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Correspondence from George MacNie Cowie to Aleister Crowley
14 Glenisla Gardens, Edinburgh.
[Undated: circa 1915?]
Care Frater
Violent steam-roller attack repulsed! F[iat] P[ax]—withdrawing his tortoise-like brain within his carapace the steam roller goes on its wild career harmlessly. But as this threatens to become an endless subject leading to great waste of steam I conclude that the wisest plan will be to state in plain language words precisely what I feel about this matter and wherein lies my special horror of the Hun.
[Note: page of diatribe against the Hun omitted.]
The horror that has weighed on my mind is frankly this, that the gang of high-placed but ignoble ruffians, who have got the control are really in a wrongheaded and low minded way attempting to carry out the law of the Strong, and that judging by the M.S. you gave me to read, you apparently recognise them as exponents of the Law and glory in the fact that it will enable us to lift our heads as exponents of that Law. I do not know whether I have misread or not—I am stating frankly the condition of mind I am in about this matter, it is impossible for me to believe the Law of Thelema means mere license.
We will put it down as due to my own misunderstanding, but to speak frankly, there is something totally incomprehensible to me in your attitude towards the Germans. In one of your early poems you come down like a Holy Terror on the toes of the English, dismissing the Hun with a friendly pat on the back—mind and be a good boy Germany and one day you'll be O.H.O. [Outer Head of the Order]. Why this thusness? I'm not quarrelling with your views of matters, I know you are not dependent on the daily paper, like me, for your sources of information. But I have a right to my own point of view and if the Hun blatantly announces that he'd like to cut my throat and that in the most sneaky way possible, do you imagine that I am going to present the Hun with an illuminated address extolling his gallantry and virtues, and take the rest of it lying down, a la genteel Jesus and without expressing my unspeakable opinion of him. Not much.
After all this is only a question of politics, so to speak, and is outside of the real Work. But divergencies of opinion on politics do sometimes lead to coolness when neither party tries to understand the other and it would be as well, by mutual explanation to remove a possible cause of disharmony or else drop the Hunsavoury subject altogether. (Into Hell. Carried nem con?)
Now I am very glad you have got such a substracted sum back out of past publication expenses. Be a good boy and not spend at the rate of £90 in three weeks this time. I am cleaned out, and worse. To avoid trouble I paid the last of the taxes on Boleskine by means of an overdraft. Rider's interest and another small windfall this week have enabled me to partly stop the leakage (it means paying 6 per cent to the bank) but there's still a hiatus.
Printing is in a bad way in Edinburgh and I should think everywhere. We are not as badly off as some, however. Over 100 of our men are in the army and both the Nelsons have now commissions and are never seen. I wonder how long I will hold on at full pay. I note you hint that (george) got the boot on Sep 21 2.27 p.m. Let's save up for it, and saving is a Lost Art these days. Must stop, in another epistle it will be written of Green Lions etc.
All good wishes.
Fraternally.
F[iat] P[ax]
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