, 1874-11-29
I0HN STUART MILLS LAST WORD.

JOHN STUART MILLS LAST WORD.
It cannot be said Of Alr. Mill that he died aud
gave no sign. None OF his writings published
during his lifetime awakened 80 wide spread
interest as tho two books published Stree lis
death. His Autobiography, published about
year ago, was the book of tho season. And it
was delineator Of go remarkable h development
and as some may think, arrested development
of montal and spiritual culture. rs to insure
for tho book permanent place in our literature.
But another volume has just now made its ap-
pearance and is being read and commented upon
with uncommon eagerncss. It treats OF the
highest themes that engage human thought.
This is done III three essays, on Nature, - Tho
Utility of Religion" and - Thoism-'
Alr. Gladstone once spoke OF Mr.. Mill as " the
conscience Of the house of Commons" In his
Autobiography, singularly- sincere book, he
says OF himself that he never changed his relig-
ious belief, for ho never possessed any. That
liz had no positive religious beliefs. he took
some paine, during bin life, to conceal from the
general public. .-leayingit for his Autobiography
sud these posthumous Essays to tell the story.
The former book showed him to be thor
ough-going skeptic, denying every doc
trine OF Christianity; but this one pre-
aents him as lowering about tho ragged
edge of absolute Atheism. and shivering over the
awful decision whether or not to plunge into the
ABYSS OF absolute Pessimism. Nature seemed to
! him, st times at least, only an'ininitely huge.
bllnd, Leartless. blundering Power, displaying
no moral design whatever, and absolutely reck-
! less in it's operat:ons-as likely, in somo freak.
| to destroy tho acoumulations OF centuries of
noble etriyingB as to cxush the friyolites OF an
| idle hour. He does not diaguise his bitterness
| aud indignation in view Of ''such q clumsily
constructed md capriciously- ly-governed creation
AZ this planet aud its Inhabitants" He perceives
| no ben1guity in it. How, by the way, it ever
| came to produce so perfect being as that raro
! flower Of humanity, his wife,-whosem memory. be
confesses became to him "religion, he does
not stop to explain. But ii he did. probably tho
| afrcak" rbout that would have appeared to him
| to be her unsimeiy taking-on, just when ho
| needed and craved her companionship most.
That the dnrk mysteries OF tho universe may yhave
silver lining. he does not. indeed, deny; neither
| dares he affirm it. He scarcely dared to
guess that it might be So The operations Of
Nature seemed 20 essentially fataiistic, and re-
| gardless Of what might bo called moral consid-
! s-ations, ae to eirord hardly sny proof that the
Maker ot tho universe could be moral being
But, it should be stated, his mood WAS not al
! rays tho same. And 11r. a1il with transparent
honesty, unsurpassed by that OF either August
| ire's or Buuyan's confessions" mas portrayed
the opposite workings Of his mind. And there
ia nothing more profoundly significant in
this most pathetic book, particularly the
last essay in it, written latest in 1870. than
tue admissions which he makes. Tho
existence of God. sud Of mans Immortality, ia
| declared to be at least "possibility." That any
"mode of organization" has the power OF pro-
ducing feeling or thought, science, he SAYS. has
no power to prove. He admits TINT there is a
"very slow and often almost lnsensible progress
BY which good is gradually gaining ground from
evil. get gaining it visbly ut considerable inter
va1s Us to promise very distant but not uncertain
final victory Of Good" II ne suppose that there
t is God then, hs allows, it is rational to be-
| lieye that He might give revelation
| Of His will. Nor. in that case, would
t even miracles bo beyond possible proof. Ho
| declares explicitly that miracle is altogether
pogsible,-1 We ndmit q God.
He O. frankly coufceses that mans life sorely
needs 1.-THE wider range and greater height OF
inspiration" which the religious ideas, if only
true would furnish. Though lie denies their
certainty, it is good be thinks, to cherish fondly
the possibilities that they may yet prove real.
| His philosophy never allows him to Transcend
"perhnps," which is the one word that, more
than any other. expresses the attitude Of his
mind on all these obstinate quostionings. yet ho
cIings tenacioualy to that.
But tho most interesting and ddeoply-aisnidcant
of oil bis admissions are those which relate to
| the character Of Christ The involuntary ho-
mage which he pnya to Him as the Supromo
| Moral Man of our race, goes far. 1t may be, to-
wnrd explaining tho reasoning in Mr. Mills char
| acter for the memorable compliment which Glad
| stone paid him. He speaks OF Christ as
"uniaue figure, not more unlike all His precur-
| sors than all his followers. even those Who had
the direct benefit Of His personal teaching"
He treats with some 1mpatience the notion that
| the Christ of the Gospels Is not historical For
! rho, Of the men Of His time, he asks, was "ca-
pable OF inventing the sayings ascribed to Jesus
or OF imagining the life and character revealed
in the Gospels"? He also speaks OF Him as
"tho ideal representative and guide Of human
ity II: and declares that it would not :" even now
be casv. even for an unbe]iever. to find better
| translation Of the rule OF virtue, from the ab-
stract to the concrete than to eudeayor so to
live that Christ would approve cur liie," He also
allows that "to the conception Of rational skep-
tic. it remains possibility that Christ actually
Was what He supposed Himself to be,-a man
| charged With special, express, unique commits
aion from God. to lead mankind to truth and
vktuo''; and that He possessed TIA qualities Of
"probably the greatest moral roformer 1ad mar
tyr to His mission who ever existed upon earth -
This, then, is the latest word from John Stu
| art Mill, who, with ali his cool md seemingly
almost cold serenity, Was most keenly seusitive
and eympathetic. Through lfo ho struggled
| with the bias toward Atheism which his
father. with grim mixture Of parental fond
ness and patornal deapotisnn. forced upon his
education from the beginning. But he strug-
| gled yet more with the difficulties which the ac-
tual sight Of thia worlds eoings-on thrusts per-
| eieteptiv upon reflective and sensitive porson8,
Nevertheless, this Inst deliberative utte.anco
from hts pen shows 11r. hllt ona still clingtng
| L. 1xhot nsannad tn him nj thA nhnla L nrn0ou-