The circumstance that the following remarks were originally published as
an anonymous article in a Review, will best explain the style in which
they are written. Absence from England prevented me from becoming
acquainted with Mr. Mill's _Examination of Sir William Hamilton's
Philosophy_ till some time after its publication; and when I was
requested to undertake the task of reviewing it, I was still ignorant of
its contents. On proceeding to fulfil my engagement, I soon discovered,
not only that the character of the book was very different from what the
author's reputation had led me to expect, but also that my task would be
one, not merely of criticism, but, in some degree, of self-defence. The
remarks on myself, coming from a writer of Mr. Mill's ability and
reputation, were such as I could not pass over without notice; while, at
the same time, I felt that my principal duty in this instance was the
defence of one who was no longer living to defend himself. Under these
circumstances, the best course appeared to be, to devote the greater
portion of my article to an exposition and vindication of Sir W.
Hamilton's teaching; and, in the additional remarks which it was
necessary to make on the more personal part of the controversy, to speak
of myself in the third person, as I should have spoken of any other
writer. The form thus adopted has been retained in the present
republication, though the article now appears with the name of its
author.
My original intention of writing a review of the entire book was
necessarily abandoned as soon as I became acquainted with its contents.
To have done justice to the whole subject, or to Mr. Mill's treatment of
it, would have required a volume nearly as large as his own. I therefore
determined to confine myself to the _Philosophy of the Conditioned_, both
as the most original and important portion of Sir W. Hamilton's teaching,
and as that which occupies the first place in Mr. Mill's _Examination_.