"To the beloved memory of Harriet Mill"
I visited Avignon and the surrounding area over the weekend. On Sunday morning I went and found John Stuart Mill’s tomb in the cemetery. He is buried there with his wife, whom had died 15 years previous.
Although the sides of the tomb bear his name, the marble top contains the eulogy written by Mill to his wife, Harriet. It reads:
To the beloved memory
of
HARRIET MILL
the dearly loved of deeply regretted
wife of JOHN STUART MILL.
Her great and loving heart,
her noble soul,
her clear, powerful, original and
comprehensive intellect,
made her the guide and support,
the instructor in wisdom,
and the example in goodness
as she was the sole earthly delight
of those who had the happiness to belong to her.
As earnest for all public good
as she was generous and devoted
to all who surrounded her,
her influence has been felt
in many of the greatest
improvements of the age
and will be in those to come.
Were there even a few hearts and intellects
like hers
the earth would already become
the hoped for heaven.
She died,
to the irreparable loss of those who survive her,
at Avignon Nov. 3 1858
Quite moving.
