[PatrickHenry]

I think Stace probably intended it in the sense of Russell being an unknown, unread writer ...

I donno ... That's a difficult interpretation for me. Russell, during his lifetime, was an international celebrity. The only thing that makes sense (to me) is that the critic was talking about the clarity of Russell's his writing -- and that too is nonsensical. Either way, it was neat for Russell, whose reputation for brilliance was unquestioned, to dismiss someone he regarded as a hack critic by saying: "Well, I guess you must be right." I'll still stick with my analysis, but I've been wrong before. As you know, in his declining years, Russell became a kook for pacifism, but in his prime he was awesome.

[general_re]

I think Stace intended it as an insult, to be truthful. While Stace is obscure these days, it wasn't always so. His main bag was mysticism, and an attempt to explore mystical experiences (visions, revelations, dreams, et cetera) as though they were real phenomena, indicative of some reality external to oneself. Given that, it should hardly be surprising that he had little use for Russell, and Russell for him. But like I said, these days, Stace is the obscure one, getting what little play he gets in New-Agey crystal-gripping circles, although he did enjoy a bit of a resurgence in the '60's with the Timothy Leary/Carlos Castaneda-types, for obvious reasons.