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Correspondence from Aleister Crowley to Charles Stansfeld Jones
Villa Santa Barbara, Cefalú, Sicily.
May 7, 1920.
My beloved son,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
My paternal bowels were moved within me thrice this morning in the most satisfactory way on the receipt of your letter of Apr. fourth. The news from Australia is fine. Probably [David] Ross may want to come over here. If so, all right of course, for him, and anybody else except the wandering Swede. I think the best chance of building things up is to have a colony sufficiently large and varied to be self supporting and sufficiently out of the way of the world to make work possible. Here, despite terrible distractions and anxieties, and plenty of time for open air exercise, I find that I have plenty of time for work. What I really need is a little staff. (I don't mean what you mean!) I want the kind of people to whom I can allot work, people who will go on without supervision, so that in due season I find it done. At present I have too many things to see to.
Equinoxes from the Kensington Store Rooms are on their way to you. There are also Collected Works and a good selection of others, but I wish you would get Ryerson [Albert W. Ryerson] to fix the Chiswick Press deal. They only want about $250 in cash; but I'm not going to pay it myself after the experience I have had of Ryerson's commercial methods, even if I could spare the money. The books from Mawers are being sent direct to you, care of 57 Grand River Ave., as no doubt your apartment is none too spacious.
I strongly recommend Ross, if he wants to tackle Abra-Melin, to come and see me about it. I could let him have many of the appurtenances, and he will certainly get in a mess if he misunderstands the instructions, as he is almost sure to do, without my ghostly counsel. This would be a great place to build a temple—lots of waste ground—cheap labour—material on the spot. I have taken this house for a year and may make it semi-permanent. I shall probably run over to Tizi Ouzou about the middle of June for a few days. Fucking the French governess [Ninette Shumway] is not all we thought it was when we were fourteen, but it has its points; and the family should receive an addition about November. Why is there no news of Our Lady? It was careless of her not to become pregnant last year. We must keep the pot boiling. We want an elder woman to keep these young whores in order. Believe me, there are times when the life of a Holy Man is not a happy one. Please send me the Divine Symbols and the Light of Life. As a matter of fact, like all other magical information, it is not much good without technique of magick. I wish I had Windram [James Windram] here to work up my statistics—six years record, nearly seven, and no proper book-keeping. I will write directly to Bennett [Frank Bennett], but of course only in general terms of brotherhood and congratulation, save that I shall tell him about the colony. Write me always direct to this address. What we most need here is a printing establishment. You might be able to get some people interested in a purely commercial way. I wish I had news of Our Lady and of Russell [C. F. Russell] and of Mrs. Van Brunt. It seems to take at least a month for letters to reach. In case of important events, you should send me a cable—Crowley, Cefalú, Sicily is sufficient address. Bestow my paternal benediction upon all the brethren.
Love is the law, love under will.
Thy sire,
The Beast
P.S. I told Bennett he could send the money direct to me, as the lire is so cheap. I will let you know what happens.
I think that what we most need is a series of little pamphlets written not by you or by me but by someone who understands, to put it brutally, how to sell goods. We want the history of the movement—the general principles—the advantages—all the stuff of which I cannot think even the general description, written for the semi imbeciles with whom we have to deal. It seems to me that every one else knows how to do it. Can't you convert an advertising man?
666.
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