The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-07-02

| WIN MIN lIOm iLi-
proving for the reason that have mentioned
that had not the courage to run the risk Of
being snubbed."
1t Is In q chapter allotted to John Bright that
we FIRST hear something about John Stuart
Mill. Bright especially admired Mil, 1t seems,
for his courage in coming out OF his study 10
stand IN on public platforms in defence OF the
Northern side during our civil war. He had
the profoundest respect for Mills intellect and
expanded knowledge. MILL" he said to Nc
Carthy once, lives in light" But he became
impatient when Mill went in for the represent
taton Of minorlties and became an opponent
OF vote by ballot. Bright maintained that a
man by setting himself to be thinker might
think himself out Of practical politics alto
Rether II MILL he said. would come out OF his
| tower-chamber OF thinking and follow his hui
man instincts IL would be great deal better for
| him and for society. Mil" he used to say.
secs men rs trees walking" He thought
that some OF the writers In the Morning star
! went rather too far in their admiration for
| Mill. and seemed to treat him as a sort Of
| sublime intellectual mower. commissioned to
| deliver oracles. and too great to be argued with
| by ordinary human beings. The truth is that
| Bright had little admiration for university
| men or for the university systems OF England.
| until Goodwin Smith and the late Thorod
| Rogers came out as Radical politicians. and
| then Bright began to admit that there might
be some reason for the existence Of such in
stitutions. Not. OF course. that John Stuart
Mill was the graduate OF any university. but he
had learned the Greek alphabet ut the age
OF 3. and Bright Jumped university men and
all classically educated men together In the
| first volume OF this book. John Stuart Mil has
chapter to himself. in the course of which we
! read that physical constitution, intellectual
| peculiarities. temperament. and habits. all
seemed to mark out MIL as man destined to a
| life OF habitual seclusion. He was not by any
| means an ungenial or unsoclal man-indeed. he
| enjoyed the society OF his intimate friends but
| then his intimate friends were very few in
| number, and the public in general knew him
| only as writer, or. perhaps. should say. as
| an influence. and hardly thought Of him
as living man. Over the minds Of oil the
| thoughtful men. especially OF the younger
and rising generation. his influence was
| immense. 1t was we'll said OF him that
he had reconcled political economy with
humanity. and that was exactly the kind OF
feeling with which most OF us regarded his life
| and his teaching. But. until tho outbreak OF
| the American civil war. no one ever looked
| upon him as a man likely to take any par. In
| public agitation. or even to show himself uron
q public platform. His very appearance was
| unknown to the vast mass OF the community:
| shop windows. The few OF us who had actually
seen him were less likely than ever. after they
had first seen him. to associate him with any
manner OF public discussion. His pale face,
his emaciated features the nervous twitchnR
OF tho eyelids and the lips the shy and hesi-
tating manner. the voice that seemed I'M
willing to exert its strength, all seemed
to mark him as one whose vocation 1t
was to teach from the study and not from
the platform" After Mill entered the House
OF Commons. Mr.. Mccarthy saw a good deal OF
him. and was greatly impressed. he tells us, BY
the variety and the depth Of Mills intorma-
ton on almost every subject which was brought
under his notice. and at the originality OF his
views on some subjects which might have ap-
peared entirely outside the range OF his OBJ
servations. Once the author talked to Mill
about the Fenian movement. which was then
beginning to make itself felt in Ireland and
also in England People in London at the
time. even Liberal politicians. were disposed to
make very light Of 1t. Mill. on the contrary
expressed a strong conviction that the Fenian
movement was likely TO take hold OF
the vast mass OF the disaffected In
Ireland. and could not be gos rid OF
by the use OF little extra force on the
part OF the police and the soldiery This was
not, the author says the only occasion when
he found that Mills knowledge OF the condi-
tlon and the feeling OF Ireland was far deeper
and truer than that possessed by p.any high
ly educated Englshman. even among English
public men who were in sympathy with Ire
land. and sincerely anxious to improve her po-
litical and social condition. Mr.. Mccarthy
made many observations OF tho same kind
when conversing with Mill on quite different
subjects. He remembers. for instance. talking
with him about Germa n literature. OF which Mil
did not profess to have any special knowlege.
but OF which, nevertheless. he proved to have
great deal more than some did who fancied
that they had made II an absorbing study Our
author mentioned Goethe's saying to the effect
that the beautiful was higher than the
good, and admitted that the saying had
always puzzled him. Mill said with q quiet
smile that he had always understood the saying
to mean that the beautiful was higher than the
good because the beautiful was the good made
perfect Mill told our author at the same time
that he had not been reading much German Of
late. owing to many new OCCUPATIONS, and that
he did not feel particularly strong on German
II think he told me that the languages he knew
best after English were classic Creek and
French. and he told me that he had never real
learned French or Greek in the ordinary sense,
but had simply learned them from his father,
word by word or step by step. just as he had
learned English. Since that time I remember
CUNNING VI tHt pdSSdke III bTeVlle4 DIARY, In
which Greville speaks OF young Mil when he
first met him. and adds that he had heard that
young MIL was cleverer man than his
father. do not know what were Mills ac-
QuirementS In languages. and never ventured
to ask him. but l believe that. although he
never set up as n linguist. his acquaintance
with foreign tongues was unusually large. lib.
eral and exact" Summing up his Impressions
OF Mil, our author adopts some words first
used by Mr. John Morley as the most satsiac-
tory expression ~ his own Judgment and feel
ings a wiser and more virtuous man have
never known and do not expect to know: and
yet have had the RoC fortune to know many
wise and virtuous men. ! never knew any
man Of really great intellect who carried less
o. tho ordinary WAYS OF greatness about him |
There was charm In thu, very shyness OF his |
manner when one remem bered how strong he |
could be and how fearless he could be II the |
occasion, called for display OF fortitude and
courage"
III.
To Froude and Freeman. between whom
there was at least the association OF contrast
n phaDtar ia 0yAn In ha