James Howell

James Howell – Life, Writings, and Legacy

Explore the life and work of James Howell (c. 1594 – 1666)—Anglo-Welsh writer, historian, letter-writer, lexicographer, and early professional man of letters. Delve into his biography, major works, style, and enduring influence.

Introduction

James Howell occupies a distinctive place in 17th-century English letters. Born around 1594 and dying in 1666, he was one of the first authors in the English language to sustain himself by his pen. His Epistolae Ho-Elianae (Familiar Letters) won him enduring fame, and his work on multilingual lexicography, proverbs, travel writing, and occasional poetry illustrate both his wide curiosity and the shifting intellectual landscape of his era. Though his historical reliability is sometimes questioned, his lively prose, practical engagement with his world, and linguistic ambition make him an intriguing figure for literary and cultural study.

Early Life and Education

James Howell was probably born in Abernant, Carmarthenshire, Wales, the son of Thomas Howell, a Welsh clergyman (later rector of Cynwil and Aber-nant). Hereford Free School.

Around 1610, he matriculated at Jesus College, Oxford, and by 1613 he had taken his Bachelor of Arts degree.

Career and Major Works

Early Careers & Travel

After university, Howell held varied employments. Early on, he worked in a glassworks business, acting as a manager or agent, including overseas operations.

In the 1620s, he traveled extensively: missions in Spain, Italy, France, Denmark, and elsewhere. Instructions for Forreine Travell (1642).

Howell also engaged in diplomatic, secretarial, and administrative service. He served as secretary to several noble households, sought patronage, and attempted to secure official office, including applying to be a clerk of the Privy Council (on the eve of the English Civil War).

In 1627, he was elected Member of Parliament for Richmond, Yorkshire.

Imprisonment & Literary Production

During the English Civil War period, in 1643, Howell was imprisoned in the Fleet Prison—officially for debt, but possibly also because of political suspicion tied to his views or pamphleteering. 1651.

While in prison, and before and after, he was extremely productive as a writer. To support himself, he published essays, letters, poetry, translations, dictionaries, and grammar works.

His Epistolae Ho-Elianae: Familiar Letters Domestic and Forren (1645–1655) is his best-known work. This multivolume collection of letters—on matters large and small, personal and political—captures both his era and his temperament.

Other major works include:

• Dodona’s Grove, or the Vocall Forest (1640) — an allegorical work presenting European politics under the guise of anthropomorphized trees.

• Instructions for Forreine Travell (1642) — a travel manual of sorts, offering observations for English travelers abroad.

• Lexicon Tetraglotton (1660) — a quadrilingual dictionary (English, French, Italian, Spanish) with a thematic (topical) arrangement.

• Proverbs, or Old Sayed Saws & Adages (various languages, 1659) — often bound with the Lexicon.

• A New English Grammar (1662) — intended partly for foreigners learning English, and including spelling reform proposals.

• Occasional poems, pamphlets, and translations of works from Italian, Spanish, and French.

At the Restoration in 1661, Howell was appointed Historiographer Royal, a recognition of his learned service.

He died in November 1666 and was buried in the Temple Church in London.

Style, Themes & Significance

Style & Voice

Howell’s writing is conversational, eclectic, observant, and often digressive. In his letters he mixes anecdote, opinion, moral reflection, news, and personal commentary.

He was also ambitious about language. His lexical works, multilingual fluency, inclusion of Welsh quotations, and interest in grammar reflect a project to bridge cultures and facilitate cross-linguistic understanding.

Themes & Concerns

1. Travel, cultural encounter & observation
   His letters and travel writings show curiosity about continental politics, manners, and customs.

2. Patronage, ambition & survival
   Many of his writings are bound up with securing patronage, flattering influential figures, and navigating shifting political climates.

3. Allegory & political commentary
   In Dodona’s Grove, he encodes commentary on European and English political dynamics via allegory of forests and trees.

4. Multilingual and cross-cultural mediation
   His lexicographic works and proverbs show an attempt to relate languages and cultures.

5. Moral reflection & worldly wisdom
   His proverbs and letters often offer advice, maxims, and reflections on virtue, fortune, moderation, and folly.

Influence & Legacy

• Howell is often credited as one of the earliest authors in English to support himself purely by writing.

• His Epistolae Ho-Elianae remained popular over time, influencing the development of the English epistolary tradition and informal prose.

• His lexicons and proverbs contributed to the growth of lexicography and multilingual reference works in the 17th century.

• In Welsh biographical traditions, Howell is looked upon as a national literary figure, especially for his inclusion and respect for Welsh language and perspective.

• Literary critics have examined Howell for what he reveals about the professionalization of authorship in early modern England, the role of patronage, and the evolving relationship between individual authors and shifting politics.

However, his work is not without limitation: critics note the unevenness of his allegory (Dodona’s Grove is often judged contrived), his willing flattery and occasional inconsistency, and the difficulties in distinguishing fact from fiction in his letters.

Selected Quotes & Proverbs

Though Howell’s works are not as quotable in modern anthologies, he is credited with including or popularizing “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” in his Proverbs.

From his letters and writings, we find reflections like:

• “Senesco non segnesco” — his personal motto, “I grow old but do not grow slack.”

• In his writing he often meditates on Fortune, change, and human frailty — though exact pithy phrases are less cited in modern sources.

Because many letters are long and discursive, his “quotations” tend to emerge in context rather than as isolated aphorisms.

Lessons from James Howell

1. The author as professional
   Howell’s life exemplifies the shift from patron-client dependency toward authorship as livelihood—a model for later professional writers.

2. Multiplicity over specialization
   His career spanned lexicography, travel writing, political pamphleteering, translation, sermons, poetry and letter writing. A model of intellectual versatility.

3. Adaptation in unstable times
   Living through civil war, regime change, and incarceration, Howell navigated changing allegiances and circumstances, often adopting a pragmatic tone.

4. Language as bridge and tool
   His lexicons and multilingual works remind us that fluency in multiple tongues allows resonance across boundaries.

5. Mixed legacy invites nuance
   Howell is neither an ideal heroic figure nor a flawless master; his strengths, compromises, ambitions, failures—all invite a balanced examination of how early modern writers lived and wrote.

Conclusion

James Howell stands as a transitional figure: rooted in the 17th century, but gesturing toward the modern author. His letters, lexicons, translations, and occasional works offer a window into the ambitions, anxieties, and linguistic experiments of his age. His ability to straddle languages, courts, politics, and observation makes him a compelling subject for anyone interested in the early modern English literary world.