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James Henry Cousins - Wisdom is wisdom only to the wise
Identifier
014616
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
James Henry Cousins (22 July 1873 – 20 February 1956) was an Irish writer, playwright, actor, critic, editor, teacher and poet. He used several pseudonyms including Mac Oisín and the Hindu name Jayaram.
He was born at 18, Kevor Street in Belfast, Ireland, the descendant of Huguenot refugees. He was largely self-educated at night schools and after working some time as a clerk became private secretary and speechwriter to Sir Daniel Dixon, 1st Baronet, the Lord Mayor of Belfast. In 1897 he moved to Dublin where he became part of a literary circle which included William Butler Yeats, George William Russell and James Joyce. He is believed to have served as a model for the Little Chandler character in Joyce's short story collection Dubliners. Cousins was significantly influenced by Russell's ability to reconcile mysticism with a pragmatic approach to social reforms
He had a lifelong interest in the 'paranormal' and acted as reporter in several experiments carried out by William Fletcher Barrett, Professor of physics at Dublin University and one of the founders of the Society for Psychical Research.
A description of the experience
James H Cousins – from Vision
But for an inner Voice that said 'Arise!
Wisdom is wisdom only to the wise
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From The Future Poetry by Sri Aurobindo:
The discovery of the word, the divine movement, the form of thought proper to the reality which, as Mr. Cousins excellently says,
" lies in the apprehension of a something stable behind the instability of word and deed, something that is reflection of the fundamental passion of humanity for something beyond itself, something that is a dim foreshadowing of the divine urge which is prompting all creation to unfold itself and to rise out of its limitations towards its Godlike possibilities. Poetry in the past has done that in moments of supreme elevation; in the future there seems to be some chance of its making it a more conscious aim and steadfast endeavour."