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Correspondence from Aleister Crowley to Colonel Brown
[Undated: circa May 1913]
Dear Col Brown,
Thanks for your letter which I find waiting for me on my return after a month's holiday. I enclose a copy of the Keat's poem. I can understand that your volumes are not intended for scholars, but this country is England, and you must pretend that they are, or somebody will come along and blackmail you. You won't find booksellers take the risk unless you go along with a pious expression and call yourself an archeologist or something ridiculous.
With regard to the altering of other people's work, it is not at all a question of my opinion. In the opinion of any literary man of any sort, to alter any man's work is unanimously deemed to be the greatest crime that is possible, even if you are the brightest star in the literary firmament and the man you alter is a worm. By altering a man's work, you know only show presumption in supposing that you know what to say better than he did, but you take away his character, and when your author happens to be dead it is particularly wrong. I am bound also to point out that some of your proposed alterations deliberately destroy the point. If you write 'lie' instead of 'kneel' you completely destroy the picture—epigram (perhaps of a character familiar to you from your reading of Martial. Say nothing, as it is pointing in the last line say nothing, on the "contrary continue". This poem should go in the book with the orange cover although it shows but one digit of the number.
I am afraid I do not know Victoria Cross. I should very mush like to read your friend's version of her visit to the Rajah. Directly I go to Paris I will get Martial's epigrams typed and have a copy sent to you.
I am extremely busy and have not had time to go through the whole of your Vol 1 as I should like, but it seems to me a very admirable and useful collection. I had not expected to find it so good. Please accept my heartiest congratulations. I am returning the magazine by registered port.
It is rather curious your being baffled by Collected Works. A complaint made ever here is that usually pieces entirely quotable are too frequent, though of course I never write anything of the sort without it is a serious moral lesson. Please forgive me for disagreeing with you so strongly on the question of altering the text, but I feel very strongly in the matter, and there is surely no need. You have your own ideas and should be able to enshrine them in poetry of your own.
P.S. If I come across anything that I think suitable for you and that you are unlikely to have, I will send it along. Pray expect the Martial within a reasonable time. I should think not more than at the outside two months from now.
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