What I now principally feel is that the death of Lincoln, like that of Socrates, is a worthy end to a noble life, and puts the seal of universal remembrance upon his worth. He has now a place among the great names of history, and one could have wished nothing better for him personally than to die almost or quite unconsciously, in perhaps the happiest moment of his life. How one rejoices that he lived to know of Lee's surrender.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "What I now principally feel is that the death of Lincoln, like that of Socrates, is a worthy end to a noble life, and puts the seal of universal remembrance upon his worth. He has now a place among the great names of history, and one could have wished nothing better for him personally than to die almost or quite unconsciously, in perhaps the happiest moment of his life. How one rejoices that he lived to know of Lee's surrender." in the context of "John Stuart Mill to John Elliot Cairnes (28 May 1865), quoted in Michael St. John Packe, The Life of John Stuart Mill (1954), p. 426" to mean that wisdom is timeless.