Once again I have found the pure intellectual levelness of John Cowper Powys to be awe inspiring. This short essay concerns itself with the dogmatic materialism and dogmatic idealism, two polar extremes of society that aim to find happiness in either complete science or complete mysticism. The poetic tongue Powys deploys here is sometimes so rich, I know that a second or third reading with more focus is needed. However, that makes for a lot of depth in a work of only 45 pages. I think even Powys admits that in such a short work it is not feasible to chart the whole extent of this topic. More so I think he concentrates on what happiness may be rather than the art of obtaining it. I do prescribe to the idea that one can never be truly happy (Whatever happiness actually is - one man's happiness is another man's crappiness), more so I appreciate that Powys also recognises this despite the title of the treatise. Who Powys is addressing here is the sensitive being, who finds himself pitted against so much of humanity that makes him feel unhappy. So a bit like saying here is a guide for tall people on how to avoid banging your head.

I recommend this read wholly in as much as Powys is master of painting an idea with such brevity as he can, to degrees of which he can unravel complicated concepts in a single paragraph, concepts that in the hands of another writer may take up several chapters. ( )

[b]Wednesday, August 16, 2006 6:19 AM
Powys, John Cowper The Art of Happiness
New Haven PL (via ILL) 1935[/b]

This must be one of the first books ever published as a pure "self-help" text, and not as a make a million dollars Napoleon Hill sort of work. (Indeed, I wonder to what extent one may have read the other, though Powys claims he'd only reads old English authors.) Rather amusing that several references are made to the "dawning of the Age of Aquarius" , since this was written in 1935.

But as to the "meat" of this text, I actually had to force myself to read through it twice, and I still have no real idea what his central thesis was. I think he offers this work as a practical response to getting through life by being happy, and he sets forth three techniques on how to get there, whose odd names have already slipped my mind. I think he also actually overstates the misery the average man feels, as he goes on page after page in this sort of vein. His views as to gender differences are downright odd as in young men should not be encouraged to read novels, young women should, the necessity of husband and wife to lie to each other to get through their daily lives, and how horrible he feels it is for young women to live at home with their mothers. I doubt I shall ever have the opportunity to revisit this text, but it wouldn't surprise me if I look back at it in time to come…and scratch my head and ask myself just what the hell was going on here. ( )