strengthened by the encounter with error; weak and false arguments,
which really injure truth, will give way, and the solid foundations of
impregnable logic will be substituted in their place. It is impossible
to overestimate the service done to a good cause, by exposing it
fearlessly to the worst attacks of its enemies. 'The fatal tendency of
mankind to leave off thinking about a thing when it is no longer
doubtful, is the cause of half their errors. A contemporary author has
well spoken of 'the deep slumber of a decided opinion.'' And another
author enthusiastically exclaims: 'All hail, therefore, to those who, by
attacking a truth, prevent that truth from slumbering. All hail to those
bold and fearless natures, the heretics and innovators of the day, who,
rousing men out of their lazy sleep, sound in their ears the tocsin and
the clarion, and force them to come forth that they may do battle for
their creed. Of all evils, torpor is the most deadly. Give us paradox,
give us error, give us what you will, so that you save us from
stagnation. It is the cold spirit of routine which is the nightshade of
our nature. It sits upon men like a blight, blunting their faculties,
withering their powers, and making them both unable and unwilling to
struggle for the truth, or to figure to themselves what it is they
really believe.'

The chapter which Mr. Mill devotes to this subject--the liberty of
discussion and publication--is thoroughly exhaustive in its character.
It presents the question in almost every light in which it is desirable
to see it, and successfully meets every objection which can be made to
his doctrine. For the first time, a logical and philosophical exposition
of the great principles of liberty is presented to the world, and that
too in a most readable and attractive form. The work is calculated to do
immense good. It places liberty on a rational foundation, and dispels
every doubt which might have been entertained by the timid, as to the
safety and propriety of permitting free discussion on those points of
belief which are too often held to be beyond the domain of investigation
and argument. We do not pretend, here, to give anything like a synopsis
of the grounds assumed, and the reasonings adopted by the author. A full
and correct idea of these can only be obtained from the book itself. But
before leaving this part of the work, we cannot forbear quoting a
passage on this subject from an essay by Henry Thomas Bu