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Correspondence from C. F. Russell to Aleister Crowley
An XVI 43ºN, 83ºW.
[undated: circa late July 1920]
The Master Therion, Villa Santa Barbara, Cefalu, Sicily.
Care Frater—
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law!
Yours of July 12, 1920 e.v. very welcome.
Bro. C.S.J. [Charles Stansfeld Jones] has shown me a photograph of your villa [Abbey of Thelema] which has charmed me very much. The things that might attach me to this country are so few indeed that I shall dismiss them without regret when I shake its dust from my feet. I am very grateful for the privilege of visiting a real Abbey of Thelema.
I am sorry that at present the day seems so far distant when such a wonderful institution shall gladden the hearts of the people of Detroit. Fifteen months ago I should have said confidently "In a year the movement will be going strong". But today it is not even born outside of the minds of the men who propose to promote it.
When I established myself in new quarters seven months ago, I devoted myself to my own personal advancement & preparation for the journey to Europe. But at any time I have been ready to extend a helping hand. It has not been asked for. I have not been called upon, & I can only conclude that whoever is chiefly interested is content to leave matters as they are.
Soon after Bro. Smith [Wilfred Talbot Smith] came from Vancouver, I urged that something be done. One evening we were all together, & discussed what means should be adopted to further the cause. After a great deal of talk, it came out suddenly that the Deputy G.M. [Grand Master] had no inclination or intention to start things going himself. He would be delighted however, & ready to give his sanction, if some one else should come forth with a good-sized list of applicants, cash, & enthusiasm to do all the "dirty" work.
A sister who was present voted No! to everything & vehemently expressed her intention to do none of the "dirty" work. The visiting brother declared his readiness to do all the necessary "dirty" work, but, his interest in the order was no longer personal, he was content with the good he, himself, had derived from his previous association with it, without perhaps ever going any further. He really did not see that it was the proper time to push things. The majority opinion was that a large sum of money was absolutely necessary & that nothing should be put on that could not be pulled off in due form & flourishing style.
No doubt I am a poor ritualist in comparison with our brothers from Vancouver, but my common sense leads me to disagree with them in this matter. I have assisted at the 0° ceremony in two instances & I have not been seriously disturbed by the manner in which it was done, as one man declares he was at the way one of them was done. In fact the sister mentioned above considers that I was not put through the 3° in due form at all properly. I get their viewpoint, but I certainly should not allow it to hamper me the way it seems to hamper & hinder them from making a start.
It all reminds me strikingly of what took place at a dinner given in Detroit by Schloss of Los Angeles, while he was promoting the Hill Top Club. Everybody liked his ideas. Everybody applauded him. Everybody declared what a fine scheme it was, but nobody could spare any of his or her time from his or her personal affairs. Nobody could set these aside long enough to take any active part in the promotion of the new club. I am disgusted at this situation—not necessarily at anyone in particular, for I realize that perhaps they lack some qualities which I, myself, lack.
Since Bro. J. suspended his lectures last May, I have not done a bit of active work to promote the order. Without any action on my part I have come into touch with at least one man whom I feel sure would be an excellent candidate for perhaps any degree of the order. In fact he has a working knowledge of the true secret of all religions & the universal brotherhood of men. In fact he has a practical knowledge of some things whose theory I should hesitate to set before him. This man is a good mixer, with a broad acquaintance among the sort of people who would make advantageous members. He is such a man as can dominate a gathering of, say five hundred people, or more & what is more, he is an architect of the first class, & an honest-to-God Artist. I should like nothing better than, before I leave Detroit, to see him made a member of the order & I would then personally vouch for his further interest in it & its own advancement.
But, as matters now stand, I hesitate to proceed, for I have no reason to expect help in advancing him even as far as the 3°. I would make him that, myself, if I had the authority, & I shall soon get an opportunity to test how wise it will be to confer higher things upon him. He is acquainted with Lazenby, although not a great admirer. He can qualify for a probationer & it is my opinion carefully formed, that it is better to have such a man within the order & under oaths, than outside of it.
Well, I fear this kind of talk kept up will weary you. The more I see & learn of some people the harder it is for me to reconcile their great attainment with some other things that they are in the habit of doing. Perhaps such a reconciliation is not at all necessary.
Recently, I made a copy on parchment of Liber Legis for one of Bro. J's probationers. Perhaps it was a rash thing to do, but I hardly perceive that there is any interference of any sort. There is an express command in the Book of the Law to that effect. Anyway, to go on with the story, on the surface his approval was emphatic, but I have trained myself to observe somewhat deeper, & there was an undercurrent of feeling that did not please me at all.
I have been in the company of another brother much during these last two weeks, (a brother who might help the cause much if he had the will,) so much, in fact, that I have determined to have very little to do with him in the future. If he is a fit representative of, say the 7th°, then I can not see the necessity of my going any further. But I do not believe he is. I believe that there is a certain dignity attached to the nature of the 7thº & inherent in any man who can comprehend fully its nature. He does no credit to this dignity. I may be wrong of course. I may be confusing certain things, perhaps with things still higher, nevertheless I have not been idle entirely, since you told me to get busy & get a more practical knowledge of magick before we met again, & I do not intend to be idle in the future.
I am inclined to believe that the conduct & philosophy of those in whom the racial sense is strongest are likely to be nearer to the truth than the morals & theories of those in whom it is weak. I would trust the former with more than the latter. But I may be wrong. I do not need to know what qualities are most immediately & immanently needed to carry out the purpose of the Lords of Initiation. There may be a more lasting order of truth that expresses itself in a way that I cannot perceive. I don't know. I wish you would tell me which is the most important sign to look for in a possible servant of the order, which would be most pleasing to Amalantrah, curves or angles?
Love is the law, love under will.
Yours fraternally,
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