Telegram-herald., 1890-07-21
WILLIAM HOWELL
An Educated Man Who Never
Read 4 Book.
A NOVEL THEORY OF TIE UNIVERSE
A Phenomenal Vi aethOd of self-Edaeattet
Results IN = Phenomenal ststsaa
Of Phiios0Phy-A Modest Retir-
IRs Grand Rapids Thinker.

An old gentleman was nominsted for
chronological examination atthe Wind
soT lectureship, on Thursday evening,
whose mental character might have
afforded the audience. and perhaps the
professor himself, much profit. The
gentleman's name is William Howell,
OF AS Crescent-aye., and he IS an extra
ordinary character. There is known TO
the writer but one parallel 10 his case
in all history. Mr.. Howell is retired
farmer, and has come TO town 10 1--we
by reason OF his advanced years.
The other subject of the parallel
spoken of is John Stuart Mil. His
father possessed eccentric ideas
of religion. and early isolated
the son from all contach with re-
hglous influences. He beiievedthat
the religious "instlnct," SO called, ia
man is wholly q cultivated sense and
not innate. To prove his theory, he re-
moved the promising boy from every
religious contact, carefully training the
youths mind under his own super
vision, but allowing the religious nature
10 grow up wild" The result OF this
experiment is now historical.
There is in Grand Rapids q remark
able example of another experiment OF
a parallel nature. There is one element
OF difference which makes the Grand
Rapids case amore remarkable one than
the English case. William Howell,
early IN life conceived the idea of
experimenting upon hls own mind, or
rather of avoiding forever what he re-
garded the great mischief of mankind.
His juvenile notion was that all ignor-
ance and error are transmitted from
mind 10 mind principally through litera-
airy channels. He believed that every
man ought TO gam his scientific knowl-
edge as we'll as his religious belief by ms
own individual observation and study OF
nature. He believed that every man
mas within himself the capacity to in
terpret nature and the universe, with
out the assistance of other minds. Con-
sequently he early resolved never 10
read book. During a long and sue
cessful business life Mr.. Howell has
never read book. He has cultivated
his mind Oh the scientific side wholly
by personal observation of nature. He
has by no means fallen, under this self
starving process, into mental paralysis,
He has by no means consumed his own
mental substance and wasted into men,
tai emaciation. On the contrary, his
mind is intensely active, such as the ac-
tivity Is. He is interested in all sub
jecls whatsoever, but has William How
ellis own ideas upon those subjects. HIS
nd a l-p "a WI Ia u ~ "a
of Herbert Spencer. as far as mere am
plltude of vibration goes. He has 3
theory of the rise of the present order
Of things and Of its decadence. Espec-
tally is he interested IN the origin of life
ard processes TO have made the dIscOv-
cry of it by first declining even to know
what others have thought and SAID of
il, and then by thinking it out for HIM
self. He says that before light and
heat were there was no hfe. From this
postulate he has elaborated biology
difficult to be followed by persons ac-
cnstomed to totally different lines OF
thought.
OF course such n man as Howell can
have no intellectual sympathy with any
of his fellows, but for this very reason
he presents an interesting phrenologl-
Cal stuul- Ills Dn|rlOEuoHif II IllOSt
striking one, using the word in Prof.
Windsor's broader sense. 1t is to be re-
gretted that the phrenologist at Won
derland did not give the world delin-
cation Of this remarkable man.
The origin of heat and light, as we
knowit, is IN the sun, and therefore the
sun lis the primal source of life. Inasmuch
as the one constant condition of life is
heat and lignt, life is but transfigura-
ton of those forces. All life, wherever
existing, III high forms or low, is the
same, and IS transformed light and heat.
1t is e-transferrable into light and heat,
and the process is death. The force
which today is life in my body, may be
tomorrow doing service as light and
! hea. in terminating plant, and the
! next day may enter another man 10y
digestion of the plant. Thus, "of dnst
we are, and unto dust we return" is
| not only true, but it is also true that OF
! light and heat we are, and unto light
and heat we return. The noticeable
feature of the old mans philosophy is
! that it does not seem to take account
of the mysteries OF human thought and
/ consciousness. His mind clings to the
physical process in total UNCONSCIOUS
/ ness that the duality of things ever en-
| tered any mans mind.