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Correspondence from George MacNie Cowie to Aleister Crowley
14 Glenisla Gardens, Edinburgh.
24 - 28 Sept. [1916]
Care Frater.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
I am now back again from London I have got Hammond [Benjamin Charles Hammond] on very amicable terms and he is on honour to finish the plates within six weeks and to do all he can to help at Regent Str[eet]. I think we can be confident of being clear by the end of the year.
Re book Kaph Pe, I found it hopeless to attempt to make a written copy before I left, and to attempt other two, after, would be like biting off more than I could chew. This especially as the copy H[ammond] has appears to be imperfect. There's a note on p 30 about some more chapters. On Monday before I left I decided to get typed copies made (3), I divided the pages into two sets, of odd and even pages, and gave each to different offices, thus getting it done more quickly as well as depriving the typists of any thread, tho' really this wouldn't matter.
It's a pity I have not the perfected original you referred to. The Temple copy of the IX degree M.S.S. is at 93 [93 Regent Street]. I broke the seal in the hope that the MS you referred to was in that. No, it only contained MSS already known to me, including the VII degree and VIII degree.
One of the typewriting offices could not supply the full 3 copies on Monday but as I was anxious to return the original to Hammond before I left, they did one copy and kept the carbon to repeat from, I was able to complete one copy therefore, the evening I left, filling in the Greek and Latin words etc. From this I will fill in other two copies here, I shall post you two copies with this and retain the carbon one meanwhile-pending instructions, that is if the remaining sheets come from London in time. They did not turn up this morning (Wed Sep 27). I have perhaps risked throwing money away on imperfect copies, but by adding the extra pages to these loose sheets they may be all right. Hammond's copy began with page 2 (title page). The page with short quotations and the Hebrew was missing and I suppose it is p. I. This did not strike me in time. It's too late to get it done to add to the sets I shall post. It will follow, but at a pinch it would take very little time to dictate the English to your frog footman and scribble in the Hebrew.
I hope you get the thread of all this, I can't make it shorter, haven't time to. But to be clear—I was able to leave Hammond's original copy behind me. He didn't turn up that day, and I couldn't get full information about everything, but I made sure of the packet of MS being returned direct into his own hands.
Re 'Voice of Silence' I found Hobbs hadn't done a word of this, nor of a copy of E. Enthusiasm [Energized Enthusiasm] for O.H.O. [Outer Head of the Order]. Her excuse is that our typewriter is battered out. I have told her to take the M.S. to an office and get a clear copy, and one carbon made. How I'm to find the money is another story.
Re Message from Parzival [Charles Stansfeld Jones]. Can't print till others are paid for, but will see that all the principle lodge officers get typed copies with instructions to pass round. This will do in the meantime. I am expecting copies of the Manifesto this week. Parcels of the 'Law' are sent out. I shall send copies of both to Shirley [Ralph Shirley] and try to put to him that he has a big opportunity before him and offer the J B Mason article, besides free permission to reprint or quote from our literature.
S. L. [William Steff-Langston] and I as time and postage expenses allow will send round the same to all the newspapers and journals worth while. We can't do much however, except by buying space and printing the new Rules of the Game as an advertisement and there's no damn money. I think I understand better now why not—(after reading the IX degree). It should be a simple matter to you, I infer that you had taken a solemn oath of renunciation, and to establish the Law off your own bat, so to speak. Hinc illae lachrymae.
I didn't do half of what I hoped to do in London. A whole weeks leisure from business seemed wealth compared to my normal working week, but you know how time gets frittered away when it is at other people's mercy.
S. L. is in sad trouble at present, father and mother both in a dying state. Things at 93 [Regent Street] would not have gone so well minus him. He has been our right hand man. King Charles's head [de Wolfe] kept his place after all, and except for a tendency to try to impress us by weird signs of his own, did not try to 'improve' on things. He's probably harmless enough. I was surprised to find him conducting a Hebrew class in Mary's [Mary Davies] room at 4.30, the students being three ladies of the Order. I did not think it very pretty—seemed like letting a Dutch Jew rope in and get an influence over the ladies, and I said so to Mary (in my usual style) I thought they must have over much spare time if they used it to learn Yiddish, but she explained that one lady was in earnest about it, her brother being a distinguished student of Hebrew.
Hammond says he [de Wolfe] should never have been allowed to join us, but hasn't said why. I just don't want to trust him or give him rope, till we are surer about him. He gives in his Pledge-form, "Study of the Secret Tradition in Israel" as one of his motifs, and possibly he might be useful to you for digging at this subject. He appears to have plenty of time.
I have never heard anything from the two adepts you asked me to write to re the Greek Qabalah. If no answer by tomorrow, I shall write again. It may merely be that both are on holiday. I did hope that Frater Psi [in Greek] would call at Regent Str[eet], but no such luck.
I saw nothing more of Dora Vogt. I liked her the best of the two new B[rethren] but wasn't sure if she liked me. I told Mary that I felt I could give her the V degree quite soon, and that you would consent, as you once authorised me to offer this to suitable newcomers.
I think it was quite a successful week and that the extra care and solemnity of the workings made them impressive and memorable to the newcomers. I felt that something of this was due to the fact that they see me seldom, so that my presence as S.A.I.A. was more imposing then e.g. S. L. or Hammond's would be. Then Mary knows the ropes and saw to it that I was received with proper dignity, which I rather insisted on, too, as your representative. They are all very loyal to you. The prescribed alteration on the Ritual by adding the formula "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law) etc was duly made, I had a copy of the instructions fixed to a small tablet, Hammond however, asked in Lodge when shown this what the devil Thelema meant! He told me himself he is VI degree and no further, contrary to what the others represent him as having said. I do not think he understands much of what he has been engraving. One needs to have to have studied and thought over the VII degree and VIII degree first.
I am not pretending one moment that I understand it myself! That is to say not in full. I guess the point to which it all tends, but should not dare to experiment without clear knowledge of the kind which cannot be communicated in written words—Merely having read the MS doesn't make me feel I am IX degree—bit it makes everything more precise and stops futile efforts at research. Too little knowledge has been a dangerous thing in more directions than one.
By the way the worst loss of time occurred over my trying to find Spooners in the Strand. There was once a shop of that name, but it's gone. I tracked him to Shaftesbury Avenue whence also he had fled. I tried another firm, also vanished and fled and having no more time gave Althea [Althea Hobbs] a list of the photos and to go to Museum Str[eet]. She will try to get the Grimoire and MSS out of store, but she almost turns pale when asked. Mawers have moved half of the stuff to Chelsea. I went with her one morning. No one was there to let us in, though we had arranged it 2 days before by telephone. This stuff must be got out of Mawers hands somehow. I don't know how, but if one of the B[rethren] could lend us a room in his own house not too far away, it would be easy. I cannot guarantee that you will get the stuff, but Althea will do her best and is the one who knows how. It means tips however and extra payments for men's time.
I'm afraid Althea is precious little use to Mary and doesn't earn her 15/- a week and 7/6 a week would be fairer. She has been made I degree by the way, and is no further use when it comes to anything beyond the V degree stuff. Even that Grimoire shouldn't really be handled by her.
Bro[ther] Relfs, Geneva, never replied to former communications. One of my new sisters is making a written copy of the L of L [Law of Liberty] to be sent to him. I add a request that he will translate it into French and cause it to be circulated. You do not seem to be aware that no printed matter can be sent to neutral countries on the Continent except by arrangement with certain booksellers. The above method is quicker. Let's struggle with wild beats at Ephesu, but with W.H. and S,———
Thursday 28th.
The typewritten balance of Book C [Liber Agape Azoth sal Philosophorum] turned up, so I'm able to send you by this same post, two practically completed copies, so far as the M.S. in Hammond's hands goes.
I got my parcel of Manifestos last night, and you will be sure to get 100 by this mail for your own use. It would have been better to omit the London address on all Colonial copies and leave a blank for them to stamp their own in, but in such a whirlwind as lately one can't think of every damn thing.
Hobbs has let me down by failure to send the typed copy of my address to Candidates, and it and the original was handed to her on Friday last. I have retained a carbon copy of Book C and will keep it along with the other MSS for study, or send it by a later mail if wanted.
It cost 15/- to get up the sample copies of "Herb Dangerous"—I posted 2 before leaving London and with that and other things I was so nearly cleaned out I grudged even 2 carbons—only got one—I will see if Watkins will take this up. I'm afraid that in the present state of things Hers are a Drug on the market.
My train was 5 hours late on Tuesday morning. Zepp[elin]s about again. We were in it on Saturday morning. Had been dining with Sister Mitchell, home very late. Just as I had taken my jacket off, Mary came in, to stop me undressing. Guns firing like mad. Panic reigned! The lily livered Sir George forthwith lit his pipe and asked where his boots were to go out and see the spectacle. But it was away at the other end, and fairly close to Hammond's house.
By the way its curious you never seemed to see my real reason in slanging you about McArthy.[1] The notion that 'hatred' would prevent my getting dhyana made me smile. But the notion that any connection with McA would effectually bar our progress in the present (quite righteous) temper of the country is not so easily disposed of. It's common sense. I do not want to discourse lively any further on this topic. A simple statement of what good was effected by your writing in the McA journals would provide me with some thing to stop the mouths of objectors, especially when we try to interest the Press.
Well I must stop, if only to leave that blighter G.M.C. [George MacNie Cowie] a little time to inject nourishment into Brer Body. No epistles from Mairne possible this mail.
Love is the law, love under will.
Fraternally.
F[iat] P[ax].
Lots of little things go unrecorded for sheer want of time.
1—[For 'McArthy' read 'German'. Gerald Yorke.]
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