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Quotation from A System of Logic, Book III: Of Induction by John Stuart Mill
“Why is a single instance, in some cases, sufficient for a complete induction, while in others, myriads of concurring instances, without a single exception known or presumed, go such a very little way toward establishing a universal proposition?”
A System of Logic, Book III: Of Induction, Book III, Ch. III, § 3 (8th ed. (New York: Harper, 1882); Project Gutenberg text)
The question with which Mill closes the chapter, after the example of the white swans.
Citation: "Why is a single instance, in some cases, sufficient for a complete induction, while in others, myriads of concurring instances, without a single exception known or presumed, go such a very little way toward establishing a universal proposition?" — John Stuart Mill, A System of Logic, Book III: Of Induction, Book III, Ch. III, § 3 (8th ed. (New York: Harper, 1882); Project Gutenberg text). (id mill-system-of-logic-book-iii-q3)
Portrait: John Stuart Mill by London Stereoscopic Company, c1870, London Stereoscopic Company, Public domain.
