No man having
any faith in humanity, not even Mr. Mill himself, will deny the power of
individual genius to make its impression even on the mediocre masses;
for that would be to deny the essential nature and efficiency of
originality, and its capacity to accomplish the work which it is
destined to do for the benefit of mankind. Actual conditions at the
present moment, may possibly place unusual obstructions in the way of
genius; though the entire freedom and accessibility of the press would
seem to negative that view. At any rate, it follows from the very
premises of Mr. Mill and those who think with him, that the actual
organization of society, of which he complains, if it can be wielded in
the interest of great ideas, is possessed of an authority which will
make its decrees irresistible. In this fact we see ground of hope,
rather than of despair, for the future of mankind. Mediocrity cannot
always hold the reins and direct the progress of human society.
In his work on representative government, Mr. Mill fully recognizes the
operation of free institutions as 'an agency of national education;' and
he well says, 'a representative constitution is a means of bringing the
general standard of intelligence and honesty existing in the community,
and the individual intellect and virtue of its wisest members more
directly to bear upon the government, and investing them with greater
influence in it than they would have under any other mode of
organization.
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