and died in 1891. After
a life, not without some adventures,
during which he was engaged in such
varied pursuits as mining, school-teaching,
and finally journalism, he retired
from work with a scanty fortune. Five
years afterwards he passed peacefully
away without apparent illness or pain,
having just started on a cruise alone
in his canoe.
It was during these
five years, that he concentrated his
attention on the Spiritual Laws, and
published his thoughts about them.
To many these thoughts may seem dreams;
to others they are priceless truths.
To criticise his ideas and assertions
is not our wish here, though it would
not be difficult to point out discrepancies
and inconsistences which, however,
do not affect the value of his general
teaching.
That he is a wise teacher
and no dogmatist is apparent from
his own words: "In the spiritual
life every person is his or her own
discoverer, and you need not grieve
if your discoveries are not believed
by others. It is not your business
to push on, find more and increase
individual happiness."
To him, any rate, is
due the credit of having been a pioneer
in the thought which is now influencing
people throughout the world, and his
influence is very apparent in the
writings of all teachers of the same
school who followed him
J.W.