Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

CWSA 27

Fragment ID: 6794

James Cousins on In the Moonlight and The Rishi [2]

Amal says Cousins ignored The Rishi while speaking of the others. Isn’t that far worse?

Neither worse nor better. What does Cousins’ bad opinion about The Rishi matter to me? I know the limitations of my poetry and also its qualities. I know also the qualities of Cousins as a critic and also his limitations. If Milton had written during the life of Cousins instead of having an established reputation for centuries, Cousins would have said of Paradise Lost and still more of Paradise Regained “This is not poetry, this is theology.” Note that I don’t mean to say that The Rishi is anywhere near Paradise Lost, but it is poetry as well as spiritual philosophy.

13 November 1936