When I was in Nashville for Dan’s funeral I stumbled across an old
copy of William’s Cowper’s letters, which I’ve been reading a bit since.
Cowper lived a very complex and tragic life. He went insane four times,
attempted suicide on several occasions, and was debilitated by
depression for long periods of time, including his final ten years of
life. He was also a profound Christian and extremely gifted poet and
writer. His “God Moves in a Mysterious Way” is one of my
favorite hymns. It was fascinating to get to know Cowper through his
personal letters and learn about his daily life in 18th century England,
as well as his friendships with people like John Newton, his views of
the Revolutionary War in America, the Slave Trade, marriage, wealth,
literature, God’s sovereignty, his own eccentricity, and a variety of
other things. He kind of reminds of Kierkegaard, but as a poet rather
than philosopher.
Reading about his descriptions of his depression produced an effect
in me which is difficult to describe. I don’t really have a category for
what Cowper endured. I found myself looking for a hidden happy ending, a
ray of sunshine amidst the darkness and gloom, or at least some kind of
lesson to be learned from it all – some theological brackets which
could wrap around his experience and interpret it. Nothing like that
emerged. The final pages of the book indicate an increasingly dismal
spiral downwards into despondency as Cowper became more and more
consumed with thoughts of guilt, despair, and judgment.
Here is an excerpt from a letter late in his life: Keep Reading >>>
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