HenryLonguevilleMansel1820-1871，5*Hamilton’smostnoteworthyinterpreter，wasatypicalOxforddon，asbecamehisbirth。Hewasthedescendantofanoldfamilyofcountry-gentlemen，theyoungermembersofwhichhadenteredthearmyornavyorheldthefamilyliving。Hehadbeenabrilliantschoolboy，haddistinguishedhimselfinOxfordexaminations，andbecameknownasawitincommon-rooms，awriterofvivacioussquibs，andasoundToryandhighChurchman。Hehadaclearintellect，aforciblestyle，andhadstudiedtheologyandGermanmetaphysicswithremarkableenergy。HeapparentlybeganasaKantian；buthewasgreatlyimpressedbySirWilliamHamilton，withwhomhehadnopersonalrelations；andheadoptedfromHamiltonthepeculiartheorywhichwastoenlistKantintheserviceofthechurchofEngland。HisBamptonLecturesin1858
madehimfamousasachampionoforthodoxy。In1868hewasappointedtothedeaneryofStPaul’s；buthislabourshadbeentoomuchforhisbrain，andhediedsuddenlyin1871。
HamiltonstartedunderthedoubleinfluenceoftheScottishphilosophyandofAristotle。Formallogicwastohimthemostcongenialofstudies。Hewouldhavebeenthoroughlyinhiselementinthemedievalschools，syllogisingtothedeath。
Accordingtoanenthusiasticpupil，helaidthetopstoneonthefabricfoundedbythe’masterhandoftheStagirite。’6*Hewasinhiselementwhendividing，subdividing，andcross-dividingallmannerofphilosophicaltenets。Theaimwasadmirable。Tohaveallopinionsproperlyarticulatedandcorrelatedwouldbethefinalresultofahistoryofphilosophyandasteptofurtherprogress。Thedangerofacceptingsuchaclassificationprematurelyisequallyobvious。Thetechnicaltermsofmetaphysicshavethemostprovokinghabitofshiftingtheirmeaning；theyshadeoffimperceptiblyintoeachother，andsometimesevenchangeplaces；theyrepresentaspectsoftruthcaughtfromaparticularpointofview，whichbecomeinapplicableorcarrydifferentimplicationsasthepointofviewimperceptiblyshifts。Whatappeartobecontradictoryutterancesmaybemerelyqualificationsofeachother，ormaymeanthesamethingindifferentdialects。Asystembuiltofsuchunsubstantialandslipperymaterialsisapttocrumbleintomerechaoswithoutextremecareandpenetration。Hamilton，mostfullyawareofthisingeneralterms，wasneverthelessnotsufficientlyonhisguard。
Healwaysseemstofancythathecanavoidallambiguitiesbyadefinition，anddoesnotrememberthatthewordsbywhichhedefinesareasshiftingintheirsenseastheworddefined。TheconsiderationisespeciallyimportantbecauseitisHamilton’smainpurposetomediatebetweenconflictingopinions。HestartsfromReid’s’common-sense，’andhastoshowhowthepositioncanbeprotectedagainstscepticismontheonesideandmysticismontheother。