John Stuart Mill: A Criticism with Personal Recollections

COMMENCEMENT OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. 85
to it his views as to the great social questions ; although, we
must confess, the bond of connexion was somewhat loose, and
the larger Sociology would have been a more fitting occasion
for such wide-reaching topics.
In a letter dated Feb., 1846, he announces that the third
part of the Political Economy is written. He says, in the Auto
biography, that it was the most rapidly written of any of his
books which showed that the ; subject had been well matured.
He turned aside to write an article for the Edinburgh on French
politics, the text being a series of political papers by Charles
Duveyrier. Louis Philippe was now at the height of his pros
perity ; but the political system was very unsatisfactory : and
Mill returned for a little to his old interest in France, and
discussed in his usual style the workings of the constitutional
system, its weakness, and its remedies. His author a calm,
clear-sighted reasoner put much stress upon a second chamber
made up of old officials, and Mill sympathizes with his object
in desiring a counterpoise to democracy : but remarks, with
his usual acuteness,
popular power, but of any power, ".
"
It is not the uncontrolled ascendancy of
which is formidable
The
article came out in April, 1846. It appears that the Editor
thought fit to omit a passage controverting the prevailing notion
of the warlike propensity of the French. Mill wished the
had been retained :
" The opinion is a very old and
passage
firm one with me, founded on a good deal of personal observa
"
tion ", He adds, the Edinburgh has lately been sometimes
very unjust to the French ".
He further interrupted the Political Economy to write his
review of Grote s first two volumes, which appeared in the
Edinburgh in October. This was, in every sense, a labour of
love; love of the subject, love of the author, and admiration
of the work. Writing in September, he says,
"
I have just
corrected the proof of my review of Grote, in which I have
introduced no little of the Comtean philosophy of religion.
Altogether I like the thing, though I wrote it in exactly four