; conduct than which nothing + could be more opposed, both as a matter of good sense and of duty, to the + opinions which, at least at a later period of life, he strenuously upheld. + The other circumstance, is the extraordinary energy which was required to + lead the life he led, with the disadvantages under which he laboured from + the first, and with those which he brought upon himself by his marriage. + It would have been no small thing, had he done no more than to support + himself and his family during so many years by writing, without ever being + in debt, or in any pecuniary difficulty; holding, as he did, opinions, + both in politics and in religion, which were more odious to all persons of + influence, and to the common run of prosperous Englishmen, in that + generation than either before or since; and being not only a man whom + nothing would have induced to write against his convictions, but one who + invariably threw into everything he wrote, as much of his convictions as + he thought the circumstances would in any way permit: being, it must also + be said, one who never did anything negligently; never undertook any task, + literary or other, on which he did not conscientiously bestow all the + labour necessary for performing it adequately. But he, with these burdens + on him, planned, commenced, and completed, the <i>History of India</i>; + and this in the course of about ten years, a shorter time than has been + occupied (even by writers who had no other employment) in the production + of almost any other historical work of equal bulk, and of anything + approaching to the same amount of reading and research. And to this is to + be added, that during the whole period, a considerable part of almost + every day was employed in the instruction of his children: in the case of + one of whom, myself, he exerted an amount of labour, care, and + perseverance rarely, if ever, employed for a similar purpose, in + endeavouring to give, according to his own conception, the highest order + of intellectual education. + </p> + <p> + A man who, in his own practice, so vigorously acted up to the principle of + losing no time, was likely to adhere to the same rule in the instruction + of his pupil. I have no remembrance of the time when I began to learn + Greek; I have been told that it was when I was three years old. My + earliest recollection on the subject, is that of committing to memory what + my father termed vocables, being lists of common Greek words, with their + signification in English, which he wrote out for me on cards. Of grammar, + until some years later, I learnt no more than the inflections of the nouns + and verbs, but, after a course of vocables, proceeded at once to + translation; and I faintly remember going through Aesop's <i>Fables</i>, + the first Greek book which I read. The <i>Anabasis</i>, which I remember + better, was the second. I learnt no Latin until my eighth year. At that + time I had read, under my father's tuition, a number of Greek prose + authors, among whom I remember the whole of Herodotus, and of Xenophon's + <i>Cyropaedia</i> and <i>Memorials of Socrates</i>; some of the lives of + the philosophers by Diogenes Laertius; part of Lucian, and Isocrates ad + Demonicum and Ad Nicoclem. I also read, in 1813, the first six dialogues + (in the common arrangement) of Plato, from the Euthyphron to the + Theoctetus inclusive: which last dialogue, I venture to think, would have + been better omitted, as it was totally impossible I should understand it. + But my father, in all his teaching, demanded of me not only the utmost + that I could do, but much that I could by no possibility have done. What + he was himself willing to undergo for the sake of my instruction, may be + judged from the fact, that I went through the whole process of preparing + my Greek lessons in the same room and at the same table at which he was + writing: and as in those days Greek and English lexicons were not, and I + could make no more use of a Greek and Latin lexicon than could be made + without having yet begun to learn Latin, I was forced to have recourse to + him for the meaning of every word which I did not know. This incessant + interruption, he, one of the most impatient of men, submitted to, and + wrote under that interruption several volumes of his History and all else + that he had to write during those years. + </p> + <p> + The only thing besides Greek, that I learnt as a lesson in this part of my + childhood, was arithmetic: this also my father taught me: it was the task + of the evenings, and I well remember its disagreeableness. But the lessons + were only a part of the daily instruction I received. Much of it consisted + in the books I read by myself, and my father's discourses to me, chiefly + during our walks. From 1810 to the end of 1813 we were living in Newington + Green, then an almost rustic neighbourhood. My father's health required + considerable and constant exercise, and he walked habitually before + breakfast, generally in the green lanes towards Hornsey. In these walks I + always accompanied him, and with my earliest recollections of green fields + and wild flowers, is mingled that of the account I gave him daily of what + I had read the day before. To the best of my remembrance, this was a + voluntary rather than a prescribed exercise. I made notes on slips of + paper while reading, and from these in the morning walks, I told the story + to him; for the books were chiefly histories, of which I read in this + manner a great number: Robertson's histories, Hume, Gibbon; but my + greatest delight, then and for long afterwards, was Watson's <i>Philip the + Second and Third</i>. The heroic defence of the Knights of Malta against + the Turks, and of the revolted Provinces of the Netherlands against Spain, + excited in me an intense and lasting interest. Next to Watson, my + favourite historical reading was Hooke's <i>History of Rome</i>. Of Greece + I had seen at that time no regular history, except school abridgments and + the last two or three volumes of a translation of Rollin's <i>Ancient + History</i>, beginning with Philip of Macedon. But I read with great + delight Langhorne's translation of Plutarch. In English history, beyond + the time at which Hume leaves off, I remember reading Burnet's <i>History + of his Own Time</i>, though I cared little for anything in it except the + wars and battles; and the historical part of the <i>Annual Register</i>, + from the beginning to about 1788, where the volumes my father borrowed for + me from Mr. Bentham left off. I felt a lively interest in Frederic of + Prussia during his difficulties, and in Paoli, the Corsican patriot; but + when I came to the American War, I took my part, like a child as I was + (until set right by my father) on the wrong side, because it was called + the English side. In these frequent talks about the books I read, he used, + as opportunity offered, to give me explanations and ideas respecting + civilization, government, morality, mental cultivation, which he required + me afterwards to restate to him in my own words. He also made me read, and + give him a verbal account of, many books which would not have interested + me sufficiently to induce me to read them of myself: among other's + Millar's <i>Historical View of the English Government</i>, a book of great + merit for its time, and which he highly valued; Mosheim's <i>Ecclesiastical + History</i>, McCrie's <i>Life of John Knox</i>, and even Sewell and + Rutty's Histories of the Quakers. He was fond of putting into my hands + books which exhibited men of energy and resource in unusual circumstances, + struggling against difficulties and overcoming them: of such works I + remember Beaver's <i>African Memoranda</i>, and Collins's <i>Account of + the First Settlement of New South Wales</i>. Two books which I never + wearied of reading were Anson's Voyages, so delightful to most young + persons, and a collection (Hawkesworth's, I believe) of <i>Voyages round + the World</i>, in four volumes, beginning with Drake and ending with Cook + and Bougainville. Of children's books, any more than of playthings, I had + scarcely any, except an occasional gift from a relation or acquaintance: + among those I had, <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> was pre-eminent, and continued + to delight me through all my boyhood. It was no part, however, of my + father's system to exclude books of amusement, though he allowed them very + sparingly. Of such books he possessed at that time next to none, but he + borrowed several for me; those which I remember are the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, + Cazotte's <i>Arabian Tales</i>, <i>Don Quixote</i>, Miss Edgeworth's <i>Popular + Tales</i>, and a book of some reputation in its day, Brooke's <i>Fool of + Quality</i>. + </p> + <p> + In my eighth year I commenced learning Latin, in conjunction with a + younger sister, to whom I taught it as I went on, and who afterwards + repeated the lessons to my father; from this time, other sisters and + brothers being successively added as pupils, a considerable part of my + day's work consisted of this preparatory teaching. It was a part which I + greatly disliked; the more so, as I was held responsible for the lessons + of my pupils, in almost as full a sense as for my own: I, however, derived + from this discipline the great advantage, of learning more thoroughly and + retaining more lastingly the things which I was set to teach: perhaps, + too, the practice it afforded in explaining difficulties to others, may + even at that age have been useful. In other respects, the experience of my + boyhood is not favourable to the plan of teaching children by means of one + another. The teaching, I am sure, is very inefficient as teaching, and I + well know that the relation between teacher and taught is not a good moral + discipline to either. I went in this manner through the Latin grammar, and + a considerable part of Cornelius Nepos and Caesar's Commentaries, but + afterwards added to the superintendence of these lessons, much longer ones + of my own. + </p> + <p> + In the same year in which I began Latin, I made my first commencement in + the Greek poets with the Iliad. After I had made some progress in this, my + father put Pope's translation into my hands. It was the first English + verse I had cared to read, and it became one of the books in which for + many years I most delighted: I think I must have read it from twenty to + thirty times through. I should not have thought it worth while to mention + a taste apparently so natural to boyhood, if I had not, as I think, + observed that the keen enjoyment of this brilliant specimen of narrative + and versification is not so universal with boys, as I should have expected + both <i>a priori</i> and from my individual experience. Soon after this + time I commenced Euclid, and somewhat later, Algebra, still under my + father's tuition. + </p> + <p> + From my eighth to my twelfth year, the Latin books which I remember + reading were, the <i>Bucolics</i> of Virgil, and the first six books of + the Aeneid; all Horace, except the Epodes; the Fables of Phaedrus; the + first five books of Livy (to which from my love of the subject I + voluntarily added, in my hours of leisure, the remainder of the first + decade); all Sallust; a considerable part of Ovid's <i>Metamorphoses</i>; + some plays of Terence; two or three books of Lucretius; several of the + Orations of Cicero, and of his writings on oratory; also his letters to + Atticus, my father taking the trouble to translate to me from the French + the historical explanations in Mingault's notes. In Greek I read the <i>Iliad</i> + and <i>Odyssey</i> through; one or two plays of Sophocles, Euripides, and + Aristophanes, though by these I profited little; all Thucydides; the <i>Hellenics</i> + of Xenophon; a great part of Demosthenes, Aeschines, and Lysias; + Theocritus; Anacreon; part of the <i>Anthology</i>; a little of Dionysius; + several books of Polybius; and lastly Aristotle's <i>Rhetoric</i>, which, + as the first expressly scientific treatise on any moral or psychological + subject which I had read, and containing many of the best observations of + the ancients on human nature and life, my father made me study with + peculiar care, and throw the matter of it into synoptic tables. During the + same years I learnt elementary geometry and algebra thoroughly, the + differential calculus, and other portions of the higher mathematics far + from thoroughly: for my father, not having kept up this part of his early + acquired knowledge, could not spare time to qualify himself for removing + my difficulties, and left me to deal with them, with little other aid than + that of books: while I was continually incurring his displeasure by my + inability to solve difficult problems for which he did not see that I had + not the necessary previous knowledge. + </p> + <p> + As to my private reading, I can only speak of what I remember. History + continued to be my strongest predilection, and most of all ancient + history. Mitford's Greece I read continually; my father had put me on my + guard against the Tory prejudices of this writer, and his perversions of + facts for the whitewashing of despots, and blackening of popular + institutions. These points he discoursed on, exemplifying them from the + Greek orators and historians, with such effect that in reading Mitford my + sympathies were always on the contrary side to those of the author, and I + could, to some extent, have argued the point against him: yet this did not + diminish the ever new pleasure with which I read the book. Roman history, + both in my old favourite, Hooke, and in Ferguson, continued to delight me. + A book which, in spite of what is called the dryness of its style, I took + great pleasure in, was the <i>Ancient Universal History</i>, through the + incessant reading of which, I had my head full of historical details + concerning the obscurest ancient people, while about modern history, + except detached passages, such as the Dutch War of Independence, I knew + and cared comparatively little. A voluntary exercise, to which throughout + my boyhood I was much addicted, was what I called writing histories. I + successively composed a Roman History, picked out of Hooke; and an + Abridgment of the <i>Ancient Universal History</i>; a History of Holland, + from my favourite Watson and from an anonymous compilation; and in my + eleventh and twelfth year I occupied myself with writing what I flattered + myself was something serious. This was no less than a History of the Roman + Government, compiled (with the assistance of Hooke) from Livy and + Dionysius: of which I wrote as much as would have made an octavo volume, + extending to the epoch of the Licinian Laws. It was, in fact, an account + of the struggles between the patricians and plebeians, which now engrossed + all the interest in my mind which I had previously felt in the mere wars + and conquests of the Romans. I discussed all the constitutional points as + they arose: though quite ignorant of Niebuhr's researches, I, by such + lights as my father had given me, vindicated the Agrarian Laws on the + evidence of Livy, and upheld, to the best of my ability, the Roman + Democratic party. A few years later, in my contempt of my childish + efforts, I destroyed all these papers, not then anticipating that I could + ever feel any curiosity about my first attempts at writing and reasoning. + My father encouraged me in this useful amusement, though, as I think + judiciously, he never asked to see what I wrote; so that I did not feel + that in writing it I was accountable to any one, nor had the chilling + sensation of being under a critical eye. + </p> + <p> + But though these exercises in history were never a compulsory lesson, + there was another kind of composition which was so, namely, writing + verses, and it was one of the most disagreeable of my tasks. Greek and + Latin verses I did not write, nor learnt the prosody of those languages. + My father, thinking this not worth the time it required, contented himself + with making me read aloud to him, and correcting false quantities. I never + composed at all in Greek, even in prose, and but little in Latin. Not that + my father could be indifferent to the value of this practice, in giving a + thorough knowledge of these languages, but because there really was not + time for it. The verses I was required to write were English. When I first + read Pope's Homer, I ambitiously attempted to compose something of the + same kind, and achieved as much as one book of a continuation of the <i>Iliad</i>. + There, probably, the spontaneous promptings of my poetical ambition would + have stopped; but the exercise, begun from choice, was continued by + command. Conformably to my father's usual practice of explaining to me, as + far as possible, the reasons for what he required me to do, he gave me, + for this, as I well remember, two reasons highly characteristic of him: + one was, that some things could be expressed better and more forcibly in + verse than in prose: this, he said, was a real advantage. The other was, + that people in general attached more value to verse than it deserved, and + the power of writing it, was, on this account, worth acquiring. He + generally left me to choose my own subjects, which, as far as I remember, + were mostly addresses to some mythological personage or allegorical + abstraction; but he made me translate into English verse many of Horace's + shorter poems: I also remember his giving me Thomson's <i>Winter</i> to + read, and afterwards making me attempt (without book) to write something + myself on the same subject. The verses I wrote were, of course, the merest + rubbish, nor did I ever attain any facility of versification, but the + practice may have been useful in making it easier for me, at a later + period, to acquire readiness of expression.<a href="#linknote-1" + name="linknoteref-1" id="linknoteref-1"><small>1</small></a> I had read, + up to this time, very little English poetry. Shakspeare my father had put + into my hands, chiefly for the sake of the historical plays, from which, + however, I went on to the others. My father never was a great admirer of + Shakspeare, the English idolatry of whom he used to attack with some + severity. He cared little for any English poetry except Milton (for whom + he had the highest admiration), Goldsmith, Burns, and Gray's <i>Bard</i>, + which he preferred to his Elegy: perhaps I may add Cowper and Beattie. He + had some value for Spenser, and I remember his reading to me (unlike his + usual practice of making me read to him) the first book of the <i>Fairie + Queene</i>; but I took little pleasure in it. The poetry of the present + century he saw scarcely any merit in, and I hardly became acquainted with + any of it till I was grown up to manhood, except the metrical romances of + Walter Scott, which I read at his recommendation and was intensely + delighted with; as I always was with animated narrative. Dryden's Poems + were among my father's books, and many of these he made me read, but I + never cared for any of them except <i>Alexander's Feast</i>, which, as + well as many of the songs in Walter Scott, I used to sing internally, to a + music of my own: to some of the latter, indeed, I went so far as to + compose airs, which I still remember. Cowper's short poems I read with + some pleasure, but never got far into the longer ones; and nothing in the + two volumes interested me like the prose account of his three hares. In my + thirteenth year I met with Campbell's poems, among which <i>Lochiel</i>, + <i>Hohenlinden</i>, <i>The Exile of Erin</i>, and some others, gave me + sensations I had never before experienced from poetry. Here, too, I made + nothing of the longer poems, except the striking opening of <i>Gertrude of + Wyoming</i>, which long kept its place in my feelings as the perfection of + pathos. + </p> + <p> + During this part of my childhood, one of my greatest amusements was + experimental science; in the theoretical, however, not the practical sense + of the word; not trying experiments—a kind of discipline which I + have often regretted not having had—nor even seeing, but merely + reading about them. I never remember being so wrapt up in any book, as I + was in Joyce's <i>Scientific Dialogues</i>; and I was rather recalcitrant + to my father's criticisms of the bad reasoning respecting the first + principles of physics, which abounds in the early part of that work. I + devoured treatises on Chemistry, especially that of my father's early + friend and schoolfellow, Dr. Thomson, for years before I attended a + lecture or saw an experiment. + </p> + <p> + From about the age of twelve, I entered into another and more advanced + stage in my course of instruction; in which the main object was no longer + the aids and appliances of thought, but the thoughts themselves. This + commenced with Logic, in which I began at once with the <i>Organon</i>, + and read it to the Analytics inclusive, but profited little by the + Posterior Analytics, which belong to a branch of speculation I was not yet + ripe for. Contemporaneously with the <i>Organon</i>, my father made me + read the whole or parts of several of the Latin treatises on the + scholastic logic; giving each day to him, in our walks, a minute account + of what I had read, and answering his numerous and most searching + questions. After this, I went in a similar manner through the <i>Computatio + sive Logica</i> of Hobbes, a work of a much higher order of thought than + the books of the school logicians, and which he estimated very highly; in + my own opinion beyond its merits, great as these are. It was his + invariable practice, whatever studies he exacted from me, to make me as + far as possible understand and feel the utility of them: and this he + deemed peculiarly fitting in the case of the syllogistic logic, the + usefulness of which had been impugned by so many writers of authority. I + well remember how, and in what particular walk, in the neighbourhood of + Bagshot Heath (where we were on a visit to his old friend Mr. Wallace, + then one of the Mathematical Professors at Sandhurst) he first attempted + by questions to make me think on the subject, and frame some conception of + what constituted the utility of the syllogistic logic, and when I had + failed in this, to make me understand it by explanations. The explanations + did not make the matter at all clear to me at the time; but they were not + therefore useless; they remained as a nucleus for my observations and + reflections to crystallize upon; the import of his general remarks being + interpreted to me, by the particular instances which came under my notice + afterwards. My own consciousness and experience ultimately led me to + appreciate quite as highly as he did, the value of an early practical + familiarity with the school logic. I know of nothing, in my education, to + which I think myself more indebted for whatever capacity of thinking I + have attained. The first intellectual operation in which I arrived at any + proficiency, was dissecting a bad argument, and finding in what part the + fallacy lay: and though whatever capacity of this sort I attained, was due + to the fact that it was an intellectual exercise in which I was most + perseveringly drilled by my father, yet it is also true that the school + logic, and the mental habits acquired in studying it, were among the + principal instruments of this drilling. I am persuaded that nothing, in + modern education, tends so much, when properly used, to form exact + thinkers, who attach a precise meaning to words and propositions, and are + not imposed on by vague, loose, or ambiguous terms. The boasted influence + of mathematical studies is nothing to it; for in mathematical processes, + none of the real difficulties of correct ratiocination occur. It is also a + study peculiarly adapted to an early stage in the education of + philosophical students, since it does not presuppose the slow process of + acquiring, by experience and reflection, valuable thoughts of their own. + They may become capable of disentangling the intricacies of confused and + self-contradictory thought, before their own thinking faculties are much + advanced; a power which, for want of some such discipline, many otherwise + able men altogether lack; and when they have to answer opponents, only + endeavour, by such arguments as they can command, to support the opposite + conclusion, scarcely even attempting to confute the reasonings of their + antagonists; and, therefore, at the utmost, leaving the question, as far + as it depends on argument, a balanced one. + </p> + <p> + During this time, the Latin and Greek books which I continued to read with + my father were chiefly such as were worth studying, not for the language + merely, but also for the thoughts. This included much of the orators, and + especially Demosthenes, some of whose principal orations I read several + times over, and wrote out, by way of exercise, a full analysis of them. My + father's comments on these orations when I read them to him were very + instructive to me. He not only drew my attention to the insight they + afforded into Athenian institutions, and the principles of legislation and + government which they often illustrated, but pointed out the skill and art + of the orator—how everything important to his purpose was said at + the exact moment when he had brought the minds of his audience into the + state most fitted to receive it; how he made steal into their minds, + gradually and by insinuation, thoughts which, if expressed in a more + direct manner, would have roused their opposition. Most of these + reflections were beyond my capacity of full comprehension at the time; but + they left seed behind, which germinated in due season. At this time I also + read the whole of Tacitus, Juvenal, and Quintilian. The latter, owing to + his obscure style and to the scholastic details of which many parts of his + treatise are made up, is little read, and seldom sufficiently appreciated. + His book is a kind of encyclopaedia of the thoughts of the ancients on the + whole field of education and culture; and I have retained through life + many valuable ideas which I can distinctly trace to my reading of him, + even at that early age. It was at this period that I read, for the first + time, some of the most important dialogues of Plato, in particular the <i>Gorgias</i>, + the <i>Protagoras</i>, and the <i>Republic</i>. There is no author to whom + my father thought himself more indebted for his own mental culture, than + Plato, or whom he more frequently recommended to young students. I can + bear similar testimony in regard to myself. The Socratic method, of which + the Platonic dialogues are the chief example, is unsurpassed as a + discipline for correcting the errors, and clearing up the confusions + incident to the <i>intellectus sibi permissus</i>, the understanding which + has made up all its bundles of associations under the guidance of popular + phraseology. The close, searching <i>elenchus</i> by which the man of + vague generalities is constrained either to express his meaning to himself + in definite terms, or to confess that he does not know what he is talking + about; the perpetual testing of all general statements by particular + instances; the siege in form which is laid to the meaning of large + abstract terms, by fixing upon some still larger class-name which includes + that and more, and dividing down to the thing sought—marking out its + limits and definition by a series of accurately drawn distinctions between + it and each of the cognate objects which are successively parted off from + it —all this, as an education for precise thinking, is inestimable, + and all this, even at that age, took such hold of me that it became part + of my own mind. I have felt ever since that the title of Platonist belongs + by far better right to those who have been nourished in and have + endeavoured to practise Plato's mode of investigation, than to those who + are distinguished only by the adoption of certain dogmatical conclusions, + drawn mostly from the least intelligible of his works, and which the + character of his mind and writings makes it uncertain whether he himself + regarded as anything more than poetic fancies, or philosophic conjectures. + </p> + <p> + In going through Plato and Demosthenes, since I could now read these + authors, as far as the language was concerned, with perfect ease, I was + not required to construe them sentence by sentence, but to read them aloud + to my father, answering questions when asked: but the particular attention + which he paid to elocution (in which his own excellence was remarkable) + made this reading aloud to him a most painful task. Of all things which he + required me to do, there was none which I did so constantly ill, or in + which he so perpetually lost his temper with me. He had thought much on + the principles of the art of reading, especially the most neglected part + of it, the inflections of the voice, or <i>modulation</i>, as writers on + elocution call it (in contrast with <i>articulation</i> on the one side, + and <i>expression</i> on the other), and had reduced it to rules, grounded + on the logical analysis of a sentence. These rules he strongly impressed + upon me, and took me severely to task for every violation of them: but I + even then remarked (though I did not venture to make the remark to him) + that though he reproached me when I read a sentence ill, and <i>told</i> + me how I ought to have read it, he never by reading it himself, <i>showed</i> + me how it ought to be read. A defect running through his otherwise + admirable modes of instruction, as it did through all his modes of + thought, was that of trusting too much to the intelligibleness of the + abstract, when not embodied in the concrete. It was at a much later period + of my youth, when practising elocution by myself, or with companions of my + own age, that I for the first time understood the object of his rules, and + saw the psychological grounds of them. At that time I and others followed + out the subject into its ramifications, and could have composed a very + useful treatise, grounded on my father's principles. He himself left those + principles and rules unwritten. I regret that when my mind was full of the + subject, from systematic practice, I did not put them, and our + improvements of them, into a formal shape. + </p> + <p> + A book which contributed largely to my education, in the best sense of the + term, was my father's <i>History of India</i>. It was published in the + beginning of 1818. During the year previous, while it was passing through + the press, I used to read the proof sheets to him; or rather, I read the + manuscript to him while he corrected the proofs. The number of new ideas + which I received from this remarkable book, and the impulse and stimulus + as well as guidance given to my thoughts by its criticism and + disquisitions on society and civilization in the Hindoo part, on + institutions and the acts of governments in the English part, made my + early familiarity with it eminently useful to my subsequent progress. And + though I can perceive deficiencies in it now as compared with a perfect + standard, I still think it, if not the most, one of the most instructive + histories ever written, and one of the books from which most benefit may + be derived by a mind in the course of making up its opinions. + </p> + <p> + The Preface, among the most characteristic of my father's writings, as + well as the richest in materials of thought, gives a picture which may be + entirely depended on, of the sentiments and expectations with which he + wrote the History. Saturated as the book is with the opinions and modes of + judgment of a democratic radicalism then regarded as extreme; and treating + with a severity, at that time most unusual, the English Constitution, the + English law, and all parties and classes who possessed any considerable + influence in the country; he may have expected reputation, but certainly + not advancement in life, from its publication; nor could he have supposed + that it would raise up anything but enemies for him in powerful quarters: + least of all could he have expected favour from the East India Company, to + whose commercial privileges he was unqualifiedly hostile, and on the acts + of whose government he had made so many severe comments: though, in + various parts of his book, he bore a testimony in their favour, which he + felt to be their just due, namely, that no Government had on the whole + given so much proof, to the extent of its lights, of good intention + towards its subjects; and that if the acts of any other Government had the + light of publicity as completely let in upon them, they would, in all + probability, still less bear scrutiny. + </p> + <p> + On learning, however, in the spring of 1819, about a year after the + publication of the History, that the East India Directors desired to + strengthen the part of their home establishment which was employed in + carrying on the correspondence with India, my father declared himself a + candidate for that employment, and, to the credit of the Directors, + successfully. He was appointed one of the Assistants of the Examiner of + India Correspondence; officers whose duty it was to prepare drafts of + despatches to India, for consideration by the Directors, in the principal + departments of administration. In this office, and in that of Examiner, + which he subsequently attained, the influence which his talents, his + reputation, and his decision of character gave him, with superiors who + really desired the good government of India, enabled him to a great extent + to throw into his drafts of despatches, and to carry through the ordeal of + the Court of Directors and Board of Control, without having their force + much weakened, his real opinions on Indian subjects. In his History he had + set forth, for the first time, many of the true principles of Indian + administration: and his despatches, following his History, did more than + had ever been done before to promote the improvement of India, and teach + Indian officials to understand their business. If a selection of them were + published, they would, I am convinced, place his character as a practical + statesman fully on a level with his eminence as a speculative writer. + </p> + <p> + This new employment of his time caused no relaxation in his attention to + my education. It was in this same year, 1819, that he took me through a + complete course of political economy. His loved and intimate friend, + Ricardo, had shortly before published the book which formed so great an + epoch in political economy; a book which would never have been published + or written, but for the entreaty and strong encouragement of my father; + for Ricardo, the most modest of men, though firmly convinced of the truth + of his doctrines, deemed himself so little capable of doing them justice + in exposition and expression, that he shrank from the idea of publicity. + The same friendly encouragement induced Ricardo, a year or two later, to + become a member of the House of Commons; where, during the remaining years + of his life, unhappily cut short in the full vigour of his intellect, he + rendered so much service to his and my father's opinions both on political + economy and on other subjects. + </p> + <p> + Though Ricardo's great work was already in print, no didactic treatise + embodying its doctrines, in a manner fit for learners, had yet appeared. + My father, therefore, commenced instructing me in the science by a sort of + lectures, which he delivered to me in our walks. He expounded each day a + portion of the subject, and I gave him next day a written account of it, + which he made me rewrite over and over again until it was clear, precise, + and tolerably complete. In this manner I went through the whole extent of + the science; and the written outline of it which resulted from my daily <i>compte + rendu</i>, served him afterwards as notes from which to write his <i>Elements + of Political Economy</i>. After this I read Ricardo, giving an account + daily of what I read, and discussing, in the best manner I could, the + collateral points which offered themselves in our progress. + </p> + <p> + On Money, as the most intricate part of the subject, he made me read in + the same manner Ricardo's admirable pamphlets, written during what was + called the Bullion controversy; to these succeeded Adam Smith; and in this + reading it was one of my father's main objects to make me apply to Smith's + more superficial view of political economy, the superior lights of + Ricardo, and detect what was fallacious in Smith's arguments, or erroneous + in any of his conclusions. Such a mode of instruction was excellently + calculated to form a thinker; but it required to be worked by a thinker, + as close and vigorous as my father. The path was a thorny one, even to + him, and I am sure it was so to me, notwithstanding the strong interest I + took in the subject. He was often, and much beyond reason, provoked by my + failures in cases where success could not have been expected; but in the + main his method was right, and it succeeded. I do not believe that any + scientific teaching ever was more thorough, or better fitted for training + the faculties, than the mode in which logic and political economy were + taught to me by my father. Striving, even in an exaggerated degree, to + call forth the activity of my faculties, by making me find out everything + for myself, he gave his explanations not before, but after, I had felt the + full force of the difficulties; and not only gave me an accurate knowledge + of these two great subjects, as far as they were then understood, but made + me a thinker on both. I thought for myself almost from the first, and + occasionally thought differently from him, though for a long time only on + minor points, and making his opinion the ultimate standard. At a later + period I even occasionally convinced him, and altered his opinion on some + points of detail: which I state to his honour, not my own. It at once + exemplifies his perfect candour, and the real worth of his method of + teaching. + </p> + <p> + At this point concluded what can properly be called my lessons: when I was + about fourteen I left England for more than a year; and after my return, + though my studies went on under my father's general direction, he was no + longer my schoolmaster. I shall therefore pause here, and turn back to + matters of a more general nature connected with the part of my life and + education included in the preceding reminiscences. + </p> + <p> + In the course of instruction which I have partially retraced, the point + most superficially apparent is the great effort to give, during the years + of childhood, an amount of knowledge in what are considered the higher + branches of education, which is seldom acquired (if acquired at all) until + the age of manhood. The result of the experiment shows the ease with which + this may be done, and places in a strong light the wretched waste of so + many precious years as are spent in acquiring the modicum of Latin and + Greek commonly taught to schoolboys; a waste which has led so many + educational reformers to entertain the ill-judged proposal of discarding + these languages altogether from general education. If I had been by nature + extremely quick of apprehension, or had possessed a very accurate and + retentive memory, or were of a remarkably active and energetic character, + the trial would not be conclusive; but in all these natural gifts I am + rather below than above par; what I could do, could assuredly be done by + any boy or girl of average capacity and healthy physical constitution: and + if I have accomplished anything, I owe it, among other fortunate + circumstances, to the fact that through the early training bestowed on me + by my father, I started, I may fairly say, with an advantage of a quarter + of a century over my contemporaries. + </p> + <p> + There was one cardinal point in this training, of which I have already + given some indication, and which, more than anything else, was the cause + of whatever good it effected. Most boys or youths who have had much + knowledge drilled into them, have their mental capacities not + strengthened, but overlaid by it. They are crammed with mere facts, and + with the opinions or phrases of other people, and these are accepted as a + substitute for the power to form opinions of their own; and thus the sons + of eminent fathers, who have spared no pains in their education, so often + grow up mere parroters of what they have learnt, incapable of using their + minds except in the furrows traced for them. Mine, however, was not an + education of cram. My father never permitted anything which I learnt to + degenerate into a mere exercise of memory. He strove to make the + understanding not only go along with every step of the teaching, but, if + possible, precede it. Anything which could be found out by thinking I + never was told, until I had exhausted my efforts to find it out for + myself. As far as I can trust my remembrance, I acquitted myself very + lamely in this department; my recollection of such matters is almost + wholly of failures, hardly ever of success. It is true the failures were + often in things in which success, in so early a stage of my progress, was + almost impossible. I remember at some time in my thirteenth year, on my + happening to use the word idea, he asked me what an idea was; and + expressed some displeasure at my ineffectual efforts to define the word: I + recollect also his indignation at my using the common expression that + something was true in theory but required correction in practice; and how, + after making me vainly strive to define the word theory, he explained its + meaning, and showed the fallacy of the vulgar form of speech which I had + used; leaving me fully persuaded that in being unable to give a correct + definition of Theory, and in speaking of it as something which might be at + variance with practice, I had shown unparalleled ignorance. In this he + seems, and perhaps was, very unreasonable; but I think, only in being + angry at my failure. A pupil from whom nothing is ever demanded which he + cannot do, never does all he can. + </p> + <p> + One of the evils most liable to attend on any sort of early proficiency, + and which often fatally blights its promise, my father most anxiously + guarded against. This was self-conceit. He kept me, with extreme + vigilance, out of the way of hearing myself praised, or of being led to + make self-flattering comparisons between myself and others. From his own + intercourse with me I could derive none but a very humble opinion of + myself; and the standard of comparison he always held up to me, was not + what other people did, but what a man could and ought to do. He completely + succeeded in preserving me from the sort of influences he so much dreaded. + I was not at all aware that my attainments were anything unusual at my + age. If I accidentally had my attention drawn to the fact that some other + boy knew less than myself—which happened less often than might be + imagined—I concluded, not that I knew much, but that he, for some + reason or other, knew little, or that his knowledge was of a different + kind from mine. My state of mind was not humility, but neither was it + arrogance. I never thought of saying to myself, I am, or I can do, so and + so. I neither estimated myself highly nor lowly: I did not estimate myself + at all. If I thought anything about myself, it was that I was rather + backward in my studies, since I always found myself so, in comparison with + what my father expected from me. I assert this with confidence, though it + was not the impression of various persons who saw me in my childhood. + They, as I have since found, thought me greatly and disagreeably + self-conceited; probably because I was disputatious, and did not scruple + to give direct contradictions to things which I heard said. I suppose I + acquired this bad habit from having been encouraged in an unusual degree + to talk on matters beyond my age, and with grown persons, while I never + had inculcated on me the usual respect for them. My father did not correct + this ill-breeding and impertinence, probably from not being aware of it, + for I was always too much in awe of him to be otherwise than extremely + subdued and quiet in his presence. Yet with all this I had no notion of + any superiority in myself; and well was it for me that I had not. I + remember the very place in Hyde Park where, in my fourteenth year, on the + eve of leaving my father's house for a long absence, he told me that I + should find, as I got acquainted with new people, that I had been taught + many things which youths of my age did not commonly know; and that many + persons would be disposed to talk to me of this, and to compliment me upon + it. What other things he said on this topic I remember very imperfectly; + but he wound up by saying, that whatever I knew more than others, could + not be ascribed to any merit in me, but to the very unusual advantage + which had fallen to my lot, of having a father who was able to teach me, + and willing to give the necessary trouble and time; that it was no matter + of praise to me, if I knew more than those who had not had a similar + advantage, but the deepest disgrace to me if I did not. I have a distinct + remembrance, that the suggestion thus for the first time made to me, that + I knew more than other youths who were considered well educated, was to me + a piece of information, to which, as to all other things which my father + told me, I gave implicit credence, but which did not at all impress me as + a personal matter. I felt no disposition to glorify myself upon the + circumstance that there were other persons who did not know what I knew; + nor had I ever flattered myself that my acquirements, whatever they might + be, were any merit of mine: but, now when my attention was called to the + subject, I felt that what my father had said respecting my peculiar + advantages was exactly the truth and common sense of the matter, and it + fixed my opinion and feeling from that time forward. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II — MORAL INFLUENCES IN EARLY YOUTH. MY FATHER'S CHARACTER + AND OPINIONS + </h2> + <p> + In my education, as in that of everyone, the moral influences, which are + so much more important than all others, are also the most complicated, and + the most difficult to specify with any approach to completeness. Without + attempting the hopeless task of detailing the circumstances by which, in + this respect, my early character may have been shaped, I shall confine + myself to a few leading points, which form an indispensable part of any + true account of my education. + </p> + <p> + I was brought up from the first without any religious belief, in the + ordinary acceptation of the term. My father, educated in the creed of + Scotch Presbyterianism, had by his own studies and reflections been early + led to reject not only the belief in Revelation, but the foundations of + what is commonly called Natural Religion. I have heard him say, that the + turning point of his mind on the subject was reading Butler's <i>Analogy</i>. + That work, of which he always continued to speak with respect, kept him, + as he said, for some considerable time, a believer in the divine authority + of Christianity; by proving to him that whatever are the difficulties in + believing that the Old and New Testaments proceed from, or record the acts + of, a perfectly wise and good being, the same and still greater + difficulties stand in the way of the belief, that a being of such a + character can have been the Maker of the universe. He considered Butler's + argument as conclusive against the only opponents for whom it was + intended. Those who admit an omnipotent as well as perfectly just and + benevolent maker and ruler of such a world as this, can say little against + Christianity but what can, with at least equal force, be retorted against + themselves. Finding, therefore, no halting place in Deism, he remained in + a state of perplexity, until, doubtless after many struggles, he yielded + to the conviction, that concerning the origin of things nothing whatever + can be known. This is the only correct statement of his opinion; for + dogmatic atheism he looked upon as absurd; as most of those, whom the + world has considered Atheists, have always done. These particulars are + important, because they show that my father's rejection of all that is + called religious belief, was not, as many might suppose, primarily a + matter of logic and evidence: the grounds of it were moral, still more + than intellectual. He found it impossible to believe that a world so full + of evil was the work of an Author combining infinite power with perfect + goodness and righteousness. His intellect spurned the subtleties by which + men attempt to blind themselves to this open contradiction. The Sabaean, + or Manichaean theory of a Good and an Evil Principle, struggling against + each other for the government of the universe, he would not have equally + condemned; and I have heard him express surprise, that no one revived it + in our time. He would have regarded it as a mere hypothesis; but he would + have ascribed to it no depraving influence. As it was, his aversion to + religion, in the sense usually attached to the term, was of the same kind + with that of Lucretius: he regarded it with the feelings due not to a mere + mental delusion, but to a great moral evil. He looked upon it as the + greatest enemy of morality: first, by setting up fictitious excellences—belief + in creeds, devotional feelings, and ceremonies, not connected with the + good of human-kind—and causing these to be accepted as substitutes + for genuine virtues: but above all, by radically vitiating the standard of + morals; making it consist in doing the will of a being, on whom it + lavishes indeed all the phrases of adulation, but whom in sober truth it + depicts as eminently hateful. I have a hundred times heard him say that + all ages and nations have represented their gods as wicked, in a + constantly increasing progression; that mankind have gone on adding trait + after trait till they reached the most perfect conception of wickedness + which the human mind can devise, and have called this God, and prostrated + themselves before it. This <i>ne plus ultra</i> of wickedness he + considered to be embodied in what is commonly presented to mankind as the + creed of Christianity. Think (he used to say) of a being who would make a + Hell—who would create the human race with the infallible + foreknowledge, and therefore with the intention, that the great majority + of them were to be consigned to horrible and everlasting torment. The + time, I believe, is drawing near when this dreadful conception of an + object of worship will be no longer identified with Christianity; and when + all persons, with any sense of moral good and evil, will look upon it with + the same indignation with which my father regarded it. My father was as + well aware as anyone that Christians do not, in general, undergo the + demoralizing consequences which seem inherent in such a creed, in the + manner or to the extent which might have been expected from it. The same + slovenliness of thought, and subjection of the reason to fears, wishes, + and affections, which enable them to accept a theory involving a + contradiction in terms, prevents them from perceiving the logical + consequences of the theory. Such is the facility with which mankind + believe at one and the same time things inconsistent with one another, and + so few are those who draw from what they receive as truths, any + consequences but those recommended to them by their feelings, that + multitudes have held the undoubting belief in an Omnipotent Author of + Hell, and have nevertheless identified that being with the best conception + they were able to form of perfect goodness. Their worship was not paid to + the demon which such a being as they imagined would really be, but to + their own ideal of excellence. The evil is, that such a belief keeps the + ideal wretchedly low; and opposes the most obstinate resistance to all + thought which has a tendency to raise it higher. Believers shrink from + every train of ideas which would lead the mind to a clear conception and + an elevated standard of excellence, because they feel (even when they do + not distinctly see) that such a standard would conflict with many of the + dispensations of nature, and with much of what they are accustomed to + consider as the Christian creed. And thus morality continues a matter of + blind tradition, with no consistent principle, nor even any consistent + feeling, to guide it. + </p> + <p> + It would have been wholly inconsistent with my father's ideas of duty, to + allow me to acquire impressions contrary to his convictions and feelings + respecting religion: and he impressed upon me from the first, that the + manner in which the world came into existence was a subject on which + nothing was known: that the question, "Who made me?" cannot be answered, + because we have no experience or authentic information from which to + answer it; and that any answer only throws the difficulty a step further + back, since the question immediately presents itself, "Who made God?" He, + at the same time, took care that I should be acquainted with what had been + thought by mankind on these impenetrable problems. I have mentioned at how + early an age he made me a reader of ecclesiastical history; and he taught + me to take the strongest interest in the Reformation, as the great and + decisive contest against priestly tyranny for liberty of thought. + </p> + <p> + I am thus one of the very few examples, in this country, of one who has + not thrown off religious belief, but never had it: I grew up in a negative + state with regard to it. I looked upon the modern exactly as I did upon + the ancient religion, as something which in no way concerned me. It did + not seem to me more strange that English people should believe what I did + not, than that the men I read of in Herodotus should have done so. History + had made the variety of opinions among mankind a fact familiar to me, and + this was but a prolongation of that fact. This point in my early education + had, however, incidentally one bad consequence deserving notice. In giving + me an opinion contrary to that of the world, my father thought it + necessary to give it as one which could not prudently be avowed to the + world. This lesson of keeping my thoughts to myself, at that early age, + was attended with some moral disadvantages; though my limited intercourse + with strangers, especially such as were likely to speak to me on religion, + prevented me from being placed in the alternative of avowal or hypocrisy. + I remember two occasions in my boyhood, on which I felt myself in this + alternative, and in both cases I avowed my disbelief and defended it. My + opponents were boys, considerably older than myself: one of them I + certainly staggered at the time, but the subject was never renewed between + us: the other who was surprised and somewhat shocked, did his best to + convince me for some time, without effect. + </p> + <p> + The great advance in liberty of discussion, which is one of the most + important differences between the present time and that of my childhood, + has greatly altered the moralities of this question; and I think that few + men of my father's intellect and public spirit, holding with such + intensity of moral conviction as he did, unpopular opinions on religion, + or on any other of the great subjects of thought, would now either + practise or inculcate the withholding of them from the world, unless in + the cases, becoming fewer every day, in which frankness on these subjects + would either risk the loss of means of subsistence, or would amount to + exclusion from some sphere of usefulness peculiarly suitable to the + capacities of the individual. On religion in particular the time appears + to me to have come when it is the duty of all who, being qualified in + point of knowledge, have on mature consideration satisfied themselves that + the current opinions are not only false but hurtful, to make their dissent + known; at least, if they are among those whose station or reputation gives + their opinion a chance of being attended to. Such an avowal would put an + end, at once and for ever, to the vulgar prejudice, that what is called, + very improperly, unbelief, is connected with any bad qualities either of + mind or heart. The world would be astonished if it knew how great a + proportion of its brightest ornaments—of those most distinguished + even in popular estimation for wisdom and virtue—are complete + sceptics in religion; many of them refraining from avowal, less from + personal considerations than from a conscientious, though now in my + opinion a most mistaken, apprehension, lest by speaking out what would + tend to weaken existing beliefs, and by consequence (as they suppose) + existing restraints, they should do harm instead of good. + </p> + <p> + Of unbelievers (so called) as well as of believers, there are many + species, including almost every variety of moral type. But the best among + them, as no one who has had opportunities of really knowing them will + hesitate to affirm, are more genuinely religious, in the best sense of the + word religion, than those who exclusively arrogate to themselves the + title. The liberality of the age, or in other words the weakening of the + obstinate prejudice which makes men unable to see what is before their + eyes because it is contrary to their expectations, has caused it be very + commonly admitted that a Deist may be truly religious: but if religion + stands for any graces of character and not for mere dogma, the assertion + may equally be made of many whose belief is far short of Deism. Though + they may think the proof incomplete that the universe is a work of design, + and though they assuredly disbelieve that it can have an Author and + Governor who is <i>absolute</i> in power as well as perfect in goodness, + they have that which constitutes the principal worth of all religions + whatever, an ideal conception of a Perfect Being, to which they habitually + refer as the guide of their conscience; and this ideal of Good is usually + far nearer to perfection than the objective Deity of those who think + themselves obliged to find absolute goodness in the author of a world so + crowded with suffering and so deformed by injustice as ours. + </p> + <p> + My father's moral convictions, wholly dissevered from religion, were very + much of the character of those of the Greek philosophers; and were + delivered with the force and decision which characterized all that came + from him. Even at the very early age at which I read with him the <i>Memorabilia</i> + of Xenophon, I imbibed from that work and from his comments a deep respect + for the character of Socrates; who stood in my mind as a model of ideal + excellence: and I well remember how my father at that time impressed upon + me the lesson of the "Choice of Hercules." At a somewhat later period the + lofty moral standard exhibited in the writings of Plato operated upon me + with great force. My father's moral inculcations were at all times mainly + those of the "Socratici viri"; justice, temperance (to which he gave a + very extended application), veracity, perseverance, readiness to encounter + pain and especially labour; regard for the public good; estimation of + persons according to their merits, and of things according to their + intrinsic usefulness; a life of exertion in contradiction to one of + self-indulgent ease and sloth. These and other moralities he conveyed in + brief sentences, uttered as occasion arose, of grave exhortation, or stern + reprobation and contempt. + </p> + <p> + But though direct moral teaching does much, indirect does more; and the + effect my father produced on my character, did not depend solely on what + he said or did with that direct object, but also, and still more, on what + manner of man he was. + </p> + <p> + In his views of life he partook of the character of the Stoic, the + Epicurean, and the Cynic, not in the modern but the ancient sense of the + word. In his personal qualities the Stoic predominated. His standard of + morals was Epicurean, inasmuch as it was utilitarian, taking as the + exclusive test of right and wrong, the tendency of actions to produce + pleasure or pain. But he had (and this was the Cynic element) scarcely any + belief in pleasure; at least in his later years, of which alone, on this + point, I can speak confidently. He was not insensible to pleasures; but he + deemed very few of them worth the price which, at least in the present + state of society, must be paid for them. The greater number of + miscarriages in life he considered to be attributable to the overvaluing + of pleasures. Accordingly, temperance, in the large sense intended by the + Greek philosophers —stopping short at the point of moderation in all + indulgences—was with him, as with them, almost the central point of + educational precept. His inculcations of this virtue fill a large place in + my childish remembrances. He thought human life a poor thing at best, + after the freshness of youth and of unsatisfied curiosity had gone by. + This was a topic on which he did not often speak, especially, it may be + supposed, in the presence of young persons: but when he did, it was with + an air of settled and profound conviction. He would sometimes say that if + life were made what it might be, by good government and good education, it + would be worth having: but he never spoke with anything like enthusiasm + even of that possibility. He never varied in rating intellectual + enjoyments above all others, even in value as pleasures, independently of + their ulterior benefits. The pleasures of the benevolent affections he + placed high in the scale; and used to say, that he had never known a happy + old man, except those who were able to live over again in the pleasures of + the young. For passionate emotions of all sorts, and for everything which + bas been said or written in exaltation of them, he professed the greatest + contempt. He regarded them as a form of madness. "The intense" was with + him a bye-word of scornful disapprobation. He regarded as an aberration of + the moral standard of modern times, compared with that of the ancients, + the great stress laid upon feeling. Feelings, as such, he considered to be + no proper subjects of praise or blame. Right and wrong, good and bad, he + regarded as qualities solely of conduct—of acts and omissions; there + being no feeling which may not lead, and does not frequently lead, either + to good or to bad actions: conscience itself, the very desire to act + right, often leading people to act wrong. Consistently carrying out the + doctrine that the object of praise and blame should be the discouragement + of wrong conduct and the encouragement of right, he refused to let his + praise or blame be influenced by the motive of the agent. He blamed as + severely what he thought a bad action, when the motive was a feeling of + duty, as if the agents had been consciously evil doers. He would not have + accepted as a plea in mitigation for inquisitors, that they sincerely + believed burning heretics to be an obligation of conscience. But though he + did not allow honesty of purpose to soften his disapprobation of actions, + it had its full effect on his estimation of characters. No one prized + conscientiousness and rectitude of intention more highly, or was more + incapable of valuing any person in whom he did not feel assurance of it. + But he disliked people quite as much for any other deficiency, provided he + thought it equally likely to make them act ill. He disliked, for instance, + a fanatic in any bad cause, as much as or more than one who adopted the + same cause from self-interest, because he thought him even more likely to + be practically mischievous. And thus, his aversion to many intellectual + errors, or what he regarded as such, partook, in a certain sense, of the + character of a moral feeling. All this is merely saying that he, in a + degree once common, but now very unusual, threw his feelings into his + opinions; which truly it is difficult to understand how anyone who + possesses much of both, can fail to do. None but those who do not care + about opinions will confound this with intolerance. Those who, having + opinions which they hold to be immensely important, and their contraries + to be prodigiously hurtful, have any deep regard for the general good, + will necessarily dislike, as a class and in the abstract, those who think + wrong what they think right, and right what they think wrong: though they + need not therefore be, nor was my father, insensible to good qualities in + an opponent, nor governed in their estimation of individuals by one + general presumption, instead of by the whole of their character. I grant + that an earnest person, being no more infallible than other men, is liable + to dislike people on account of opinions which do not merit dislike; but + if he neither himself does them any ill office, nor connives at its being + donc by others, he is not intolerant: and the forbearance which flows from + a conscientious sense of the importance to mankind of the equal freedom of + all opinions, is the only tolerance which is commendable, or, to the + highest moral order of minds, possible. + </p> + <p> + It will be admitted, that a man of the opinions, and the character, above + described, was likely to leave a strong moral impression on any mind + principally formed by him, and that his moral teaching was not likely to + err on the side of laxity or indulgence. The element which was chiefly + deficient in his moral relation to his children was that of tenderness. I + do not believe that this deficiency lay in his own nature. I believe him + to have had much more feeling than he habitually showed, and much greater + capacities of feeling than were ever developed. He resembled most + Englishmen in being ashamed of the signs of feeling, and, by the absence + of demonstration, starving the feelings themselves. If we consider further + that he was in the trying position of sole teacher, and add to this that + his temper was constitutionally irritable, it is impossible not to feel + true pity for a father who did, and strove to do, so much for his + children, who would have so valued their affection, yet who must have been + constantly feeling that fear of him was drying it up at its source. This + was no longer the case later in life, and with his younger children. They + loved him tenderly: and if I cannot say so much of myself, I was always + loyally devoted to him. As regards my own education, I hesitate to + pronounce whether I was more a loser or gainer by his severity. It was not + such as to prevent me from having a happy childhood. And I do not believe + that boys can be induced to apply themselves with vigour, and—what + is so much more difficult—perseverance, to dry and irksome studies, + by the sole force of persuasion and soft words. Much must be done, and + much must be learnt, by children, for which rigid discipline, and known + liability to punishment, are indispensable as means. It is, no doubt, a + very laudable effort, in modern teaching, to render as much as possible of + what the young are required to learn, easy and interesting to them. But + when this principle is pushed to the length of not requiring them to learn + anything <i>but</i> what has been made easy and interesting, one of the + chief objects of education is sacrificed. I rejoice in the decline of the + old brutal and tyrannical system of teaching, which, however, did succeed + in enforcing habits of application; but the new, as it seems to me, is + training up a race of men who will be incapable of doing anything which is + disagreeable to them. I do not, then, believe that fear, as an element in + education, can be dispensed with; but I am sure that it ought not to be + the main element; and when it predominates so much as to preclude love and + confidence on the part of the child to those who should be the + unreservedly trusted advisers of after years, and perhaps to seal up the + fountains of frank and spontaneous communicativeness in the child's + nature, it is an evil for which a large abatement must be made from the + benefits, moral and intellectual, which may flow from any other part of + the education. + </p> + <p> + During this first period of my life, the habitual frequenters of my + father's house were limited to a very few persons, most of them little + known to the world, but whom personal worth, and more or less of + congeniality with at least his political opinions (not so frequently to be + met with then as since), inclined him to cultivate; and his conversations + with them I listened to with interest and instruction. My being an + habitual inmate of my father's study made me acquainted with the dearest + of his friends, David Ricardo, who by his benevolent countenance, and + kindliness of manner, was very attractive to young persons, and who, after + I became a student of political economy, invited me to his house and to + walk with him in order to converse on the subject. I was a more frequent + visitor (from about 1817 or 1818) to Mr. Hume, who, born in the same part + of Scotland as my father, and having been, I rather think, a younger + schoolfellow or college companion of his, had on returning from India + renewed their youthful acquaintance, and who—coming, like many + others, greatly under the influence of my father's intellect and energy of + character—was induced partly by that influence to go into + Parliament, and there adopt the line of conduct which has given him an + honourable place in the history of his country. Of Mr. Bentham I saw much + more, owing to the close intimacy which existed between him and my father. + I do not know how soon after my father's first arrival in England they + became acquainted. But my father was the earliest Englishman of any great + mark, who thoroughly understood, and in the main adopted, Bentham's + general views of ethics, government and law: and this was a natural + foundation for sympathy between them, and made them familiar companions in + a period of Bentham's life during which he admitted much fewer visitors + than was the case subsequently. At this time Mr. Bentham passed some part + of every year at Barrow Green House, in a beautiful part of the Surrey + Hills, a few miles from Godstone, and there I each summer accompanied my + father in a long visit. In 1813 Mr. Bentham, my father, and I made an + excursion, which included Oxford, Bath and Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, and + Portsmouth. In this journey I saw many things which were instructive to + me, and acquired my first taste for natural scenery, in the elementary + form of fondness for a "view." In the succeeding winter we moved into a + house very near Mr. Bentham's, which my father rented from him, in Queen + Square, Westminster. From 1814 to 1817 Mr. Bentham lived during half of + each year at Ford Abbey, in Somersetshire (or rather in a part of + Devonshire surrounded by Somersetshire), which intervals I had the + advantage of passing at that place. This sojourn was, I think, an + important circumstance in my education. Nothing contributes more to + nourish elevation of sentiments in a people, than the large and free + character of their habitations. The middle-age architecture, the baronial + hall, and the spacious and lofty rooms, of this fine old place, so unlike + the mean and cramped externals of English middle-class life, gave the + sentiment of a larger and freer existence, and were to me a sort of poetic + cultivation, aided also by the character of the grounds in which the Abbey + stood; which were <i>riant</i> and secluded, umbrageous, and full of the + sound of falling waters. + </p> + <p> + I owed another of the fortunate circumstances in my education, a year's + residence in France, to Mr. Bentham's brother, General Sir Samuel Bentham. + I had seen Sir Samuel Bentham and his family at their house near Gosport + in the course of the tour already mentioned (he being then Superintendent + of the Dockyard at Portsmouth), and during a stay of a few days which they + made at Ford Abbey shortly after the Peace, before going to live on the + Continent. In 1820 they invited me for a six months' visit to them in the + South of France, which their kindness ultimately prolonged to nearly a + twelvemonth. Sir Samuel Bentham, though of a character of mind different + from that of his illustrious brother, was a man of very considerable + attainments and general powers, with a decided genius for mechanical art. + His wife, a daughter of the celebrated chemist, Dr. Fordyce, was a woman + of strong will and decided character, much general knowledge, and great + practical good sense of the Edgeworth kind: she was the ruling spirit of + the household, as she deserved, and was well qualified, to be. Their + family consisted of one son (the eminent botanist) and three daughters, + the youngest about two years my senior. I am indebted to them for much and + various instruction, and for an almost parental interest in my welfare. + When I first joined them, in May, 1820, they occupied the Chbteau of + Pompignan (still belonging to a descendant of Voltaire's enemy) on the + heights overlooking the plain of the Garonne between Montauban and + Toulouse. I accompanied them in an excursion to the Pyrenees, including a + stay of some duration at Bagnhres de Bigorre, a journey to Pau, Bayonne, + and Bagnhres de Luchon, and an ascent of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre. + </p> + <p> + This first introduction to the highest order of mountain scenery made the + deepest impression on me, and gave a colour to my tastes through life. In + October we proceeded by the beautiful mountain route of Castres and St. + Pons, from Toulouse to Montpellier, in which last neighbourhood Sir Samuel + had just bought the estate of Restinclihre, near the foot of the singular + mountain of St. Loup. During this residence in France I acquired a + familiar knowledge of the French language, and acquaintance with the + ordinary French literature; I took lessons in various bodily exercises, in + none of which, however, I made any proficiency; and at Montpellier I + attended the excellent winter courses of lectures at the Faculti des + Sciences, those of M. Anglada on chemistry, of M. Provengal on zoology, + and of a very accomplished representative of the eighteenth century + metaphysics, M. Gergonne, on logic, under the name of Philosophy of the + Sciences. I also went through a course of the higher mathematics under the + private tuition of M. Lenthiric, a professor at the Lycie of Montpellier. + But the greatest, perhaps, of the many advantages which I owed to this + episode in my education, was that of having breathed for a whole year, the + free and genial atmosphere of Continental life. This advantage was not the + less real though I could not then estimate, nor even consciously feel it. + Having so little experience of English life, and the few people I knew + being mostly such as had public objects, of a large and personally + disinterested kind, at heart, I was ignorant of the low moral tone of + what, in England, is called society; the habit of, not indeed professing, + but taking for granted in every mode of implication, that conduct is of + course always directed towards low and petty objects; the absence of high + feelings which manifests itself by sneering depreciation of all + demonstrations of them, and by general abstinence (except among a few of + the stricter religionists) from professing any high principles of action + at all, except in those preordained cases in which such profession is put + on as part of the costume and formalities of the occasion. I could not + then know or estimate the difference between this manner of existence, and + that of a people like the French, whose faults, if equally real, are at + all events different; among whom sentiments, which by comparison at least + may be called elevated, are the current coin of human intercourse, both in + books and in private life; and though often evaporating in profession, are + yet kept alive in the nation at large by constant exercise, and stimulated + by sympathy, so as to form a living and active part of the existence of + great numbers of persons, and to be recognised and understood by all. + Neither could I then appreciate the general culture of the understanding, + which results from the habitual exercise of the feelings, and is thus + carried down into the most uneducated classes of several countries on the + Continent, in a degree not equalled in England among the so-called + educated, except where an unusual tenderness of conscience leads to a + habitual exercise of the intellect on questions of right and wrong. I did + not know the way in which, among the ordinary English, the absence of + interest in things of an unselfish kind, except occasionally in a special + thing here and there, and the habit of not speaking to others, nor much + even to themselves, about the things in which they do feel interest, + causes both their feelings and their intellectual faculties to remain + undeveloped, or to develop themselves only in some single and very limited + direction; reducing them, considered as spiritual beings, to a kind of + negative existence. All these things I did not perceive till long + afterwards; but I even then felt, though without stating it clearly to + myself, the contrast between the frank sociability and amiability of + French personal intercourse, and the English mode of existence, in which + everybody acts as if everybody else (with few, or no exceptions) was + either an enemy or a bore. In France, it is true, the bad as well as the + good points, both of individual and of national character, come more to + the surface, and break out more fearlessly in ordinary intercourse, than + in England: but the general habit of the people is to show, as well as to + expect, friendly feeling in every one towards every other, wherever there + is not some positive cause for the opposite. In England it is only of the + best bred people, in the upper or upper middle ranks, that anything like + this can be said. + </p> + <p> + In my way through Paris, both going and returning, I passed some time in + the house of M. Say, the eminent political economist, who was a friend and + correspondent of my father, having become acquainted with him on a visit + to England a year or two after the Peace. He was a man of the later period + of the French Revolution, a fine specimen of the best kind of French + Republican, one of those who had never bent the knee to Bonaparte though + courted by him to do so; a truly upright, brave, and enlightened man. He + lived a quiet and studious life, made happy by warm affections, public and + private. He was acquainted with many of the chiefs of the Liberal party, + and I saw various noteworthy persons while staying at this house; among + whom I have pleasure in the recollection of having once seen Saint-Simon, + not yet the founder either of a philosophy or a religion, and considered + only as a clever original. The chief fruit which I carried away from the + society I saw, was a strong and permanent interest in Continental + Liberalism, of which I ever afterwards kept myself <i>au courant</i>, as + much as of English politics: a thing not at all usual in those days with + Englishmen, and which had a very salutary influence on my development, + keeping me free from the error always prevalent in England—and from + which even my father, with all his superiority to prejudice, was not + exempt—of judging universal questions by a merely English standard. + After passing a few weeks at Caen with an old friend of my father's, I + returned to England in July, 1821 and my education resumed its ordinary + course. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III — LAST STAGE OF EDUCATION, AND FIRST OF SELF-EDUCATION + </h2> + <p> + For the first year or two after my visit to France, I continued my old + studies, with the addition of some new ones. When I returned, my father + was just finishing for the press his <i>Elements of Political Economy</i>, + and he made me perform an exercise on the manuscript, which Mr. Bentham + practised on all his own writings, making what he called "marginal + contents"; a short abstract of every paragraph, to enable the writer more + easily to judge of, and improve, the order of the ideas, and the general + character of the exposition. Soon after, my father put into my hands + Condillac's <i>Traiti des Sensations</i>, and the logical and metaphysical + volumes of his <i>Cours d'Etudes</i>; the first (notwithstanding the + superficial resemblance between Condillac's psychological system and my + father's) quite as much for a warning as for an example. I am not sure + whether it was in this winter or the next that I first read a history of + the French Revolution. I learnt with astonishment that the principles of + democracy, then apparently in so insignificant and hopeless a minority + everywhere in Europe, had borne all before them in France thirty years + earlier, and had been the creed of the nation. As may be supposed from + this, I had previously a very vague idea of that great commotion. I knew + only that the French had thrown off the absolute monarchy of Louis XIV. + and XV., had put the King and Queen to death, guillotined many persons, + one of whom was Lavoisier, and had ultimately fallen under the despotism + of Bonaparte. From this time, as was natural, the subject took an immense + hold of my feelings. It allied itself with all my juvenile aspirations to + the character of a democratic champion. What had happened so lately, + seemed as if it might easily happen again: and the most transcendent glory + I was capable of conceiving, was that of figuring, successful or + unsuccessful, as a Girondist in an English Convention. + </p> + <p> + During the winter of 1821-2, Mr. John Austin, with whom at the time of my + visit to France my father had but lately become acquainted, kindly allowed + me to read Roman law with him. My father, notwithstanding his abhorrence + of the chaos of barbarism called English Law, had turned his thoughts + towards the bar as on the whole less ineligible for me than any other + profession: and these readings with Mr. Austin, who had made Bentham's + best ideas his own, and added much to them from other sources and from his + own mind, were not only a valuable introduction to legal studies, but an + important portion of general education. With Mr. Austin I read Heineccius + on the Institutes, his <i>Roman Antiquities</i>, and part of his + exposition of the Pandects; to which was added a considerable portion of + Blackstone. It was at the commencement of these studies that my father, as + a needful accompaniment to them, put into my hands Bentham's principal + speculations, as interpreted to the Continent, and indeed to all the + world, by Dumont, in the <i>Traiti de Ligislation</i>. The reading of this + book was an epoch in my life; one of the turning points in my mental + history. + </p> + <p> + My previous education had been, in a certain sense, already a course of + Benthamism. The Benthamic standard of "the greatest happiness" was that + which I had always been taught to apply; I was even familiar with an + abstract discussion of it, forming an episode in an unpublished dialogue + on Government, written by my father on the Platonic model. Yet in the + first pages of Bentham it burst upon me with all the force of novelty. + What thus impressed me was the chapter in which Bentham passed judgment on + the common modes of reasoning in morals and legislation, deduced from + phrases like "law of nature," "right reason," "the moral sense," "natural + rectitude," and the like, and characterized them as dogmatism in disguise, + imposing its sentiments upon others under cover of sounding expressions + which convey no reason for the sentiment, but set up the sentiment as its + own reason. It had not struck me before, that Bentham's principle put an + end to all this. The feeling rushed upon me, that all previous moralists + were superseded, and that here indeed was the commencement of a new era in + thought. This impression was strengthened by the manner in which Bentham + put into scientific form the application of the happiness principle to the + morality of actions, by analysing the various classes and orders of their + consequences. But what struck me at that time most of all, was the + Classification of Offences, which is much more clear, compact, and + imposing in Dumont's <i>ridaction</i> than in the original work of Bentham + from which it was taken. Logic and the dialectics of Plato, which had + formed so large a part of my previous training, had given me a strong + relish for accurate classification. This taste had been strengthened and + enlightened by the study of botany, on the principles of what is called + the Natural Method, which I had taken up with great zeal, though only as + an amusement, during my stay in France; and when I found scientific + classification applied to the great and complex subject of Punishable + Acts, under the guidance of the ethical principle of Pleasurable and + Painful Consequences, followed out in the method of detail introduced into + these subjects by Bentham, I felt taken up to an eminence from which I + could survey a vast mental domain, and see stretching out into the + distance intellectual results beyond all computation. As I proceeded + further, there seemed to be added to this intellectual clearness, the most + inspiring prospects of practical improvement in human affairs. To + Bentham's general view of the construction of a body of law I was not + altogether a stranger, having read with attention that admirable + compendium, my father's article on Jurisprudence: but I had read it with + little profit, and scarcely any interest, no doubt from its extremely + general and abstract character, and also because it concerned the form + more than the substance of the <i>corpus juris</i>, the logic rather than + the ethics of law. But Bentham's subject was Legislation, of which + Jurisprudence is only the formal part: and at every page he seemed to open + a clearer and broader conception of what human opinions and institutions + ought to be, how they might be made what they ought to be, and how far + removed from it they now are. When I laid down the last volume of the <i>Traiti</i>, + I had become a different being. The "principle of utility," understood as + Bentham understood it, and applied in the manner in which he applied it + through these three volumes, fell exactly into its place as the keystone + which held together the detached and fragmentary component parts of my + knowledge and beliefs. It gave unity to my conceptions of things. I now + had opinions; a creed, a doctrine, a philosophy; in one among the best + senses of the word, a religion; the inculcation and diffusion of which + could be made the principal outward purpose of a life. And I had a grand + conception laid before me of changes to be effected in the condition of + mankind through that doctrine. The <i>Traiti de Legislation</i> wound up + with what was to me a most impressive picture of human life as it would be + made by such opinions and such laws as were recommended in the treatise. + The anticipations of practicable improvement were studiously moderate, + deprecating and discountenancing as reveries of vague enthusiasm many + things which will one day seem so natural to human beings, that injustice + will probably be done to those who once thought them chimerical. But, in + my state of mind, this appearance of superiority to illusion added to the + effect which Bentham's doctrines produced on me, by heightening the + impression of mental power, and the vista of improvement which he did open + was sufficiently large and brilliant to light up my life, as well as to + give a definite shape to my aspirations. + </p> + <p> + After this I read, from time to time, the most important of the other + works of Bentham which had then seen the light, either as written by + himself or as edited by Dumont. This was my private reading: while, under + my father's direction, my studies were carried into the higher branches of + analytic psychology. I now read Locke's <i>Essay</i>, and wrote out an + account of it, consisting of a complete abstract of every chapter, with + such remarks as occurred to me; which was read by, or (I think) to, my + father, and discussed throughout. I performed the same process with <i>Helvetius + de L'Esprit</i>, which I read of my own choice. This preparation of + abstracts, subject to my father's censorship, was of great service to me, + by compelling precision in conceiving and expressing psychological + doctrines, whether accepted as truths or only regarded as the opinion of + others. After Helvetius, my father made me study what he deemed the really + master-production in the philosophy of mind, Hartley's <i>Observations on + Man</i>. This book, though it did not, like the <i>Traiti de Ligislation</i>, + give a new colour to my existence, made a very similar impression on me in + regard to its immediate subject. Hartley's explanation, incomplete as in + many points it is, of the more complex mental phenomena by the law of + association, commended itself to me at once as a real analysis, and made + me feel by contrast the insufficiency of the merely verbal generalizations + of Condillac, and even of the instructive gropings and feelings about for + psychological explanations, of Locke. It was at this very time that my + father commenced writing his <i>Analysis</i> of the Mind, which carried + Hartley's mode of explaining the mental phenomena to so much greater + length and depth. He could only command the concentration of thought + necessary for this work, during the complete leisure of his holiday for a + month or six weeks annually: and he commenced it in the summer of 1822, in + the first holiday he passed at Dorking; in which neighbourhood, from that + time to the end of his life, with the exception of two years, he lived, as + far as his official duties permitted, for six months of every year. He + worked at the <i>Analysis</i> during several successive vacations, up to + the year 1829, when it was published, and allowed me to read the + manuscript, portion by portion, as it advanced. The other principal + English writers on mental philosophy I read as I felt inclined, + particularly Berkeley, Hume's <i>Essays</i>, Reid, Dugald Stewart and + Brown on Cause and Effect. Brown's <i>Lectures</i> I did not read until + two or three years later, nor at that time had my father himself read + them. + </p> + <p> + Among the works read in the course of this year, which contributed + materially to my development, I owe it to mention a book (written on the + foundation of some of Bentham's manuscripts and published under the + pseudonyme of Philip Beauchamp) entitled <i>Analysis of the Influence of + Natural Religion on the Temporal Happiness of Mankind</i>. This was an + examination not of the truth, but of the usefulness of religious belief, + in the most general sense, apart from the peculiarities of any special + revelation; which, of all the parts of the discussion concerning religion, + is the most important in this age, in which real belief in any religious + doctrine is feeble and precarious, but the opinion of its necessity for + moral and social purposes almost universal; and when those who reject + revelation, very generally take refuge in an optimistic Deism, a worship + of the order of Nature, and the supposed course of Providence, at least as + full of contradictions, and perverting to the moral sentiments, as any of + the forms of Christianity, if only it is as completely realized. Yet very + little, with any claim to a philosophical character, has been written by + sceptics against the usefulness of this form of belief. The volume bearing + the name of Philip Beauchamp had this for its special object. Having been + shown to my father in manuscript, it was put into my hands by him, and I + made a marginal analysis of it as I had done of the <i>Elements of + Political Economy</i>. Next to the <i>Traiti de Ligislation</i>, it was + one of the books which by the searching character of its analysis produced + the greatest effect upon me. On reading it lately after an interval of + many years, I find it to have some of the defects as well as the merits of + the Benthamic modes of thought, and to contain, as I now think, many weak + arguments, but with a great overbalance of sound ones, and much good + material for a more completely philosophic and conclusive treatment of the + subject. + </p> + <p> + I have now, I believe, mentioned all the books which had any considerable + effect on my early mental development. From this point I began to carry on + my intellectual cultivation by writing still more than by reading. In the + summer of 1822 I wrote my first argumentative essay. I remember very + little about it, except that it was an attack on what I regarded as the + aristocratic prejudice, that the rich were, or were likely to be, superior + in moral qualities to the poor. My performance was entirely argumentative, + without any of the declamation which the subject would admit of, and might + be expected to suggest to a young writer. In that department, however, I + was, and remained, very inapt. Dry argument was the only thing I could, + manage, or willingly attempted; though passively I was very susceptible to + the effect of all composition, whether in the form of poetry or oratory, + which appealed to the feelings on any basis of reason. My father, who knew + nothing of this essay until it was finished, was well satisfied, and, as I + learnt from others, even pleased with it; but, perhaps from a desire to + promote the exercise of other mental faculties than the purely logical, he + advised me to make my next exercise in composition one of the oratorical + kind; on which suggestion, availing myself of my familiarity with Greek + history and ideas, and with the Athenian orators, I wrote two speeches, + one an accusation, the other a defence of Pericles, on a supposed + impeachment for not marching out to fight the Lacedemonians on their + invasion of Attica. After this I continued to write papers on subjects + often very much beyond my capacity, but with great benefit both from the + exercise itself, and from the discussions which it led to with my father. + </p> + <p> + I had now also begun to converse, on general subjects, with the instructed + men with whom I came in contact: and the opportunities of such contact + naturally became more numerous. The two friends of my father from whom I + derived most, and with whom I most associated, were Mr. Grote and Mr. John + Austin. The acquaintance of both with my father was recent, but had + ripened rapidly into intimacy. Mr. Grote was introduced to my father by + Mr. Ricardo, I think in 1819 (being then about twenty-five years old), and + sought assiduously his society and conversation. Already a highly + instructed man, he was yet, by the side of my father, a tyro in the great + subjects of human opinion; but he rapidly seized on my father's best + ideas; and in the department of political opinion he made himself known as + early as 1820, by a pamphlet in defence of Radical Reform, in reply to a + celebrated article by Sir James Mackintosh, then lately published in he <i>Edinburgh + Review</i>. Mr. Grote's father, the banker, was, I believe, a thorough + Tory, and his mother intensely Evangelical; so that for his liberal + opinions he was in no way indebted to home influences. But, unlike most + persons who have the prospect of being rich by inheritance, he had, though + actively engaged in the business of banking, devoted a great portion of + time to philosophic studies; and his intimacy with my father did much to + decide the character of the next stage in his mental progress. Him I often + visited, and my conversations with him on political, moral, and + philosophical subjects gave me, in addition to much valuable instruction, + all the pleasure and benefit of sympathetic communion with a man of the + high intellectual and moral eminence which his life and writings have + since manifested to the world. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Austin, who was four or five years older than Mr. Grote, was the + eldest son of a retired miller in Suffolk, who had made money by contracts + during the war, and who must have been a man of remarkable qualities, as I + infer from the fact that all his sons were of more than common ability and + all eminently gentlemen. The one with whom we are now concerned, and whose + writings on jurisprudence have made him celebrated, was for some time in + the army, and served in Sicily under Lord William Bentinck. After the + Peace he sold his commission and studied for the bar, to which he had been + called for some time before my father knew him. He was not, like Mr. + Grote, to any extent, a pupil of my father, but he had attained, by + reading and thought, a considerable number of the same opinions, modified + by his own very decided individuality of character. He was a man of great + intellectual powers, which in conversation appeared at their very best; + from the vigour and richness of expression with which, under the + excitement of discussion, he was accustomed to maintain some view or other + of most general subjects; and from an appearance of not only strong, but + deliberate and collected will; mixed with a certain bitterness, partly + derived from temperament, and partly from the general cast of his feelings + and reflections. The dissatisfaction with life and the world, felt more or + less in the present state of society and intellect by every discerning and + highly conscientious mind, gave in his case a rather melancholy tinge to + the character, very natural to those whose passive moral susceptibilities + are more than proportioned to their active energies. For it must be said, + that the strength of will of which his manner seemed to give such strong + assurance, expended itself principally in manner. With great zeal for + human improvement, a strong sense of duty, and capacities and acquirements + the extent of which is proved by the writings he has left, he hardly ever + completed any intellectual task of magnitude. He had so high a standard of + what ought to be done, so exaggerated a sense of deficiencies in his own + performances, and was so unable to content himself with the amount of + elaboration sufficient for the occasion and the purpose, that he not only + spoilt much of his work for ordinary use by overlabouring it, but spent so + much time and exertion in superfluous study and thought, that when his + task ought to have been completed, he had generally worked himself into an + illness, without having half finished what he undertook. From this mental + infirmity (of which he is not the sole example among the accomplished and + able men whom I have known), combined with liability to frequent attacks + of disabling though not dangerous ill-health, he accomplished, through + life, little in comparison with what he seemed capable of; but what he did + produce is held in the very highest estimation by the most competent + judges; and, like Coleridge, he might plead as a set-off that he had been + to many persons, through his conversation, a source not only of much + instruction but of great elevation of character. On me his influence was + most salutary. It was moral in the best sense. He took a sincere and kind + interest in me, far beyond what could have been expected towards a mere + youth from a man of his age, standing, and what seemed austerity of + character. There was in his conversation and demeanour a tone of + high-mindedness which did not show itself so much, if the quality existed + as much, in any of the other persons with whom at that time I associated. + My intercourse with him was the more beneficial, owing to his being of a + different mental type from all other intellectual men whom I frequented, + and he from the first set himself decidedly against the prejudices and + narrownesses which are almost sure to be found in a young man formed by a + particular mode of thought or a particular social circle. + </p> + <p> + His younger brother, Charles Austin, of whom at this time and for the next + year or two I saw much, had also a great effect on me, though of a very + different description. He was but a few years older than myself, and had + then just left the University, where he had shone with great <i>iclat</i> + as a man of intellect and a brilliant orator and converser. The effect he + produced on his Cambridge contemporaries deserves to be accounted an + historical event; for to it may in part be traced the tendency towards + Liberalism in general, and the Benthamic and politico-economic form of it + in particular, which showed itself in a portion of the more active-minded + young men of the higher classes from this time to 1830. The Union Debating + Society, at that time at the height of its reputation, was an arena where + what were then thought extreme opinions, in politics and philosophy, were + weekly asserted, face to face with their opposites, before audiences + consisting of the <i>ilite</i> of the Cambridge youth: and though many + persons afterwards of more or less note (of whom Lord Macaulay is the most + celebrated) gained their first oratorical laurels in those debates, the + really influential mind among these intellectual gladiators was Charles + Austin. He continued, after leaving the University, to be, by his + conversation and personal ascendency, a leader among the same class of + young men who had been his associates there; and he attached me among + others to his car. Through him I became acquainted with Macaulay, Hyde and + Charles Villiers, Strutt (now Lord Belper), Romilly (now Lord Romilly and + Master of the Rolls), and various others who subsequently figured in + literature or politics, and among whom I heard discussions on many topics, + as yet to a certain degree new to me. The influence of Charles Austin over + me differed from that of the persons I have hitherto mentioned, in being + not the influence of a man over a boy, but that of an elder contemporary. + It was through him that I first felt myself, not a pupil under teachers, + but a man among men. He was the first person of intellect whom I met on a + ground of equality, though as yet much his inferior on that common ground. + He was a man who never failed to impress greatly those with whom he came + in contact, even when their opinions were the very reverse of his. The + impression he gave was that of boundless strength, together with talents + which, combined with such apparent force of will and character, seemed + capable of dominating the world. Those who knew him, whether friendly to + him or not, always anticipated that he would play a conspicuous part in + public life. It is seldom that men produce so great an immediate effect by + speech, unless they, in some degree, lay themselves out for it; and he did + this in no ordinary degree. He loved to strike, and even to startle. He + knew that decision is the greatest element of effect, and he uttered his + opinions with all the decision he could throw into them, never so well + pleased as when he astonished anyone by their audacity. Very unlike his + brother, who made war against the narrower interpretations and + applications of the principles they both professed, he, on the contrary, + presented the Benthamic doctrines in the most startling form of which they + were susceptible, exaggerating everything in them which tended to + consequences offensive to anyone's preconceived feelings. All which, he + defended with such verve and vivacity, and carried off by a manner so + agreeable as well as forcible, that he always either came off victor, or + divided the honours of the field. It is my belief that much of the notion + popularly entertained of the tenets and sentiments of what are called + Benthamites or Utilitarians had its origin in paradoxes thrown out by + Charles Austin. It must be said, however, that his example was followed, + <i>haud passibus aequis</i>, by younger proselytes, and that to <i>outrer</i> + whatever was by anybody considered offensive in the doctrines and maxims + of Benthamism, became at one time the badge of a small coterie of youths. + All of these who had anything in them, myself among others, quickly + outgrew this boyish vanity; and those who had not, became tired of + differing from other people, and gave up both the good and the bad part of + the heterodox opinions they had for some time professed. + </p> + <p> + It was in the winter of 1822-3 that I formed the plan of a little society, + to be composed of young men agreeing in fundamental principles—acknowledging + Utility as their standard in ethics and politics, and a certain number of + the principal corollaries drawn from it in the philosophy I had accepted—and + meeting once a fortnight to read essays and discuss questions conformably + to the premises thus agreed on. The fact would hardly be worth mentioning, + but for the circumstance, that the name I gave to the society I had + planned was the Utilitarian Society. It was the first time that anyone had + taken the title of Utilitarian; and the term made its way into the + language, from this humble source. I did not invent the word, but found it + in one of Galt's novels, the <i>Annals of the Parish</i>, in which the + Scotch clergyman, of whom the book is a supposed autobiography, is + represented as warning his parishioners not to leave the Gospel and become + utilitarians. With a boy's fondness for a name and a banner I seized on + the word, and for some years called myself and others by it as a sectarian + appellation; and it came to be occasionally used by some others holding + the opinions which it was intended to designate. As those opinions + attracted more notice, the term was repeated by strangers and opponents, + and got into rather common use just about the time when those who had + originally assumed it, laid down that along with other sectarian + characteristics. The Society so called consisted at first of no more than + three members, one of whom, being Mr. Bentham's amanuensis, obtained for + us permission to hold our meetings in his house. The number never, I + think, reached ten, and the Society was broken up in 1826. It had thus an + existence of about three years and a half. The chief effect of it as + regards myself, over and above the benefit of practice in oral discussion, + was that of bringing me in contact with several young men at that time + less advanced than myself, among whom, as they professed the same + opinions, I was for some time a sort of leader, and had considerable + influence on their mental progress. Any young man of education who fell in + my way, and whose opinions were not incompatible with those of the + Society, I endeavoured to press into its service; and some others I + probably should never have known, had they not joined it. Those of the + members who became my intimate companions—no one of whom was in any + sense of the word a disciple, but all of them independent thinkers on + their own basis—were William Eyton Tooke, son of the eminent + political economist, a young man of singular worth both moral and + intellectual, lost to the world by an early death; his friend William + Ellis, an original thinker in the field of political economy, now + honourably known by his apostolic exertions for the improvement of + education; George Graham, afterwards official assignee of the Bankruptcy + Court, a thinker of originality and power on almost all abstract subjects; + and (from the time when he came first to England to study for the bar in + 1824 or 1825) a man who has made considerably more noise in the world than + any of these, John Arthur Roebuck. + </p> + <p> + In May, 1823, my professional occupation and status for the next + thirty-five years of my life, were decided by my father's obtaining for me + an appointment from the East India Company, in the office of the Examiner + of India Correspondence, immediately under himself. I was appointed in the + usual manner, at the bottom of the list of clerks, to rise, at least in + the first instance, by seniority; but with the understanding that I should + be employed from the beginning in preparing drafts of despatches, and be + thus trained up as a successor to those who then filled the higher + departments of the office. My drafts of course required, for some time, + much revision from my immediate superiors, but I soon became well + acquainted with the business, and by my father's instructions and the + general growth of my own powers, I was in a few years qualified to be, and + practically was, the chief conductor of the correspondence with India in + one of the leading departments, that of the Native States. This continued + to be my official duty until I was appointed Examiner, only two years + before the time when the abolition of the East India Company as a + political body determined my retirement. I do not know any one of the + occupations by which a subsistence can now be gained, more suitable than + such as this to anyone who, not being in independent circumstances, + desires to devote a part of the twenty-four hours to private intellectual + pursuits. Writing for the press cannot be recommended as a permanent + resource to anyone qualified to accomplish anything in the higher + departments of literature or thought: not only on account of the + uncertainty of this means of livelihood, especially if the writer has a + conscience, and will not consent to serve any opinions except his own; but + also because the writings by which one can live are not the writings which + themselves live, and are never those in which the writer does his best. + Books destined to form future thinkers take too much time to write, and + when written come, in general, too slowly into notice and repute, to be + relied on for subsistence. Those who have to support themselves by their + pen must depend on literary drudgery, or at best on writings addressed to + the multitude; and can employ in the pursuits of their own choice, only + such time as they can spare from those of necessity; which is generally + less than the leisure allowed by office occupations, while the effect on + the mind is far more enervating and fatiguing. For my own part I have, + through life, found office duties an actual rest from the other mental + occupations which I have carried on simultaneously with them. They were + sufficiently intellectual not to be a distasteful drudgery, without being + such as to cause any strain upon the mental powers of a person used to + abstract thought, or to the labour of careful literary composition. The + drawbacks, for every mode of life has its drawbacks, were not, however, + unfelt by me. I cared little for the loss of the chances of riches and + honours held out by some of the professions, particularly the bar, which + had been, as I have already said, the profession thought of for me. But I + was not indifferent to exclusion from Parliament, and public life: and I + felt very sensibly the more immediate unpleasantness of confinement to + London; the holiday allowed by India House practice not exceeding a month + in the year, while my taste was strong for a country life, and my sojourn + in France had left behind it an ardent desire of travelling. But though + these tastes could not be freely indulged, they were at no time entirely + sacrificed. I passed most Sundays, throughout the year, in the country, + taking long rural walks on that day even when residing in London. The + month's holiday was, for a few years, passed at my father's house in the + country; afterwards a part or the whole was spent in tours, chiefly + pedestrian, with some one or more of the young men who were my chosen + companions; and, at a later period, in longer journeys or excursions, + alone or with other friends. France, Belgium, and Rhenish Germany were + within easy reach of the annual holiday: and two longer absences, one of + three, the other of six months, under medical advice, added Switzerland, + the Tyrol, and Italy to my list. Fortunately, also, both these journeys + occurred rather early, so as to give the benefit and charm of the + remembrance to a large portion of life. + </p> + <p> + I am disposed to agree with what has been surmised by others, that the + opportunity which my official position gave me of learning by personal + observation the necessary conditions of the practical conduct of public + affairs, has been of considerable value to me as a theoretical reformer of + the opinions and institutions of my time. Not, indeed, that public + business transacted on paper, to take effect on the other side of the + globe, was of itself calculated to give much practical knowledge of life. + But the occupation accustomed me to see and hear the difficulties of every + course, and the means of obviating them, stated and discussed deliberately + with a view to execution: it gave me opportunities of perceiving when + public measures, and other political facts, did not produce the effects + which had been expected of them, and from what causes; above all, it was + valuable to me by making me, in this portion of my activity, merely one + wheel in a machine, the whole of which had to work together. As a + speculative writer, I should have had no one to consult but myself, and + should have encountered in my speculations none of the obstacles which + would have started up whenever they came to be applied to practice. But as + a Secretary conducting political correspondence, I could not issue an + order, or express an opinion, without satisfying various persons very + unlike myself, that the thing was fit to be done. I was thus in a good + position for finding out by practice the mode of putting a thought which + gives it easiest admittance into minds not prepared for it by habit; while + I became practically conversant with the difficulties of moving bodies of + men, the necessities of compromise, the art of sacrificing the + non-essential to preserve the essential. I learnt how to obtain the best I + could, when I could not obtain everything; instead of being indignant or + dispirited because I could not have entirely my own way, to be pleased and + encouraged when I could have the smallest part of it; and when even that + could not be, to bear with complete equanimity the being overruled + altogether. I have found, through life, these acquisitions to be of the + greatest possible importance for personal happiness, and they are also a + very necessary condition for enabling anyone, either as theorist or as + practical man, to effect the greatest amount of good compatible with his + opportunities. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV — YOUTHFUL PROPAGANDISM. THE "WESTMINSTER REVIEW" + </h2> + <p> + The occupation of so much of my time by office work did not relax my + attention to my own pursuits, which were never carried on more vigorously. + It was about this time that I began to write in newspapers. The first + writings of mine which got into print were two letters published towards + the end of 1822, in the <i>Traveller</i> evening newspaper. The <i>Traveller</i> + (which afterwards grew into the <i>Globe and Traveller</i>, by the + purchase and incorporation of the <i>Globe</i>) was then the property of + the well-known political economist, Colonel Torrens, and under the + editorship of an able man, Mr. Walter Coulson (who, after being an + amanuensis of Mr. Bentham, became a reporter, then an editor, next a + barrister and conveyancer, and died Counsel to the Home Office), it had + become one of the most important newspaper organs of Liberal politics. + Colonel Torrens himself wrote much of the political economy of his paper; + and had at this time made an attack upon some opinion of Ricardo and my + father, to which, at my father's instigation, I attempted an answer, and + Coulson, out of consideration for my father and goodwill to me, inserted + it. There was a reply by Torrens, to which I again rejoined. I soon after + attempted something considerably more ambitious. The prosecutions of + Richard Carlile and his wife and sister for publications hostile to + Christianity were then exciting much attention, and nowhere more than + among the people I frequented. Freedom of discussion even in politics, + much more in religion, was at that time far from being, even in theory, + the conceded point which it at least seems to be now; and the holders of + obnoxious opinions had to be always ready to argue and re-argue for the + liberty of expressing them. I wrote a series of five letters, under the + signature of Wickliffe, going over the whole length and breadth of the + question of free publication of all opinions on religion, and offered them + to the <i>Morning Chronicle</i>. Three of them were published in January + and February, 1823; the other two, containing things too outspoken for + that journal, never appeared at all. But a paper which I wrote soon after + on the same subject, <i>` propos</i> of a debate in the House of Commons, + was inserted as a leading article; and during the whole of this year, + 1823, a considerable number of my contributions were printed in the <i>Chronicle</i> + and <i>Traveller</i>: sometimes notices of books, but oftener letters, + commenting on some nonsense talked in Parliament, or some defect of the + law, or misdoings of the magistracy or the courts of justice. In this last + department the <i>Chronicle</i> was now rendering signal service. After + the death of Mr. Perry, the editorship and management of the paper had + devolved on Mr. John Black, long a reporter on its establishment; a man of + most extensive reading and information, great honesty and simplicity of + mind; a particular friend of my father, imbued with many of his and + Bentham's ideas, which he reproduced in his articles, among other valuable + thoughts, with great facility and skill. From this time the <i>Chronicle</i> + ceased to be the merely Whig organ it was before, and during the next ten + years became to a considerable extent a vehicle of the opinions of the + Utilitarian Radicals. This was mainly by what Black himself wrote, with + some assistance from Fonblanque, who first showed his eminent qualities as + a writer by articles and <i>jeux d'esprit</i> in the <i>Chronicle</i>. The + defects of the law, and of the administration of justice, were the subject + on which that paper rendered most service to improvement. Up to that time + hardly a word had been said, except by Bentham and my father, against that + most peccant part of English institutions and of their administration. It + was the almost universal creed of Englishmen, that the law of England, the + judicature of England, the unpaid magistracy of England, were models of + excellence. I do not go beyond the mark in saying, that after Bentham, who + supplied the principal materials, the greatest share of the merit of + breaking down this wretched superstition belongs to Black, as editor of + the <i>Morning Chronicle</i>. He kept up an incessant fire against it, + exposing the absurdities and vices of the law and the courts of justice, + paid and unpaid, until he forced some sense of them into people's minds. + On many other questions he became the organ of opinions much in advance of + any which had ever before found regular advocacy in the newspaper press. + Black was a frequent visitor of my father, and Mr. Grote used to say that + he always knew by the Monday morning's article whether Black had been with + my father on the Sunday. Black was one of the most influential of the many + channels through which my father's conversation and personal influence + made his opinions tell on the world; cooperating with the effect of his + writings in making him a power in the country such as it has rarely been + the lot of an individual in a private station to be, through the mere + force of intellect and character: and a power which was often acting the + most efficiently where it was least seen and suspected. I have already + noticed how much of what was done by Ricardo, Hume, and Grote was the + result, in part, of his prompting and persuasion. He was the good genius + by the side of Brougham in most of what he did for the public, either on + education, law reform, or any other subject. And his influence flowed in + minor streams too numerous to be specified. This influence was now about + to receive a great extension by the foundation of the <i>Westminster + Review</i>. + </p> + <p> + Contrary to what may have been supposed, my father was in no degree a + party to setting up the <i>Westminster Review</i>. The need of a Radical + organ to make head against the <i>Edinburgh</i> and <i>Quarterly</i> (then + in the period of their greatest reputation and influence) had been a topic + of conversation between him and Mr. Bentham many years earlier, and it had + been a part of their <i>Chbteau en Espagne</i> that my father should be + the editor; but the idea had never assumed any practical shape. In 1823, + however, Mr. Bentham determined to establish the <i>Review</i> at his own + cost, and offered the editorship to my father, who declined it as + incompatible with his India House appointment. It was then entrusted to + Mr. (now Sir John) Bowring, at that time a merchant in the City. Mr. + Bowring had been for two or three years previous an assiduous frequenter + of Mr. Bentham, to whom he was recommended by many personal good + qualities, by an ardent admiration for Bentham, a zealous adoption of + many, though not all of his opinions, and, not least, by an extensive + acquaintanceship and correspondence with Liberals of all countries, which + seemed to qualify him for being a powerful agent in spreading Bentham's + fame and doctrines through all quarters of the world. My father had seen + little of Bowring, but knew enough of him to have formed a strong opinion, + that he was a man of an entirely different type from what my father + considered suitable for conducting a political and philosophical Review: + and he augured so ill of the enterprise that he regretted it altogether, + feeling persuaded not only that Mr. Bentham would lose his money, but that + discredit would probably be brought upon Radical principles. He could not, + however, desert Mr. Bentham, and he consented to write an article for the + first number. As it had been a favourite portion of the scheme formerly + talked of, that part of the work should be devoted to reviewing the other + Reviews, this article of my father's was to be a general criticism of the + <i>Edinburgh Review</i> from its commencement. Before writing it he made + me read through all the volumes of the <i>Review</i>, or as much of each + as seemed of any importance (which was not so arduous a task in 1823 as it + would be now), and make notes for him of the articles which I thought he + would wish to examine, either on account of their good or their bad + qualities. This paper of my father's was the chief cause of the sensation + which the <i>Westminster Review</i> produced at its first appearance, and + is, both in conception and in execution, one of the most striking of all + his writings. He began by an analysis of the tendencies of periodical + literature in general; pointing out, that it cannot, like books, wait for + success, but must succeed immediately or not at all, and is hence almost + certain to profess and inculcate the opinions already held by the public + to which it addresses itself, instead of attempting to rectify or improve + those opinions. He next, to characterize the position of the <i>Edinburgh + Review</i> as a political organ, entered into a complete analysis, from + the Radical point of view, of the British Constitution. He held up to + notice its thoroughly aristocratic character: the nomination of a majority + of the House of Commons by a few hundred families; the entire + identification of the more independent portion, the county members, with + the great landholders; the different classes whom this narrow oligarchy + was induced, for convenience, to admit to a share of power; and finally, + what he called its two props, the Church, and the legal profession. He + pointed out the natural tendency of an aristocratic body of this + composition, to group itself into two parties, one of them in possession + of the executive, the other endeavouring to supplant the former and become + the predominant section by the aid of public opinion, without any + essential sacrifice of the aristocratical predominance. He described the + course likely to be pursued, and the political ground occupied, by an + aristocratic party in opposition, coquetting with popular principles for + the sake of popular support. He showed how this idea was realized in the + conduct of the Whig party, and of the <i>Edinburgh Review</i> as its chief + literary organ. He described, as their main characteristic, what he termed + "seesaw"; writing alternately on both sides of the question which touched + the power or interest of the governing classes; sometimes in different + articles, sometimes in different parts of the same article: and + illustrated his position by copious specimens. So formidable an attack on + the Whig party and policy had never before been made; nor had so great a + blow ever been struck, in this country, for Radicalism; nor was there, I + believe, any living person capable of writing that article except my + father.<a href="#linknote-2" name="linknoteref-2" id="linknoteref-2"><small>2</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In the meantime the nascent <i>Review</i> had formed a junction with + another project, of a purely literary periodical, to be edited by Mr. + Henry Southern, afterwards a diplomatist, then a literary man by + profession. The two editors agreed to unite their corps, and divide the + editorship, Bowring taking the political, Southern the literary + department. Southern's Review was to have been published by Longman, and + that firm, though part proprietors of the <i>Edinburgh</i>, were willing + to be the publishers of the new journal. But when all the arrangements had + been made, and the prospectuses sent out, the Longmans saw my father's + attack on the <i>Edinburgh</i>, and drew back. My father was now appealed + to for his interest with his own publisher, Baldwin, which was exerted + with a successful result. And so in April, 1824, amidst anything but hope + on my father's part, and that of most of those who afterwards aided in + carrying on the <i>Review</i>, the first number made its appearance. + </p> + <p> + That number was an agreeable surprise to most of us. The average of the + articles was of much better quality than had been expected. The literary + and artistic department had rested chiefly on Mr. Bingham, a barrister + (subsequently a police magistrate), who had been for some years a + frequenter of Bentham, was a friend of both the Austins, and had adopted + with great ardour Mr. Bentham's philosophical opinions. Partly from + accident, there were in the first number as many as five articles by + Bingham; and we were extremely pleased with them. I well remember the + mixed feeling I myself had about the <i>Review</i>; the joy of finding, + what we did not at all expect, that it was sufficiently good to be capable + of being made a creditable organ of those who held the opinions it + professed; and extreme vexation, since it was so good on the whole, at + what we thought the blemishes of it. When, however, in addition to our + generally favourable opinion of it, we learned that it had an + extraordinary large sale for a first number, and found that the appearance + of a Radical Review, with pretensions equal to those of the established + organs of parties, had excited much attention, there could be no room for + hesitation, and we all became eager in doing everything we could to + strengthen and improve it. + </p> + <p> + My father continued to write occasional articles. The <i>Quarterly Review</i> + received its exposure, as a sequel to that of the <i>Edinburgh</i>. Of his + other contributions, the most important were an attack on Southey's <i>Book + of the Church</i>, in the fifth number, and a political article in the + twelfth. Mr. Austin only contributed one paper, but one of great merit, an + argument against primogeniture, in reply to an article then lately + published in the <i>Edinburgh Review</i> by McCulloch. Grote also was a + contributor only once; all the time he could spare being already taken up + with his <i>History of Greece</i>. The article he wrote was on his own + subject, and was a very complete exposure and castigation of Mitford. + Bingham and Charles Austin continued to write for some time; Fonblanque + was a frequent contributor from the third number. Of my particular + associates, Ellis was a regular writer up to the ninth number; and about + the time when he left off, others of the set began; Eyton Tooke, Graham, + and Roebuck. I was myself the most frequent writer of all, having + contributed, from the second number to the eighteenth, thirteen articles; + reviews of books on history and political economy, or discussions on + special political topics, as corn laws, game laws, law of libel. + Occasional articles of merit came in from other acquaintances of my + father's, and, in time, of mine; and some of Mr. Bowring's writers turned + out well. On the whole, however, the conduct of the Review was never + satisfactory to any of the persons strongly interested in its principles, + with whom I came in contact. Hardly ever did a number come out without + containing several things extremely offensive to us, either in point of + opinion, of taste, or by mere want of ability. The unfavourable judgments + passed by my father, Grote, the two Austins, and others, were re-echoed + with exaggeration by us younger people; and as our youthful zeal rendered + us by no means backward in making complaints, we led the two editors a sad + life. From my knowledge of what I then was, I have no doubt that we were + at least as often wrong as right; and I am very certain that if the <i>Review</i> + had been carried on according to our notions (I mean those of the + juniors), it would have been no better, perhaps not even so good as it + was. But it is worth noting as a fact in the history of Benthamism, that + the periodical organ, by which it was best known, was from the first + extremely unsatisfactory to those whose opinions on all subjects it was + supposed specially to represent. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, however, the <i>Review</i> made considerable noise in the + world, and gave a recognised <i>status</i>, in the arena of opinion and + discussion, to the Benthamic type of Radicalism, out of all proportion to + the number of its adherents, and to the personal merits and abilities, at + that time, of most of those who could be reckoned among them. It was a + time, as is known, of rapidly rising Liberalism. When the fears and + animosities accompanying the war with France had been brought to an end, + and people had once more a place in their thoughts for home politics, the + tide began to set towards reform. The renewed oppression of the Continent + by the old reigning families, the countenance apparently given by the + English Government to the conspiracy against liberty called the Holy + Alliance, and the enormous weight of the national debt and taxation + occasioned by so long and costly a war, rendered the government and + parliament very unpopular. Radicalism, under the leadership of the + Burdetts and Cobbetts, had assumed a character and importance which + seriously alarmed the Administration: and their alarm had scarcely been + temporarily assuaged by the celebrated Six Acts, when the trial of Queen + Caroline roused a still wider and deeper feeling of hatred. Though the + outward signs of this hatred passed away with its exciting cause, there + arose on all sides a spirit which had never shown itself before, of + opposition to abuses in detail. Mr. Hume's persevering scrutiny of the + public expenditure, forcing the House of Commons to a division on every + objectionable item in the estimates, had begun to tell with great force on + public opinion, and had extorted many minor retrenchments from an + unwilling administration. Political economy had asserted itself with great + vigour in public affairs, by the petition of the merchants of London for + free trade, drawn up in 1820 by Mr. Tooke and presented by Mr. Alexander + Baring; and by the noble exertions of Ricardo during the few years of his + parliamentary life. His writings, following up the impulse given by the + Bullion controversy, and followed up in their turn by the expositions and + comments of my father and McCulloch (whose writings in the <i>Edinburgh + Review</i> during those years were most valuable), had drawn general + attention to the subject, making at least partial converts in the Cabinet + itself; and Huskisson, supported by Canning, had commenced that gradual + demolition of the protective system, which one of their colleagues + virtually completed in 1846, though the last vestiges were only swept away + by Mr. Gladstone in 1860. Mr. Peel, then Home Secretary, was entering + cautiously into the untrodden and peculiarly Benthamic path of Law Reform. + At this period, when Liberalism seemed to be becoming the tone of the + time, when improvement of institutions was preached from the highest + places, and a complete change of the constitution of Parliament was loudly + demanded in the lowest, it is not strange that attention should have been + roused by the regular appearance in controversy of what seemed a new + school of writers, claiming to be the legislators and theorists of this + new tendency. The air of strong conviction with which they wrote, when + scarcely anyone else seemed to have an equally strong faith in as definite + a creed; the boldness with which they tilted against the very front of + both the existing political parties; their uncompromising profession of + opposition to many of the generally received opinions, and the suspicion + they lay under of holding others still more heterodox than they professed; + the talent and verve of at least my father's articles, and the appearance + of a corps behind him sufficient to carry on a Review; and finally, the + fact that the <i>Review</i> was bought and read, made the so-called + Bentham school in philosophy and politics fill a greater place in the + public mind than it had held before, or has ever again held since other + equally earnest schools of thought have arisen in England. As I was in the + headquarters of it, knew of what it was composed, and as one of the most + active of its very small number, might say without undue assumption, <i>quorum + pars magna fui</i>, it belongs to me more than to most others, to give + some account of it. + </p> + <p> + This supposed school, then, had no other existence than what was + constituted by the fact, that my father's writings and conversation drew + round him a certain number of young men who had already imbibed, or who + imbibed from him, a greater or smaller portion of his very decided + political and philosophical opinions. The notion that Bentham was + surrounded by a band of disciples who received their opinions from his + lips, is a fable to which my father did justice in his "Fragment on + Mackintosh," and which, to all who knew Mr. Bentham's habits of life and + manner of conversation, is simply ridiculous. The influence which Bentham + exercised was by his writings. Through them he has produced, and is + producing, effects on the condition of mankind, wider and deeper, no + doubt, than any which can be attributed to my father. He is a much greater + name in history. But my father exercised a far greater personal + ascendency. He <i>was</i> sought for the vigour and instructiveness of his + conversation, and did use it largely as an instrument for the diffusion of + his opinions. I have never known any man who could do such ample justice + to his best thoughts in colloquial discussion. His perfect command over + his great mental resources, the terseness and expressiveness of his + language and the moral earnestness as well as intellectual force of his + delivery, made him one of the most striking of all argumentative + conversers: and he was full of anecdote, a hearty laugher, and, when with + people whom he liked, a most lively and amusing companion. It was not + solely, or even chiefly, in diffusing his merely intellectual convictions + that his power showed itself: it was still more through the influence of a + quality, of which I have only since learnt to appreciate the extreme + rarity: that exalted public spirit, and regard above all things to the + good of the whole, which warmed into life and activity every germ of + similar virtue that existed in the minds he came in contact with: the + desire he made them feel for his approbation, the shame at his + disapproval; the moral support which his conversation and his very + existence gave to those who were aiming at the same objects, and the + encouragement he afforded to the fainthearted or desponding among them, by + the firm confidence which (though the reverse of sanguine as to the + results to be expected in any one particular case) he always felt in the + power of reason, the general progress of improvement, and the good which + individuals could do by judicious effort. + </p> + <p> + If was my father's opinions which gave the distinguishing character to the + Benthamic or utilitarian propagandism of that time. They fell singly, + scattered from him, in many directions, but they flowed from him in a + continued stream principally in three channels. One was through me, the + only mind directly formed by his instructions, and through whom + considerable influence was exercised over various young men, who became, + in their turn, propagandists. A second was through some of the Cambridge + contemporaries of Charles Austin, who, either initiated by him or under + the general mental impulse which he gave, had adopted many opinions allied + to those of my father, and some of the more considerable of whom + afterwards sought my father's acquaintance and frequented his house. Among + these may be mentioned Strutt, afterwards Lord Belper, and the present + Lord Romilly, with whose eminent father, Sir Samuel, my father had of old + been on terms of friendship. The third channel was that of a younger + generation of Cambridge undergraduates, contemporary, not with Austin, but + with Eyton Tooke, who were drawn to that estimable person by affinity of + opinions, and introduced by him to my father: the most notable of these + was Charles Buller. Various other persons individually received and + transmitted a considerable amount of my father's influence: for example, + Black (as before mentioned) and Fonblanque: most of these, however, we + accounted only partial allies; Fonblanque, for instance, was always + divergent from us on many important points. But indeed there was by no + means complete unanimity among any portion of us, nor had any of us + adopted implicitly all my father's opinions. For example, although his <i>Essay + on Government</i> was regarded probably by all of us as a masterpiece of + political wisdom, our adhesion by no means extended to the paragraph of it + in which he maintains that women may, consistently with good government, + be excluded from the suffrage, because their interest is the same with + that of men. From this doctrine, I, and all those who formed my chosen + associates, most positively dissented. It is due to my father to say that + he denied having intended to affirm that women <i>should</i> be excluded, + any more than men under the age of forty, concerning whom he maintained in + the very next paragraph an exactly similar thesis. He was, as he truly + said, not discussing whether the suffrage had better be restricted, but + only (assuming that it is to be restricted) what is the utmost limit of + restriction which does not necessarily involve a sacrifice of the + securities for good government. But I thought then, as I have always + thought since that the opinion which he acknowledged, no less than that + which he disclaimed, is as great an error as any of those against which + the <i>Essay</i> was directed; that the interest of women is included in + that of men exactly as much as the interest of subjects is included in + that of kings, and no more; and that every reason which exists for giving + the suffrage to anybody, demands that it should not be withheld from + women. This was also the general opinion of the younger proselytes; and it + is pleasant to be able to say that Mr. Bentham, on this important point, + was wholly on our side. + </p> + <p> + But though none of us, probably, agreed in every respect with my father, + his opinions, as I said before, were the principal element which gave its + colour and character to the little group of young men who were the first + propagators of what was afterwards called "Philosophic Radicalism." Their + mode of thinking was not characterized by Benthamism in any sense which + has relation to Bentham as a chief or guide, but rather by a combination + of Bentham's point of view with that of the modern political economy, and + with the Hartleian metaphysics. Malthus's population principle was quite + as much a banner, and point of union among us, as any opinion specially + belonging to Bentham. This great doctrine, originally brought forward as + an argument against the indefinite improvability of human affairs, we took + up with ardent zeal in the contrary sense, as indicating the sole means of + realizing that improvability by securing full employment at high wages to + the whole labouring population through a voluntary restriction of the + increase of their numbers. The other leading characteristics of the creed, + which we held in common with my father, may be stated as follows: + </p> + <p> + In politics, an almost unbounded confidence in the efficacy of two things: + representative government, and complete freedom of discussion. So complete + was my father's reliance on the influence of reason over the minds of + mankind, whenever it is allowed to reach them, that he felt as if all + would be gained if the whole population were taught to read, if all sorts + of opinions were allowed to be addressed to them by word and in writing, + and if by means of the suffrage they could nominate a legislature to give + effect to the opinions they adopted. He thought that when the legislature + no longer represented a class interest, it would aim at the general + interest, honestly and with adequate wisdom; since the people would be + sufficiently under the guidance of educated intelligence, to make in + general a good choice of persons to represent them, and having done so, to + leave to those whom they had chosen a liberal discretion. Accordingly + aristocratic rule, the government of the Few in any of its shapes, being + in his eyes the only thing which stood between mankind and an + administration of their affairs by the best wisdom to be found among them, + was the object of his sternest disapprobation, and a democratic suffrage + the principal article of his political creed, not on the ground of + liberty, Rights of Man, or any of the phrases, more or less significant, + by which, up to that time, democracy had usually been defended, but as the + most essential of "securities for good government." In this, too, he held + fast only to what he deemed essentials; he was comparatively indifferent + to monarchical or republican forms—far more so than Bentham, to whom + a king, in the character of "corrupter-general," appeared necessarily very + noxious. Next to aristocracy, an established church, or corporation of + priests, as being by position the great depravers of religion, and + interested in opposing the progress of the human mind, was the object of + his greatest detestation; though he disliked no clergyman personally who + did not deserve it, and was on terms of sincere friendship with several. + In ethics his moral feelings were energetic and rigid on all points which + he deemed important to human well being, while he was supremely + indifferent in opinion (though his indifference did not show itself in + personal conduct) to all those doctrines of the common morality, which he + thought had no foundation but in asceticism and priestcraft. He looked + forward, for example, to a considerable increase of freedom in the + relations between the sexes, though without pretending to define exactly + what would be, or ought to be, the precise conditions of that freedom. + This opinion was connected in him with no sensuality either of a + theoretical or of a practical kind. He anticipated, on the contrary, as + one of the beneficial effects of increased freedom, that the imagination + would no longer dwell upon the physical relation and its adjuncts, and + swell this into one of the principal objects of life; a perversion of the + imagination and feelings, which he regarded as one of the deepest seated + and most pervading evils in the human mind. In psychology, his fundamental + doctrine was the formation of all human character by circumstances, + through the universal Principle of Association, and the consequent + unlimited possibility of improving the moral and intellectual condition of + mankind by education. Of all his doctrines none was more important than + this, or needs more to be insisted on; unfortunately there is none which + is more contradictory to the prevailing tendencies of speculation, both in + his time and since. + </p> + <p> + These various opinions were seized on with youthful fanaticism by the + little knot of young men of whom I was one: and we put into them a + sectarian spirit, from which, in intention at least, my father was wholly + free. What we (or rather a phantom substituted in the place of us) were + sometimes, by a ridiculous exaggeration, called by others, namely a + "school," some of us for a time really hoped and aspired to be. The French + <i>philosophes</i> of the eighteenth century were the examples we sought + to imitate, and we hoped to accomplish no less results. No one of the set + went to so great excesses in his boyish ambition as I did; which might be + shown by many particulars, were it not an useless waste of space and time. + </p> + <p> + All this, however, is properly only the outside of our existence; or, at + least, the intellectual part alone, and no more than one side of that. In + attempting to penetrate inward, and give any indication of what we were as + human beings, I must be understood as speaking only of myself, of whom + alone I can speak from sufficient knowledge; and I do not believe that the + picture would suit any of my companions without many and great + modifications. + </p> + <p> + I conceive that the description so often given of a Benthamite, as a mere + reasoning machine, though extremely inapplicable to most of those who have + been designated by that title, was during two or three years of my life + not altogether untrue of me. It was perhaps as applicable to me as it can + well be to anyone just entering into life, to whom the common objects of + desire must in general have at least the attraction of novelty. There is + nothing very extraordinary in this fact: no youth of the age I then was, + can be expected to be more than one thing, and this was the thing I + happened to be. Ambition and desire of distinction I had in abundance; and + zeal for what I thought the good of mankind was my strongest sentiment, + mixing with and colouring all others. But my zeal was as yet little else, + at that period of my life, than zeal for speculative opinions. It had not + its root in genuine benevolence, or sympathy with mankind; though these + qualities held their due place in my ethical standard. Nor was it + connected with any high enthusiasm for ideal nobleness. Yet of this + feeling I was imaginatively very susceptible; but there was at that time + an intermission of its natural aliment, poetical culture, while there was + a superabundance of the discipline antagonistic to it, that of mere logic + and analysis. Add to this that, as already mentioned, my father's + teachings tended to the undervaluing of feeling. It was not that he was + himself cold-hearted or insensible; I believe it was rather from the + contrary quality; he thought that feeling could take care of itself; that + there was sure to be enough of it if actions were properly cared about. + Offended by the frequency with which, in ethical and philosophical + controversy, feeling is made the ultimate reason and justification of + conduct, instead of being itself called on for a justification, while, in + practice, actions the effect of which on human happiness is mischievous, + are defended as being required by feeling, and the character of a person + of feeling obtains a credit for desert, which he thought only due to + actions, he had a real impatience of attributing praise to feeling, or of + any but the most sparing reference to it, either in the estimation of + persons or in the discussion of things. In addition to the influence which + this characteristic in him had on me and others, we found all the opinions + to which we attached most importance, constantly attacked on the ground of + feeling. Utility was denounced as cold calculation; political economy as + hard-hearted; anti-population doctrines as repulsive to the natural + feelings of mankind. We retorted by the word "sentimentality," which, + along with "declamation" and "vague generalities," served us as common + terms of opprobrium. Although we were generally in the right, as against + those who were opposed to us, the effect was that the cultivation of + feeling (except the feelings of public and private duty) was not in much + esteem among us, and had very little place in the thoughts of most of us, + myself in particular. What we principally thought of, was to alter + people's opinions; to make them believe according to evidence, and know + what was their real interest, which when they once knew, they would, we + thought, by the instrument of opinion, enforce a regard to it upon one + another. While fully recognising the superior excellence of unselfish + benevolence and love of justice, we did not expect the regeneration of + mankind from any direct action on those sentiments, but from the effect of + educated intellect, enlightening the selfish feelings. Although this last + is prodigiously important as a means of improvement in the hands of those + who are themselves impelled by nobler principles of action, I do not + believe that any one of the survivors of the Benthamites or Utilitarians + of that day now relies mainly upon it for the general amendment of human + conduct. + </p> + <p> + From this neglect both in theory and in practice of the cultivation of + feeling, naturally resulted, among other things, an undervaluing of + poetry, and of Imagination generally, as an element of human nature. It + is, or was, part of the popular notion of Benthamites, that they are + enemies of poetry: this was partly true of Bentham himself; he used to say + that "all poetry is misrepresentation": but in the sense in which he said + it, the same might have been said of all impressive speech; of all + representation or inculcation more oratorical in its character than a sum + in arithmetic. An article of Bingham's in the first number of the <i>Westminster + Review</i>, in which he offered as an explanation of something which he + disliked in Moore, that "Mr. Moore <i>is</i> a poet, and therefore is <i>not</i> + a reasoner," did a good deal to attach the notion of hating poetry to the + writers in the <i>Review</i>. But the truth was that many of us were great + readers of poetry; Bingham himself had been a writer of it, while as + regards me (and the same thing might be said of my father), the correct + statement would be, not that I disliked poetry, but that I was + theoretically indifferent to it. I disliked any sentiments in poetry which + I should have disliked in prose; and that included a great deal. And I was + wholly blind to its place in human culture, as a means of educating the + feelings. But I was always personally very susceptible to some kinds of + it. In the most sectarian period of my Benthamism, I happened to look into + Pope's <i>Essay on Man</i>, and, though every opinion in it was contrary + to mine, I well remember how powerfully it acted on my imagination. + Perhaps at that time poetical composition of any higher type than eloquent + discussion in verse, might not have produced a similar effect upon me: at + all events I seldom gave it an opportunity. This, however, was a mere + passive state. Long before I had enlarged in any considerable degree the + basis of my intellectual creed, I had obtained, in the natural course of + my mental progress, poetic culture of the most valuable kind, by means of + reverential admiration for the lives and characters of heroic persons; + especially the heroes of philosophy. The same inspiring effect which so + many of the benefactors of mankind have left on record that they had + experienced from Plutarch's <i>Lives</i>, was produced on me by Plato's + pictures of Socrates, and by some modern biographies, above all by + Condorcet's <i>Life of Turgot</i>; a book well calculated to rouse the + best sort of enthusiasm, since it contains one of the wisest and noblest + of lives, delineated by one of the wisest and noblest of men. The heroic + virtue of these glorious representatives of the opinions with which I + sympathized, deeply affected me, and I perpetually recurred to them as + others do to a favourite poet, when needing to be carried up into the more + elevated regions of feeling and thought. I may observe by the way that + this book cured me of my sectarian follies. The two or three pages + beginning "Il regardait toute secte comme nuisible," and explaining why + Turgot always kept himself perfectly distinct from the Encyclopedists, + sank deeply into my mind. I left off designating myself and others as + Utilitarians, and by the pronoun "we," or any other collective + designation, I ceased to <i>afficher</i> sectarianism. My real inward + sectarianism I did not get rid of till later, and much more gradually. + </p> + <p> + About the end of 1824, or beginning of 1825, Mr. Bentham, having lately + got back his papers on Evidence from M. Dumont (whose <i>Traiti des + Preuves Judiciaires</i>, grounded on them, was then first completed and + published), resolved to have them printed in the original, and bethought + himself of me as capable of preparing them for the press; in the same + manner as his <i>Book of Fallacies</i> had been recently edited by + Bingham. I gladly undertook this task, and it occupied nearly all my + leisure for about a year, exclusive of the time afterwards spent in seeing + the five large volumes through the press. Mr. Bentham had begun this + treatise three time's, at considerable intervals, each time in a different + manner, and each time without reference to the preceding: two of the three + times he had gone over nearly the whole subject. These three masses of + manuscript it was my business to condense into a single treatise, adopting + the one last written as the groundwork, and incorporating with it as much + of the two others as it had not completely superseded. I had also to + unroll such of Bentham's involved and parenthetical sentences as seemed to + overpass by their complexity the measure of what readers were likely to + take the pains to understand. It was further Mr. Bentham's particular + desire that I should, from myself, endeavour to supply any <i>lacunae</i> + which he had left; and at his instance I read, for this purpose, the most + authoritative treatises on the English Law of Evidence, and commented on a + few of the objectionable points of the English rules, which had escaped + Bentham's notice. I also replied to the objections which had been made to + some of his doctrines by reviewers of Dumont's book, and added a few + supplementary remarks on some of the more abstract parts of the subject, + such as the theory of improbability and impossibility. The controversial + part of these editorial additions was written in a more assuming tone than + became one so young and inexperienced as I was: but indeed I had never + contemplated coming forward in my own person; and as an anonymous editor + of Bentham I fell into the tone of my author, not thinking it unsuitable + to him or to the subject, however it might be so to me. My name as editor + was put to the book after it was printed, at Mr. Bentham's positive + desire, which I in vain attempted to persuade him to forego. + </p> + <p> + The time occupied in this editorial work was extremely well employed in + respect to my own improvement. The <i>Rationale of Judicial Evidence</i> + is one of the richest in matter of all Bentham's productions. The theory + of evidence being in itself one of the most important of his subjects, and + ramifying into most of the others, the book contains, very fully + developed, a great proportion of all his best thoughts: while, among more + special things, it comprises the most elaborate exposure of the vices and + defects of English law, as it then was, which is to be found in his works; + not confined to the law of evidence, but including, by way of illustrative + episode, the entire procedure or practice of Westminster Hall. The direct + knowledge, therefore, which I obtained from the book, and which was + imprinted upon me much more thoroughly than it could have been by mere + reading, was itself no small acquisition. But this occupation did for me + what might seem less to be expected; it gave a great start to my powers of + composition. Everything which I wrote subsequently to this editorial + employment, was markedly superior to anything that I had written before + it. Bentham's later style, as the world knows, was heavy and cumbersome, + from the excess of a good quality, the love of precision, which made him + introduce clause within clause into the heart of every sentence, that the + reader might receive into his mind all the modifications and + qualifications simultaneously with the main proposition: and the habit + grew on him until his sentences became, to those not accustomed to them, + most laborious reading. But his earlier style, that of the <i>Fragment on + Government, Plan of a Judicial Establishment</i>, etc., is a model of + liveliness and ease combined with fulness of matter, scarcely ever + surpassed: and of this earlier style there were many striking specimens in + the manuscripts on Evidence, all of which I endeavoured to preserve. So + long a course of this admirable writing had a considerable effect upon my + own; and I added to it by the assiduous reading of other writers, both + French and English, who combined, in a remarkable degree, ease with force, + such as Goldsmith, Fielding, Pascal, Voltaire, and Courier. Through these + influences my writing lost the jejuneness of my early compositions; the + bones and cartilages began to clothe themselves with flesh, and the style + became, at times, lively and almost light. + </p> + <p> + This improvement was first exhibited in a new field. Mr. Marshall, of + Leeds, father of the present generation of Marshalls, the same who was + brought into Parliament for Yorkshire, when the representation forfeited + by Grampound was transferred to it, an earnest Parliamentary reformer, and + a man of large fortune, of which he made a liberal use, had been much + struck with Bentham's <i>Book of Fallacies</i>; and the thought had + occurred to him that it would be useful to publish annually the + Parliamentary Debates, not in the chronological order of Hansard, but + classified according to subjects, and accompanied by a commentary pointing + out the fallacies of the speakers. With this intention, he very naturally + addressed himself to the editor of the <i>Book of Fallacies</i>; and + Bingham, with the assistance of Charles Austin, undertook the editorship. + The work was called <i>Parliamentary History and Review</i>. Its sale was + not sufficient to keep it in existence, and it only lasted three years. It + excited, however, some attention among parliamentary and political people. + The best strength of the party was put forth in it; and its execution did + them much more credit than that of the <i>Westminster Review</i> had ever + done. Bingham and Charles Austin wrote much in it; as did Strutt, Romilly, + and several other Liberal lawyers. My father wrote one article in his best + style; the elder Austin another. Coulson wrote one of great merit. It fell + to my lot to lead off the first number by an article on the principal + topic of the session (that of 1825), the Catholic Association and the + Catholic Disabilities. In the second number I wrote an elaborate Essay on + the Commercial Crisis of 1825 and the Currency Debates. In the third I had + two articles, one on a minor subject, the other on the Reciprocity + principle in commerce, <i>` propos</i> of a celebrated diplomatic + correspondence between Canning and Gallatin. These writings were no longer + mere reproductions and applications of the doctrines I had been taught; + they were original thinking, as far as that name can be applied to old + ideas in new forms and connexions: and I do not exceed the truth in saying + that there was a maturity, and a well-digested, character about them, + which there had not been in any of my previous performances. In execution, + therefore, they were not at all juvenile; but their subjects have either + gone by, or have been so much better treated since, that they are entirely + superseded, and should remain buried in the same oblivion with my + contributions to the first dynasty of the <i>Westminster Review</i>. + </p> + <p> + While thus engaged in writing for the public, I did not neglect other + modes of self-cultivation. It was at this time that I learnt German; + beginning it on the Hamiltonian method, for which purpose I and several of + my companions formed a class. For several years from this period, our + social studies assumed a shape which contributed very much to my mental + progress. The idea occurred to us of carrying on, by reading and + conversation, a joint study of several of the branches of science which we + wished to be masters of. We assembled to the number of a dozen or more. + Mr. Grote lent a room of his house in Threadneedle Street for the purpose, + and his partner, Prescott, one of the three original members of the + Utilitarian Society, made one among us. We met two mornings in every week, + from half-past eight till ten, at which hour most of us were called off to + our daily occupations. Our first subject was Political Economy. We chose + some systematic treatise as our text-book; my father's <i>Elements</i> + being our first choice. One of us read aloud a chapter, or some smaller + portion of the book. The discussion was then opened, and anyone who had an + objection, or other remark to make, made it. Our rule was to discuss + thoroughly every point raised, whether great or small, prolonging the + discussion until all who took part were satisfied with the conclusion they + had individually arrived at; and to follow up every topic of collateral + speculation which the chapter or the conversation suggested, never leaving + it until we had untied every knot which we found. We repeatedly kept up + the discussion of some one point for several weeks, thinking intently on + it during the intervals of our meetings, and contriving solutions of the + new difficulties which had risen up in the last morning's discussion. When + we had finished in this way my father's <i>Elements</i>, we went in the + same manner through Ricardo's <i>Principles of Political Economy</i>, and + Bailey's <i>Dissertation on Value</i>. These close and vigorous + discussions were not only improving in a high degree to those who took + part in them, but brought out new views of some topics of abstract + Political Economy. The theory of International Values which I afterwards + published, emanated from these conversations, as did also the modified + form of Ricardo's <i>Theory of Profits</i>, laid down in my <i>Essay on + Profits and Interest</i>. Those among us with whom new speculations + chiefly originated, were Ellis, Graham, and I; though others gave valuable + aid to the discussions, especially Prescott and Roebuck, the one by his + knowledge, the other by his dialectical acuteness. The theories of + International Values and of Profits were excogitated and worked out in + about equal proportions by myself and Graham: and if our original project + had been executed, my <i>Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political + Economy</i> would have been brought out along with some papers of his, + under our joint names. But when my exposition came to be written, I found + that I had so much over-estimated my agreement with him, and he dissented + so much from the most original of the two Essays, that on International + Values, that I was obliged to consider the theory as now exclusively mine, + and it came out as such when published many years later. I may mention + that among the alterations which my father made in revising his <i>Elements</i> + for the third edition, several were founded on criticisms elicited by + these conversations; and in particular he modified his opinions (though + not to the extent of our new speculations) on both the points to which I + have adverted. + </p> + <p> + When we had enough of political economy, we took up the syllogistic logic + in the same manner, Grote now joining us. Our first text-book was Aldrich, + but being disgusted with its superficiality, we reprinted one of the most + finished among the many manuals of the school logic, which my father, a + great collector of such books, possessed, the <i>Manuductio ad Logicam</i> + of the Jesuit Du Trieu. After finishing this, we took up Whately's <i>Logic</i>, + then first republished from the <i>Encyclopedia Metropolitana</i>, and + finally the <i>Computatio sive Logica</i> of Hobbes. These books, dealt + with in our manner, afforded a high range for original metaphysical + speculation: and most of what has been done in the First Book of my <i>System + of Logic</i>, to rationalize and correct the principles and distinctions + of the school logicians, and to improve the theory of the Import of + Propositions, had its origin in these discussions; Graham and I + originating most of the novelties, while Grote and others furnished an + excellent tribunal or test. From this time I formed the project of writing + a book on Logic, though on a much humbler scale than the one I ultimately + executed. + </p> + <p> + Having done with Logic, we launched into Analytic Psychology, and having + chosen Hartley for our text-book, we raised Priestley's edition to an + extravagant price by searching through London to furnish each of us with a + copy. When we had finished Hartley, we suspended our meetings; but my + father's <i>Analysis of the Mind</i> being published soon after, we + reassembled for the purpose of reading it. With this our exercises ended. + I have always dated from these conversations my own real inauguration as + an original and independent thinker. It was also through them that I + acquired, or very much strengthened, a mental habit to which I attribute + all that I have ever done, or ever shall do, in speculation: that of never + accepting half-solutions of difficulties as complete; never abandoning a + puzzle, but again and again returning to it until it was cleared up; never + allowing obscure corners of a subject to remain unexplored, because they + did not appear important; never thinking that I perfectly understood any + part of a subject until I understood the whole. + </p> + <p> + Our doings from 1825 to 1830 in the way of public speaking, filled a + considerable place in my life during those years, and as they had + important effects on my development, something ought to be said of them. + </p> + <p> + There was for some time in existence a society of Owenites, called the + Co-operative Society, which met for weekly public discussions in Chancery + Lane. In the early part of 1825, accident brought Roebuck in contact with + several of its members, and led to his attending one or two of the + meetings and taking part in the debate in opposition to Owenism. Some one + of us started the notion of going there in a body and having a general + battle: and Charles Austin and some of his friends who did not usually + take part in our joint exercises, entered into the project. It was carried + out by concert with the principal members of the Society, themselves + nothing loth, as they naturally preferred a controversy with opponents to + a tame discussion among their own body. The question of population was + proposed as the subject of debate: Charles Austin led the case on our side + with a brilliant speech, and the fight was kept up by adjournment through + five or six weekly meetings before crowded auditories, including along + with the members of the Society and their friends, many hearers and some + speakers from the Inns of Court. When this debate was ended, another was + commenced on the general merits of Owen's system: and the contest + altogether lasted about three months. It was a <i>lutte corps ` corps</i> + between Owenites and political economists, whom the Owenites regarded as + their most inveterate opponents: but it was a perfectly friendly dispute. + We who represented political economy, had the same objects in view as they + had, and took pains to show it; and the principal champion on their side + was a very estimable man, with whom I was well acquainted, Mr. William + Thompson, of Cork, author of a book on the Distribution of Wealth, and of + an " Appeal" in behalf of women against the passage relating to them in my + father's <i>Essay on Government</i>. Ellis, Roebuck, and I took an active + part in the debate, and among those from the Inns of Court who joined in + it, I remember Charles Villiers. The other side obtained also, on the + population question, very efficient support from without. The well-known + Gale Jones, then an elderly man, made one of his florid speeches; but the + speaker with whom I was most struck, though I dissented from nearly every + word he said, was Thirlwall, the historian, since Bishop of St. David's, + then a Chancery barrister, unknown except by a high reputation for + eloquence acquired at the Cambridge Union before the era of Austin and + Macaulay. His speech was in answer to one of mine. Before he had uttered + ten sentences, I set him down as the best speaker I had ever heard, and I + have never since heard anyone whom I placed above him. + </p> + <p> + The great interest of these debates predisposed some of those who took + part in them, to catch at a suggestion thrown out by McCulloch, the + political economist, that a Society was wanted in London similar to the + Speculative Society at Edinburgh, in which Brougham, Horner, and others + first cultivated public speaking. Our experience at the Co-operative + Society seemed to give cause for being sanguine as to the sort of men who + might be brought together in London for such a purpose. McCulloch + mentioned the matter to several young men of influence, to whom he was + then giving private lessons in political economy. Some of these entered + warmly into the project, particularly George Villiers, after Earl of + Clarendon. He and his brothers, Hyde and Charles, Romilly, Charles Austin + and I, with some others, met and agreed on a plan. We determined to meet + once a fortnight from November to June, at the Freemasons' Tavern, and we + had soon a fine list of members, containing, along with several members of + Parliament, nearly all the most noted speakers of the Cambridge Union and + of the Oxford United Debating Society. It is curiously illustrative of the + tendencies of the time, that our principal difficulty in recruiting for + the Society was to find a sufficient number of Tory speakers. Almost all + whom we could press into the service were Liberals, of different orders + and degrees. Besides those already named, we had Macaulay, Thirlwall, + Praed, Lord Howick, Samuel Wilberforce (afterwards Bishop of Oxford), + Charles Poulett Thomson (afterwards Lord Sydenham), Edward and Henry + Lytton Bulwer, Fonblanque, and many others whom I cannot now recollect, + but who made themselves afterwards more or less conspicuous in public or + literary life. Nothing could seem more promising. But when the time for + action drew near, and it was necessary to fix on a President, and find + somebody to open the first debate, none of our celebrities would consent + to perform either office. Of the many who were pressed on the subject, the + only one who could be prevailed on was a man of whom I knew very little, + but who had taken high honours at Oxford and was said to have acquired a + great oratorical reputation there; who some time afterwards became a Tory + member of Parliament. He accordingly was fixed on, both for filling the + President's chair and for making the first speech. The important day + arrived; the benches were crowded; all our great speakers were present, to + judge of, but not to help our efforts. The Oxford orator's speech was a + complete failure. This threw a damp on the whole concern: the speakers who + followed were few, and none of them did their best: the affair was a + complete <i>fiasco</i>; and the oratorical celebrities we had counted on + went away never to return, giving to me at least a lesson in knowledge of + the world. This unexpected breakdown altered my whole relation to the + project. I had not anticipated taking a prominent part, or speaking much + or often, particularly at first, but I now saw that the success of the + scheme depended on the new men, and I put my shoulder to the wheel. I + opened the second question, and from that time spoke in nearly every + debate. It was very uphill work for some time. The three Villiers and + Romilly stuck to us for some time longer, but the patience of all the + founders of the Society was at last exhausted, except me and Roebuck. In + the season following, 1826-7, things began to mend. We had acquired two + excellent Tory speakers, Hayward and Shee (afterwards Sergeant Shee): the + Radical side was reinforced by Charles Buller, Cockburn, and others of the + second generation of Cambridge Benthamities; and with their and other + occasional aid, and the two Tories as well as Roebuck and me for regular + speakers, almost every debate was a <i>bataille rangie</i> between the + "philosophic Radicals" and the Tory lawyers; until our conflicts were + talked about, and several persons of note and consideration came to hear + us. This happened still more in the subsequent seasons, 1828 and 1829, + when the Coleridgians, in the persons of Maurice and Sterling, made their + appearance in the Society as a second Liberal and even Radical party, on + totally different grounds from Benthamism and vehemently opposed to it; + bringing into these discussions the general doctrines and modes of thought + of the European reaction against the philosophy of the eighteenth century; + and adding a third and very important belligerent party to our contests, + which were now no bad exponent of the movement of opinion among the most + cultivated part of the new generation. Our debates were very different + from those of common debating societies, for they habitually consisted of + the strongest arguments and most philosophic principles which either side + was able to produce, thrown often into close and <i>serri</i> confutations + of one another. The practice was necessarily very useful to us, and + eminently so to me. I never, indeed, acquired real fluency, and had always + a bad and ungraceful delivery; but I could make myself listened to: and as + I always wrote my speeches when, from the feelings involved, or the nature + of the ideas to be developed, expression seemed important, I greatly + increased my power of effective writing; acquiring not only an ear for + smoothness and rhythm, but a practical sense for <i>telling</i> sentences, + and an immediate criterion of their telling property, by their effect on a + mixed audience. + </p> + <p> + The Society, and the preparation for it, together with the preparation for + the morning conversations which were going on simultaneously, occupied the + greater part of my leisure; and made me feel it a relief when, in the + spring of 1828, I ceased to write for the <i>Westminster</i>. The <i>Review</i> + had fallen into difficulties. Though the sale of the first number had been + very encouraging, the permanent sale had never, I believe, been sufficient + to pay the expenses, on the scale on which the <i>Review</i> was carried + on. Those expenses had been considerably, but not sufficiently, reduced. + One of the editors, Southern, had resigned; and several of the writers, + including my father and me, who had been paid like other contributors for + our earlier articles, had latterly written without payment. Nevertheless, + the original funds were nearly or quite exhausted, and if the <i>Review</i> + was to be continued some new arrangement of its affairs had become + indispensable. My father and I had several conferences with Bowring on the + subject. We were willing to do our utmost for maintaining the <i>Review</i> + as an organ of our opinions, but not under Bowring's editorship: while the + impossibility of its any longer supporting a paid editor, afforded a + ground on which, without affront to him, we could propose to dispense with + his services. We and some of our friends were prepared to carry on the <i>Review</i> + as unpaid writers, either finding among ourselves an unpaid editor, or + sharing the editorship among us. But while this negotiation was proceeding + with Bowring's apparent acquiescence, he was carrying on another in a + different quarter (with Colonel Perronet Thompson), of which we received + the first intimation in a letter from Bowring as editor, informing us + merely that an arrangement had been made, and proposing to us to write for + the next number, with promise of payment. We did not dispute Bowring's + right to bring about, if he could, an arrangement more favourable to + himself than the one we had proposed; but we thought the concealment which + he had practised towards us, while seemingly entering into our own + project, an affront: and even had we not thought so, we were indisposed to + expend any more of our time and trouble in attempting to write up the <i>Review</i> + under his management. Accordingly my father excused himself from writing; + though two or three years later, on great pressure, he did write one more + political article. As for me, I positively refused. And thus ended my + connexion with the original <i>Westminster</i>. The last article which I + wrote in it had cost me more labour than any previous; but it was a labour + of love, being a defence of the early French Revolutionists against the + Tory misrepresentations of Sir Walter Scott, in the introduction to his <i>Life + of Napoleon</i>. The number of books which I read for this purpose, making + notes and extracts—even the number I had to buy (for in those days + there was no public or subscription library from which books of reference + could be taken home)—far exceeded the worth of the immediate object; + but I had at that time a half-formed intention of writing a History of the + French Revolution; and though I never executed it, my collections + afterwards were very useful to Carlyle for a similar purpose. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V — CRISIS IN MY MENTAL HISTORY. ONE STAGE ONWARD + </h2> + <p> + For some years after this time I wrote very little, and nothing regularly, + for publication: and great were the advantages which I derived from the + intermission. It was of no common importance to me, at this period, to be + able to digest and mature my thoughts for my own mind only, without any + immediate call for giving them out in print. Had I gone on writing, it + would have much disturbed the important transformation in my opinions and + character, which took place during those years. The origin of this + transformation, or at least the process by which I was prepared for it, + can only be explained by turning some distance back. + </p> + <p> + From the winter of 1821, when I first read Bentham, and especially from + the commencement of the <i>Westminster Review</i>, I had what might truly + be called an object in life; to be a reformer of the world. My conception + of my own happiness was entirely identified with this object. The personal + sympathies I wished for were those of fellow labourers in this enterprise. + I endeavoured to pick up as many flowers as I could by the way; but as a + serious and permanent personal satisfaction to rest upon, my whole + reliance was placed on this; and I was accustomed to felicitate myself on + the certainty of a happy life which I enjoyed, through placing my + happiness in something durable and distant, in which some progress might + be always making, while it could never be exhausted by complete + attainment. This did very well for several years, during which the general + improvement going on in the world and the idea of myself as engaged with + others in struggling to promote it, seemed enough to fill up an + interesting and animated existence. But the time came when I awakened from + this as from a dream. It was in the autumn of 1826. I was in a dull state + of nerves, such as everybody is occasionally liable to; unsusceptible to + enjoyment or pleasurable excitement; one of those moods when what is + pleasure at other times, becomes insipid or indifferent; the state, I + should think, in which converts to Methodism usually are, when smitten by + their first "conviction of sin." In this frame of mind it occurred to me + to put the question directly to myself: "Suppose that all your objects in + life were realized; that all the changes in institutions and opinions + which you are looking forward to, could be completely effected at this + very instant: would this be a great joy and happiness to you?" And an + irrepressible self-consciousness distinctly answered, "No!" At this my + heart sank within me: the whole foundation on which my life was + constructed fell down. All my happiness was to have been found in the + continual pursuit of this end. The end had ceased to charm, and how could + there ever again be any interest in the means? I seemed to have nothing + left to live for. + </p> + <p> + At first I hoped that the cloud would pass away of itself; but it did not. + A night's sleep, the sovereign remedy for the smaller vexations of life, + had no effect on it. I awoke to a renewed consciousness of the woful fact. + I carried it with me into all companies, into all occupations. Hardly + anything had power to cause me even a few minutes' oblivion of it. For + some months the cloud seemed to grow thicker and thicker. The lines in + Coleridge's <i>Dejection</i>—I was not then acquainted with them—exactly + describe my case: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "A grief without a pang, void, dark and drear, + A drowsy, stifled, unimpassioned grief, + Which finds no natural outlet or relief + In word, or sigh, or tear." +</pre> + <p> + In vain I sought relief from my favourite books; those memorials of past + nobleness and greatness from which I had always hitherto drawn strength + and animation. I read them now without feeling, or with the accustomed + feeling minus all its charm; and I became persuaded, that my love of + mankind, and of excellence for its own sake, had worn itself out. I sought + no comfort by speaking to others of what I felt. If I had loved anyone + sufficiently to make confiding my griefs a necessity, I should not have + been in the condition I was. I felt, too, that mine was not an + interesting, or in any way respectable distress. There was nothing in it + to attract sympathy. Advice, if I had known where to seek it, would have + been most precious. The words of Macbeth to the physician often occurred + to my thoughts. But there was no one on whom I could build the faintest + hope of such assistance. My father, to whom it would have been natural to + me to have recourse in any practical difficulties, was the last person to + whom, in such a case as this, I looked for help. Everything convinced me + that he had no knowledge of any such mental state as I was suffering from, + and that even if he could be made to understand it, he was not the + physician who could heal it. My education, which was wholly his work, had + been conducted without any regard to the possibility of its ending in this + result; and I saw no use in giving him the pain of thinking that his plans + had failed, when the failure was probably irremediable, and, at all + events, beyond the power of <i>his</i> remedies. Of other friends, I had + at that time none to whom I had any hope of making my condition + intelligible. It was, however, abundantly intelligible to myself; and the + more I dwelt upon it, the more hopeless it appeared. + </p> + <p> + My course of study had led me to believe, that all mental and moral + feelings and qualities, whether of a good or of a bad kind, were the + results of association; that we love one thing, and hate another, take + pleasure in one sort of action or contemplation, and pain in another sort, + through the clinging of pleasurable or painful ideas to those things, from + the effect of education or of experience. As a corollary from this, I had + always heard it maintained by my father, and was myself convinced, that + the object of education should be to form the strongest possible + associations of the salutary class; associations of pleasure with all + things beneficial to the great whole, and of pain with all things hurtful + to it. This doctrine appeared inexpugnable; but it now seemed to me, on + retrospect, that my teachers had occupied themselves but superficially + with the means of forming and keeping up these salutary associations. They + seemed to have trusted altogether to the old familiar instruments, praise + and blame, reward and punishment. Now, I did not doubt that by these + means, begun early, and applied unremittingly, intense associations of + pain and pleasure, especially of pain, might be created, and might produce + desires and aversions capable of lasting undiminished to the end of life. + But there must always be something artificial and casual in associations + thus produced. The pains and pleasures thus forcibly associated with + things, are not connected with them by any natural tie; and it is + therefore, I thought, essential to the durability of these associations, + that they should have become so intense and inveterate as to be + practically indissoluble, before the habitual exercise of the power of + analysis had commenced. For I now saw, or thought I saw, what I had always + before received with incredulity —that the habit of analysis has a + tendency to wear away the feelings: as indeed it has, when no other mental + habit is cultivated, and the analysing spirit remains without its natural + complements and correctives. The very excellence of analysis (I argued) is + that it tends to weaken and undermine whatever is the result of prejudice; + that it enables us mentally to separate ideas which have only casually + clung together: and no associations whatever could ultimately resist this + dissolving force, were it not that we owe to analysis our clearest + knowledge of the permanent sequences in nature; the real connexions + between Things, not dependent on our will and feelings; natural laws, by + virtue of which, in many cases, one thing is inseparable from another in + fact; which laws, in proportion as they are clearly perceived and + imaginatively realized, cause our ideas of things which are always joined + together in Nature, to cohere more and more closely in our thoughts. + Analytic habits may thus even strengthen the associations between causes + and effects, means and ends, but tend altogether to weaken those which + are, to speak familiarly, a <i>mere</i> matter of feeling. They are + therefore (I thought) favourable to prudence and clear- sightedness, but a + perpetual worm at the root both of the passions and of the virtues; and, + above all, fearfully undermine all desires, and all pleasures, which are + the effects of association, that is, according to the theory I held, all + except the purely physical and organic; of the entire insufficiency of + which to make life desirable, no one had a stronger conviction than I had. + These were the laws of human nature, by which, as it seemed to me, I had + been brought to my present state. All those to whom I looked up, were of + opinion that the pleasure of sympathy with human beings, and the feelings + which made the good of others, and especially of mankind on a large scale, + the object of existence, were the greatest and surest sources of + happiness. Of the truth of this I was convinced, but to know that a + feeling would make me happy if I had it, did not give me the feeling. My + education, I thought, had failed to create these feelings in sufficient + strength to resist the dissolving influence of analysis, while the whole + course of my intellectual cultivation had made precocious and premature + analysis the inveterate habit of my mind. I was thus, as I said to myself, + left stranded at the commencement of my voyage, with a well-equipped ship + and a rudder, but no sail; without any real desire for the ends which I + had been so carefully fitted out to work for: no delight in virtue, or the + general good, but also just as little in anything else. The fountains of + vanity and ambition seemed to have dried up within me, as completely as + those of benevolence. I had had (as I reflected) some gratification of + vanity at too early an age: I had obtained some distinction and felt + myself of some importance, before the desire of distinction and of + importance had grown into a passion: and little as it was which I had + attained, yet having been attained too early, like all pleasures enjoyed + too soon, it had made me <i>blasi</i> and indifferent to the pursuit. Thus + neither selfish nor unselfish pleasures were pleasures to me. And there + seemed no power in nature sufficient to begin the formation of my + character anew, and create, in a mind now irretrievably analytic, fresh + associations of pleasure with any of the objects of human desire. + </p> + <p> + These were the thoughts which mingled with the dry, heavy dejection of the + melancholy winter of 1826-7. During this time I was not incapable of my + usual occupations. I went on with them mechanically, by the mere force of + habit. I had been so drilled in a certain sort of mental exercise, that I + could still carry it on when all the spirit had gone out of it. I even + composed and spoke several speeches at the debating society, how, or with + what degree of success, I know not. Of four years' continual speaking at + that society, this is the only year of which I remember next to nothing. + Two lines of Coleridge, in whom alone of all writers I have found a true + description of what I felt, were often in my thoughts, not at this time + (for I had never read them), but in a later period of the same mental + malady: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Work without hope draws nectar in a sieve, + And hope without an object cannot live." +</pre> + <p> + In all probability my case was by no means so peculiar as I fancied it, + and I doubt not that many others have passed through a similar state; but + the idiosyncrasies of my education had given to the general phenomenon a + special character, which made it seem the natural effect of causes that it + was hardly possible for time to remove. I frequently asked myself, if I + could, or if I was bound to go on living, when life must be passed in this + manner. I generally answered to myself that I did not think I could + possibly bear it beyond a year. When, however, not more than half that + duration of time had elapsed, a small ray of light broke in upon my gloom. + I was reading, accidentally, Marmontel's <i>Mimoires</i>, and came to the + passage which relates his father's death, the distressed position of the + family, and the sudden inspiration by which he, then a mere boy, felt and + made them feel that he would be everything to them—would supply the + place of all that they had lost. A vivid conception of the scene and its + feelings came over me, and I was moved to tears. From this moment my + burden grew lighter. The oppression of the thought that all feeling was + dead within me was gone. I was no longer hopeless: I was not a stock or a + stone. I had still, it seemed, some of the material out of which all worth + of character, and all capacity for happiness, are made. Relieved from my + ever-present sense of irremediable wretchedness, I gradually found that + the ordinary incidents of life could again give me some pleasure; that I + could again find enjoyment, not intense, but sufficient for cheerfulness, + in sunshine and sky, in books, in conversation, in public affairs; and + that there was, once more, excitement, though of a moderate, kind, in + exerting myself for my opinions, and for the public good. Thus the cloud + gradually drew off, and I again enjoyed life; and though I had several + relapses, some of which lasted many months, I never again was as miserable + as I had been. + </p> + <p> + The experiences of this period had two very marked effects on my opinions + and character. In the first place, they led me to adopt a theory of life, + very unlike that on which I had before I acted, and having much in common + with what at that time I certainly had never heard of, the anti-self- + consciousness theory of Carlyle. I never, indeed, wavered in the + conviction that happiness is the test of all rules of conduct, and the end + of life. But I now thought that this end was only to be attained by not + making it the direct end. Those only are happy (I thought) who have their + minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; on the + happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or + pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming thus + at something else, they find happiness by the way. The enjoyments of life + (such was now my theory) are sufficient to make it a pleasant thing, when + they are taken <i>en passant</i>, without being made a principal object. + Once make them so, and they are immediately felt to be insufficient. They + will not bear a scrutinizing examination. Ask yourself whether you are + happy, and you cease to be so. The only chance is to treat, not happiness, + but some end external to it, as the purpose of life. Let your + self-consciousness, your scrutiny, your self-interrogation, exhaust + themselves on that; and if otherwise fortunately circumstanced you will + inhale happiness with the air you breathe, without dwelling on it or + thinking about it, without either forestalling it in imagination, or + putting it to flight by fatal questioning. This theory now became the + basis of my philosophy of life. And I still hold to it as the best theory + for all those who have but a moderate degree of sensibility and of + capacity I for enjoyment; that is, for the great majority of mankind. + </p> + <p> + The other important change which my opinions at this time underwent, was + that I, for the first time, gave its proper place, among the prime + necessities of human well-being, to the internal culture of the + individual. I ceased to attach almost exclusive importance to the ordering + of outward circumstances, and the training of the human being for + speculation and for action. + </p> + <p> + I had now learnt by experience that the passing susceptibilities needed to + be cultivated as well as the active capacities, and required to be + nourished and enriched as well as guided. I did not, for an instant, lose + sight of, or undervalue, that part of the truth which I had seen before; I + never turned recreant to intellectual culture, or ceased to consider the + power and practice of analysis as an essential condition both of + individual and of social improvement But 1 thought that it had + consequences which required to be corrected, by joining other kinds of + cultivation with it. The maintenance of a due balance among the faculties + now seemed to be of primary importance. The cultivation of the feelings + became one of the cardinal points in my ethical and philosophical creed. + And my thoughts and inclinations turned in an increasing degree towards + whatever seemed capable of being instrumental to that object. + </p> + <p> + I now began to find meaning in the things, which I had read or heard about + the importance of poetry and art as instruments of human culture. But it + was some time longer before I began to know this by personal experience. + The only one of the imaginative arts in which I had from childhood taken + great pleasure, was music; the best effect of which (and in this it + surpasses perhaps every other art) consists in exciting enthusiasm; in + winding up to a high pitch those feelings of an elevated kind which are + already in the character, but to which this excitement gives a glow and a + fervour, which, though transitory at its utmost height, is precious for + sustaining them at other times. This effect of music I had often + experienced; but, like all my pleasurable susceptibilities, it was + suspended during the gloomy period. I had sought relief again and again + from this quarter, but found none. After the tide had turned, and I was in + process of recovery, I had been helped forward by music, but in a much + less elevated manner. I at this time first became acquainted with Weber's + <i>Oberon</i>, and the extreme pleasure which I drew from its delicious + melodies did me good by showing me a source of pleasure to which I was as + susceptible as ever. The good, however, was much impaired by the thought + that the pleasure of music (as is quite true of such pleasure as this was, + that of mere tune) fades with familiarity, and requires either to be + revived by intermittence, or fed by continual novelty. And it is very + characteristic both of my then state, and of the general tone of my mind + at this period of my life, that I was seriously tormented by the thought + of the exhaustibility of musical combinations. The octave consists only of + five tones and two semi-tones, which can be put together in only a limited + number of ways, of which but a small proportion are beautiful: most of + these, it seemed to me, must have been already discovered, and there could + not be room for a long succession of Mozarts and Webers, to strike out, as + these had done, entirely new and surpassingly rich veins of musical + beauty. This source of anxiety may, perhaps, be thought to resemble that + of the philosophers of Laputa, who feared lest the sun should be burnt + out. It was, however, connected with the best feature in my character, and + the only good point to be found in my very unromantic and in no way + honourable distress. For though my dejection, honestly looked at, could + not be called other than egotistical, produced by the ruin, as I thought, + of my fabric of happiness, yet the destiny of mankind in general was ever + in my thoughts, and could not be separated from my own. I felt that the + flaw in my life, must be a flaw in life itself; that the question was, + whether, if the reformers of society and government could succeed in their + objects, and every person in the community were free and in a state of + physical comfort, the pleasures of life, being no longer kept up by + struggle and privation, would cease to be pleasures. And I felt that + unless I could see my way to some better hope than this for human + happiness in general, my dejection must continue; but that if I could see + such an outlet, I should then look on the world with pleasure; content, as + far as I was myself concerned, with any fair share of the general lot. + </p> + <p> + This state of my thoughts and feelings made the fact of my reading + Wordsworth for the first time (in the autumn of 1828), an important event + of my life. I took up the collection of his poems from curiosity, with no + expectation of mental relief from it, though I had before resorted to + poetry with that hope. In the worst period of my depression, I had read + through the whole of Byron (then new to me), to try whether a poet, whose + peculiar department was supposed to be that of the intenser feelings, + could rouse any feeling in me. As might be expected, I got no good from + this reading, but the reverse. The poet's state of mind was too like my + own. His was the lament of a man who had worn out all pleasures, and who + seemed to think that life, to all who possess the good things of it, must + necessarily be the vapid, uninteresting thing which I found it. His Harold + and Manfred had the same burden on them which I had; and I was not in a + frame of mind to desire any comfort from the vehement sensual passion of + his Giaours, or the sullenness of his Laras. But while Byron was exactly + what did not suit my condition, Wordsworth was exactly what did. I had + looked into the <i>Excursion</i> two or three years before, and found + little in it; and I should probably have found as little, had I read it at + this time. But the miscellaneous poems, in the two-volume edition of 1815 + (to which little of value was added in the latter part of the author's + life), proved to be the precise thing for my mental wants at that + particular juncture. + </p> + <p> + In the first place, these poems addressed themselves powerfully to one of + the strongest of my pleasurable susceptibilities, the love of rural + objects and natural scenery; to which I had been indebted not only for + much of the pleasure of my life, but quite recently for relief from one of + my longest relapses into depression. In this power of rural beauty over + me, there was a foundation laid for taking pleasure in Wordsworth's + poetry; the more so, as his scenery lies mostly among mountains, which, + owing to my early Pyrenean excursion, were my ideal of natural beauty. But + Wordsworth would never have had any great effect on me, if he had merely + placed before me beautiful pictures of natural scenery. Scott does this + still better than Wordsworth, and a very second-rate landscape does it + more effectually than any poet. What made Wordsworth's poems a medicine + for my state of mind, was that they expressed, not mere outward beauty, + but states of feeling, and of thought coloured by feeling, under the + excitement of beauty. They seemed to be the very culture of the feelings, + which I was in quest of. In them I seemed to draw from a source of inward + joy, of sympathetic and imaginative pleasure, which could be shared in by + all human beings; which had no connection with struggle or imperfection, + but would be made richer by every improvement in the physical or social + condition of mankind. From them I seemed to learn what would be the + perennial sources of happiness, when all the greater evils of life shall + have been removed. And I felt myself at once better and happier as I came + under their influence. There have certainly been, even in our own age, + greater poets than Wordsworth; but poetry of deeper and loftier feeling + could not have done for me at that time what his did. I needed to be made + to feel that there was real, permanent happiness in tranquil + contemplation. Wordsworth taught me this, not only without turning away + from, but with a greatly increased interest in, the common feelings and + common destiny of human beings. And the delight which these poems gave me, + proved that with culture of this sort, there was nothing to dread from the + most confirmed habit of analysis. At the conclusion of the Poems came the + famous Ode, falsely called Platonic, "Intimations of Immortality": in + which, along with more than his usual sweetness of melody and rhythm, and + along with the two passages of grand imagery but bad philosophy so often + quoted, I found that he too had had similar experience to mine; that he + also had felt that the first freshness of youthful enjoyment of life was + not lasting; but that he had sought for compensation, and found it, in the + way in which he was now teaching me to find it. The result was that I + gradually, but completely, emerged from my habitual depression, and was + never again subject to it. I long continued to value Wordsworth less + according to his intrinsic merits, than by the measure of what he had done + for me. Compared with the greatest poets, he may be said to be the poet of + unpoetical natures, possessed of quiet and contemplative tastes. But + unpoetical natures are precisely those which require poetic cultivation. + This cultivation Wordsworth is much more fitted to give, than poets who + are intrinsically far more poets than he. + </p> + <p> + It so fell out that the merits of Wordsworth were the occasion of my first + public declaration of my new way of thinking, and separation from those of + my habitual companions who had not undergone a similar change. The person + with whom at that time I was most in the habit of comparing notes on such + subjects was Roebuck, and I induced him to read Wordsworth, in whom he + also at first seemed to find much to admire: but I, like most + Wordsworthians, threw myself into strong antagonism to Byron, both as a + poet and as to his influence on the character. Roebuck, all whose + instincts were those of action and struggle, had, on the contrary, a + strong relish and great admiration of Byron, whose writings he regarded as + the poetry of human life, while Wordsworth's, according to him, was that + of flowers and butterflies. We agreed to have the fight out at our + Debating Society, where we accordingly discussed for two evenings the + comparative merits of Byron and Wordsworth, propounding and illustrating + by long recitations our respective theories of poetry: Sterling also, in a + brilliant speech, putting forward his particular theory. This was the + first debate on any weighty subject in which Roebuck and I had been on + opposite sides. The schism between us widened from this time more and + more, though we continued for some years longer to be companions. In the + beginning, our chief divergence related to the cultivation of the + feelings. Roebuck was in many respects very different from the vulgar + notion of a Benthamite or Utilitarian. He was a lover of poetry and of + most of the fine arts. He took great pleasure in music, in dramatic + performances, especially in painting, and himself drew and designed + landscapes with great facility and beauty. But he never could be made to + see that these things have any value as aids in the formation of + character. Personally, instead of being, as Benthamites are supposed to + be, void of feeling, he had very quick and strong sensibilities. But, like + most Englishmen who have feelings, he found his feelings stand very much + in his way. He was much more susceptible to the painful sympathies than to + the pleasurable, and, looking for his happiness elsewhere, he wished that + his feelings should be deadened rather than quickened. And, in truth, the + English character, and English social circumstances, make it so seldom + possible to derive happiness from the exercise of the sympathies, that it + is not wonderful if they count for little in an Englishman's scheme of + life. In most other countries the paramount importance of the sympathies + as a constituent of individual happiness is an axiom, taken for granted + rather than needing any formal statement; but most English thinkers always + seem to regard them as necessary evils, required for keeping men's actions + benevolent and compassionate. Roebuck was, or appeared to be, this kind of + Englishman. He saw little good in any cultivation of the feelings, and + none at all in cultivating them through the imagination, which he thought + was only cultivating illusions. It was in vain I urged on him that the + imaginative emotion which an idea, when vividly conceived, excites in us, + is not an illusion but a fact, as real as any of the other qualities of + objects; and, far from implying anything erroneous and delusive in our + mental apprehension of the object, is quite consistent with the most + accurate knowledge and most perfect practical recognition of all its + physical and intellectual laws and relations. The intensest feeling of the + beauty of a cloud lighted by the setting sun, is no hindrance to my + knowing that the cloud is vapour of water, subject to all the laws of + vapours in a state of suspension; and I am just as likely to allow for, + and act on, these physical laws whenever there is occasion to do so, as if + I had been incapable of perceiving any distinction between beauty and + ugliness. + </p> + <p> + While my intimacy with Roebuck diminished, I fell more and more into + friendly intercourse with our Coleridgian adversaries in the Society, + Frederick Maurice and John Sterling, both subsequently so well known, the + former by his writings, the latter through the biographies by Hare and + Carlyle. Of these two friends, Maurice was the thinker, Sterling the + orator, and impassioned expositor of thoughts which, at this period, were + almost entirely formed for him by Maurice. + </p> + <p> + With Maurice I had for some time been acquainted through Eyton Tooke, who + had known him at Cambridge, and although my discussions with him were + almost always disputes, I had carried away from them much that helped to + build up my new fabric of thought, in the same way as I was deriving much + from Coleridge, and from the writings of Goethe and other German authors + which I read during these years. I have so deep a respect for Maurice's + character and purposes, as well as for his great mental gifts, that it is + with some unwillingness I say anything which may seem to place him on a + less high eminence than I would gladly be able to accord to him. But I + have always thought that there was more intellectual power wasted in + Maurice than in any other of my contemporaries. Few of them certainly have + had so much to waste. Great powers of generalization, rare ingenuity and + subtlety, and a wide perception of important and unobvious truths, served + him not for putting something better into the place of the worthless heap + of received opinions on the great subjects of thought, but for proving to + his own mind that the Church of England had known everything from the + first, and that all the truths on the ground of which the Church and + orthodoxy have been attacked (many of which he saw as clearly as anyone) + are not only consistent with the Thirty-nine Articles, but are better + understood and expressed in those Articles than by anyone who rejects + them. I have never been able to find any other explanation of this, than + by attributing it to that timidity of conscience, combined with original + sensitiveness of temperament, which has so often driven highly gifted men + into Romanism, from the need of a firmer support than they can find in the + independent conclusions of their own judgment. Any more vulgar kind of + timidity no one who knew Maurice would ever think of imputing to him, even + if he had not given public proof of his freedom from it, by his ultimate + collision with some of the opinions commonly regarded as orthodox, and by + his noble origination of the Christian Socialist movement. The nearest + parallel to him, in a moral point of view, is Coleridge, to whom, in + merely intellectual power, apart from poetical genius, I think him + decidedly superior. At this time, however, he might be described as a + disciple of Coleridge, and Sterling as a disciple of Coleridge and of him. + The modifications which were taking place in my old opinions gave me some + points of contact with them; and both Maurice and Sterling were of + considerable use to my development. With Sterling I soon became very + intimate, and was more attached to him than I have ever been to any other + man. He was indeed one of the most lovable of men. His frank, cordial, + affectionate, and expansive character; a love of truth alike conspicuous + in the highest things and the humblest; a generous and ardent nature, + which threw itself with impetuosity into the opinions it adopted, but was + as eager to do justice to the doctrines and the men it was opposed to, as + to make war on what it thought their errors; and an equal devotion to the + two cardinal points of Liberty and Duty, formed a combination of qualities + as attractive to me as to all others who knew him as well as I did. With + his open mind and heart, he found no difficulty in joining hands with me + across the gulf which as yet divided our opinions. He told me how he and + others had looked upon me (from hearsay information), as a "made" or + manufactured man, having had a certain impress of opinion stamped on me + which I could only reproduce; and what a change took place in his feelings + when he found, in the discussion on Wordsworth and Byron, that Wordsworth, + and all which that name implies, "belonged" to me as much as to him and + his friends. The failure of his health soon scattered all his plans of + life, and compelled him to live at a distance from London, so that after + the first year or two of our acquaintance, we only saw each other at + distant intervals. But (as he said himself in one of his letters to + Carlyle) when we did meet it was like brothers. Though he was never, in + the full sense of the word, a profound thinker, his openness of mind, and + the moral courage in which he greatly surpassed Maurice, made him outgrow + the dominion which Maurice and Coleridge had once exercised over his + intellect; though he retained to the last a great but discriminating + admiration of both, and towards Maurice a warm affection. Except in that + short and transitory phasis of his life, during which he made the mistake + of becoming a clergyman, his mind was ever progressive: and the advance he + always seemed to have made when I saw him after an interval, made me apply + to him what Goethe said of Schiller, "er hatte eine furchtliche + Fortschreitung." He and I started from intellectual points almost as wide + apart as the poles, but the distance between us was always diminishing: if + I made steps towards some of his opinions, he, during his short life, was + constantly approximating more and more to several of mine: and if he had + lived, and had health and vigour to prosecute his ever assiduous + self-culture, there is no knowing how much further this spontaneous + assimilation might have proceeded. + </p> + <p> + After 1829 I withdrew from attendance on the Debating Society. I had had + enough of speech-making, and was glad to carry on my private studies and + meditations without any immediate call for outward assertion of their + results. I found the fabric of my old and taught opinions giving way in + many fresh places, and I never allowed it to fall to pieces, but was + incessantly occupied in weaving it anew. I never, in the course of my + transition, was content to remain, for ever so short a time, confused and + unsettled. When I had taken in any new idea, I could not rest till I had + adjusted its relation to my old opinions, and ascertained exactly how far + its effect ought to extend in modifying or superseding them. + </p> + <p> + The conflicts which I had so often had to sustain in defending the theory + of government laid down in Bentham's and my father's writings, and the + acquaintance I had obtained with other schools of political thinking, made + me aware of many things which that doctrine, professing to be a theory of + government in general, ought to have made room for, and did not. But these + things, as yet, remained with me rather as corrections to be made in + applying the theory to practice, than as defects in the theory. I felt + that politics could not be a science of specific experience; and that the + accusations against the Benthamic theory of <i>being</i> a theory, of + proceeding <i>a priori</i> by way of general reasoning, instead of + Baconian experiment, showed complete ignorance of Bacon's principles, and + of the necessary conditions of experimental investigation. At this + juncture appeared in the <i>Edinburgh Review</i>, Macaulay's famous attack + on my father's <i>Essay on Government</i>. This gave me much to think + about. I saw that Macaulay's conception of the logic of politics was + erroneous; that he stood up for the empirical mode of treating political + phenomena, against the philosophical; that even in physical science his + notions of philosophizing might have recognised Kepler, but would have + excluded Newton and Laplace. But I could not help feeling, that though the + tone was unbecoming (an error for which the writer, at a later period, + made the most ample and honourable amends), there was truth in several of + his strictures on my father's treatment of the subject; that my father's + premises were really too narrow, and included but a small number of the + general truths on which, in politics, the important consequences depend. + Identity of interest between the governing body and the community at large + is not, in any practical sense which can be attached to it, the only thing + on which good government depends; neither can this identity of interest be + secured by the mere conditions of election. I was not at all satisfied + with the mode in which my father met the criticisms of Macaulay. He did + not, as I thought he ought to have done, justify himself by saying, "I was + not writing a scientific treatise on politics, I was writing an argument + for parliamentary reform." He treated Macaulay's argument as simply + irrational; an attack upon the reasoning faculty; an example of the saying + of Hobbes, that When reason is against a man, a man will be against + reason. This made me think that there was really something more + fundamentally erroneous in my father's conception of philosophical method, + as applicable to politics, than I had hitherto supposed there was. But I + did not at first see clearly what the error might be. At last it flashed + upon me all at once in the course of other studies. In the early part of + 1830 I had begun to put on paper the ideas on Logic (chiefly on the + distinctions among Terms, and the import of Propositions) which had been + suggested and in part worked out in the morning conversations already + spoken of. Having secured these thoughts from being lost, I pushed on into + the other parts of the subject, to try whether I could do anything further + towards clearing up the theory of logic generally. I grappled at once with + the problem of Induction, postponing that of Reasoning, on the ground that + it is necessary to obtain premises before we can reason from them. Now, + Induction is mainly a process for finding the causes of effects: and in + attempting to fathom the mode of tracing causes and effects in physical + science, I soon saw that in the more perfect of the sciences, we ascend, + by generalization from particulars, to the tendencies of causes considered + singly, and then reason downward from those separate tendencies, to the + effect of the same causes when combined. I then asked myself, what is the + ultimate analysis of this deductive process; the common theory of the + syllogism evidently throwing no light upon it. My practice (learnt from + Hobbes and my father) being to study abstract principles by means of the + best concrete instances I could find, the Composition of Forces, in + dynamics, occurred to me as the most complete example of the logical + process I was investigating. On examining, accordingly, what the mind does + when it applies the principle of the Composition of Forces, I found that + it performs a simple act of addition. It adds the separate effect of the + one force to the separate effect of the other, and puts down the sum of + these separate effects as the joint effect. But is this a legitimate + process? In dynamics, and in all the mathematical branches of physics, it + is; but in some other cases, as in chemistry, it is not; and I then + recollected that something not unlike this was pointed out as one of the + distinctions between chemical and mechanical phenomena, in the + introduction to that favourite of my boyhood, Thompson's <i>System of + Chemistry</i>. This distinction at once made my mind clear as to what was + perplexing me in respect to the philosophy of politics. I now saw, that a + science is either deductive or experimental, according as, in the province + it deals with, the effects of causes when conjoined, are or are not the + sums of the effects which the same causes produce when separate. It + followed that politics must be a deductive science. It thus appeared, that + both Macaulay and my father were wrong; the one in assimilating the method + of philosophizing in politics to the purely experimental method of + chemistry; while the other, though right in adopting a deductive method, + had made a wrong selection of one, having taken as the type of deduction, + not the appropriate process, that of the deductive branches of natural + philosophy, but the inappropriate one of pure geometry, which, not being a + science of causation at all, does not require or admit of any summing-up + of effects. A foundation was thus laid in my thoughts for the principal + chapters of what I afterwards published on the Logic of the Moral + Sciences; and my new position in respect to my old political creed, now + became perfectly definite. + </p> + <p> + If I am asked, what system of political philosophy I substituted for that + which, as a philosophy, I had abandoned, I answer, No system: only a + conviction that the true system was something much more complex and + many-sided than I had previously had any idea of, and that its office was + to supply, not a set of model institutions, but principles from which the + institutions suitable to any given circumstances might be deduced. The + influences of European, that is to say, Continental, thought, and + especially those of the reaction of the nineteenth century against the + eighteenth, were now streaming in upon me. They came from various + quarters: from the writings of Coleridge, which I had begun to read with + interest even before the change in my opinions; from the Coleridgians with + whom I was in personal intercourse; from what I had read of Goethe; from + Carlyle's early articles in the <i>Edinburgh</i> and Foreign Reviews, + though for a long time I saw nothing in these (as my father saw nothing in + them to the last) but insane rhapsody. From these sources, and from the + acquaintance I kept up with the French literature of the time, I derived, + among other ideas which the general turning upside down of the opinions of + European thinkers had brought uppermost, these in particular: That the + human mind has a certain order of possible progress, in which some things + must precede others, an order which governments and public instructors can + modify to some, but not to an unlimited extent: that all questions of + political institutions are relative, not absolute, and that different + stages of human progress not only <i>will</i> have, but <i>ought</i> to + have, different institutions: that government is always either in the + hands, or passing into the hands, of whatever is the strongest power in + society, and that what this power is, does not depend on institutions, but + institutions on it: that any general theory or philosophy of politics + supposes a previous theory of human progress, and that this is the same + thing with a philosophy of history. These opinions, true in the main, were + held in an exaggerated and violent manner by the thinkers with whom I was + now most accustomed to compare notes, and who, as usual with a reaction, + ignored that half of the truth which the thinkers of the eighteenth + century saw. But though, at one period of my progress, I for some time + undervalued that great century, I never joined in the reaction against it, + but kept as firm hold of one side of the truth as I took of the other. The + fight between the nineteenth century and the eighteenth always reminded me + of the battle about the shield, one side of which was white and the other + black. I marvelled at the blind rage with which the combatants rushed + against one another. I applied to them, and to Coleridge himself, many of + Coleridge's sayings about half truths; and Goethe's device, + "many-sidedness," was one which I would most willingly, at this period, + have taken for mine. + </p> + <p> + The writers by whom, more than by any others, a new mode of political + thinking was brought home to me, were those of the St. Simonian school in + France. In 1829 and 1830 I became acquainted with some of their writings. + They were then only in the earlier stages of their speculations. They had + not yet dressed out their philosophy as a religion, nor had they organized + their scheme of Socialism. They were just beginning to question the + principle of hereditary property. I was by no means prepared to go with + them even this length; but I was greatly struck with the connected view + which they for the first time presented to me, of the natural order of + human progress; and especially with their division of all history into + organic periods and critical periods. During the organic periods (they + said) mankind accept with firm conviction some positive creed, claiming + jurisdiction over all their actions, and containing more or less of truth + and adaptation to the needs of humanity. Under its influence they make all + the progress compatible with the creed, and finally outgrow it; when a + period follows of criticism and negation, in which mankind lose their old + convictions without acquiring any new ones, of a general or authoritative + character, except the conviction that the old are false. The period of + Greek and Roman polytheism, so long as really believed in by instructed + Greeks and Romans, was an organic period, succeeded by the critical or + sceptical period of the Greek philosophers. Another organic period came in + with Christianity. The corresponding critical period began with the + Reformation, has lasted ever since, still lasts, and cannot altogether + cease until a new organic period has been inaugurated by the triumph of a + yet more advanced creed. These ideas, I knew, were not peculiar to the St. + Simonians; on the contrary, they were the general property of Europe, or + at least of Germany and France, but they had never, to my knowledge, been + so completely systematized as by these writers, nor the distinguishing + characteristics of a critical period so powerfully set forth; for I was + not then acquainted with Fichte's <i>Lectures on the Characteristics of + the Present Age</i>. In Carlyle, indeed, I found bitter denunciations of + an "age of unbelief," and of the present age as such, which I, like most + people at that time, supposed to be passionate protests in favour of the + old modes of belief. But all that was true in these denunciations, I + thought that I found more calmly and philosophically stated by the St. + Simonians. Among their publications, too, there was one which seemed to me + far superior to the rest; in which the general idea was matured into + something much more definite and instructive. This was an early work of + Auguste Comte, who then called himself, and even announced himself in the + title-page as, a pupil of Saint Simon. In this tract M. Comte first put + forth the doctrine, which he afterwards so copiously illustrated, of the + natural succession of three stages in every department of human knowledge: + first, the theological, next the metaphysical, and lastly, the positive + stage; and contended, that social science must be subject to the same law; + that the feudal and Catholic system was the concluding phasis of the + theological state of the social science, Protestantism the commencement, + and the doctrines of the French Revolution the consummation, of the + metaphysical; and that its positive state was yet to come. This doctrine + harmonized well with my existing notions, to which it seemed to give a + scientific shape. I already regarded the methods of physical science as + the proper models for political. But the chief benefit which I derived at + this time from the trains of thought suggested by the St. Simonians and by + Comte, was, that I obtained a clearer conception than ever before of the + peculiarities of an era of transition in opinion, and ceased to mistake + the moral and intellectual characteristics of such an era, for the normal + attributes of humanity. I looked forward, through the present age of loud + disputes but generally weak convictions, to a future which shall unite the + best qualities of the critical with the best qualities of the organic + periods; unchecked liberty of thought, unbounded freedom of individual + action in all modes not hurtful to others; but also, convictions as to + what is right and wrong, useful and pernicious, deeply engraven on the + feelings by early education and general unanimity of sentiment, and so + firmly grounded in reason and in the true exigencies of life, that they + shall not, like all former and present creeds, religious, ethical, and + political, require to be periodically thrown off and replaced by others. + </p> + <p> + M. Comte soon left the St. Simonians, and I lost sight of him and his + writings for a number of years. But the St. Simonians I continued to + cultivate. I was kept <i>au courant</i> of their progress by one of their + most enthusiastic disciples, M. Gustave d'Eichthal, who about that time + passed a considerable interval in England. I was introduced to their + chiefs, Bazard and Enfantin, in 1830; and as long as their public + teachings and proselytism continued, I read nearly everything they wrote. + Their criticisms on the common doctrines of Liberalism seemed to me full + of important truth; and it was partly by their writings that my eyes were + opened to the very limited and temporary value of the old political + economy, which assumes private property and inheritance as indefeasible + facts, and freedom of production and exchange as the <i>dernier mot</i> of + social improvement. The scheme gradually unfolded by the St. Simonians, + under which the labour and capital of society would be managed for the + general account of the community, every individual being required to take + a share of labour, either as thinker, teacher, artist, or producer, all + being classed according to their capacity, and remunerated according to + their work, appeared to me a far superior description of Socialism to + Owen's. Their aim seemed to me desirable and rational, however their means + might be inefficacious; and though I neither believed in the + practicability, nor in the beneficial operation of their social machinery, + I felt that the proclamation of such an ideal of human society could not + but tend to give a beneficial direction to the efforts of others to bring + society, as at present constituted, nearer to some ideal standard. I + honoured them most of all for what they have been most cried down for—the + boldness and freedom from prejudice with which they treated the subject of + the family, the most important of any, and needing more fundamental + alterations than remain to be made in any other great social institution, + but on which scarcely any reformer has the courage to touch. In + proclaiming the perfect equality of men and women, and an entirely new + order of things in regard to their relations with one another, the St. + Simonians, in common with Owen and Fourier, have entitled themselves to + the grateful remembrance of future generations. + </p> + <p> + In giving an account of this period of my life, I have only specified such + of my new impressions as appeared to me, both at the time and since, to be + a kind of turning points, marking a definite progress in my mode of + thought. But these few selected points give a very insufficient idea of + the quantity of thinking which I carried on respecting a host of subjects + during these years of transition. Much of this, it is true, consisted in + rediscovering things known to all the world, which I had previously + disbelieved or disregarded. But the rediscovery was to me a discovery, + giving me plenary possession of the truths, not as traditional platitudes, + but fresh from their source; and it seldom failed to place them in some + new light, by which they were reconciled with, and seemed to confirm while + they modified, the truths less generally known which lay in my early + opinions, and in no essential part of which I at any time wavered. All my + new thinking only laid the foundation of these more deeply and strongly, + while it often removed misapprehension and confusion of ideas which had + perverted their effect. For example, during the later returns of my + dejection, the doctrine of what is called Philosophical Necessity weighed + on my existence like an incubus. I felt as if I was scientifically proved + to be the helpless slave of antecedent circumstances; as if my character + and that of all others had been formed for us by agencies beyond our + control, and was wholly out of our own power. I often said to myself, what + a relief it would be if I could disbelieve the doctrine of the formation + of character by circumstances; and remembering the wish of Fox respecting + the doctrine of resistance to governments, that it might never be + forgotten by kings, nor remembered by subjects, I said that it would be a + blessing if the doctrine of necessity could be believed by all <i>quoad</i> + the characters of others, and disbelieved in regard to their own. I + pondered painfully on the subject till gradually I saw light through it. I + perceived, that the word Necessity, as a name for the doctrine of Cause + and Effect applied to human action, carried with it a misleading + association; and that this association was the operative force in the + depressing and paralysing influence which I had experienced: I saw that + though our character is formed by circumstances, our own desires can do + much to shape those circumstances; and that what is really inspiriting and + ennobling in the doctrine of freewill is the conviction that we have real + power over the formation of our own character; that our will, by + influencing some of our circumstances, can modify our future habits or + capabilities of willing. All this was entirely consistent with the + doctrine of circumstances, or rather, was that doctrine itself, properly + understood. From that time I drew, in my own mind, a clear distinction + between the doctrine of circumstances and Fatalism; discarding altogether + the misleading word Necessity. The theory, which I now for the first time + rightly apprehended, ceased altogether to be discouraging; and, besides + the relief to my spirits, I no longer suffered under the burden—so + heavy to one who aims at being a reformer in opinions—of thinking + one doctrine true and the contrary doctrine morally beneficial. The train + of thought which had extricated me from this dilemma seemed to me, in + after years, fitted to render a similar service to others; and it now + forms the chapter on Liberty and Necessity in the concluding Book of my <i>System + of Logic</i>. + </p> + <p> + Again, in politics, though I no longer accepted the doctrine of the <i>Essay + on Government</i> as a scientific theory; though I ceased to consider + representative democracy as an absolute principle, and regarded it as a + question of time, place, and circumstance; though I now looked upon the + choice of political institutions as a moral and educational question more + than one of material interests, thinking that it ought to be decided + mainly by the consideration, what great improvement in life and culture + stands next in order for the people concerned, as the condition of their + further progress, and what institutions are most likely to promote that; + nevertheless, this change in the premises of my political philosophy did + not alter my practical political creed as to the requirements of my own + time and country. I was as much as ever a Radical and Democrat for Europe, + and especially for England. I thought the predominance of the aristocratic + classes, the noble and the rich, in the English constitution, an evil + worth any struggle to get rid of; not on account of taxes, or any such + comparatively small inconvenience, but as the great demoralizing agency in + the country. Demoralizing, first, because it made the conduct of the + Government an example of gross public immorality, through the predominance + of private over public interests in the State, and the abuse of the powers + of legislation for the advantage of classes. Secondly, and in a still + greater degree, because the respect of the multitude always attaching + itself principally to that which, in the existing state of society, is the + chief passport to power; and under English institutions, riches, + hereditary or acquired, being the almost exclusive source of political + importance; riches, and the signs of riches, were almost the only things + really respected, and the life of the people was mainly devoted to the + pursuit of them. I thought, that while the higher and richer classes held + the power of government, the instruction and improvement of the mass of + the people were contrary to the self-interest of those classes, because + tending to render the people more powerful for throwing off the yoke: but + if the democracy obtained a large, and perhaps the principal share, in the + governing power, it would become the interest of the opulent classes to + promote their education, in order to ward off really mischievous errors, + and especially those which would lead to unjust violations of property. On + these grounds I was not only as ardent as ever for democratic + institutions, but earnestly hoped that Owenite, St. Simonian, and all + other anti-property doctrines might spread widely among the poorer + classes; not that I thought those doctrines true, or desired that they + should be acted on, but in order that the higher classes might be made to + see that they had more to fear from the poor when uneducated than when + educated. + </p> + <p> + In this frame of mind the French Revolution of July found me: It roused my + utmost enthusiasm, and gave me, as it were, a new existence. I went at + once to Paris, was introduced to Lafayette, and laid the groundwork of the + intercourse I afterwards kept up with several of the active chiefs of the + extreme popular party. After my return I entered warmly, as a writer, into + the political discussions of the time; which soon became still more + exciting, by the coming in of Lord Grey's Ministry, and the proposing of + the Reform Bill. For the next few years I wrote copiously in newspapers. + It was about this time that Fonblanque, who had for some time written the + political articles in the <i>Examiner</i>, became the proprietor and + editor of the paper. It is not forgotten with what verve and talent, as + well as fine wit, he carried it on, during the whole period of Lord Grey's + Ministry, and what importance it assumed as the principal representative, + in the newspaper press, of Radical opinions. The distinguishing character + of the paper was given to it entirely by his own articles, which formed at + least three-fourths of all the original writing contained in it: but of + the remaining fourth I contributed during those years a much larger share + than anyone else. I wrote nearly all the articles on French subjects, + including a weekly summary of French politics, often extending to + considerable length; together with many leading articles on general + politics, commercial and financial legislation, and any miscellaneous + subjects in which I felt interested, and which were suitable to the paper, + including occasional reviews of books. Mere newspaper articles on the + occurrences or questions of the moment, gave no opportunity for the + development of any general mode of thought; but I attempted, in the + beginning of 1831, to embody in a series of articles, headed "The Spirit + of the Age," some of my new opinions, and especially to point out in the + character of the present age, the anomalies and evils characteristic of + the transition from a system of opinions which had worn out, to another + only in process of being formed. These articles, were, I fancy, lumbering + in style, and not lively or striking enough to be, at any time, acceptable + to newspaper readers; but had they been far more attractive, still, at + that particular moment, when great political changes were impending, and + engrossing all minds, these discussions were ill-timed, and missed fire + altogether. The only effect which I know to have been produced by them, + was that Carlyle, then living in a secluded part of Scotland, read them in + his solitude, and, saying to himself (as he afterwards told me) "Here is a + new Mystic," inquired on coming to London that autumn respecting their + authorship; an inquiry which was the immediate cause of our becoming + personally acquainted. + </p> + <p> + I have already mentioned Carlyle's earlier writings as one of the channels + through which I received the influences which enlarged my early narrow + creed; but I do not think that those writings, by themselves, would ever + have had any effect on my opinions. What truths they contained, though of + the very kind which I was already receiving from other quarters, were + presented in a form and vesture less suited than any other to give them + access to a mind trained as mine had been. They seemed a haze of poetry + and German metaphysics, in which almost the only clear thing was a strong + animosity to most of the opinions which were the basis of my mode of + thought; religious scepticism, utilitarianism, the doctrine of + circumstances, and the attaching any importance to democracy, logic, or + political economy. Instead of my having been taught anything, in the first + instance, by Carlyle, it was only in proportion as I came to see the same + truths through media more suited to my mental constitution, that I + recognised them in his writings. Then, indeed, the wonderful power with + which he put them forth made a deep impression upon me, and I was during a + long period one of his most fervent admirers; but the good his writings + did me, was not as philosophy to instruct, but as poetry to animate. Even + at the time when our acquaintance commenced, I was not sufficiently + advanced in my new modes of thought to appreciate him fully; a proof of + which is, that on his showing me the manuscript of <i>Sartor Resartus</i>, + his best and greatest work, which he just then finished, I made little of + it; though when it came out about two years afterwards in <i>Fraser's + Magazine</i> I read it with enthusiastic admiration and the keenest + delight. I did not seek and cultivate Carlyle less on account of the + fundamental differences in our philosophy. He soon found out that I was + not "another mystic," and when for the sake of my own integrity I wrote to + him a distinct profession of all those of my opinions which I knew he most + disliked, he replied that the chief difference between us was that I "was + as yet consciously nothing of a mystic." I do not know at what period he + gave up the expectation that I was destined to become one; but though both + his and my opinions underwent in subsequent years considerable changes, we + never approached much nearer to each other's modes of thought than we were + in the first years of our acquaintance. I did not, however, deem myself a + competent judge of Carlyle. I felt that he was a poet, and that I was not; + that he was a man of intuition, which I was not; and that as such, he not + only saw many things long before me, which I could only, when they were + pointed out to me, hobble after and prove, but that it was highly probable + he could see many things which were not visible to me even after they were + pointed out. I knew that I could not see round him, and could never be + certain that I saw over him; and I never presumed to judge him with any + definiteness, until he was interpreted to me by one greatly the superior + of us both—who was more a poet than he, and more a thinker than I—whose + own mind and nature included his, and infinitely more. + </p> + <p> + Among the persons of intellect whom I had known of old, the one with whom + I had now most points of agreement was the elder Austin. I have mentioned + that he always set himself in opposition to our early sectarianism; and + latterly he had, like myself, come under new influences. Having been + appointed Professor of Jurisprudence in the London University (now + University College), he had lived for some time at Bonn to study for his + Lectures; and the influences of German literature and of the German + character and state of society had made a very perceptible change in his + views of life. His personal disposition was much softened; he was less + militant and polemic; his tastes had begun to turn themselves towards the + poetic and contemplative. He attached much less importance than formerly + to outward changes; unless accompanied by a better cultivation of the + inward nature. He had a strong distaste for the general meanness of + English life, the absence of enlarged thoughts and unselfish desires, the + low objects on which the faculties of all classes of the English are + intent. Even the kind of public interests which Englishmen care for, he + held in very little esteem. He thought that there was more practical good + government, and (which is true enough) infinitely more care for the + education and mental improvement of all ranks of the people, under the + Prussian monarchy, than under the English representative government: and + he held, with the French <i>Economistes</i>, that the real security for + good government is un <i>peuple iclairi</i>, which is not always the fruit + of popular institutions, and which, if it could be had without them, would + do their work better than they. Though he approved of the Reform Bill, he + predicted, what in fact occurred, that it would not produce the great + immediate improvements in government which many expected from it. The men, + he said, who could do these great things did not exist in the country. + There were many points of sympathy between him and me, both in the new + opinions he had adopted and in the old ones which he retained. Like me, he + never ceased to be a utilitarian, and, with all his love for the Germans + and enjoyment of their literature, never became in the smallest degree + reconciled to the innate-principle metaphysics. He cultivated more and + more a kind of German religion, a religion of poetry and feeling with + little, if anything, of positive dogma; while in politics (and here it was + that I most differed with him) he acquired an indifference, bordering on + contempt, for the progress of popular institutions: though he rejoiced in + that of Socialism, as the most effectual means of compelling the powerful + classes to educate the people, and to impress on them the only real means + of permanently improving their material condition, a limitation of their + numbers. Neither was he, at this time, fundamentally opposed to Socialism + in itself as an ultimate result of improvement. He professed great + disrespect for what he called "the universal principles of human nature of + the political economists," and insisted on the evidence which history and + daily experience afford of the "extraordinary pliability of human nature" + (a phrase which I have somewhere borrowed from him); nor did he think it + possible to set any positive bounds to the moral capabilities which might + unfold themselves in mankind, under an enlightened direction of social and + educational influences. Whether he retained all these opinions to the end + of life I know not. Certainly the modes of thinking of his later years, + and especially of his last publication, were much more Tory in their + general character than those which he held at this time. + </p> + <p> + My father's tone of thought and feeling, I now felt myself at a great + distance from: greater, indeed, than a full and calm explanation and + reconsideration on both sides, might have shown to exist in reality. But + my father was not one with whom calm and full explanations on fundamental + points of doctrine could be expected, at least with one whom he might + consider as, in some sort, a deserter from his standard. Fortunately we + were almost always in strong agreement on the political questions of the + day, which engrossed a large part of his interest and of his conversation. + On those matters of opinion on which we differed, we talked little. He + knew that the habit of thinking for myself, which his mode of education + had fostered, sometimes led me to opinions different from his, and he + perceived from time to time that I did not always tell him <i>how</i> + different. I expected no good, but only pain to both of us, from + discussing our differences: and I never expressed them but when he gave + utterance to some opinion or feeling repugnant to mine, in a manner which + would have made it disingenuousness on my part to remain silent. + </p> + <p> + It remains to speak of what I wrote during these years, which, + independently of my contributions to newspapers, was considerable. In 1830 + and 1831 I wrote the five Essays since published under the title of <i>Essays + on some Unsettled Questions of political Economy</i>, almost as they now + stand, except that in 1833 I partially rewrote the fifth Essay. They were + written with no immediate purpose of publication; and when, some years + later, I offered them to a publisher, he declined them. They were only + printed in 1844, after the success of the <i>System of Logic</i>. I also + resumed my speculations on this last subject, and puzzled myself, like + others before me, with the great paradox of the discovery of new truths by + general reasoning. As to the fact, there could be no doubt. As little + could it be doubted, that all reasoning is resolvable into syllogisms, and + that in every syllogism the conclusion is actually contained and implied + in the premises. How, being so contained and implied, it could be new + truth, and how the theorems of geometry, so different in appearance from + the definitions and axioms, could be all contained in these, was a + difficulty which no, one, I thought, had sufficiently felt, and which, at + all events, no one had succeeded in clearing up. The explanations offered + by Whately and others, though they might give a temporary satisfaction, + always, in my mind, left a mist still hanging over the subject. At last, + when reading a second or third time the chapters on Reasoning in the + second volume of Dugald Stewart, interrogating myself on every point, and + following out, as far as I knew how, every topic of thought which the book + suggested, I came upon an idea of his respecting the use of axioms in + ratiocination, which I did not remember to have before noticed, but which + now, in meditating on it, seemed to me not only true of axioms, but of all + general propositions whatever, and to be the key of the whole perplexity. + From this germ grew the theory of the Syllogism propounded in the Second + Book of the <i>Logic</i>; which I immediately fixed by writing it out. And + now, with greatly increased hope of being able to produce a work on Logic, + of some originality and value, I proceeded to write the First Book, from + the rough and imperfect draft I had already made. What I now wrote became + the basis of that part of the subsequent Treatise; except that it did not + contain the Theory of Kinds, which was a later addition, suggested by + otherwise inextricable difficulties which met me in my first attempt to + work out the subject of some of the concluding chapters of the Third Book. + At the point which I had now reached I made a halt, which lasted five + years. I had come to the end of my tether; I could make nothing + satisfactory of Induction, at this time. I continued to read any book + which seemed to promise light on the subject, and appropriated, as well as + I could, the results; but for a long time I found nothing which seemed to + open to me any very important vein of meditation. + </p> + <p> + In 1832 I wrote several papers for the first series of <i>Tait's Magazine</i>, + and one for a quarterly periodical called the <i>Jurist</i>, which had + been founded, and for a short time carried on, by a set of friends, all + lawyers and law reformers, with several of whom I was acquainted. The + paper in question is the one on the rights and duties of the State + respecting Corporation and Church Property, now standing first among the + collected <i>Dissertations and Discussions</i>; where one of my articles + in <i>Tait</i>, "The Currency Juggle," also appears. In the whole mass of + what I wrote previous to these, there is nothing of sufficient permanent + value to justify reprinting. The paper in the <i>Jurist</i>, which I still + think a very complete discussion of the rights of the State over + Foundations, showed both sides of my opinions, asserting as firmly as I + should have done at any time, the doctrine that all endowments are + national property, which the government may and ought to control; but not, + as I should once have done, condemning endowments in themselves, and + proposing that they should be taken to pay off the national debt. On the + contrary, I urged strenuously the importance of a provision for education, + not dependent on the mere demand of the market, that is, on the knowledge + and discernment of average parents, but calculated to establish and keep + up a higher standard of instruction than is likely to be spontaneously + demanded by the buyers of the article. All these opinions have been + confirmed and strengthened by the whole of my subsequent reflections. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. + </h2> + <p> + COMMENCEMENT OF THE MOST VALUABLE FRIENDSHIP OF MY LIFE. MY FATHER'S + DEATH. WRITINGS AND OTHER PROCEEDINGS UP TO 1840. + </p> + <p> + It was the period of my mental progress which I have now reached that I + formed the friendship which has been the honour and chief blessing of my + existence, as well as the source of a great part of all that I have + attempted to do, or hope to effect hereafter, for human improvement. My + first introduction to the lady who, after a friendship of twenty years, + consented to become my wife, was in 1830, when I was in my twenty-fifth + and she in her twenty-third year. With her husband's family it was the + renewal of an old acquaintanceship. His grandfather lived in the next + house to my father's in Newington Green, and I had sometimes when a boy + been invited to play in the old gentleman's garden. He was a fine specimen + of the old Scotch puritan; stern, severe, and powerful, but very kind to + children, on whom such men make a lasting impression. Although it was + years after my introduction to Mrs. Taylor before my acquaintance with her + became at all intimate or confidential, I very soon felt her to be the + most admirable person I had ever known. It is not to be supposed that she + was, or that any one, at the age at which I first saw her, could be, all + that she afterwards became. Least of all could this be true of her, with + whom self-improvement, progress in the highest and in all senses, was a + law of her nature; a necessity equally from the ardour with which she + sought it, and from the spontaneous tendency of faculties which could not + receive an impression or an experience without making it the source or the + occasion of an accession of wisdom. Up to the time when I first saw her, + her rich and powerful nature had chiefly unfolded itself according to the + received type of feminine genius. To her outer circle she was a beauty and + a wit, with an air of natural distinction, felt by all who approached her: + to the inner, a woman of deep and strong feeling, of penetrating and + intuitive intelligence, and of an eminently meditative and poetic nature. + Married at an early age to a most upright, brave, and honourable man, of + liberal opinions and good education, but without the intellectual or + artistic tastes which would have made him a companion for her, though a + steady and affectionate friend, for whom she had true esteem and the + strongest affection through life, and whom she most deeply lamented when + dead; shut out by the social disabilities of women from any adequate + exercise of her highest faculties in action on the world without; her life + was one of inward meditation, varied by familiar intercourse with a small + circle of friends, of whom one only (long since deceased) was a person of + genius, or of capacities of feeling or intellect kindred with her own, but + all had more or less of alliance with her in sentiments and opinions. Into + this circle I had the good fortune to be admitted, and I soon perceived + that she possessed in combination, the qualities which in all other + persons whom I had known I had been only too happy to find singly. In her, + complete emancipation from every kind of superstition (including that + which attributes a pretended perfection to the order of nature and the + universe), and an earnest protest against many things which are still part + of the established constitution of society, resulted not from the hard + intellect, but from strength of noble and elevated feeling, and co-existed + with a highly reverential nature. In general spiritual characteristics, as + well as in temperament and organisation, I have often compared her, as she + was at this time, to Shelley: but in thought and intellect, Shelley, so + far as his powers were developed in his short life, was but a child + compared with what she ultimately became. Alike in the highest regions of + speculation and in the smaller practical concerns of daily life, her mind + was the same perfect instrument, piercing to the very heart and marrow of + the matter; always seizing the essential idea or principle. The same + exactness and rapidity of operation, pervading as it did her sensitive as + well as her mental faculties, would, with her gifts of feeling and + imagination, have fitted her to be a consummate artist, as her fiery and + tender soul and her vigorous eloquence would certainly have made her a + great orator, and her profound knowledge of human nature and discernment + and sagacity in practical life, would, in the times when such a <i>carrihre</i> + was open to women, have made her eminent among the rulers of mankind. Her + intellectual gifts did but minister to a moral character at once the + noblest and the best balanced which I have ever met with in life. Her + unselfishness was not that of a taught system of duties, but of a heart + which thoroughly identified itself with the feelings of others, and often + went to excess in consideration for them by imaginatively investing their + feelings with the intensity of its own. The passion of justice might have + been thought to be her strongest feeling, but for her boundless + generosity, and a lovingness ever ready to pour itself forth upon any or + all human beings who were capable of giving the smallest feeling in + return. The rest of her moral characteristics were such as naturally + accompany these qualities of mind and heart: the most genuine modesty + combined with the loftiest pride; a simplicity and sincerity which were + absolute, towards all who were fit to receive them; the utmost scorn of + whatever was mean and cowardly, and a burning indignation at everything + brutal or tyrannical, faithless or dishonourable in conduct and character, + while making the broadest distinction between <i>mala in se</i> and mere + <i>mala prohibita</i>—between acts giving evidence of intrinsic + badness in feeling and character, and those which are only violations of + conventions either good or bad, violations which, whether in themselves + right or wrong, are capable of being committed by persons in every other + respect lovable or admirable. + </p> + <p> + To be admitted into any degree of mental intercourse with a being of these + qualities, could not but have a most beneficial influence on my + development; though the effect was only gradual, and many years elapsed + before her mental progress and mine went forward in the complete + companionship they at last attained. The benefit I received was far + greater than any which I could hope to give; though to her, who had at + first reached her opinions by the moral intuition of a character of strong + feeling, there was doubtless help as well as encouragement to be derived + from one who had arrived at many of the same results by study and + reasoning: and in the rapidity of her intellectual growth, her mental + activity, which converted everything into knowledge, doubtless drew from + me, as it did from other sources, many of its materials. What I owe, even + intellectually, to her, is in its detail, almost infinite; of its general + character a few words will give some, though a very imperfect, idea. + </p> + <p> + With those who, like all the best and wisest of mankind, are dissatisfied + with human life as it is, and whose feelings are wholly identified with + its radical amendment, there are two main regions of thought. One is the + region of ultimate aims; the constituent elements of the highest + realizable ideal of human life. The other is that of the immediately + useful and practically attainable. In both these departments, I have + acquired more from her teaching, than from all other sources taken + together. And, to say truth, it is in these two extremes principally, that + real certainty lies. My own strength lay wholly in the uncertain and + slippery intermediate region, that of theory, or moral and political + science: respecting the conclusions of which, in any of the forms in which + I have received or originated them, whether as political economy, analytic + psychology, logic, philosophy of history, or anything else, it is not the + least of my intellectual obligations to her that I have derived from her a + wise scepticism, which, while it has not hindered me from following out + the honest exercise of my thinking faculties to whatever conclusions might + result from it, has put me on my guard against holding or announcing these + conclusions with a degree of confidence which the nature of such + speculations does not warrant, and has kept my mind not only open to + admit, but prompt to welcome and eager to seek, even on the questions on + which I have most meditated, any prospect of clearer perceptions and + better evidence. I have often received praise, which in my own right I + only partially deserve, for the greater practicality which is supposed to + be found in my writings, compared with those of most thinkers who have + been equally addicted to large generalizations. The writings in which this + quality has been observed, were not the work of one mind, but of the + fusion of two, one of them as pre-eminently practical in its judgments and + perceptions of things present, as it was high and bold in its + anticipations for a remote futurity. At the present period, however, this + influence was only one among many which were helping to shape the + character of my future development: and even after it became, I may truly + say, the presiding principle of my mental progress, it did not alter the + path, but only made me move forward more boldly, and, at the same time, + more cautiously, in the same course. The only actual revolution which has + ever taken place in my modes of thinking, was already complete. My new + tendencies had to be confirmed in some respects, moderated in others: but + the only substantial changes of opinion that were yet to come, related to + politics, and consisted, on one hand, in a greater approximation, so far + as regards the ultimate prospects of humanity, to a qualified Socialism, + and on the other, a shifting of my political ideal from pure democracy, as + commonly understood by its partisans, to the modified form of it, which is + set forth in my <i>Considerations on Representative Government</i>. + </p> + <p> + This last change, which took place very gradually, dates its commencement + from my reading, or rather study, of M. de Tocqueville's <i>Democracy in + America</i>, which fell into my hands immediately after its first + appearance. In that remarkable work, the excellences of democracy were + pointed out in a more conclusive, because a more specific manner than I + had ever known them to be, even by the most enthusiastic democrats; while + the specific dangers which beset democracy, considered as the government + of the numerical majority, were brought into equally strong light, and + subjected to a masterly analysis, not as reasons for resisting what the + author considered as an inevitable result of human progress, but as + indications of the weak points of popular government, the defences by + which it needs to be guarded, and the correctives which must be added to + it in order that while full play is given to its beneficial tendencies, + those which are of a different nature may be neutralized or mitigated. I + was now well prepared for speculations of this character, and from this + time onward my own thoughts moved more and more in the same channel, + though the consequent modifications in my practical political creed were + spread over many years, as would be shown by comparing my first review of + <i>Democracy in America</i>, written and published in 1835, with the one + in 1840 (reprinted in the <i>Dissertations</i>), and this last, with the + <i>Considerations on Representative Government</i>. + </p> + <p> + A collateral subject on which also I derived great benefit from the study + of Tocqueville, was the fundamental question of centralization. The + powerful philosophic analysis which he applied to American and to French + experience, led him to attach the utmost importance to the performance of + as much of the collective business of society, as can safely be so + performed, by the people themselves, without any intervention of the + executive government, either to supersede their agency, or to dictate the + manner of its exercise. He viewed this practical political activity of the + individual citizen, not only as one of the most effectual means of + training the social feelings and practical intelligence of the people, so + important in themselves and so indispensable to good government, but also + as the specific counteractive to some of the characteristic infirmities of + democracy, and a necessary protection against its degenerating into the + only despotism of which, in the modern world, there is real danger—the + absolute rule of the head of the executive over a congregation of isolated + individuals, all equals but all slaves. There was, indeed, no immediate + peril from this source on the British side of the channel, where + nine-tenths of the internal business which elsewhere devolves on the + government, was transacted by agencies independent of it; where + centralization was, and is, the subject not only of rational + disapprobation, but of unreasoning prejudice; where jealousy of Government + interference was a blind feeling preventing or resisting even the most + beneficial exertion of legislative authority to correct the abuses of what + pretends to be local self-government, but is, too often, selfish + mismanagement of local interests, by a jobbing and <i>borni</i> local + oligarchy. But the more certain the public were to go wrong on the side + opposed to centralization, the greater danger was there lest philosophic + reformers should fall into the contrary error, and overlook the mischiefs + of which they had been spared the painful experience. I was myself, at + this very time, actively engaged in defending important measures, such as + the great Poor Law Reform of 1834, against an irrational clamour grounded + on the anti-centralization prejudice: and had it not been for the lessons + of Tocqueville, I do not know that I might not, like many reformers before + me, have been hurried into the excess opposite to that, which, being the + one prevalent in my own country, it was generally my business to combat. + As it is, I have steered carefully between the two errors, and whether I + have or have not drawn the line between them exactly in the right place, I + have at least insisted with equal emphasis upon the evils on both sides, + and have made the means of reconciling the advantages of both, a subject + of serious study. + </p> + <p> + In the meanwhile had taken place the election of the first Reformed + Parliament, which included several of the most notable of my Radical + friends and acquaintances—Grote, Roebuck, Buller, Sir William + Molesworth, John and Edward Romilly, and several more; besides Warburton, + Strutt, and others, who were in parliament already. Those who thought + themselves, and were called by their friends, the philosophic Radicals, + had now, it seemed, a fair opportunity, in a more advantageous position + than they had ever before occupied, for showing what was in them; and I, + as well as my father, founded great hopes on them. These hopes were + destined to be disappointed. The men were honest, and faithful to their + opinions, as far as votes were concerned; often in spite of much + discouragement. When measures were proposed, flagrantly at variance with + their principles, such as the Irish Coercion Bill, or the Canada Coercion + in 1837, they came forward manfully, and braved any amount of hostility + and prejudice rather than desert the right. But on the whole they did very + little to promote any opinions; they had little enterprise, little + activity: they left the lead of the Radical portion of the House to the + old hands, to Hume and O'Connell. A partial exception must be made in + favour of one or two of the younger men; and in the case of Roebuck, it is + his title to permanent remembrance, that in the very first year during + which he sat in Parliament, he originated (or re-originated after the + unsuccessful attempt of Mr. Brougham) the parliamentary movement for + National Education; and that he was the first to commence, and for years + carried on almost alone, the contest for the self-government of the + Colonies. Nothing, on the whole equal to these two things, was done by any + other individual, even of those from whom most was expected. And now, on a + calm retrospect, I can perceive that the men were less in fault than we + supposed, and that we had expected too much from them. They were in + unfavourable circumstances. Their lot was cast in the ten years of + inevitable reaction, when, the Reform excitement being over, and the few + legislative improvements which the public really called for having been + rapidly effected, power gravitated back in its natural direction, to those + who were for keeping things as they were; when the public mind desired + rest, and was less disposed than at any other period since the Peace, to + let itself be moved by attempts to work up the Reform feeling into fresh + activity in favour of new things. It would have required a great political + leader, which no one is to be blamed for not being, to have effected + really great things by parliamentary discussion when the nation was in + this mood. My father and I had hoped that some competent leader might + arise; some man of philosophic attainments and popular talents, who could + have put heart into the many younger or less distinguished men that would + have been ready to join him—could have made them available, to the + extent of their talents, in bringing advanced ideas before the public—could + have used the House of Commons as a rostra or a teacher's chair for + instructing and impelling the public mind; and would either have forced + the Whigs to receive their measures from him, or have taken the lead of + the Reform party out of their hands. Such a leader there would have been, + if my father had been in Parliament. For want of such a man, the + instructed Radicals sank into a mere <i>Ctti Gauche</i> of the Whig party. + With a keen, and as I now think, an exaggerated sense of the possibilities + which were open to the Radicals if they made even ordinary exertion for + their opinions, I laboured from this time till 1839, both by personal + influence with some of them, and by writings, to put ideas into their + heads, and purpose into their hearts. I did some good with Charles Buller, + and some with Sir William Molesworth; both of whom did valuable service, + but were unhappily cut off almost in the beginning of their usefulness. On + the whole, however, my attempt was vain. To have had a chance of + succeeding in it, required a different position from mine. It was a task + only for one who, being himself in Parliament, could have mixed with the + Radical members in daily consultation, could himself have taken the + initiative, and instead of urging others to lead, could have summoned them + to follow. + </p> + <p> + What I could do by writing, I did. During the year 1833 I continued + working in the <i>Examiner</i> with Fonblanque who at that time was + zealous in keeping up the fight for Radicalism against the Whig ministry. + During the session of 1834 I wrote comments on passing events, of the + nature of newspaper articles (under the title "Notes on the Newspapers"), + in the <i>Monthly Repository</i>, a magazine conducted by Mr. Fox, well + known as a preacher and political orator, and subsequently as member of + parliament for Oldham; with whom I had lately become acquainted, and for + whose sake chiefly I wrote in his magazine. I contributed several other + articles to this periodical, the most considerable of which (on the theory + of Poetry), is reprinted in the "Dissertations." Altogether, the writings + (independently of those in newspapers) which I published from 1832 to + 1834, amount to a large volume. This, however, includes abstracts of + several of Plato's Dialogues, with introductory remarks, which, though not + published until 1834, had been written several years earlier; and which I + afterwards, on various occasions, found to have been read, and their + authorship known, by more people than were aware of anything else which I + had written, up to that time. To complete the tale of my writings at this + period, I may add that in 1833, at the request of Bulwer, who was just + then completing his <i>England and the English</i> (a work, at that time, + greatly in advance of the public mind), I wrote for him a critical account + of Bentham's philosophy, a small part of which he incorporated in his + text, and printed the rest (with an honourable acknowledgment), as an + appendix. In this, along with the favourable, a part also of the + unfavourable side of my estimation of Bentham's doctrines, considered as a + complete philosophy, was for the first time put into print. + </p> + <p> + But an opportunity soon offered, by which, as it seemed, I might have it + in my power to give more effectual aid, and at the same time, stimulus, to + the "philosophic Radical" party, than I had done hitherto. One of the + projects occasionally talked of between my father and me, and some of the + parliamentary and other Radicals who frequented his house, was the + foundation of a periodical organ of philosophic radicalism, to take the + place which the <i>Westminster Review</i> had been intended to fill: and + the scheme had gone so far as to bring under discussion the pecuniary + contributions which could be looked for, and the choice of an editor. + Nothing, however, came of it for some time: but in the summer of 1834 Sir + William Molesworth, himself a laborious student, and a precise and + metaphysical thinker, capable of aiding the cause by his pen as well as by + his purse, spontaneously proposed to establish a Review, provided I would + consent to be the real, if I could not be the ostensible, editor. Such a + proposal was not to be refused; and the Review was founded, at first under + the title of the <i>London Review</i>, and afterwards under that of the <i>London + and Westminster</i>, Molesworth having bought the <i>Westminster</i> from + its proprietor, General Thompson, and merged the two into one. In the + years between 1834 and 1840 the conduct of this Review occupied the + greater part of my spare time. In the beginning, it did not, as a whole, + by any means represent my opinions. I was under the necessity of conceding + much to my inevitable associates. The <i>Review</i> was established to be + the representative of the "philosophic Radicals," with most of whom I was + now at issue on many essential points, and among whom I could not even + claim to be the most important individual. My father's co-operation as a + writer we all deemed indispensable, and he wrote largely in it until + prevented by his last illness. The subjects of his articles, and the + strength and decision with which his opinions were expressed in them, made + the <i>Review</i> at first derive its tone and colouring from him much + more than from any of the other writers. I could not exercise editorial + control over his articles, and I was sometimes obliged to sacrifice to him + portions of my own. The old <i>Westminster Review</i> doctrines, but + little modified, thus formed the staple of the <i>Review</i>; but I hoped + by the side of these, to introduce other ideas and another tone, and to + obtain for my own shade of opinion a fair representation, along with those + of other members of the party. With this end chiefly in view, I made it + one of the peculiarities of the work that every article should bear an + initial, or some other signature, and be held to express the opinions + solely of the individual writer; the editor being only responsible for its + being worth publishing and not in conflict with the objects for which the + <i>Review</i> was set on foot. I had an opportunity of putting in practice + my scheme of conciliation between the old and the new "philosophic + radicalism," by the choice of a subject for my own first contribution. + Professor Sedgwick, a man of eminence in a particular walk of natural + science, but who should not have trespassed into philosophy, had lately + published his <i>Discourse on the Studies of Cambridge</i>, which had as + its most prominent feature an intemperate assault on analytic psychology + and utilitarian ethics, in the form of an attack on Locke and Paley. This + had excited great indignation in my father and others, which I thought it + fully deserved. And here, I imagined, was an opportunity of at the same + time repelling an unjust attack, and inserting into my defence of + Hartleianism and Utilitarianism a number of the opinions which constituted + my view of those subjects, as distinguished from that of my old + associates. In this I partially succeeded, though my relation to my father + would have made it painful to me in any case, and impossible in a Review + for which he wrote, to speak out my whole mind on the subject at this + time. + </p> + <p> + I am, however, inclined to think that my father was not so much opposed as + he seemed, to the modes of thought in which I believed myself to differ + from him; that he did injustice to his own opinions by the unconscious + exaggerations of an intellect emphatically polemical; and that when + thinking without an adversary in view, he was willing to make room for a + great portion of the truths he seemed to deny. I have frequently observed + that he made large allowance in practice for considerations which seemed + to have no place in his theory. His <i>Fragment on Mackintosh</i>, which + he wrote and published about this time, although I greatly admired some + parts of it, I read as a whole with more pain than pleasure; yet on + reading it again, long after, I found little in the opinions it contains, + but what I think in the main just; and I can even sympathize in his + disgust at the <i>verbiage</i> of Mackintosh, though his asperity towards + it went not only beyond what was judicious, but beyond what was even fair. + One thing, which I thought, at the time, of good augury, was the very + favourable reception he gave to Tocqueville's <i>Democracy in America</i>. + It is true, he said and thought much more about what Tocqueville said in + favour of democracy, than about what he said of its disadvantages. Still, + his high appreciation of a book which was at any rate an example of a mode + of treating the question of government almost the reverse of his—wholly + inductive and analytical, instead of purely ratiocinative—gave me + great encouragement. He also approved of an article which I published in + the first number following the junction of the two reviews, the essay + reprinted in the <i>Dissertations</i>, under the title "Civilization"; + into which I threw many of my new opinions, and criticised rather + emphatically the mental and moral tendencies of the time, on grounds and + in a manner which I certainly had not learnt from him. + </p> + <p> + All speculation, however, on the possible future developments of my + father's opinions, and on the probabilities of permanent co-operation + between him and me in the promulgation of our thoughts, was doomed to be + cut short. During the whole of 1835 his health had been declining: his + symptoms became unequivocally those of pulmonary consumption, and after + lingering to the last stage of debility, he died on the 23rd of June, + 1836. Until the last few days of his life there was no apparent abatement + of intellectual vigour; his interest in all things and persons that had + interested him through life was undiminished, nor did the approach of + death cause the smallest wavering (as in so strong and firm a mind it was + impossible that it should) in his convictions on the subject of religion. + His principal satisfaction, after he knew that his end was near, seemed to + be the thought of what he had done to make the world better than he found + it; and his chief regret in not living longer, that he had not had time to + do more. + </p> + <p> + His place is an eminent one in the literary, and even in the political + history of his country; and it is far from honourable to the generation + which has benefited by his worth, that he is so seldom mentioned, and, + compared with men far his inferiors, so little remembered. This is + probably to be ascribed mainly to two causes. In the first place, the + thought of him merges too much in the deservedly superior fame of Bentham. + Yet he was anything but Bentham's mere follower or disciple. Precisely + because he was himself one of the most original thinkers of his time, he + was one of the earliest to appreciate and adopt the most important mass of + original thought which had been produced by the generation preceding him. + His mind and Bentham's were essentially of different construction. He had + not all Bentham's high qualities, but neither had Bentham all his. It + would, indeed, be ridiculous to claim for him the praise of having + accomplished for mankind such splendid services as Bentham's. He did not + revolutionize, or rather create, one of the great departments of human + thought. But, leaving out of the reckoning all that portion of his labours + in which he benefited by what Bentham had done, and counting only what he + achieved in a province in which Bentham had done nothing, that of analytic + psychology, he will be known to posterity as one of the greatest names in + that most important branch of speculation, on which all the moral and + political sciences ultimately rest, and will mark one of the essential + stages in its progress. The other reason which has made his fame less than + he deserved, is that notwithstanding the great number of his opinions + which, partly through his own efforts, have now been generally adopted, + there was, on the whole, a marked opposition between his spirit and that + of the present time. As Brutus was called the last of the Romans, so was + he the last of the eighteenth century: he continued its tone of thought + and sentiment into the nineteenth (though not unmodified nor unimproved), + partaking neither in the good nor in the bad influences of the reaction + against the eighteenth century, which was the great characteristic of the + first half of the nineteenth. The eighteenth century was a great age, an + age of strong and brave men, and he was a fit companion for its strongest + and bravest. By his writings and his personal influence he was a great + centre of light to his generation. During his later years he was quite as + much the head and leader of the intellectual radicals in England, as + Voltaire was of the <i>philosophes</i> of France. It is only one of his + minor merits, that he was the originator of all sound statesmanship in + regard to the subject of his largest work, India. He wrote on no subject + which he did not enrich with valuable thought, and excepting the <i>Elements + of Political Economy</i>, a very useful book when first written, but which + has now for some time finished its work, it will be long before any of his + books will be wholly superseded, or will cease to be instructive reading + to students of their subjects. In the power of influencing by mere force + of mind and character, the convictions and purposes of others, and in the + strenuous exertion of that power to promote freedom and progress, he left, + as far as my knowledge extends, no equal among men and but one among + women. + </p> + <p> + Though acutely sensible of my own inferiority in the qualities by which he + acquired his personal ascendancy, I had now to try what it might be + possible for me to accomplish without him: and the <i>Review</i> was the + instrument on which I built my chief hopes of establishing a useful + influence over the liberal and democratic section of the public mind. + Deprived of my father's aid, I was also exempted from the restraints and + reticences by which that aid had been purchased. I did not feel that there + was any other radical writer or politician to whom I was bound to defer, + further than consisted with my own opinions: and having the complete + confidence of Molesworth, I resolved henceforth to give full scope to my + own opinions and modes of thought, and to open the <i>Review</i> widely to + all writers who were in sympathy with Progress as I understood it, even + though I should lose by it the support of my former associates. Carlyle, + consequently became from this time a frequent writer in the <i>Review</i>; + Sterling, soon after, an occasional one; and though each individual + article continued to be the expression of the private sentiments of its + writer, the general tone conformed in some tolerable degree to my + opinions. For the conduct of the <i>Review</i>, under, and in conjunction + with me, I associated with myself a young Scotchman of the name of + Robertson, who had some ability and information, much industry, and an + active scheming head, full of devices for making the <i>Review</i> more + saleable, and on whose capacities in that direction I founded a good deal + of hope: insomuch, that when Molesworth, in the beginning of 1837, became + tired of carrying on the <i>Review</i> at a loss, and desirous of getting + rid of it (he had done his part honourably, and at no small pecuniary + cost,) I, very imprudently for my own pecuniary interest, and very much + from reliance on Robertson's devices, determined to continue it at my own + risk, until his plans should have had a fair trial. The devices were good, + and I never had any reason to change my opinion of them. But I do not + believe that any devices would have made a radical and democratic review + defray its expenses, including a paid editor or sub-editor, and a liberal + payment to writers. I myself and several frequent contributors gave our + labour gratuitously, as we had done for Molesworth; but the paid + contributors continued to be remunerated on the usual scale of the <i>Edinburgh</i> + and <i>Quarterly Reviews</i>; and this could not be done from the proceeds + of the sale. + </p> + <p> + In the same year, 1837, and in the midst of these occupations, I resumed + the <i>Logic</i>. I had not touched my pen on the subject for five years, + having been stopped and brought to a halt on the threshold of Induction. I + had gradually discovered that what was mainly wanting, to overcome the + difficulties of that branch of the subject, was a comprehensive, and, at + the same time, accurate view of the whole circle of physical science, + which I feared it would take me a long course of study to acquire; since I + knew not of any book, or other guide, that would spread out before me the + generalities and processes of the sciences, and I apprehended that I + should have no choice but to extract them for myself, as I best could, + from the details. Happily for me, Dr. Whewell, early in this year, + published his <i>History of the Inductive Sciences</i>. I read it with + eagerness, and found in it a considerable approximation to what I wanted. + Much, if not most, of the philosophy of the work appeared open to + objection; but the materials were there, for my own thoughts to work upon: + and the author had given to those materials that first degree of + elaboration, which so greatly facilitates and abridges the subsequent + labour. I had now obtained what I had been waiting for. Under the impulse + given me by the thoughts excited by Dr. Whewell, I read again Sir J. + Herschel's <i>Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy</i>: and I was + able to measure the progress my mind had made, by the great help I now + found in this work—though I had read and even reviewed it several + years before with little profit. I now set myself vigorously to work out + the subject in thought and in writing. The time I bestowed on this had to + be stolen from occupations more urgent. I had just two months to spare, at + this period, in the intervals of writing for the <i>Review</i>. In these + two months I completed the first draft of about a third, the most + difficult third, of the book. What I had before written, I estimate at + another third, so that one-third remained. What I wrote at this time + consisted of the remainder of the doctrine of Reasoning (the theory of + Trains of Reasoning, and Demonstrative Science), and the greater part of + the Book on Induction. When this was done, I had, as it seemed to me, + untied all the really hard knots, and the completion of the book had + become only a question of time. Having got thus far, I had to leave off in + order to write two articles for the next number of the <i>Review</i>. When + these were written, I returned to the subject, and now for the first time + fell in with Comte's <i>Cours de Philosophie Positive</i>, or rather with + the two volumes of it which were all that had at that time been published. + My theory of Induction was substantially completed before I knew of + Comte's book; and it is perhaps well that I came to it by a different road + from his, since the consequence has been that my treatise contains, what + his certainly does not, a reduction of the inductive process to strict + rules and to a scientific test, such as the syllogism is for + ratiocination. Comte is always precise and profound on the method of + investigation, but he does not even attempt any exact definition of the + conditions of proof: and his writings show that he never attained a just + conception of them. This, however, was specifically the problem, which, in + treating of Induction, I had proposed to myself. Nevertheless, I gained + much from Comte, with which to enrich my chapters in the subsequent + rewriting: and his book was of essential service to me in some of the + parts which still remained to be thought out. As his subsequent volumes + successively made their appearance, I read them with avidity, but, when he + reached the subject of Social Science, with varying feelings. The fourth + volume disappointed me: it contained those of his opinions on social + subjects with which I most disagree. But the fifth, containing the + connected view of history, rekindled all my enthusiasm; which the sixth + (or concluding) volume did not materially abate. In a merely logical point + of view, the only leading conception for which I am indebted to him is + that of the Inverse Deductive Method, as the one chiefly applicable to the + complicated subjects of History and Statistics: a process differing from + the more common form of the deductive method in this—that instead of + arriving at its conclusions by general reasoning, and verifying them by + specific experience (as is the natural order in the deductive branches of + physical science), it obtains its generalizations by a collation of + specific experience, and verifies them by ascertaining whether they are + such as would follow from known general principles. This was an idea + entirely new to me when I found it in Comte: and but for him I might not + soon (if ever) have arrived at it. + </p> + <p> + I had been long an ardent admirer of Comte's writings before I had any + communication with himself; nor did I ever, to the last, see him in the + body. But for some years we were frequent correspondents, until our + correspondence became controversial, and our zeal cooled. I was the first + to slacken correspondence; he was the first to drop it. I found, and he + probably found likewise, that I could do no good to his mind, and that all + the good he could do to mine, he did by his books. This would never have + led to discontinuance of intercourse, if the differences between us had + been on matters of simple doctrine. But they were chiefly on those points + of opinion which blended in both of us with our strongest feelings, and + determined the entire direction of our aspirations. I had fully agreed + with him when he maintained that the mass of mankind, including even their + rulers in all the practical departments of life, must, from the necessity + of the case, accept most of their opinions on political and social + matters, as they do on physical, from the authority of those who have + bestowed more study on those subjects than they generally have it in their + power to do. This lesson had been strongly impressed on me by the early + work of Comte, to which I have adverted. And there was nothing in his + great Treatise which I admired more than his remarkable exposition of the + benefits which the nations of modern Europe have historically derived from + the separation, during the Middle Ages, of temporal and spiritual power, + and the distinct organization of the latter. I agreed with him that the + moral and intellectual ascendancy, once exercised by priests, must in time + pass into the hands of philosophers, and will naturally do so when they + become sufficiently unanimous, and in other respects worthy to possess it. + But when he exaggerated this line of thought into a practical system, in + which philosophers were to be organized into a kind of corporate + hierarchy, invested with almost the same spiritual supremacy (though + without any secular power) once possessed by the Catholic Church; when I + found him relying on this spiritual authority as the only security for + good government, the sole bulwark against practical oppression, and + expecting that by it a system of despotism in the state and despotism in + the family would be rendered innocuous and beneficial; it is not + surprising, that while as logicians we were nearly at one, as sociologists + we could travel together no further. M. Comte lived to carry out these + doctrines to their extremest consequences, by planning, in his last work, + the <i>Systhme de Politique Positive</i>, the completest system of + spiritual and temporal despotism which ever yet emanated from a human + brain, unless possibly that of Ignatius Loyola: a system by which the yoke + of general opinion, wielded by an organized body of spiritual teachers and + rulers, would be made supreme over every action, and as far as is in human + possibility, every thought, of every member of the community, as well in + the things which regard only himself, as in those which concern the + interests of others. It is but just to say that this work is a + considerable improvement, in many points of feeling, over Comte's previous + writings on the same subjects: but as an accession to social philosophy, + the only value it seems to me to possess, consists in putting an end to + the notion that no effectual moral authority can be maintained over + society without the aid of religious belief; for Comte's work recognises + no religion except that of Humanity, yet it leaves an irresistible + conviction that any moral beliefs concurred in by the community generally + may be brought to bear upon the whole conduct and lives of its individual + members, with an energy and potency truly alarming to think of. The book + stands a monumental warning to thinkers on society and politics, of what + happens when once men lose sight, in their speculations, of the value of + Liberty and of Individuality. + </p> + <p> + To return to myself. The <i>Review</i> engrossed, for some time longer, + nearly all the time I could devote to authorship, or to thinking with + authorship in view. The articles from the <i>London and Westminster Review</i> + which are reprinted in the <i>Dissertations</i>, are scarcely a fourth + part of those I wrote. In the conduct of the <i>Review</i> I had two + principal objects. One was to free philosophic radicalism from the + reproach of sectarian Benthamism. I desired, while retaining the precision + of expression, the definiteness of meaning, the contempt of declamatory + phrases and vague generalities, which were so honourably characteristic + both of Bentham and of my father, to give a wider basis and a more free + and genial character to Radical speculations; to show that there was a + Radical philosophy, better and more complete than Bentham's, while + recognizing and incorporating all of Bentham's which is permanently + valuable. In this first object I, to a certain extent, succeeded. The + other thing I attempted, was to stir up the educated Radicals, in and out + of Parliament, to exertion, and induce them to make themselves, what I + thought by using the proper means they might become —a powerful + party capable of taking the government of the country, or at least of + dictating the terms on which they should share it with the Whigs. This + attempt was from the first chimerical: partly because the time was + unpropitious, the Reform fervour being in its period of ebb, and the Tory + influences powerfully rallying; but still more, because, as Austin so + truly said, "the country did not contain the men." Among the Radicals in + Parliament there were several qualified to be useful members of an + enlightened Radical party, but none capable of forming and leading such a + party. The exhortations I addressed to them found no response. One + occasion did present itself when there seemed to be room for a bold and + successful stroke for Radicalism. Lord Durham had left the ministry, by + reason, as was thought, of their not being sufficiently Liberal; he + afterwards accepted from them the task of ascertaining and removing the + causes of the Canadian rebellion; he had shown a disposition to surround + himself at the outset with Radical advisers; one of his earliest measures, + a good measure both in intention and in effect, having been disapproved + and reversed by the Government at home, he had resigned his post, and + placed himself openly in a position of quarrel with the Ministers. Here + was a possible chief for a Radical party in the person of a man of + importance, who was hated by the Tories and had just been injured by the + Whigs. Any one who had the most elementary notions of party tactics, must + have attempted to make something of such an opportunity. Lord Durham was + bitterly attacked from all sides, inveighed against by enemies, given up + by timid friends; while those who would willingly have defended him did + not know what to say. He appeared to be returning a defeated and + discredited man. I had followed the Canadian events from the beginning; I + had been one of the prompters of his prompters; his policy was almost + exactly what mine would have been, and I was in a position to defend it. I + wrote and published a manifesto in the <i>Review</i>, in which I took the + very highest ground in his behalf, claiming for him not mere acquittal, + but praise and honour. Instantly a number of other writers took up the + tone: I believe there was a portion of truth in what Lord Durham, soon + after, with polite exaggeration, said to me—that to this article + might be ascribed the almost triumphal reception which he met with on his + arrival in England. I believe it to have been the word in season, which, + at a critical moment, does much to decide the result; the touch which + determines whether a stone, set in motion at the top of an eminence, shall + roll down on one side or on the other. All hopes connected with Lord + Durham as a politician soon vanished; but with regard to Canadian, and + generally to colonial policy, the cause was gained: Lord Durham's report, + written by Charles Buller, partly under the inspiration of Wakefield, + began a new era; its recommendations, extending to complete internal + self-government, were in full operation in Canada within two or three + years, and have been since extended to nearly all the other colonies, of + European race, which have any claim to the character of important + communities. And I may say that in successfully upholding the reputation + of Lord Durham and his advisers at the most important moment, I + contributed materially to this result. + </p> + <p> + One other case occurred during my conduct of the <i>Review</i>, which + similarly illustrated the effect of taking a prompt initiative. I believe + that the early success and reputation of Carlyle's <i>French Revolution</i>, + were considerably accelerated by what I wrote about it in the <i>Review</i>. + Immediately on its publication, and before the commonplace critics, all + whose rules and modes of judgment it set at defiance, had time to + pre-occupy the public with their disapproval of it, I wrote and published + a review of the book, hailing it as one of those productions of genius + which are above all rules, and are a law to themselves. Neither in this + case nor in that of Lord Durham do I ascribe the impression, which I think + was produced by what I wrote, to any particular merit of execution: + indeed, in at least one of the cases (the article on Carlyle) I do not + think the execution was good. And in both instances, I am persuaded that + anybody, in a position to be read, who had expressed the same opinion at + the same precise time, and had made any tolerable statement of the just + grounds for it, would have produced the same effect. But, after the + complete failure of my hopes of putting a new life into Radical politics + by means of the <i>Review</i>, I am glad to look back on these two + instances of success in an honest attempt to do mediate service to things + and persons that deserved it. After the last hope of the formation of a + Radical party had disappeared, it was time for me to stop the heavy + expenditure of time and money which the <i>Review</i> cost me. It had to + some extent answered my personal purpose as a vehicle for my opinions. It + had enabled me to express in print much of my altered mode of thought, and + to separate myself in a marked manner from the narrower Benthamism of my + early writings. This was done by the general tone of all I wrote, + including various purely literary articles, but especially by the two + papers (reprinted in the <i>Dissertations</i>) which attempted a + philosophical estimate of Bentham and of Coleridge. In the first of these, + while doing full justice to the merits of Bentham, I pointed out what I + thought the errors and deficiencies of his philosophy. The substance of + this criticism <i>I</i> still think perfectly just; but I have sometimes + doubted whether it was right to publish it at that time. I have often felt + that Bentham's philosophy, as an instrument of progress, has been to some + extent discredited before it had done its work, and that to lend a hand + towards lowering its reputation was doing more harm than service to + improvement. Now, however, when a counter-reaction appears to be setting + in towards what is good in Benthamism, I can look with more satisfaction + on this criticism of its defects, especially as I have myself balanced it + by vindications of the fundamental principles of Bentham's philosophy, + which are reprinted along with it in the same collection. In the essay on + Coleridge I attempted to characterize the European reaction against the + negative philosophy of the eighteenth century: and here, if the effect + only of this one paper were to be considered, I might be thought to have + erred by giving undue prominence to the favourable side, as I had done in + the case of Bentham to the unfavourable. In both cases, the impetus with + which I had detached myself from what was untenable in the doctrines of + Bentham and of the eighteenth century, may have carried me, though in + appearance rather than in reality, too far on the contrary side. But as + far as relates to the article on Coleridge, my defence is, that I was + writing for Radicals and Liberals, and it was my business to dwell most on + that, in writers of a different school, from the knowledge of which they + might derive most improvement. + </p> + <p> + The number of the <i>Review</i> which contained the paper on Coleridge, + was the last which was published during my proprietorship. In the spring + of 1840 I made over the <i>Review</i> to Mr. Hickson, who had been a + frequent and very useful unpaid contributor under my management: only + stipulating that the change should be marked by a resumption of the old + name, that of <i>Westminster Review</i>. Under that name Mr. Hickson + conducted it for ten years, on the plan of dividing among contributors + only the net proceeds of the <i>Review</i> giving his own labour as writer + and editor gratuitously. Under the difficulty in obtaining writers, which + arose from this low scale of payment, it is highly creditable to him that + he was able to maintain, in some tolerable degree, the character of the <i>Review</i> + as an organ of radicalism and progress. I did not cease altogether to + write for the <i>Review</i>, but continued to send it occasional + contributions, not, however, exclusively; for the greater circulation of + the <i>Edinburgh Review</i> induced me from this time to offer articles to + it also when I had anything to say for which it appeared to be a suitable + vehicle. And the concluding volumes of <i>Democracy in America</i>, having + just then come out, I inaugurated myself as a contributor to the <i>Edinburgh</i>, + by the article on that work, which heads the second volume of the <i>Dissertations</i>. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. + </h2> + <h3> + GENERAL VIEW OF THE REMAINDER OF MY LIFE. + </h3> + <p> + From this time, what is worth relating of my life will come into a very + small compass; for I have no further mental changes to tell of, but only, + as I hope, a continued mental progress; which does not admit of a + consecutive history, and the results of which, if real, will be best found + in my writings. I shall, therefore, greatly abridge the chronicle of my + subsequent years. + </p> + <p> + The first use I made of the leisure which I gained by disconnecting myself + from the <i>Review</i>, was to finish the <i>Logic</i>. In July and + August, 1838, I had found an interval in which to execute what was still + undone of the original draft of the Third Book. In working out the logical + theory of those laws of nature which are not laws of Causation, nor + corollaries from such laws, I was led to recognize kinds as realities in + nature, and not mere distinctions for convenience; a light which I had not + obtained when the First Book was written, and which made it necessary for + me to modify and enlarge several chapters of that Book. The Book on + Language and Classification, and the chapter on the Classification of + Fallacies, were drafted in the autumn of the same year; the remainder of + the work, in the summer and autumn of 1840. From April following to the + end of 1841, my spare time was devoted to a complete rewriting of the book + from its commencement. It is in this way that all my books have been + composed. They were always written at least twice over; a first draft of + the entire work was completed to the very end of the subject, then the + whole begun again <i>de novo</i>; but incorporating, in the second + writing, all sentences and parts of sentences of the old draft, which + appeared as suitable to my purpose as anything which I could write in lieu + of them. I have found great advantages in this system of double redaction. + It combines, better than any other mode of composition, the freshness and + vigour of the first conception, with the superior precision and + completeness resulting from prolonged thought. In my own case, moreover, I + have found that the patience necessary for a careful elaboration of the + details of composition and expression, costs much less effort after the + entire subject has been once gone through, and the substance of all that I + find to say has in some manner, however imperfect, been got upon paper. + The only thing which I am careful, in the first draft, to make as perfect + as I am able, is the arrangement. If that is bad, the whole thread on + which the ideas string themselves becomes twisted; thoughts placed in a + wrong connection are not expounded in a manner that suits the right, and a + first draft with this original vice is next to useless as a foundation for + the final treatment. + </p> + <p> + During the re-writing of the <i>Logic</i>, Dr. Whewell's <i>Philosophy of + the Inductive Sciences</i> made its appearance; a circumstance fortunate + for me, as it gave me what I greatly desired, a full treatment of the + subject by an antagonist, and enabled me to present my ideas with greater + clearness and emphasis as well as fuller and more varied development, in + defending them against definite objections, or confronting them distinctly + with an opposite theory. The controversies with Dr. Whewell, as well as + much matter derived from Comte, were first introduced into the book in the + course of the re-writing. + </p> + <p> + At the end of 1841, the book being ready for the press, I offered it to + Murray, who kept it until too late for publication that season, and then + refused it, for reasons which could just as well have been given at first. + But I have had no cause to regret a rejection which led to my offering it + to Mr. Parker, by whom it was published in the spring of 1843. My original + expectations of success were extremely limited. Archbishop Whately had, + indeed, rehabilitated the name of Logic, and the study of the forms, + rules, and fallacies of Ratiocination; and Dr. Whewell's writings had + begun to excite an interest in the other part of my subject, the theory of + Induction. A treatise, however, on a matter so abstract, could not be + expected to be popular; it could only be a book for students, and students + on such subjects were not only (at least in England) few, but addicted + chiefly to the opposite school of metaphysics, the ontological and "innate + principles" school. I therefore did not expect that the book would have + many readers, or approvers; and looked for little practical effect from + it, save that of keeping the tradition unbroken of what I thought a better + philosophy. What hopes I had of exciting any immediate attention, were + mainly grounded on the polemical propensities of Dr Whewell; who, I + thought, from observation of his conduct in other cases, would probably do + something to bring the book into notice, by replying, and that promptly, + to the attack on his opinions. He did reply but not till 1850, just in + time for me to answer him in the third edition. How the book came to have, + for a work of the kind, so much success, and what sort of persons compose + the bulk of those who have bought, I will not venture to say read, it, I + have never thoroughly understood. But taken in conjunction with the many + proofs which have since been given of a revival of speculation, + speculation too of a free kind, in many quarters, and above all (where at + one time I should have least expected it) in the Universities, the fact + becomes partially intelligible. I have never indulged the illusion that + the book had made any considerable impression on philosophical opinion. + The German, or <i>a priori</i> view of human knowledge, and of the knowing + faculties, is likely for some time longer (though it may be hoped in a + diminishing degree) to predominate among those who occupy themselves with + such inquiries, both here and on the Continent. But the "System of Logic" + supplies what was much wanted, a text-book of the opposite doctrine—that + which derives all knowledge from experience, and all moral and + intellectual qualities principally from the direction given to the + associations. I make as humble an estimate as anybody of what either an + analysis of logical processes, or any possible canons of evidence, can do + by themselves towards guiding or rectifying the operations of the + understanding. Combined with other requisites, I certainly do think them + of great use; but whatever may be the practical value of a true philosophy + of these matters, it is hardly possible to exaggerate the mischiefs of a + false one. The notion that truths external to the mind may be known by + intuition or consciousness, independently of observation and experience, + is, I am persuaded, in these times, the great intellectual support of + false doctrines and bad institutions. By the aid of this theory, every + inveterate belief and every intense feeling, of which the origin is not + remembered, is enabled to dispense with the obligation of justifying + itself by reason, and is erected into its own all-sufficient voucher and + justification. There never was such an instrument devised for consecrating + all deep-seated prejudices. And the chief strength of this false + philosophy in morals, politics, and religion, lies in the appeal which it + is accustomed to make to the evidence of mathematics and of the cognate + branches of physical science. To expel it from these, is to drive it from + its stronghold: and because this had never been effectually done, the + intuitive school, even after what my father had written in his <i>Analysis + of the Mind</i>, had in appearance, and as far as published writings were + concerned, on the whole the best of the argument. In attempting to clear + up the real nature of the evidence of mathematical and physical truths, + the <i>System of Logic</i> met the intuitive philosophers on ground on + which they had previously been deemed unassailable; and gave its own + explanation, from experience and association, of that peculiar character + of what are called necessary truths, which is adduced as proof that their + evidence must come from a deeper source than experience. Whether this has + been done effectually, is still <i>sub judice</i>; and even then, to + deprive a mode of thought so strongly rooted in human prejudices and + partialities, of its mere speculative support, goes but a very little way + towards overcoming it; but though only a step, it is a quite indispensable + one; for since, after all, prejudice can only be successfully combated by + philosophy, no way can really be made against it permanently until it has + been shown not to have philosophy on its side. + </p> + <p> + Being now released from any active concern in temporary politics, and from + any literary occupation involving personal communication with contributors + and others, I was enabled to indulge the inclination, natural to thinking + persons when the age of boyish vanity is once past, for limiting my own + society to a very few persons. General society, as now carried on in + England, is so insipid an affair, even to the persons who make it what it + is, that it is kept up for any reason rather than the pleasure it affords. + All serious discussion on matters on which opinions differ, being + considered ill-bred, and the national deficiency in liveliness and + sociability having prevented the cultivation of the art of talking + agreeably on trifles, in which the French of the last century so much + excelled, the sole attraction of what is called society to those who are + not at the top of the tree, is the hope of being aided to climb a little + higher in it; while to those who are already at the top, it is chiefly a + compliance with custom, and with the supposed requirements of their + station. To a person of any but a very common order in thought or feeling, + such society, unless he has personal objects to serve by it, must be + supremely unattractive: and most people, in the present day, of any really + high class of intellect, make their contact with it so slight, and at such + long intervals, as to be almost considered as retiring from it altogether. + Those persons of any mental superiority who do otherwise, are, almost + without exception, greatly deteriorated by it. Not to mention loss of + time, the tone of their feelings is lowered: they become less in earnest + about those of their opinions respecting which they must remain silent in + the society they frequent: they come to look upon their most elevated + objects as unpractical, or, at least, too remote from realization to be + more than a vision, or a theory, and if, more fortunate than most, they + retain their higher principles unimpaired, yet with respect to the persons + and affairs of their own day they insensibly adopt the modes of feeling + and judgment in which they can hope for sympathy from the company they + keep. A person of high intellect should never go into unintellectual + society unless he can enter it as an apostle; yet he is the only person + with high objects who can safely enter it at all. Persons even of + intellectual aspirations had much better, if they can, make their habitual + associates of at least their equals, and, as far as possible, their + superiors, in knowledge, intellect, and elevation of sentiment. Moreover, + if the character is formed, and the mind made up, on the few cardinal + points of human opinion, agreement of conviction and feeling on these, has + been felt in all times to be an essential requisite of anything worthy the + name of friendship, in a really earnest mind. All these circumstances + united, made the number very small of those whose society, and still more + whose intimacy, I now voluntarily sought. + </p> + <p> + Among these, by far the principal was the incomparable friend of whom I + have already spoken. At this period she lived mostly with one young + daughter, in a quiet part of the country, and only occasionally in town, + with her first husband, Mr. Taylor. I visited her equally in both places; + and was greatly indebted to the strength of character which enabled her to + disregard the false interpretations liable to be put on the frequency of + my visits to her while living generally apart from Mr. Taylor, and on our + occasionally travelling together, though in all other respects our conduct + during those years gave not the slightest ground for any other supposition + than the true one, that our relation to each other at that time was one of + strong affection and confidential intimacy only. For though we did not + consider the ordinances of society binding on a subject so entirely + personal, we did feel bound that our conduct should be such as in no + degree to bring discredit on her husband, nor therefore on herself. + </p> + <p> + In this third period (as it may be termed) of my mental progress, which + now went hand in hand with hers, my opinions gained equally in breadth and + depth, I understood more things, and those which I had understood before I + now understood more thoroughly. I had now completely turned back from what + there had been of excess in my reaction against Benthamism. I had, at the + height of that reaction, certainly become much more indulgent to the + common opinions of society and the world, and more willing to be content + with seconding the superficial improvement which had begun to take place + in those common opinions, than became one whose convictions on so many + points, differed fundamentally from them. I was much more inclined, than I + can now approve, to put in abeyance the more decidedly heretical part of + my opinions, which I now look upon as almost the only ones, the assertion + of which tends in any way to regenerate society. But in addition to this, + our opinions were far <i>more</i> heretical than mine had been in the days + of my most extreme Benthamism. In those days I had seen little further + than the old school of political economists into the possibilities of + fundamental improvement in social arrangements. Private property, as now + understood, and inheritance, appeared to me, as to them, the <i>dernier + mot</i> of legislation: and I looked no further than to mitigating the + inequalities consequent on these institutions, by getting rid of + primogeniture and entails. The notion that it was possible to go further + than this in removing the injustice—for injustice it is, whether + admitting of a complete remedy or not—involved in the fact that some + are born to riches and the vast majority to poverty, I then reckoned + chimerical, and only hoped that by universal education, leading to + voluntary restraint on population, the portion of the poor might be made + more tolerable. In short, I was a democrat, but not the least of a + Socialist. We were now much less democrats than I had been, because so + long as education continues to be so wretchedly imperfect, we dreaded the + ignorance and especially the selfishness and brutality of the mass: but + our ideal of ultimate improvement went far beyond Democracy, and would + class us decidedly under the general designation of Socialists. While we + repudiated with the greatest energy that tyranny of society over the + individual which most Socialistic systems are supposed to involve, we yet + looked forward to a time when society will no longer be divided into the + idle and the industrious; when the rule that they who do not work shall + not eat, will be applied not to paupers only, but impartially to all; when + the division of the produce of labour, instead of depending, as in so + great a degree it now does, on the accident of birth, will be made by + concert on an acknowledged principle of justice; and when it will no + longer either be, or be thought to be, impossible for human beings to + exert themselves strenuously in procuring benefits which are not to be + exclusively their own, but to be shared with the society they belong to. + The social problem of the future we considered to be, how to unite the + greatest individual liberty of action, with a common ownership in the raw + material of the globe, and an equal participation of all in the benefits + of combined labour. We had not the presumption to suppose that we could + already foresee, by what precise form of institutions these objects could + most effectually be attained, or at how near or how distant a period they + would become practicable. We saw clearly that to render any such social + transformation either possible or desirable, an equivalent change of + character must take place both in the uncultivated herd who now compose + the labouring masses, and in the immense majority of their employers. Both + these classes must learn by practice to labour and combine for generous, + or at all events for public and social purposes, and not, as hitherto, + solely for narrowly interested ones. But the capacity to do this has + always existed in mankind, and is not, nor is ever likely to be, extinct. + Education, habit, and the cultivation of the sentiments, will make a + common man dig or weave for his country, as readily as fight for his + country. True enough, it is only by slow degrees, and a system of culture + prolonged through successive generations, that men in general can be + brought up to this point. But the hindrance is not in the essential + constitution of human nature. Interest in the common good is at present so + weak a motive in the generality not because it can never be otherwise, but + because the mind is not accustomed to dwell on it as it dwells from + morning till night on things which tend only to personal advantage. When + called into activity, as only self-interest now is, by the daily course of + life, and spurred from behind by the love of distinction and the fear of + shame, it is capable of producing, even in common men, the most strenuous + exertions as well as the most heroic sacrifices. The deep-rooted + selfishness which forms the general character of the existing state of + society, is <i>so</i> deeply rooted, only because the whole course of + existing institutions tends to foster it; and modern institutions in some + respects more than ancient, since the occasions on which the individual is + called on to do anything for the public without receiving its pay, are far + less frequent in modern life, than the smaller commonwealths of antiquity. + These considerations did not make us overlook the folly of premature + attempts to dispense with the inducements of private interest in social + affairs, while no substitute for them has been or can be provided: but we + regarded all existing institutions and social arrangements as being (in a + phrase I once heard from Austin) "merely provisional," and we welcomed + with the greatest pleasure and interest all socialistic experiments by + select individuals (such as the Co-operative Societies), which, whether + they succeeded or failed, could not but operate as a most useful education + of those who took part in them, by cultivating their capacity of acting + upon motives pointing directly to the general good, or making them aware + of the defects which render them and others incapable of doing so. + </p> + <p> + In the <i>Principles of Political Economy</i>, these opinions were + promulgated, less clearly and fully in the first edition, rather more so + in the second, and quite unequivocally in the third. The difference arose + partly from the change of times, the first edition having been written and + sent to press before the French Revolution of 1848, after which the public + mind became more open to the reception of novelties in opinion, and + doctrines appeared moderate which would have been thought very startling a + short time before. In the first edition the difficulties of Socialism were + stated so strongly, that the tone was on the whole that of opposition to + it. In the year or two which followed, much time was given to the study of + the best Socialistic writers on the Continent, and to meditation and + discussion on the whole range of topics involved in the controversy: and + the result was that most of what had been written on the subject in the + first edition was cancelled, and replaced by arguments and reflections + which represent a more advanced opinion. + </p> + <p> + The <i>Political Economy</i> was far more rapidly executed than the <i>Logic</i>, + or indeed than anything of importance which I had previously written. It + was commenced in the autumn of 1845, and was ready for the press before + the end of 1847. In this period of little more than two years there was an + interval of six months during which the work was laid aside, while I was + writing articles in the <i>Morning Chronicle</i> (which unexpectedly + entered warmly into my purpose) urging the formation of peasant properties + on the waste lands of Ireland. This was during the period of the Famine, + the winter of 1846-47, when the stern necessities of the time seemed to + afford a chance of gaining attention for what appeared to me the only mode + of combining relief to immediate destitution with permanent improvement of + the social and economical condition of the Irish people. But the idea was + new and strange; there was no English precedent for such a proceeding: and + the profound ignorance of English politicians and the English public + concerning all social phenomena not generally met with in England (however + common elsewhere), made my endeavours an entire failure. Instead of a + great operation on the waste lands, and the conversion of cottiers into + proprietors, Parliament passed a Poor Law for maintaining them as paupers: + and if the nation has not since found itself in inextricable difficulties + from the joint operation of the old evils and the quack remedy it is + indebted for its deliverance to that most unexpected and surprising fact, + the depopulation of ireland, commenced by famine, and continued by + emigration. + </p> + <p> + The rapid success of the <i>Political Economy</i> showed that the public + wanted, and were prepared for such a book. Published early in 1848, an + edition of a thousand copies was sold in less than a year. Another similar + edition was published in the spring of 1849; and a third, of 1250 copies, + early in 1852. It was, from the first, continually cited and referred to + as an authority, because it was not a book merely of abstract science, but + also of application, and treated Political Economy not as a thing by + itself, but as a fragment of a greater whole; a branch of Social + Philosophy, so interlinked with all the other branches, that its + conclusions, even in its own peculiar province, are only true + conditionally, subject to interference and counteraction from causes not + directly within its scope: while to the character of a practical guide it + has no pretension, apart from other classes of considerations. Political + Economy, in truth, has never pretended to give advice to mankind with no + lights but its own; though people who knew nothing but political economy + (and therefore knew that ill) have taken upon themselves to advise, and + could only do so by such lights as they had. But the numerous sentimental + enemies of political economy, and its still more numerous interested + enemies in sentimental guise, have been very successful in gaining belief + for this among other unmerited imputations against it, and the <i>Principles</i> + having, in spite of the freedom of many of its opinions, become for the + present the most popular treatise on the subject, has helped to disarm the + enemies of so important a study. The amount of its worth as an exposition + of the science, and the value of the different applications which it + suggests, others of course must judge. + </p> + <p> + For a considerable time after this, I published no work of magnitude; + though I still occasionally wrote in periodicals, and my correspondence + (much of it with persons quite unknown to me), on subjects of public + interest, swelled to a considerable bulk. During these years I wrote or + commenced various Essays, for eventual publication, on some of the + fundamental questions of human and social life, with regard to several of + which I have already much exceeded the severity of the Horatian precept. I + continued to watch with keen interest the progress of public events. But + it was not, on the whole, very encouraging to me. The European reaction + after 1848, and the success of an unprincipled usurper in December, 1851, + put an end, as it seemed, to all present hope for freedom or social + improvement in France and the Continent. In England, I had seen and + continued to see many of the opinions of my youth obtain general + recognition, and many of the reforms in institutions, for which I had + through life contended, either effected or in course of being so. But + these changes had been attended with much less benefit to human well-being + than I should formerly have anticipated, because they had produced very + little improvement in that which all real amelioration in the lot of + mankind depends on, their intellectual and moral state: and it might even + be questioned if the various causes of deterioration which had been at + work in the meanwhile, had not more than counterbalanced the tendencies to + improvement. I had learnt from experience that many false opinions may be + exchanged for true ones, without in the least altering the habits of mind + of which false opinions are the result. The English public, for example, + are quite as raw and undiscerning on subjects of political economy since + the nation has been converted to free-trade, as they were before; and are + still further from having acquired better habits of thought and feeling, + or being in any way better fortified against error, on subjects of a more + elevated character. For, though they have thrown off certain errors, the + general discipline of their minds, intellectually and morally, is not + altered. I am now convinced, that no great improvements in the lot of + mankind are possible, until a great change takes place in the fundamental + constitution of their modes of thought. The old opinions in religion, + morals, and politics, are so much discredited in the more intellectual + minds as to have lost the greater part of their efficacy for good, while + they have still life enough in them to be a powerful obstacle to the + growing up of any better opinions on those subjects. When the philosophic + minds of the world can no longer believe its religion, or can only believe + it with modifications amounting to an essential change of its character, a + transitional period commences, of weak convictions, paralysed intellects, + and growing laxity of principle, which cannot terminate until a renovation + has been effected in the basis of their belief leading to the evolution of + some faith, whether religious or merely human, which they can really + believe: and when things are in this state, all thinking or writing which + does not tend to promote such a renovation, is of very little value beyond + the moment. Since there was little in the apparent condition of the public + mind, indicative of any tendency in this direction, my view of the + immediate prospects of human improvement was not sanguine. More recently a + spirit of free speculation has sprung up, giving a more encouraging + prospect of the gradual mental emancipation of England; and concurring + with the renewal under better auspices, of the movement for political + freedom in the rest of Europe, has given to the present condition of human + affairs a more hopeful aspect.<a href="#linknote-3" name="linknoteref-3" + id="linknoteref-3"><small>3</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Between the time of which I have now spoken, and the present, took place + the most important events of my private life. The first of these was my + marriage, in April, 1851, to the lady whose incomparable worth had made + her friendship the greatest source to me both of happiness and of + improvement, during many years in which we never expected to be in any + closer relation to one another. Ardently as I should have aspired to this + complete union of our lives at any time in the course of my existence at + which it had been practicable, I, as much as my wife, would far rather + have foregone that privilege for ever, than have owed it to the premature + death of one for whom I had the sincerest respect, and she the strongest + affection. That event, however, having taken place in July, 1849, it was + granted to me to derive from that evil my own greatest good, by adding to + the partnership of thought, feeling, and writing which had long existed, a + partnership of our entire existence. For seven and a-half years that + blessing was mine; for seven and a-half only! I can say nothing which + could describe, even in the faintest manner, what that loss was and is. + But because I know that she would have wished it, I endeavour to make the + best of what life I have left, and to work on for her purposes with such + diminished strength as can be derived from thoughts of her, and communion + with her memory. + </p> + <p> + When two persons have their thoughts and speculations completely in + common; when all subjects of intellectual or moral interest are discussed + between them in daily life, and probed to much greater depths than are + usually or conveniently sounded in writings intended for general readers; + when they set out from the same principles, and arrive at their + conclusions by processes pursued jointly, it is of little consequence in + respect to the question of originality, which of them holds the pen; the + one who contributes least to the composition may contribute more to the + thought; the writings which result are the joint product of both, and it + must often be impossible to disentangle their respective parts, and affirm + that this belongs to one and that to the other. In this wide sense, not + only during the years of our married life, but during many of the years of + confidential friendship which preceded, all my published writings were as + much here work as mine; her share in them constantly increasing as years + advanced. But in certain cases, what belongs to her can be distinguished, + and specially identified. Over and above the general influence which her + mind had over mine, the most valuable ideas and features in these joint + productions—those which have been most fruitful of important + results, and have contributed most to the success and reputation of the + works themselves—originated with her, were emanations from her mind, + my part in them being no greater than in any of the thoughts which I found + in previous writers, and made my own only by incorporating them with my + own system of thought! During the greater part of my literary life I have + performed the office in relation to her, which from a rather early period + I had considered as the most useful part that I was qualified to take in + the domain of thought, that of an interpreter of original thinkers, and + mediator between them and the public; for I had always a humble opinion of + my own powers as an original thinker, except in abstract science (logic, + metaphysics, and the theoretic principles of political economy and + politics), but thought myself much superior to most of my contemporaries + in willingness and ability to learn from everybody; as I found hardly + anyone who made such a point of examining what was said in defence of all + opinions, however new or however old, in the conviction that even if they + were errors there might be a substratum of truth underneath them, and that + in any case the discovery of what it was that made them plausible, would + be a benefit to truth. I had, in consequence, marked this out as a sphere + of usefulness in which I was under a special obligation to make myself + active; the more so, as the acquaintance I had formed with the ideas of + the Coleridgians, of the German thinkers, and of Carlyle, all of them + fiercely opposed to the mode of thought in which I had been brought up, + had convinced me that along with much error they possessed much truth, + which was veiled from minds otherwise capable of receiving it by the + transcendental and mystical phraseology in which they were accustomed to + shut it up, and from which they neither cared, nor knew how, to disengage + it; and I did not despair of separating the truth from the error, and + exposing it in terms which would be intelligible and not repulsive to + those on my own side in philosophy. Thus prepared, it will easily be + believed that when I came into close intellectual communion with a person + of the most eminent faculties, whose genius, as it grew and unfolded + itself in thought, continually struck out truths far in advance of me, but + in which I could not, as I had done in those others, detect any mixture of + error, the greatest part of my mental growth consisted in the assimilation + of those truths, and the most valuable part of my intellectual work was in + building the bridges and clearing the paths which connected them with my + general system of thought.<a href="#linknote-4" name="linknoteref-4" + id="linknoteref-4"><small>4</small></a> + </p> + <p> + The first of my books in which her share was conspicious was the <i>Principles + of Political Economy</i>. The <i>System of Logic</i> owed little to her + except in the minuter matters of composition, in which respect my + writings, both great and small, have largely benefited by her accurate and + clear-sighted criticism.<a href="#linknote-5" name="linknoteref-5" + id="linknoteref-5"><small>5</small></a> The chapter of the <i>Political + Econonomy</i> which has had a greater influence on opinion than all the + rest, that on 'the Probable Future of the Labouring Classes,' is entirely + due to her; in the first draft of the book, that chapter did not exist. + She pointed out the need of such a chapter, and the extreme imperfection + of the book without it; she was the cause of my writing it; and the more + general part of the chapter, the statement and discussion of the two + opposite theories respecting the proper condition of the labouring + classes, was wholly an exposition of her thoughts, often in words taken + from her own lips. The purely scientific part of the <i>Political Economy</i> + I did not learn from her; but it was chiefly her influence that gave to + the book that general tone by which it is distinguished from all previous + expositions of Political Economy that had any pretension to being + scientific, and which has made it so useful in conciliating minds which + those previous expositions had repelled. This tone consisted chiefly in + making the proper distinction between the laws of the Production of Wealth—which + are laws of nature, dependent on the properties of objects—and the + modes of its Distribution, which, subject to certain conditions, depend on + human will. The commom run of political economists confuse these together, + under the designation of economic laws, which they deem incapable of being + defeated or modified by human effort; ascribing the same necessity to + things dependent on the unchangeable conditions of our earthly existence, + and to those which, being but the necessary consequences of particular + social arrangements, are merely co-extensive with these; given certain + institutions and customs, wages, profits, and rent will be determined by + certain causes; but this class of political economists drop the + indispensable presupposition, and argue that these causes must, by an + inherent necessity, against which no human means can avail, determine the + shares which fall, in the division of the produce, to labourers, + capitalists, and landlords. The <i>Principles of Political Economy</i> + yielded to none of its predecessors in aiming at the scientific + appreciation of the action of these causes, under the conditions which + they presuppose; but it set the example of not treating those conditions + as final. The economic generalizations which depend not on necessaties of + nature but on those combined with the existing arrangements of society, it + deals with only as provisional, and as liable to be much altered by the + progress of social improvement. I had indeed partially learnt this view of + things from the thoughts awakened in me by the speculations of the St. + Simonians; but it was made a living principle pervading and animating the + book by my wife's promptings. This example illustrates well the general + character of what she contributed to my writings. What was abstract and + purely scientific was generally mine; the properly human element came from + her: in all that concerned the application of philosophy to the exigencies + of human society and progress, I was her pupil, alike in boldness of + speculation and cautiousness of practical judgment. For, on the one hand, + she was much more courageous and far-sighted than without her I should + have been, in anticipation of an order of things to come, in which many of + the limited generalizations now so often confounded with universal + principles will cease to be applicable. Those parts of my writings, and + especially of the <i>Political Economy</i>, which contemplate + possibilities in the future such as, when affirmed by Socialists, have in + general been fiercely denied by political economists, would, but for her, + either have been absent, or the suggestions would have been made much more + timidly and in a more qualified form. But while she thus rendered me + bolder in speculation on human affairs, her practical turn of mind, and + her almost unerring estimate of practical obstacles, repressed in me all + tendencies that were really visionary. Her mind invested all ideas in a + concrete shape, and formed to itself a conception of how they would + actually work: and her knowledge of the existing feelings and conduct of + mankind was so seldom at fault, that the weak point in any unworkable + suggestion seldom escapes her.<a href="#linknote-6" name="linknoteref-6" + id="linknoteref-6"><small>6</small></a> + </p> + <p> + During the two years which immediately preceded the cessation of my + official life, my wife and I were working together at the "Liberty." I had + first planned and written it as a short essay in 1854. It was in mounting + the steps of the Capitol, in January, 1855, that the thought first arose + of converting it into a volume. None of my writings have been either so + carefully composed, or so sedulously corrected as this. After it had been + written as usual twice over, we kept it by us, bringing it out from time + to time, and going through it <i>de novo</i>, reading, weighing, and + criticizing every sentence. Its final revision was to have been a work of + the winter of 1858-9, the first after my retirement, which we had arranged + to pass in the south of Europe. That hope and every other were frustrated + by the most unexpected and bitter calamity of her death—at Avignon, + on our way to Montpellier, from a sudden attack of pulmonary congestion. + </p> + <p> + Since then I have sought for such allevation as my state admitted of, by + the mode of life which most enabled me to feel her still near me. I bought + a cottage as close as possible to the place where she is buried, and there + her daughter (my fellow-sufferer and now my chief comfort) and I, live + constantly during a great portion of the year. My objects in life are + solely those which were hers; my pursuits and occupations those in which + she shared, or sympathized, and which are indissolubly associated with + her. Her memory is to me a religion, and her approbation the standard by + which, summing up as it does all worthiness, I endeavour to regulate my + life. + </p> + <p> + After my irreparable loss, one of my earliest cares was to print and + publish the treatise, so much of which was the work of her whom I had + lost, and consecrate it to her memory. I have made no alteration or + addition to it, nor shall I ever. Though it wants the last touch of her + hand, no substitute for that touch shall ever be attempted by mine. + </p> + <p> + The <i>Liberty</i> was more directly and literally our joint production + than anything else which bears my name, for there was not a sentence of it + that was not several times gone through by us together, turned over in + many ways, and carefully weeded of any faults, either in thought or + expression, that we detected in it. It is in consequence of this that, + although it never underwent her final revision, it far surpasses, as a + mere specimen of composition, anything which has proceeded from me either + before or since. With regard to the thoughts, it is difficult to identify + any particular part or element as being more hers than all the rest. The + whole mode of thinking of which the book was the expression, was + emphatically hers. But I also was so thoroughly imbued with it, that the + same thoughts naturally occurred to us both. That I was thus penetrated + with it, however, I owe in a great degree to her. There was a moment in my + mental progress when I might easily have fallen into a tendency towards + over-government, both social and political; as there was also a moment + when, by reaction from a contrary excess, I might have become a less + thorough radical and democrat than I am. In both these points, as in many + others, she benefited me as much by keeping me right where I was right, as + by leading me to new truths, and ridding me of errors. My great readiness + and eagerness to learn from everybody, and to make room in my opinions for + every new acquisition by adjusting the old and the new to one another, + might, but for her steadying influence, have seduced me into modifying my + early opinions too much. She was in nothing more valuable to my mental + development than by her just measure of the relative importance of + different considerations, which often protected me from allowing to truths + I had only recently learnt to see, a more important place in my thoughts + than was properly their due. + </p> + <p> + The <i>Liberty</i> is likely to survive longer than anything else that I + have written (with the possible exception of the <i>Logic</i>), because + the conjunction of her mind with mine has rendered it a kind of + philosophic text-book of a single truth, which the changes progressively + taking place in modern society tend to bring out into ever stronger + relief: the importance, to man and society of a large variety in types of + character, and of giving full freedom to human nature to expand itself in + innumerable and conflicting directions. Nothing can better show how deep + are the foundations of this truth, than the great impression made by the + exposition of it at a time which, to superficial observation, did not seem + to stand much in need of such a lesson. The fears we expressed, lest the + inevitable growth of social equality and of the government of public + opinion, should impose on mankind an oppressive yoke of uniformity in + opinion and practice, might easily have appeared chimerical to those who + looked more at present facts than at tendencies; for the gradual + revolution that is taking place in society and institutions has, thus far, + been decidedly favourable to the development of new opinions, and has + procured for them a much more unprejudiced hearing than they previously + met with. But this is a feature belonging to periods of transition, when + old notions and feelings have been unsettled, and no new doctrines have + yet succeeded to their ascendancy. At such times people of any mental + activity, having given up their old beliefs, and not feeling quite sure + that those they still retain can stand unmodified, listen eagerly to new + opinions. But this state of things is necessarily transitory: some + particular body of doctrine in time rallies the majority round it, + organizes social institutions and modes of action conformably to itself, + education impresses this new creed upon the new generations without the + mental processes that have led to it, and by degrees it acquires the very + same power of compression, so long exercised by the creeds of which it had + taken the place. Whether this noxious power will be exercised, depends on + whether mankind have by that time become aware that it cannot be exercised + without stunting and dwarfing human nature. It is then that the teachings + of the <i>Liberty</i> will have their greatest value. And it is to be + feared that they will retain that value a long time. + </p> + <p> + As regards originality, it has of course no other than that which every + thoughtful mind gives to its own mode of conceiving and expressing truths + which are common property. The leading thought of the book is one which + though in many ages confined to insulated thinkers, mankind have probably + at no time since the beginning of civilization been entirely without. To + speak only of the last few generations, it is distinctly contained in the + vein of important thought respecting education and culture, spread through + the European mind by the labours and genius of Pestalozzi. The unqualified + championship of it by Wilhelm von Humboldt is referred to in the book; but + he by no means stood alone in his own country. During the early part of + the present century the doctrine of the rights of individuality, and the + claim of the moral nature to develop itself in its own way, was pushed by + a whole school of German authors even to exaggeration; and the writings of + Goethe, the most celebrated of all German authors, though not belonging to + that or to any other school, are penetrated throughout by views of morals + and of conduct in life, often in my opinion not defensible, but which are + incessantly seeking whatever defence they admit of in the theory of the + right and duty of self-development. In our own country before the book <i>On + Liberty</i> was written, the doctrine of Individuality had been + enthusiastically asserted, in a style of vigorous declamation sometimes + reminding one of Fichte, by Mr. William Maccall, in a series of writings + of which the most elaborate is entitled <i>Elements of Individualism</i>: + and a remarkable American, Mr. Warren, had framed a System of Society, on + the foundation of <i>the Sovereignty of the individual</i>, had obtained a + number of followers, and had actually commenced the formation of a Village + Community (whether it now exists I know not), which, though bearing a + superficial resemblance to some of the projects of Socialists, is + diametrically opposite to them in principle, since it recognizes no + authority whatever in Society over the individual, except to enforce equal + freedom of development for all individualities. As the book which bears my + name claimed no originality for any of its doctrines, and was not intended + to write their history, the only author who had preceded me in their + assertion, of whom I thought it appropriate to say anything, was Humboldt, + who furnished the motto to the work; although in one passage I borrowed + from the Warrenites their phrase, the sovereignty of the individual. It is + hardly necessary here to remark that there are abundant differences in + detail, between the conception of the doctrine by any of the predecessors + I have mentioned, and that set forth in the book. + </p> + <p> + The political circumstances of the time induced me, shortly after, to + complete and publish a pamphlet (<i>Thoughts on Parliamentary Reform</i>), + part of which had been written some years previously on the occasion of + one of the abortive Reform Bills, and had at the time been approved and + revised by her. Its principal features were, hostility to the Ballot (a + change of opinion in both of us, in which she rather preceded me), and a + claim of representation for minorities; not, however, at that time going + beyond the cumulative vote proposed by Mr. Garth Marshall. In finishing + the pamphlet for publication, with a view to the discussions on the Reform + Bill of Lord Derby's and Mr. Disraeli's Government in 1859, I added a + third feature, a plurality of votes, to be given, not to property, but to + proved superiority of education. This recommended itself to me as a means + of reconciling the irresistible claim of every man or woman to be + consulted, and to be allowed a voice, in the regulation of affairs which + vitally concern them, with the superiority of weight justly due to + opinions grounded on superiority of knowledge. The suggestion, however, + was one which I had never discussed with my almost infallible counsellor, + and I have no evidence that she would have concurred in it. As far as I + have been able to observe, it has found favour with nobody; all who desire + any sort of inequality in the electoral vote, desiring it in favour of + property and not of intelligence or knowledge. If it ever overcomes the + strong feeling which exists against it, this will only be after the + establishment of a systematic National Education by which the various + grades of politically valuable acquirement may be accurately defined and + authenticated. Without this it will always remain liable to strong, + possibly conclusive, objections; and with this, it would perhaps not be + needed. + </p> + <p> + It was soon after the publication of <i>Thoughts on Parliamentary Reform</i>, + that I became acquainted with Mr. Hare's admirable system of Personal + Representation, which, in its present shape, was then for the first time + published. I saw in this great practical and philosophical idea, the + greatest improvement of which the system of representative government is + susceptible; an improvement which, in the most felicitous manner, exactly + meets and cures the grand, and what before seemed the inherent, defect of + the representative system; that of giving to a numerical majority all + power, instead of only a power proportional to its numbers, and enabling + the strongest party to exclude all weaker parties from making their + opinions heard in the assembly of the nation, except through such + opportunity as may be given to them by the accidentally unequal + distribution of opinions in different localities. To these great evils + nothing more than very imperfect palliations had seemed possible; but Mr. + Hare's system affords a radical cure. This great discovery, for it is no + less, in the political art, inspired me, as I believe it has inspired all + thoughtful persons who have adopted it, with new and more sanguine hopes + respecting the prospects of human society; by freeing the form of + political institutions towards which the whole civilized world is + manifestly and irresistibly tending, from the chief part of what seemed to + qualify, or render doubtful, its ultimate benefits. Minorities, so long as + they remain minorities, are, and ought to be, outvoted; but under + arrangements which enable any assemblage of voters, amounting to a certain + number, to place in the legislature a representative of its own choice, + minorities cannot be suppressed. Independent opinions will force their way + into the council of the nation and make themselves heard there, a thing + which often cannot happen in the existing forms of representative + democracy; and the legislature, instead of being weeded of individual + peculiarities and entirely made up of men who simply represent the creed + of great political or religious parties, will comprise a large proportion + of the most eminent individual minds in the country, placed there, without + reference to party, by voters who appreciate their individual eminence. I + can understand that persons, otherwise intelligent, should, for want of + sufficient examination, be repelled from Mr. Hare's plan by what they + think the complex nature of its machinery. But any one who does not feel + the want which the scheme is intended to supply; any one who throws it + over as a mere theoretical subtlety or crotchet, tending to no valuable + purpose, and unworthy of the attention of practical men, may be pronounced + an incompetent statesman, unequal to the politics of the future. I mean, + unless he is a minister or aspires to become one: for we are quite + accustomed to a minister continuing to profess unqualified hostility to an + improvement almost to the very day when his conscience or his interest + induces him to take it up as a public measure, and carry it. + </p> + <p> + Had I met with Mr. Hare's system before the publication of my pamphlet, I + should have given an account of it there. Not having done so, I wrote an + article in <i>Fraser's Magazine</i> (reprinted in my miscellaneous + writings) principally for that purpose, though I included in it, along + with Mr. Hare's book, a review of two other productions on the question of + the day; one of them a pamphlet by my early friend, Mr. John Austin, who + had in his old age become an enemy to all further Parliamentary reform; + the other an able and vigourous, though partially erroneous, work by Mr. + Lorimer. + </p> + <p> + In the course of the same summer I fulfilled a duty particularly incumbent + upon me, that of helping (by an article in the <i>Edinburgh Review</i>) to + make known Mr. Bain's profound treatise on the Mind, just then completed + by the publication of its second volume. And I carried through the press a + selection of my minor writings, forming the first two volumes of <i>Dissertations + and Discussions</i>. The selection had been made during my wife's + lifetime, but the revision, in concert with her, with a view to + republication, had been barely commenced; and when I had no longer the + guidance of her judgment I despaired of pursuing it further, and + republished the papers as they were, with the exception of striking out + such passages as were no longer in accordance with my opinions. My + literary work of the year was terminated with an essay in <i>Fraser's + Magazine</i> (afterwards republished in the third volume of <i>Dissertations + and Discussions</i>), entitled "A Few Words on Non-Intervention." I was + prompted to write this paper by a desire, while vindicating England from + the imputations commonly brought against her on the Continent, of a + peculiar selfishness in matters of foreign policy to warn Englishmen of + the colour given to this imputation by the low tone in which English + statesmen are accustomed to speak of English policy as concerned only with + English interests, and by the conduct of Lord Palmerston at that + particular time in opposing the Suez Canal; and I took the opportunity of + expressing ideas which had long been in my mind (some of them generated by + my Indian experience, and others by the international questions which then + greatly occupied the European public), respecting the true principles of + international morality, and the legitimate modifications made in it by + difference of times and circumstances; a subject I had already, to some + extent, discussed in the vindication of the French Provisional Government + of 1848 against the attacks of Lord Brougham and others, which I published + at the time in the <i>Westminster Review</i>, and which is reprinted in + the <i>Dissertations</i>. + </p> + <p> + I had now settled, as I believed, for the remainder of my existence into a + purely literary life; if that can be called literary which continued to be + occupied in a pre-eminent degree with politics, and not merely with + theoretical, but practical politics, although a great part of the year was + spent at a distance of many hundred miles from the chief seat of the + politics of my own country, to which, and primarily for which, I wrote. + But, in truth, the modern facilities of communication have not only + removed all the disadvantages, to a political writer in tolerably easy + circumstances, of distance from the scene of political action, but have + converted them into advantages. The immediate and regular receipt of + newspapers and periodicals keeps him <i>au courant</i> of even the most + temporary politics, and gives him a much more correct view of the state + and progress of opinion than he could acquire by personal contact with + individuals: for every one's social intercourse is more or less limited to + particular sets or classes, whose impressions and no others reach him + through that channel; and experience has taught me that those who give + their time to the absorbing claims of what is called society, not having + leisure to keep up a large acquaintance with the organs of opinion, remain + much more ignorant of the general state either of the public mind, or of + the active and instructed part of it, than a recluse who reads the + newspapers need be. There are, no doubt, disadvantages in too long a + separation from one's country—in not occasionally renewing one's + impressions of the light in which men and things appear when seen from a + position in the midst of them; but the deliberate judgment formed at a + distance, and undisturbed by inequalities of perspective, is the most to + be depended on, even for application to practice. Alternating between the + two positions, I combined the advantages of both. And, though the inspirer + of my best thoughts was no longer with me, I was not alone: she had left a + daughter, my stepdaughter, [Miss Helen Taylor, the inheritor of much of + her wisdom, and of all her nobleness of character,] whose ever growing and + ripening talents from that day to this have been devoted to the same great + purposes [and have already made her name better and more widely known than + was that of her mother, though far less so than I predict, that if she + lives it is destined to become. Of the value of her direct cooperation + with me, something will be said hereafter, of what I owe in the way of + instruction to her great powers of original thought and soundness of + practical judgment, it would be a vain attempt to give an adequate idea]. + Surely no one ever before was so fortunate, as, after such a loss as mine, + to draw another prize in the lottery of life [—another companion, + stimulator, adviser, and instructor of the rarest quality]. Whoever, + either now or hereafter, may think of me and of the work I have done, must + never forget that it is the product not of one intellect and conscience, + but of three[, the least considerable of whom, and above all the least + original, is the one whose name is attached to it]. + </p> + <p> + The work of the years 1860 and 1861 consisted chiefly of two treatises, + only one of which was intended for immediate publication. This was the <i>Considerations + on Representative Government</i>; a connected exposition of what, by the + thoughts of many years, I had come to regard as the best form of a popular + constitution. Along with as much of the general theory of government as is + necessary to support this particular portion of its practice, the volume + contains many matured views of the principal questions which occupy the + present age, within the province of purely organic institutions, and + raises, by anticipation, some other questions to which growing necessities + will sooner or later compel the attention both of theoretical and of + practical politicians. The chief of these last, is the distinction between + the function of making laws, for which a numerous popular assembly is + radically unfit, and that of getting good laws made, which is its proper + duty and cannot be satisfactorily fulfilled by any other authority: and + the consequent need of a Legislative Commission, as a permanent part of + the constitution of a free country; consisting of a small number of highly + trained political minds, on whom, when Parliament has determined that a + law shall be made, the task of making it should be devolved: Parliament + retaining the power of passing or rejecting the bill when drawn up, but + not of altering it otherwise than by sending proposed amendments to be + dealt with by the Commission. The question here raised respecting the most + important of all public functions, that of legislation, is a particular + case of the great problem of modern political organization, stated, I + believe, for the first time in its full extent by Bentham, though in my + opinion not always satisfactorily resolved by him; the combination of + complete popular control over public affairs, with the greatest attainable + perfection of skilled agency. + </p> + <p> + The other treatise written at this time is the one which was published + some years<a href="#linknote-7" name="linknoteref-7" id="linknoteref-7"><small>7</small></a> + later under the title of <i>The Subjection of Women.</i> It was written + [at my daughter's suggestion] that there might, in any event, be in + existence a written exposition of my opinions on that great question, as + full and conclusive as I could make it. The intention was to keep this + among other unpublished papers, improving it from time to time if I was + able, and to publish it at the time when it should seem likely to be most + useful. As ultimately published [it was enriched with some important ideas + of my daughter's, and passages of her writing. But] in what was of my own + composition, all that is most striking and profound belongs to my wife; + coming from the fund of thought which had been made common to us both, by + our innumerable conversations and discussions on a topic which filled so + large a place in our minds. + </p> + <p> + Soon after this time I took from their repository a portion of the + unpublished papers which I had written during the last years of our + married life, and shaped them, with some additional matter, into the + little work entitled <i>Utilitarianism</i>; which was first published, in + three parts, in successive numbers of <i>Fraser's Magazine</i>, and + afterwards reprinted in a volume. + </p> + <p> + Before this, however, the state of public affairs had become extremely + critical, by the commencement of the American civil war. My strongest + feelings were engaged in this struggle, which, I felt from the beginning, + was destined to be a turning point, for good or evil, of the course of + human affairs for an indefinite duration. Having been a deeply interested + observer of the slavery quarrel in America, during the many years that + preceded the open breach, I knew that it was in all its stages an + aggressive enterprise of the slave-owners to extend the territory of + slavery; under the combined influences of pecuniary interest, domineering + temper, and the fanaticism of a class for its class privileges, influences + so fully and powerfully depicted in the admirable work of my friend + Professor Cairnes, <i>The Slave Power</i>. Their success, if they + succeeded, would be a victory of the powers of evil which would give + courage to the enemies of progress and damp the spirits of its friends all + over the civilized world, while it would create a formidable military + power, grounded on the worst and most anti-social form of the tyranny of + men over men, and, by destroying for a long time the prestige of the great + democratic republic, would give to all the privileged classes of Europe a + false confidence, probably only to be extinguished in blood. On the other + hand, if the spirit of the North was sufficiently roused to carry the war + to a successful termination, and if that termination did not come too soon + and too easily, I foresaw, from the laws of human nature, and the + experience of revolutions, that when it did come it would in all + probability be thorough: that the bulk of the Northern population, whose + conscience had as yet been awakened only to the point of resisting the + further extension of slavery, but whose fidelity to the Constitution of + the United States made them disapprove of any attempt by the Federal + Government to interfere with slavery in the States where it already + existed, would acquire feelings of another kind when the Constitution had + been shaken off by armed rebellion, would determine to have done for ever + with the accursed thing, and would join their banner with that of the + noble body of Abolitionists, of whom Garrison was the courageous and + single-minded apostle, Wendell Phillips the eloquent orator, and John + Brown the voluntary martyr.<a href="#linknote-8" name="linknoteref-8" + id="linknoteref-8"><small>8</small></a> Then, too, the whole mind of the + United States would be let loose from its bonds, no longer corrupted by + the supposed necessity of apologizing to foreigners for the most flagrant + of all possible violations of the free principles of their Constitution; + while the tendency of a fixed state of society to stereotype a set of + national opinions would be at least temporarily checked, and the national + mind would become more open to the recognition of whatever was bad in + either the institutions or the customs of the people. These hopes, so far + as related to slavery, have been completely, and in other respects are in + course of being progressively realized. Foreseeing from the first this + double set of consequences from the success or failure of the rebellion, + it may be imagined with what feelings I contemplated the rush of nearly + the whole upper and middle classes of my own country even those who passed + for Liberals, into a furious pro-Southern partisanship: the working + classes, and some of the literary and scientific men, being almost the + sole exceptions to the general frenzy. I never before felt so keenly how + little permanent improvement had reached the minds of our influential + classes, and of what small value were the liberal opinions they had got + into the habit of professing. None of the Continental Liberals committed + the same frightful mistake. But the generation which had extorted negro + emancipation from our West India planters had passed away; another had + succeeded which had not learnt by many years of discussion and exposure to + feel strongly the enormities of slavery; and the inattention habitual with + Englishmen to whatever is going on in the world outside their own island, + made them profoundly ignorant of all the antecedents of the struggle, + insomuch that it was not generally believed in England, for the first year + or two of the war, that the quarrel was one of slavery. There were men of + high principle and unquestionable liberality of opinion, who thought it a + dispute about tariffs, or assimilated it to the cases in which they were + accustomed to sympathize, of a people struggling for independence. + </p> + <p> + It was my obvious duty to be one of the small minority who protested + against this perverted state of public opinion. I was not the first to + protest. It ought to be remembered to the honour of Mr. Hughes and of Mr. + Ludlow, that they, by writings published at the very beginning of the + struggle, began the protestation. Mr. Bright followed in one of the most + powerful of his speeches, followed by others not less striking. I was on + the point of adding my words to theirs, when there occurred, towards the + end of 1861, the seizure of the Southern envoys on board a British vessel, + by an officer of the United States. Even English forgetfulness has not yet + had time to lose all remembrance of the explosion of feeling in England + which then burst forth, the expectation, prevailing for some weeks, of war + with the United States, and the warlike preparations actually commenced on + this side. While this state of things lasted, there was no chance of a + hearing for anything favourable to the American cause; and, moreover, I + agreed with those who thought the act unjustifiable, and such as to + require that England should demand its disavowal. When the disavowal came, + and the alarm of war was over, I wrote, in January, 1862, the paper, in <i>Fraser's + Magazine</i>, entitled "The Contest in America," [and I shall always feel + grateful to my daughter that her urgency prevailed on me to write it when + I did, for we were then on the point of setting out for a journey of some + months in Greece and Turkey, and but for her, I should have deferred + writing till our return.] Written and published when it was, this paper + helped to encourage those Liberals who had felt overborne by the tide of + illiberal opinion, and to form in favour of the good cause a nucleus of + opinion which increased gradually, and, after the success of the North + began to seem probable, rapidly. When we returned from our journey I wrote + a second article, a review of Professor Cairnes' book, published in the <i>Westminster + Review</i>. England is paying the penalty, in many uncomfortable ways, of + the durable resentment which her ruling classes stirred up in the United + States by their ostentatious wishes for the ruin of America as a nation; + they have reason to be thankful that a few, if only a few, known writers + and speakers, standing firmly by the Americans in the time of their + greatest difficulty, effected a partial diversion of these bitter + feelings, and made Great Britain not altogether odious to the Americans. + </p> + <p> + This duty having been performed, my principal occupation for the next two + years was on subjects not political. The publication of Mr. Austin's <i>Lectures + on Jurisprudence</i> after his decease, gave me an opportunity of paying a + deserved tribute to his memory, and at the same time expressing some + thoughts on a subject on which, in my old days of Benthamism, I had + bestowed much study. But the chief product of those years was the <i>Examination + of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy</i>. His <i>Lectures</i>, published + in 1860 and 1861, I had read towards the end of the latter year, with a + half-formed intention of giving an account of them in a Review, but I soon + found that this would be idle, and that justice could not be done to the + subject in less than a volume. I had then to consider whether it would be + advisable that I myself should attempt such a performance. On + consideration, there seemed to be strong reasons for doing so. I was + greatly disappointed with the <i>Lectures</i>. I read them, certainly, + with no prejudice against Sir William Hamilton. I had up to that time + deferred the study of his <i>Notes to Reid</i> on account of their + unfinished state, but I had not neglected his <i>Discussions in Philosophy</i>; + and though I knew that his general mode of treating the facts of mental + philosophy differed from that of which I most approved, yet his vigorous + polemic against the later Transcendentalists, and his strenuous assertion + of some important principles, especially the Relativity of human + knowledge, gave me many points of sympathy with his opinions, and made me + think that genuine psychology had considerably more to gain than to lose + by his authority and reputation. His <i>Lectures</i> and the <i>Dissertations + on Reid</i> dispelled this illusion: and even the <i>Discussions</i>, read + by the light which these throw on them, lost much of their value. I found + that the points of apparent agreement between his opinions and mine were + more verbal than real; that the important philosophical principles which I + had thought he recognised, were so explained away by him as to mean little + or nothing, or were continually lost sight of, and doctrines entirely + inconsistent with them were taught in nearly every part of his + philosophical writings. My estimation of him was therefore so far altered, + that instead of regarding him as occupying a kind of intermediate position + between the two rival philosophies, holding some of the principles of + both, and supplying to both powerful weapons of attack and defence, I now + looked upon him as one of the pillars, and in this country from his high + philosophical reputation the chief pillar, of that one of the two which + seemed to me to be erroneous. + </p> + <p> + Now, the difference between these two schools of philosophy, that of + Intuition, and that of Experience and Association, is not a mere matter of + abstract speculation; it is full of practical consequences, and lies at + the foundation of all the greatest differences of practical opinion in an + age of progress. The practical reformer has continually to demand that + changes be made in things which are supported by powerful and + widely-spread feelings, or to question the apparent necessity and + indefeasibleness of established facts; and it is often an indispensable + part of his argument to show, how those powerful feelings had their + origin, and how those facts came to seem necessary and indefeasible. There + is therefore a natural hostility between him and a philosophy which + discourages the explanation of feelings and moral facts by circumstances + and association, and prefers to treat them as ultimate elements of human + nature; a philosophy which is addicted to holding up favourite doctrines + as intuitive truths, and deems intuition to be the voice of Nature and of + God, speaking with an authority higher than that of our reason. In + particular, I have long felt that the prevailing tendency to regard all + the marked distinctions of human character as innate, and in the main + indelible, and to ignore the irresistible proofs that by far the greater + part of those differences, whether between individuals, races, or sexes, + are such as not only might but naturally would be produced by differences + in circumstances, is one of the chief hindrances to the rational treatment + of great social questions, and one of the greatest stumbling blocks to + human improvement. This tendency has its source in the intuitional + metaphysics which characterized the reaction of the nineteenth century + against the eighteenth, and it is a tendency so agreeable to human + indolence, as well as to conservative interests generally, that unless + attacked at the very root, it is sure to be carried to even a greater + length than is really justified by the more moderate forms of the + intuitional philosophy. That philosophy not always in its moderate forms, + had ruled the thought of Europe for the greater part of a century. My + father's <i>Analysis of the Mind</i>, my own <i>Logic</i>, and Professor + Bain's great treatise, had attempted to re-introduce a better mode of + philosophizing, latterly with quite as much success as could be expected; + but I had for some time felt that the mere contrast of the two + philosophies was not enough, that there ought to be a hand-to-hand fight + between them, that controversial as well as expository writings were + needed, and that the time was come when such controversy would be useful. + Considering, then, the writings and fame of Sir W. Hamilton as the great + fortress of the intuitional philosophy in this country, a fortress the + more formidable from the imposing character, and the in many respects + great personal merits and mental endowments, of the man, I thought it + might be a real service to philosophy to attempt a thorough examination of + all his most important doctrines, and an estimate of his general claims to + eminence as a philosopher; and I was confirmed in this resolution by + observing that in the writings of at least one, and him one of the ablest, + of Sir W. Hamilton's followers, his peculiar doctrines were made the + justification of a view of religion which I hold to be profoundly immoral—that + it is our duty to bow down in worship before a Being whose moral + attributes are affirmed to be unknowable by us, and to be perhaps + extremely different from those which, when we are speaking of our + fellow-creatures, we call by the same names. + </p> + <p> + As I advanced in my task, the damage to Sir W. Hamilton's reputation + became greater than I at first expected, through the almost incredible + multitude of inconsistencies which showed themselves on comparing + different passages with one another. It was my business, however, to show + things exactly as they were, and I did not flinch from it. I endeavoured + always to treat the philosopher whom I criticized with the most scrupulous + fairness; and I knew that he had abundance of disciples and admirers to + correct me if I ever unintentionally did him injustice. Many of them + accordingly have answered me, more or less elaborately, and they have + pointed out oversights and misunderstandings, though few in number, and + mostly very unimportant in substance. Such of those as had (to my + knowledge) been pointed out before the publication of the latest edition + (at present the third) have been corrected there, and the remainder of the + criticisms have been, as far as seemed necessary, replied to. On the + whole, the book has done its work: it has shown the weak side of Sir + William Hamilton, and has reduced his too great philosophical reputation + within more moderate bounds; and by some of its discussions, as well as by + two expository chapters, on the notions of Matter and of Mind, it has + perhaps thrown additional light on some of the disputed questions in the + domain of psychology and metaphysics. + </p> + <p> + After the completion of the book on Hamilton, I applied myself to a task + which a variety of reasons seemed to render specially incumbent upon me; + that of giving an account, and forming an estimate, of the doctrines of + Auguste Comte. I had contributed more than any one else to make his + speculations known in England, and, in consequence chiefly of what I had + said of him in my <i>Logic</i>, he had readers and admirers among + thoughtful men on this side of the Channel at a time when his name had not + yet in France emerged from obscurity. So unknown and unappreciated was he + at the time when my <i>Logic</i> was written and published, that to + criticize his weak points might well appear superfluous, while it was a + duty to give as much publicity as one could to the important contributions + he had made to philosophic thought. At the time, however, at which I have + now arrived, this state of affairs had entirely changed. His name, at + least, was known almost universally, and the general character of his + doctrines very widely. He had taken his place in the estimation both of + friends and opponents, as one of the conspicuous figures in the thought of + the age. The better parts of his speculations had made great progress in + working their way into those minds, which, by their previous culture and + tendencies, were fitted to receive them: under cover of those better parts + those of a worse character, greatly developed and added to in his later + writings, had also made some way, having obtained active and enthusiastic + adherents, some of them of no inconsiderable personal merit, in England, + France, and other countries. These causes not only made it desirable that + some one should undertake the task of sifting what is good from what is + bad in M. Comte's speculations, but seemed to impose on myself in + particular a special obligation to make the attempt. This I accordingly + did in two essays, published in successive numbers of the <i>Westminster + Review</i>, and reprinted in a small volume under the title <i>Auguste + Comte and Positivism</i>. + </p> + <p> + The writings which I have now mentioned, together with a small number of + papers in periodicals which I have not deemed worth preserving, were the + whole of the products of my activity as a writer during the years from + 1859 to 1865. In the early part of the last-mentioned year, in compliance + with a wish frequently expressed to me by working men, I published cheap + People's Editions of those of my writings which seemed the most likely to + find readers among the working classes; viz, <i>Principles of Political + Economy</i>, <i>Liberty</i>, and <i>Representative Government</i>. This + was a considerable sacrifice of my pecuniary interest, especially as I + resigned all idea of deriving profit from the cheap editions, and after + ascertaining from my publishers the lowest price which they thought would + remunerate them on the usual terms of an equal division of profits, I gave + up my half share to enable the price to be fixed still lower. To the + credit of Messrs. Longman they fixed, unasked, a certain number of years + after which the copyright and stereotype plates were to revert to me, and + a certain number of copies after the sale of which I should receive half + of any further profit. This number of copies (which in the case of the <i>Political + Economy</i> was 10,000) has for some time been exceeded, and the People's + Editions have begun to yield me a small but unexpected pecuniary return, + though very far from an equivalent for the diminution of profit from the + Library Editions. + </p> + <p> + In this summary of my outward life I have now arrived at the period at + which my tranquil and retired existence as a writer of books was to be + exchanged for the less congenial occupation of a member of the House of + Commons. The proposal made to me, early in 1865, by some electors of + Westminster, did not present the idea to me for the first time. It was not + even the first offer I had received, for, more than ten years previous, in + consequence of my opinions on the Irish Land Question, Mr. Lucas and Mr. + Duffy, in the name of the popular party in Ireland, offered to bring me + into Parliament for an Irish county, which they could easily have done: + but the incompatibility of a seat in Parliament with the office I then + held in the India House, precluded even consideration of the proposal. + After I had quitted the India House, several of my friends would gladly + have seen me a member of Parliament; but there seemed no probability that + the idea would ever take any practical shape. I was convinced that no + numerous or influential portion of any electoral body, really wished to be + represented by a person of my opinions; and that one who possessed no + local connection or popularity, and who did not choose to stand as the + mere organ of a party had small chance of being elected anywhere unless + through the expenditure of money. Now it was, and is, my fixed conviction, + that a candidate ought not to incur one farthing of expense for + undertaking a public duty. Such of the lawful expenses of an election as + have no special reference to any particular candidate, ought to be borne + as a public charge, either by the State or by the locality. What has to be + done by the supporters of each candidate in order to bring his claims + properly before the constituency, should be done by unpaid agency or by + voluntary subscription. If members of the electoral body, or others, are + willing to subscribe money of their own for the purpose of bringing, by + lawful means, into Parliament some one who they think would be useful + there, no one is entitled to object: but that the expense, or any part of + it, should fall on the candidate, is fundamentally wrong; because it + amounts in reality to buying his seat. Even on the most favourable + supposition as to the mode in which the money is expended, there is a + legitimate suspicion that any one who gives money for leave to undertake a + public trust, has other than public ends to promote by it; and (a + consideration of the greatest importance) the cost of elections, when + borne by the candidates, deprives the nation of the services, as members + of Parliament, of all who cannot or will not afford to incur a heavy + expense. I do not say that, so long as there is scarcely a chance for an + independent candidate to come into Parliament without complying with this + vicious practice, it must always be morally wrong in him to spend money, + provided that no part of it is either directly or indirectly employed in + corruption. But, to justify it, he ought to be very certain that he can be + of more use to his country as a member of Parliament than in any other + mode which is open to him; and this assurance, in my own case, I did not + feel. It was by no means clear to me that I could do more to advance the + public objects which had a claim on my exertions, from the benches of the + House of Commons, than from the simple position of a writer. I felt, + therefore, that I ought not to seek election to Parliament, much less to + expend any money in procuring it. + </p> + <p> + But the conditions of the question were considerably altered when a body + of electors sought me out, and spontaneously offered to bring me forward + as their candidate. If it should appear, on explanation, that they + persisted in this wish, knowing my opinions, and accepting the only + conditions on which I could conscientiously serve, it was questionable + whether this was not one of those calls upon a member of the community by + his fellow-citizens, which he was scarcely justified in rejecting. I + therefore put their disposition to the proof by one of the frankest + explanations ever tendered, I should think, to an electoral body by a + candidate. I wrote, in reply to the offer, a letter for publication, + saying that I had no personal wish to be a member of Parliament, that I + thought a candidate ought neither to canvass nor to incur any expense, and + that I could not consent to do either. I said further, that if elected, I + could not undertake to give any of my time and labour to their local + interests. With respect to general politics, I told them without reserve, + what I thought on a number of important subjects on which they had asked + my opinion: and one of these being the suffrage, I made known to them, + among other things, my conviction (as I was bound to do, since I intended, + if elected, to act on it), that women were entitled to representation in + Parliament on the same terms with men. It was the first time, doubtless, + that such a doctrine had ever been mentioned to English electors; and the + fact that I was elected after proposing it, gave the start to the movement + which has since become so vigorous, in favour of women's suffrage. + Nothing, at the time, appeared more unlikely than that a candidate (if + candidate I could be called) whose professions and conduct set so + completely at defiance all ordinary notions of electioneering, should + nevertheless be elected. A well-known literary man[, who was also a man of + society,] was heard to say that the Almighty himself would have no chance + of being elected on such a programme. I strictly adhered to it, neither + spending money nor canvassing, nor did I take any personal part in the + election, until about a week preceding the day of nomination, when I + attended a few public meetings to state my principles and give to any + questions which the electors might exercise their just right of putting to + me for their own guidance; answers as plain and unreserved as my address. + On one subject only, my religious opinions, I announced from the beginning + that I would answer no questions; a determination which appeared to be + completely approved by those who attended the meetings. My frankness on + all other subjects on which I was interrogated, evidently did me far more + good than my answers, whatever they might be, did harm. Among the proofs I + received of this, one is too remarkable not to be recorded. In the + pamphlet, <i>Thoughts on Parliamentary Reform</i>, I had said, rather + bluntly, that the working classes, though differing from those of some + other countries, in being ashamed of lying, are yet generally liars. This + passage some opponent got printed in a placard, which was handed to me at + a meeting, chiefly composed of the working classes, and I was asked + whether I had written and published it. I at once answered "I did." + Scarcely were these two words out of my mouth, when vehement applause + resounded through the whole meeting. It was evident that the working + people were so accustomed to expect equivocation and evasion from those + who sought their suffrages, that when they found, instead of that, a + direct avowal of what was likely to be disagreeable to them, instead of + being affronted, they concluded at once that this was a person whom they + could trust. A more striking instance never came under my notice of what, + I believe, is the experience of those who best know the working classes, + that the most essential of all recommendations to their favour is that of + complete straightforwardness; its presence outweighs in their minds very + strong objections, while no amount of other qualities will make amends for + its apparent absence. The first working man who spoke after the incident I + have mentioned (it was Mr. Odger) said, that the working classes had no + desire not to be told of their faults; they wanted friends, not + flatterers, and felt under obligation to any one who told them anything in + themselves which he sincerely believed to require amendment. And to this + the meeting heartily responded. + </p> + <p> + Had I been defeated in the election, I should still have had no reason to + regret the contact it had brought me into with large bodies of my + countrymen; which not only gave me much new experience, but enabled me to + scatter my political opinions rather widely, and, by making me known in + many quarters where I had never before been heard of, increased the number + of my readers, and the presumable influence of my writings. These latter + effects were of course produced in a still greater degree, when, as much + to my surprise as to that of any one, I was returned to Parliament by a + majority of some hundreds over my Conservative competitor. + </p> + <p> + I was a member of the House during the three sessions of the Parliament + which passed the Reform Bill; during which time Parliament was necessarily + my main occupation, except during the recess. I was a tolerably frequent + speaker, sometimes of prepared speeches, sometimes extemporaneously. But + my choice of occasions was not such as I should have made if my leading + object had been Parliamentary influence. When I had gained the ear of the + House, which I did by a successful speech on Mr. Gladstone's Reform Bill, + the idea I proceeded on was that when anything was likely to be as well + done, or sufficiently well done, by other people, there was no necessity + for me to meddle with it. As I, therefore, in general reserved myself for + work which no others were likely to do, a great proportion of my + appearances were on points on which the bulk of the Liberal party, even + the advanced portion of it, either were of a different opinion from mine, + or were comparatively indifferent. Several of my speeches, especially one + against the motion for the abolition of capital punishment, and another in + favour of resuming the right of seizing enemies' goods in neutral vessels, + were opposed to what then was, and probably still is, regarded as the + advanced liberal opinion. My advocacy of women's suffrage and of Personal + Representation, were at the time looked upon by many as whims of my own; + but the great progress since made by those opinions, and especially the + response made from almost all parts of the kingdom to the demand for + women's suffrage, fully justified the timeliness of those movements, and + have made what was undertaken as a moral and social duty, a personal + success. Another duty which was particularly incumbent on me as one of the + Metropolitan Members, was the attempt to obtain a Municipal Government for + the Metropolis: but on that subject the indifference of the House of + Commons was such that I found hardly any help or support within its walls. + On this subject, however, I was the organ of an active and intelligent + body of persons outside, with whom, and not with me, the scheme + originated, and who carried on all the agitation on the subject and drew + up the Bills. My part was to bring in Bills already prepared, and to + sustain the discussion of them during the short time they were allowed to + remain before the House; after having taken an active part in the work of + a Committee presided over by Mr. Ayrton, which sat through the greater + part of the Session of 1866, to take evidence on the subject. The very + different position in which the question now stands (1870) may justly be + attributed to the preparation which went on during those years, and which + produced but little visible effect at the time; but all questions on which + there are strong private interests on one side, and only the public good + on the other, have a similar period of incubation to go through. + </p> + <p> + The same idea, that the use of my being in Parliament was to do work which + others were not able or not willing to do, made me think it my duty to + come to the front in defence of advanced Liberalism on occasions when the + obloquy to be encountered was such as most of the advanced Liberals in the + House, preferred not to incur. My first vote in the House was in support + of an amendment in favour of Ireland, moved by an Irish member, and for + which only five English and Scotch votes were given, including my own: the + other four were Mr. Bright, Mr. McLaren, Mr. T.B. Potter, and Mr. + Hadfield. And the second speech I delivered<a href="#linknote-9" + name="linknoteref-9" id="linknoteref-9"><small>9</small></a> was on the + bill to prolong the suspension of the Habeas Corpus in Ireland. In + denouncing, on this occasion, the English mode of governing Ireland, I did + no more than the general opinion of England now admits to have been just; + but the anger against Fenianism was then in all its freshness; any attack + on what Fenians attacked was looked upon as an apology for them; and I was + so unfavourably received by the House, that more than one of my friends + advised me (and my own judgment agreed with the advice) to wait, before + speaking again, for the favourable opportunity that would be given by the + first great debate on the Reform Bill. During this silence, many flattered + themselves that I had turned out a failure, and that they should not be + troubled with me any more. Perhaps their uncomplimentary comments may, by + the force of reaction, have helped to make my speech on the Reform Bill + the success it was. My position in the House was further improved by a + speech in which I insisted on the duty of paying off the National Debt + before our coal supplies are exhausted, and by an ironical reply to some + of the Tory leaders who had quoted against me certain passages of my + writings, and called me to account for others, especially for one in my <i>Considerations + on Representative Government</i>, which said that the Conservative party + was, by the law of its composition, the stupidest party. They gained + nothing by drawing attention to the passage, which up to that time had not + excited any notice, but the <i>sobriquet</i> of "the stupid party" stuck + to them for a considerable time afterwards. Having now no longer any + apprehension of not being listened to, I confined myself, as I have since + thought too much, to occasions on which my services seemed specially + needed, and abstained more than enough from speaking on the great party + questions. With the exception of Irish questions, and those which + concerned the working classes, a single speech on Mr. Disraeli's Reform + Bill was nearly all that I contributed to the great decisive debates of + the last two of my three sessions. + </p> + <p> + I have, however, much satisfaction in looking back to the part I took on + the two classes of subjects just mentioned. With regard to the working + classes, the chief topic of my speech on Mr. Gladstone's Reform Bill was + the assertion of their claims to the suffrage. A little later, after the + resignation of Lord Russell's Ministry and the succession of a Tory + Government, came the attempt of the working classes to hold a meeting in + Hyde Park, their exclusion by the police, and the breaking down of the + park railing by the crowd. Though Mr. Beales and the leaders of the + working men had retired under protest before this took place, a scuffle + ensued in which many innocent persons were maltreated by the police, and + the exasperation of the working men was extreme. They showed a + determination to make another attempt at a meeting in the Park, to which + many of them would probably have come armed; the Government made military + preparations to resist the attempt, and something very serious seemed + impending. At this crisis I really believe that I was the means of + preventing much mischief. I had in my place in Parliament taken the side + of the working men, and strongly censured the conduct of the Government. I + was invited, with several other Radical members, to a conference with the + leading members of the Council of the Reform League; and the task fell + chiefly upon myself, of persuading them to give up the Hyde Park project, + and hold their meeting elsewhere. It was not Mr. Beales and Colonel + Dickson who needed persuading; on the contrary, it was evident that these + gentlemen had already exerted their influence in the same direction, thus + far without success. It was the working men who held out, and so bent were + they on their original scheme, that I was obliged to have recourse to <i>les + grands moyens</i>. I told them that a proceeding which would certainly + produce a collision with the military, could only be justifiable on two + conditions: if the position of affairs had become such that a revolution + was desirable, and if they thought themselves able to accomplish one. To + this argument, after considerable discussion, they at last yielded: and I + was able to inform Mr. Walpole that their intention was given up. I shall + never forget the depth of his relief or the warmth of his expressions of + gratitude. After the working men had conceded so much to me, I felt bound + to comply with their request that I would attend and speak at their + meeting at the Agricultural Hall; the only meeting called by the Reform + League which I ever attended. I had always declined being a member of the + League, on the avowed ground that I did not agree in its programme of + manhood suffrage and the ballot: from the ballot I dissented entirely; and + I could not consent to hoist the flag of manhood suffrage, even on the + assurance that the exclusion of women was not intended to be implied; + since if one goes beyond what can be immediately carried, and professes to + take one's stand on a principle, one should go the whole length of the + principle. I have entered thus particularly into this matter because my + conduct on this occasion gave great displeasure to the Tory and + Tory-Liberal press, who have charged me ever since with having shown + myself, in the trials of public life, intemperate and passionate. I do not + know what they expected from me; but they had reason to be thankful to me + if they knew from what I had, in all probability preserved them. And I do + not believe it could have been done, at that particular juncture, by any + one else. No other person, I believe, had at that moment the necessary + influence for restraining the working classes, except Mr. Gladstone and + Mr. Bright, neither of whom was available: Mr. Gladstone, for obvious + reasons; Mr. Bright because he was out of town. + </p> + <p> + When, some time later, the Tory Government brought in a bill to prevent + public meetings in the Parks, I not only spoke strongly in opposition to + it, but formed one of a number of advanced Liberals, who, aided by the + very late period of the session, succeeded in defeating the Bill by what + is called talking it out. It has not since been renewed. + </p> + <p> + On Irish affairs also I felt bound to take a decided part. I was one of + the foremost in the deputation of Members of Parliament who prevailed on + Lord Derby to spare the life of the condemned Fenian insurgent, General + Burke. The Church question was so vigorously handled by the leaders of the + party, in the session of 1868, as to require no more from me than an + emphatic adhesion: but the land question was by no means in so advanced a + position; the superstitions of landlordism had up to that time been little + challenged, especially in Parliament, and the backward state of the + question, so far as concerned the Parliamentary mind, was evidenced by the + extremely mild measure brought in by Lord Russell's government in 1866, + which nevertheless could not be carried. On that bill I delivered one of + my most careful speeches, in which I attempted to lay down some of the + principles of the subject, in a manner calculated less to stimulate + friends, than to conciliate and convince opponents. The engrossing subject + of Parliamentary Reform prevented either this bill, or one of a similar + character brought in by Lord Derby's Government, from being carried + through. They never got beyond the second reading. Meanwhile the signs of + Irish disaffection had become much more decided; the demand for complete + separation between the two countries had assumed a menacing aspect, and + there were few who did not feel that if there was still any chance of + reconciling Ireland to the British connection, it could only be by the + adoption of much more thorough reforms in the territorial and social + relations of the country, than had yet been contemplated. The time seemed + to me to have come when it would be useful to speak out my whole mind; and + the result was my pamphlet <i>England and Ireland</i>, which was written + in the winter of 1867, and published shortly before the commencement of + the session of 1868. The leading features of the pamphlet were, on the one + hand, an argument to show the undesirableness, for Ireland as well as + England, of separation between the countries, and on the other, a proposal + for settling the land question by giving to the existing tenants a + permanent tenure, at a fixed rent, to be assessed after due inquiry by the + State. + </p> + <p> + The pamphlet was not popular, except in Ireland, as I did not expect it to + be. But, if no measure short of that which I proposed would do full + justice to Ireland, or afford a prospect of conciliating the mass of the + Irish people, the duty of proposing it was imperative; while if, on the + other hand, there was any intermediate course which had a claim to a + trial, I well knew that to propose something which would be called + extreme, was the true way not to impede but to facilitate a more moderate + experiment. It is most improbable that a measure conceding so much to the + tenantry as Mr. Gladstone's Irish Land Bill, would have been proposed by a + Government, or could have been carried through Parliament, unless the + British public had been led to perceive that a case might be made, and + perhaps a party formed, for a measure considerably stronger. It is the + character of the British people, or at least of the higher and middle + classes who pass muster for the British people, that to induce them to + approve of any change, it is necessary that they should look upon it as a + middle course: they think every proposal extreme and violent unless they + hear of some other proposal going still farther, upon which their + antipathy to extreme views may discharge itself. So it proved in the + present instance; my proposal was condemned, but any scheme for Irish Land + reform short of mine, came to be thought moderate by comparison. I may + observe that the attacks made on my plan usually gave a very incorrect + idea of its nature. It was usually discussed as a proposal that the State + should buy up the land and become the universal landlord; though in fact + it only offered to each individual landlord this as an alternative, if he + liked better to sell his estate than to retain it on the new conditions; + and I fully anticipated that most landlords would continue to prefer the + position of landowners to that of Government annuitants, and would retain + their existing relation to their tenants, often on more indulgent terms + than the full rents on which the compensation to be given them by + Government would have been based. This and many other explanations I gave + in a speech on Ireland, in the debate on Mr. Maguire's Resolution, early + in the session of 1868. A corrected report of this speech, together with + my speech on Mr. Fortescue's Bill, has been published (not by me, but with + my permission) in Ireland. + </p> + <p> + Another public duty, of a most serious kind, it was my lot to have to + perform, both in and out of Parliament, during these years. A disturbance + in Jamaica, provoked in the first instance by injustice, and exaggerated + by rage and panic into a premeditated rebellion, had been the motive or + excuse for taking hundreds of innocent lives by military violence, or by + sentence of what were called courts-martial, continuing for weeks after + the brief disturbance had been put down; with many added atrocities of + destruction of property logging women as well as men, and a general + display of the brutal recklessness which usually prevails when fire and + sword are let loose. The perpetrators of those deeds were defended and + applauded in England by the same kind of people who had so long upheld + negro slavery: and it seemed at first as if the British nation was about + to incur the disgrace of letting pass without even a protest, excesses of + authority as revolting as any of those for which, when perpetrated by the + instruments of other governments, Englishmen can hardly find terms + sufficient to express their abhorrence. After a short time, however, an + indignant feeling was roused: a voluntary Association formed itself under + the name of the Jamaica Committee, to take such deliberation and action as + the case might admit of, and adhesions poured in from all parts of the + country. I was abroad at the time, but I sent in my name to the Committee + as soon as I heard of it, and took an active part in the proceedings from + the time of my return. There was much more at stake than only justice to + the negroes, imperative as was that consideration. The question was, + whether the British dependencies, and eventually, perhaps, Great Britain + itself, were to be under the government of law, or of military licence; + whether the lives and persons of British subjects are at the mercy of any + two or three officers however raw and inexperienced or reckless and + brutal, whom a panic-stricken Governor, or other functionary, may assume + the right to constitute into a so-called court-martial. This question + could only be decided by an appeal to the tribunals; and such an appeal + the Committee determined to make. Their determination led to a change in + the chairmanship of the Committee, as the chairman, Mr. Charles Buxton, + thought it not unjust indeed, but inexpedient, to prosecute Governor Eyre + and his principal subordinates in a criminal court: but a numerously + attended general meeting of the Association having decided this point + against him, Mr. Buxton withdrew from the Committee, though continuing to + work in the cause, and I was, quite unexpectedly on my own part, proposed + and elected chairman. It became, in consequence, my duty to represent the + Committee in the House of Commons, sometimes by putting questions to the + Government, sometimes as the recipient of questions, more or less + provocative, addressed by individual members to myself; but especially as + speaker in the important debate originated in the session of 1866, by Mr. + Buxton: and the speech I then delivered is that which I should probably + select as the best of my speeches in Parliament.<a href="#linknote-10" + name="linknoteref-10" id="linknoteref-10"><small>10</small></a> For more + than two years we carried on the combat, trying every avenue legally open + to us, to the Courts of Criminal Justice. A bench of magistrates in one of + the most Tory counties in England dismissed our case: we were more + successful before the magistrates at Bow Street; which gave an opportunity + to the Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, Sir Alexander Cockburn, + for delivering his celebrated charge, which settled the law of the + question in favour of liberty, as far as it is in the power of a judge's + charge to settle it. There, however, our success ended, for the Old Bailey + Grand jury by throwing out our bill prevented the case from coming to + trial. It was clear that to bring English functionaries to the bar of a + criminal court for abuses of power committed against negroes and mulattoes + was not a popular proceeding with the English middle classes. We had, + however, redeemed, so far as lay in us, the character of our country, by + showing that there was at any rate a body of persons determined to use all + the means which the law afforded to obtain justice for the injured. We had + elicited from the highest criminal judge in the nation an authoritative + declaration that the law was what we maintained it to be; and we had given + an emphatic warning to those who might be tempted to similar guilt + hereafter, that, though they might escape the actual sentence of a + criminal tribunal, they were not safe against being put to some trouble + and expense in order to avoid it. Colonial governors and other persons in + authority, will have a considerable motive to stop short of such + extremities in future. + </p> + <p> + As a matter of curiosity I kept some specimens of the abusive letters, + almost all of them anonymous, which I received while these proceedings + were going on. They are evidence of the sympathy felt with the brutalities + in Jamaica by the brutal part of the population at home. They graduated + from coarse jokes, verbal and pictorial, up to threats of assassination. + </p> + <p> + Among other matters of importance in which I took an active part, but + which excited little interest in the public, two deserve particular + mention. I joined with several other independent Liberals in defeating an + Extradition Bill introduced at the very end of the session of 1866, and by + which, though surrender avowedly for political offences was not + authorized, political refugees, if charged by a foreign Government with + acts which are necessarily incident to all attempts at insurrection, would + have been surrendered to be dealt with by the criminal courts of the + Government against which they had rebelled: thus making the British + Government an accomplice in the vengeance of foreign despotisms. The + defeat of this proposal led to the appointment of a Select Committee (in + which I was included), to examine and report on the whole subject of + Extradition Treaties; and the result was, that in the Extradition Act + which passed through Parliament after I had ceased to be a member, + opportunity is given to any one whose extradition is demanded, of being + heard before an English court of justice to prove that the offence with + which he is charged, is really political. The cause of European freedom + has thus been saved from a serious misfortune, and our own country from a + great iniquity. The other subject to be mentioned is the fight kept up by + a body of advanced Liberals in the session of 1868, on the Bribery Bill of + Mr. Disraeli's Government, in which I took a very active part. I had taken + counsel with several of those who had applied their minds most carefully + to the details of the subject—Mr. W.D. Christie, Serjeant Pulling, + Mr. Chadwick—as well as bestowed much thought of my own, for the + purpose of framing such amendments and additional clauses as might make + the Bill really effective against the numerous modes of corruption, direct + and indirect, which might otherwise, as there was much reason to fear, be + increased instead of diminished by the Reform Act. We also aimed at + engrafting on the Bill, measures for diminishing the mischievous burden of + what are called the legitimate expenses of elections. Among our many + amendments, was that of Mr. Fawcett for making the returning officer's + expenses a charge on the rates, instead of on the candidates; another was + the prohibition of paid canvassers, and the limitation of paid agents to + one for each candidate; a third was the extension of the precautions and + penalties against bribery to municipal elections, which are well known to + be not only a preparatory school for bribery at parliamentary elections, + but an habitual cover for it. The Conservative Government, however, when + once they had carried the leading provision of their Bill (for which I + voted and spoke), the transfer of the jurisdiction in elections from the + House of Commons to the Judges, made a determined resistance to all other + improvements; and after one of our most important proposals, that of Mr. + Fawcett, had actually obtained a majority, they summoned the strength of + their party and threw out the clause in a subsequent stage. The Liberal + party in the House was greatly dishonoured by the conduct of many of its + members in giving no help whatever to this attempt to secure the necessary + conditions of an honest representation of the people. With their large + majority in the House they could have carried all the amendments, or + better ones if they had better to propose. But it was late in the session; + members were eager to set about their preparations for the impending + General Election: and while some (such as Sir Robert Anstruther) + honourably remained at their post, though rival candidates were already + canvassing their constituency, a much greater number placed their + electioneering interests before their public duty. Many Liberals also + looked with indifference on legislation against bribery, thinking that it + merely diverted public interest from the Ballot, which they considered—very + mistakenly as I expect it will turn out—to be a sufficient, and the + only, remedy. From these causes our fight, though kept up with great + vigour for several nights, was wholly unsuccessful, and the practices + which we sought to render more difficult, prevailed more widely than ever + in the first General Election held under the new electoral law. + </p> + <p> + In the general debates on Mr. Disraeli's Reform Bill, my participation was + limited to the one speech already mentioned; but I made the Bill an + occasion for bringing the two great improvements which remain to be made + in Representative Government, formally before the House and the nation. + One of them was Personal, or, as it is called with equal propriety, + Proportional Representation. I brought this under the consideration of the + House, by an expository and argumentative speech on Mr. Hare's plan; and + subsequently I was active in support of the very imperfect substitute for + that plan, which, in a small number of constituencies, Parliament was + induced to adopt. This poor makeshift had scarcely any recommendation, + except that it was a partial recognition of the evil which it did so + little to remedy. As such, however, it was attacked by the same fallacies, + and required to be defended on the same principles, as a really good + measure; and its adoption in a few Parliamentary elections, as well as the + subsequent introduction of what is called the Cumulative Vote in the + elections for the London School Board, have had the good effect of + converting the equal claim of all electors to a proportional share in the + representation, from a subject of merely speculative discussion, into a + question of practical politics, much sooner than would otherwise have been + the case. + </p> + <p> + This assertion of my opinions on Personal Representation cannot be + credited with any considerable or visible amount of practical result. It + was otherwise with the other motion which I made in the form of an + amendment to the Reform Bill, and which was by far the most important, + perhaps the only really important, public service I performed in the + capacity of a Member of Parliament: a motion to strike out the words which + were understood to limit the electoral franchise to males, and thereby to + admit to the suffrage all women who, as householders or otherwise, + possessed the qualification required of male electors. For women not to + make their claim to the suffrage, at the time when the elective franchise + was being largely extended, would have been to abjure the claim + altogether; and a movement on the subject was begun in 1866, when I + presented a petition for the suffrage, signed by a considerable number of + distinguished women. But it was as yet uncertain whether the proposal + would obtain more than a few stray votes in the House: and when, after a + debate in which the speaker's on the contrary side were conspicuous by + their feebleness, the votes recorded in favour of the motion amounted to + 73—made up by pairs and tellers to above 80—the surprise was + general, and the encouragement great: the greater, too, because one of + those who voted for the motion was Mr. Bright, a fact which could only be + attributed to the impression made on him by the debate, as he had + previously made no secret of his nonconcurrence in the proposal. [The time + appeared to my daughter, Miss Helen Taylor, to have come for forming a + Society for the extension of the suffrage to women. The existence of the + Society is due to my daughter's initiative; its constitution was planned + entirely by her, and she was the soul of the movement during its first + years, though delicate health and superabundant occupation made her + decline to be a member of the Executive Committee. Many distinguished + members of parliament, professors, and others, and some of the most + eminent women of whom the country can boast, became members of the + Society, a large proportion either directly or indirectly through my + daughter's influence, she having written the greater number, and all the + best, of the letters by which adhesions was obtained, even when those + letters bore my signature. In two remarkable instances, those of Miss + Nightingale and Miss Mary Carpenter, the reluctance those ladies had at + first felt to come forward, (for it was not on their past difference of + opinion) was overcome by appeals written by my daughter though signed by + me. Associations for the same object were formed in various local centres, + Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol, and Glasgow; and others which + have done much valuable work for the cause. All the Societies take the + title of branches of the National Society for Women's Suffrage; but each + has its own governing body, and acts in complete independence of the + others.] + </p> + <p> + I believe I have mentioned all that is worth remembering of my proceedings + in the House. But their enumeration, even if complete, would give but an + inadequate idea of my occupations during that period, and especially of + the time taken up by correspondence. For many years before my election to + Parliament, I had been continually receiving letters from strangers, + mostly addressed to me as a writer on philosophy, and either propounding + difficulties or communicating thoughts on subjects connected with logic or + political economy. In common, I suppose, with all who are known as + political economists, I was a recipient of all the shallow theories and + absurd proposals by which people are perpetually endeavouring to show the + way to universal wealth and happiness by some artful reorganization of the + currency. When there were signs of sufficient intelligence in the writers + to make it worth while attempting to put them right, I took the trouble to + point out their errors, until the growth of my correspondence made it + necessary to dismiss such persons with very brief answers. Many, however, + of the communications I received were more worthy of attention than these, + and in some, oversights of detail were pointed out in my writings, which I + was thus enabled to correct. Correspondence of this sort naturally + multiplied with the multiplication of the subjects on which I wrote, + especially those of a metaphysical character. But when I became a member + of Parliament. I began to receive letters on private grievances and on + every imaginable subject that related to any kind of public affairs, + however remote from my knowledge or pursuits. It was not my constituents + in Westminster who laid this burthen on me: they kept with remarkable + fidelity to the understanding on which I had consented to serve. I + received, indeed, now and then an application from some ingenuous youth to + procure for him a small government appointment; but these were few, and + how simple and ignorant the writers were, was shown by the fact that the + applications came in about equally whichever party was in power. My + invariable answer was, that it was contrary to the principles on which I + was elected to ask favours of any Government. But, on the whole, hardly + any part of the country gave me less trouble than my own constituents. The + general mass of correspondence, however, swelled into an oppressive + burthen. + </p> + <p> + [At this time, and thenceforth, a great proportion of all my letters + (including many which found their way into the newspapers) were not + written by me but by my daughter; at first merely from her willingness to + help in disposing of a mass of letters greater than I could get through + without assistance, but afterwards because I thought the letters she wrote + superior to mine, and more so in proportion to the difficulty and + importance of the occasion. Even those which I wrote myself were generally + much improved by her, as is also the case with all the more recent of my + prepared speeches, of which, and of some of my published writings, not a + few passages, and those the most successful, were hers.] + </p> + <p> + While I remained in Parliament my work as an author was unavoidably + limited to the recess. During that time I wrote (besides the pamphlet on + Ireland, already mentioned), the Essay on Plato, published in the <i>Edinburgh + Review</i>, and reprinted in the third volume of <i>Dissertations and + Discussions</i>; and the address which, conformably to custom, I delivered + to the University of St. Andrew's, whose students had done me the honour + of electing me to the office of Rector. In this Discourse I gave + expression to many thoughts and opinions which had been accumulating in me + through life, respecting the various studies which belong to a liberal + education, their uses and influences, and the mode in which they should be + pursued to render their influences most beneficial. The position taken up, + vindicating the high educational value alike of the old classic and the + new scientific studies, on even stronger grounds than are urged by most of + their advocates, and insisting that it is only the stupid inefficiency of + the usual teaching which makes those studies be regarded as competitors + instead of allies, was, I think, calculated, not only to aid and stimulate + the improvement which has happily commenced in the national institutions + for higher education, but to diffuse juster ideas than we often find, even + in highly educated men, on the conditions of the highest mental + cultivation. + </p> + <p> + During this period also I commenced (and completed soon after I had left + Parliament) the performance of a duty to philosophy and to the memory of + my father, by preparing and publishing an edition of the <i>Analysis of + the Phenomena of the Human Mind</i>, with notes bringing up the doctrines + of that admirable book to the latest improvements in science and in + speculation. This was a joint undertaking: the psychological notes being + furnished in about equal proportions by Mr. Bain and myself, while Mr. + Grote supplied some valuable contributions on points in the history of + philosophy incidentally raised, and Dr. Andrew Findlater supplied the + deficiencies in the book which had been occasioned by the imperfect + philological knowledge of the time when it was written. Having been + originally published at a time when the current of metaphysical + speculation ran in a quite opposite direction to the psychology of + Experience and Association, the <i>Analysis</i> had not obtained the + amount of immediate success which it deserved, though it had made a deep + impression on many individual minds, and had largely contributed, through + those minds, to create that more favourable atmosphere for the Association + Psychology of which we now have the benefit. Admirably adapted for a class + book of the Experience Metaphysics, it only required to be enriched, and + in some cases corrected, by the results of more recent labours in the same + school of thought, to stand, as it now does, in company with Mr. Bain's + treatises, at the head of the systematic works on Analytic psychology. + </p> + <p> + In the autumn of 1868 the Parliament which passed the Reform Act was + dissolved, and at the new election for Westminster I was thrown out; not + to my surprise, nor, I believe, to that of my principal supporters, though + in the few days preceding the election they had become more sanguine than + before. That I should not have been elected at all would not have required + any explanation; what excites curiosity is that I should have been elected + the first time, or, having been elected then, should have been defeated + afterwards. But the efforts made to defeat me were far greater on the + second occasion than on the first. For one thing, the Tory Government was + now struggling for existence, and success in any contest was of more + importance to them. Then, too, all persons of Tory feelings were far more + embittered against me individually than on the previous occasion; many who + had at first been either favourable or indifferent, were vehemently + opposed to my re-election. As I had shown in my political writings that I + was aware of the weak points in democratic opinions, some Conservatives, + it seems, had not been without hopes of finding me an opponent of + democracy: as I was able to see the Conservative side of the question, + they presumed that, like them, I could not see any other side. Yet if they + had really read my writings, they would have known that after giving full + weight to all that appeared to me well grounded in the arguments against + democracy, I unhesitatingly decided in its favour, while recommending that + it should be accompanied by such institutions as were consistent with its + principle and calculated to ward off its inconveniences: one of the chief + of these remedies being Proportional Representation, on which scarcely any + of the Conservatives gave me any support. Some Tory expectations appear to + have been founded on the approbation I had expressed of plural voting, + under certain conditions: and it has been surmised that the suggestion of + this sort made in one of the resolutions which Mr. Disraeli introduced + into the House preparatory to his Reform Bill (a suggestion which meeting + with no favour, he did not press), may have been occasioned by what I had + written on the point: but if so, it was forgotten that I had made it an + express condition that the privilege of a plurality of votes should be + annexed to education, not to property, and even so, had approved of it + only on the supposition of universal suffrage. How utterly inadmissible + such plural voting would be under the suffrage given by the present Reform + Act, is proved, to any who could otherwise doubt it, by the very small + weight which the working classes are found to possess in elections, even + under the law which gives no more votes to any one elector than to any + other. + </p> + <p> + While I thus was far more obnoxious to the Tory interest, and to many + Conservative Liberals than I had formerly been, the course I pursued in + Parliament had by no means been such as to make Liberals generally at all + enthusiastic in my support. It has already been mentioned, how large a + proportion of my prominent appearances had been on questions on which I + differed from most of the Liberal party, or about which they cared little, + and how few occasions there had been on which the line I took was such as + could lead them to attach any great value to me as an organ of their + opinions. I had moreover done things which had excited, in many minds, a + personal prejudice against me. Many were offended by what they called the + persecution of Mr. Eyre: and still greater offence was taken at my sending + a subscription to the election expenses of Mr. Bradlaugh. Having refused + to be at any expense for my own election, and having had all its expenses + defrayed by others, I felt under a peculiar obligation to subscribe in my + turn where funds were deficient for candidates whose election was + desirable. I accordingly sent subscriptions to nearly all the working + class candidates, and among others to Mr. Bradlaugh. He had the support of + the working classes; having heard him speak, I knew him to be a man of + ability and he had proved that he was the reverse of a demagogue, by + placing himself in strong opposition to the prevailing opinion of the + democratic party on two such important subjects as Malthusianism and + Personal Representation. Men of this sort, who, while sharing the + democratic feelings of the working classes, judged political questions for + themselves, and had courage to assert their individual convictions against + popular opposition, were needed, as it seemed to me, in Parliament, and I + did not think that Mr. Bradlaugh's anti-religious opinions (even though he + had been intemperate in the expression of them) ought to exclude him. In + subscribing, however, to his election, I did what would have been highly + imprudent if I had been at liberty to consider only the interests of my + own re-election; and, as might be expected, the utmost possible use, both + fair and unfair, was made of this act of mine to stir up the electors of + Westminster against me. To these various causes, combined with an + unscrupulous use of the usual pecuniary and other influences on the side + of my Tory competitor, while none were used on my side, it is to be + ascribed that I failed at my second election after having succeeded at the + first. No sooner was the result of the election known than I received + three or four invitations to become a candidate for other constituencies, + chiefly counties; but even if success could have been expected, and this + without expense, I was not disposed to deny myself the relief of returning + to private life. I had no cause to feel humiliated at my rejection by the + electors; and if I had, the feeling would have been far outweighed by the + numerous expressions of regret which I received from all sorts of persons + and places, and in a most marked degree from those members of the liberal + party in Parliament, with whom I had been accustomed to act. + </p> + <p> + Since that time little has occurred which there is need to commemorate in + this place. I returned to my old pursuits and to the enjoyment of a + country life in the south of Europe, alternating twice a year with a + residence of some weeks or months in the neighbourhood of London. I have + written various articles in periodicals (chiefly in my friend Mr. Morley's + <i>Fortnightly Review</i>), have made a small number of speeches on public + occasions, especially at the meetings of the Women's Suffrage Society, + have published the <i>Subjection of Women</i>, written some years before, + with some additions [by my daughter and myself,] and have commenced the + preparation of matter for future books, of which it will be time to speak + more particularly if I live to finish them. Here, therefore, for the + present, this memoir may close. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_NOTE" id="link2H_NOTE"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + NOTES: + </h2> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-1" id="linknote-1"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-1">return</a>)<br /> [ In a subsequent stage of + boyhood, when these exercises had ceased to be compulsory, like most + youthful writers I wrote tragedies; under the inspiration not so much of + Shakspeare as of Joanna Baillie, whose <i>Constantine Paleologus</i> in + particular appeared to me one of the most glorious of human compositions. + I still think it one of the best dramas of the last two centuries.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-2" id="linknote-2"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-2">return</a>)<br /> [ The continuation of this + article in the second number of the <i>Review</i> was written by me under + my father's eye, and (except as practice in composition, in which respect + it was, to me, more useful than anything else I ever wrote) was of little + or no value.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-3" id="linknote-3"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-3">return</a>)<br /> [ Written about 1861.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-4" id="linknote-4"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-4">return</a>)<br /> [ The steps in my mental + growth for which I was indebted to her were far from being those which a + person wholly uninformed on the subject would probably suspect. It might + be supposed, for instance, that my strong convictions on the complete + equality in all legal, political, social, and domestic relations, which + ought to exist between men and women, may have been adopted or learnt from + her. This was so far from being the fact, that those convictions were + among the earliest results of the application of my mind to political + subjects, and the strength with which I held them was, as I believe, more + than anything else, the originating cause of the interest she felt in me. + What is true is that, until I knew her, the opinion was in my mind little + more than an abstract principle. I saw no more reason why women should be + held in legal subjection to other people, than why men should. I was + certain that their interests required fully as much protection as those of + men, and were quite as little likely to obtain it without an equal voice + in making the laws by which they were bound. But that perception of the + vast practical bearings of women's disabilities which found expression in + the book on the <i>Subjection of Women</i> was acquired mainly through her + teaching. But for her rare knowledge of human nature and comprehension of + moral and social influences, though I should doubtless have held my + present opinions, I should have had a very insufficient perception of the + mode in which the consequences of the inferior position of women + intertwine themselves with all the evils of existing society and with all + the difficulties of human improvement. I am indeed painfully conscious of + how much of her best thoughts on the subject I have failed to reproduce, + and how greatly that little treatise falls short of what it would have + been if she had put on paper her entire mind on this question, or had + lived to revise and improve, as she certainly would have done, my + imperfect statement of the case.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-5" id="linknote-5"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-5">return</a>)<br /> [ The only person from whom I + received any direct assistence in the preparation of the <i>System of + Logic</i> was Mr. Bain, since so justly celebrated for his philosophical + writings. He went carefully through the manuscript before it was sent to + the press, and enriched it with a great number of additional examples and + illustrations from science; many of which, as well as some detached + remarks of his own in confirmation of my logical views, I inserted nearly + in his own words.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-6" id="linknote-6"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-6">return</a>)<br /> [ A few dedicatory lines + acknowledging what the book owed to her, were prefixed to some of the + presentation copies of the <i>Political Economy</i> on iets first + publication. Her dislike of publicity alone prevented their insertion in + the other copies of the work. During the years which intervened between + the commencement of my married life and the catastrophe which closed it, + the principal occurrences of my outward existence (unless I count as such + a first attack of the family disease, and a consequent journey of more + than six months for the recovery of health, in Italy, Sicily, and Greece) + had reference to my position in the India House. In 1856 I was promoted to + the rank of chief of the office in which I had served for upwards of + thirty-three years. The appointment, that of Examiner of India + Correspondence, was the highest, +next to that of Secretary, in the East + India Company's home service, involving the general superintendence of all + the correspondence with the Indian Governments, except the military, + naval, and financial. I held this office as long as it continued to exist, + being a little more than two years; after which it pleased Parliament, in + other words Lord Palmerston, to put an end to the East india Company as a + branch of the government of India under the Crown, and convert the + administration of that country into a thing to be scrambled for by the + second and third class of English parliamentary politicians. I was the + chief manager of the resistance which the Company made to their own + political extinction, and to the letters and petitions I wrote for them, + and the concluding chapter of my treatise on Representative Government, I + must refer for my opinions on the folly and mischief of this + ill-considered change. Personally I considered myself a gainer by it, as I + had given enough of my life to india, and was not unwilling to retire on + the liberal compensation granted. After the change was consummated, Lord + Stanley, the first Secretary of State for India, made me the honourable + offer of a seat in the Council, and the proposal was subsequently renewed + by the Council itself, on the first occasion of its having to supply a + vacancy in its own body. But the conditions of Indian government under the + new system made me anticipate nothing but useless vexation and waste of + effort from any participation in it: and nothing that has since happened + has had any tendency to make me regret my refusal.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-7" id="linknote-7"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-7">return</a>)<br /> [ In 1869.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-8" id="linknote-8"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-8">return</a>)<br /> [ The saying of this true + hero, after his capture, that he was worth more for hanging than any other + purpose, reminds one, by its combination of wit, wisdom, and + self-devotion, of Sir Thomas More.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-9" id="linknote-9"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-9">return</a>)<br /> [ The first was in answer to + Mr. Lowe's reply to Mr. Bright on the Cattle Plague Bill, and was thought + at the time to have helped to get rid of a provision in the Government + measure which would have given to landholders a second indemnity, after + they had already been once indemnified for the loss of some of their + cattle by the increased selling price of the remainder.] + </p> + <p> + <br /><a name="linknote-10" id="linknote-10"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-10">return</a>)<br /> [ Among the most active + members of the Committee were Mr. P.A. Taylor, M.P., always faithful and + energetic in every assertion of the principles of liberty; Mr. Goldwin + Smith, Mr. Frederic Harrison, Mr. Slack, Mr. Chamerovzow, Mr. Shaen, and + Mr. Chesson, the Honorary Secretary of the Association.] + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10378 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |