George William Russell, better known as 1867-1935, mystic, poet, painter, journalist, editor, and practical rural economist, was a pivotal figure in the Irish literary revival and in the emergence of modern Ireland. From the beginning of the twentieth century he formed life-long friendships with W. B. Yeats, George Moore, Lord Dunsany, James Stephens, Stephen Mackenna translator of the Enneads of Plotinus, James Joyce, and other writers, thinkers, and artists, and was closely associated with the Fay brothers in the Irish National Theatre Society later the Abbey Theatre. Russell's influence was as extensive in practical and political affairs as it was in the more intimate spiritual domain many writers were first encouraged by Russell's editorial guidance in the Irish Homestead and, later, the Irish Statesman - among others, Frank O'Connor, Sean O'Faolain, Liam O'Flaherty, F. R. Higgins, and Patrick Kavanagh. Nations conceive of themselves as guided or sustained by a divine wisdom, and