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Correspondence from Aleister Crowley to Karl Germer
Hotel Metropole, Bruxelles, Belgique
May 14th, 1929
Care Frater Saturnus:
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Yours of April 21st. No I did not stay in that hotel. When I was in Detroit I was a super-bandit at the Athletic Club part of the time, and the rest with poor Ryerson [Albert W. Ryerson].
I don't know how old you are, but I did think you were old enough not to believe a single word of what you read in the newspapers. The very numerous cuttings that I have are all a jumble of lies and mis-statements of facts. It would be quite difficult to point out a single paragraph which is substantially true.
I cannot bother to refute oceans of nonsense wave by wave. I will instead explain to you as full as possible the simple truth.
The first thing that you have to understand is that the police inquiry into my behaviour was perfectly satisfactory. It was the Minister of the Interior who intervened and took advantage of alleged irregularity in the cartes-d'identite of the inhabitants of 55 Avenue de Suffren to refuse permission to remain in France. Please understand that this is not an expulsion. If he had wished to expel any one of us he would have had to give a reason and this he could not have done. It is purely a backstairs business, and I have reason to believe, though I cannot be absolutely sure, that the British and American Embassies are at the back of it. Regardie [Israel Regardie] is enclosing with this letter a Declaration. It is of course perfectly monstrous that an entirely innocent kid, of this type, should have had his whole career blasted by a false accusation against which he seems to have no remedy.
We don't understand what the English have against us, or against me. The police have assured Yorke [Gerald Yorke] that there is no possible charge on which they can prosecute me, and this is evidently the fact. What we suspect is the case is an intrigue of some powerful person or persons who dare not come into the open.
Yorke has this matter in hand and the clearing up of this foolishness is a necessary preliminary to our taking direct action. I expect definite news on Tuesday or Wednesday, and no doubt Yorke will write you direct on the subject.
The above may be called Move No. 1 in the combination. Move No. 2 is to obtain sufficient funds to fight our accusers openly in the courts. Let me remind you that the average well-intentioned person says, very reasonably: "But if this man is so maligned, why does he not create trouble?" The answer is that he can and will do so the moment he is armed with adequate means.
The cost of legal proceedings in France id barely five per cent of what it would be in the States and one gets a direct justice, unclouded by prejudice and technicalities, such as one does not get either in England or America.
It would be perfectly futile for me to start a libel action against anyone in England. Not if I had ten million sterling at my back!—unless by the simple method of bribing the defendant to apologize as Lloyd George and others have done on more than one occasion. But fortified by a French verdict in our favour, no dog in England, however dirty, dare bark. Further, with regard to this Move No. 2 My lawyer in Paris appears perfectly confident of the result, and he has reason to be so because the avocat. Maitre Paul Boncour, is one of the most powerful men in the country. Should Poincare be overthrown or otherwise disappear from circulation, he has every chance of becoming Prime Minister.
My lawyer has not asked me for any money, beyond the first 5,000 fr[ancs] which I paid him at the beginning of the trouble. But it is probable that he will do so as soon as it comes to entering action.
I had better explain that in France lawyers have no recourse in law against their clients. They are supposed to be high minded gentlemen sacrificing their lives for the love of Justice. So they always want money in advance, because afterwards they cannot collect it if the client does not want to pay.
It is therefore extremely urgent that we should be able to put down whatever he requires on the table with the air of one offering a cigarette.
We have two or possible three quite definite actions for malicious libel. There is no possible defense to such cases and we shall certainly get damages and costs. It is not likely that such damages will amount to important sums. The French are very curious in this way. They seem to think that a matter of ten thousand francs is sufficient to redress any possible wrong. Often indeed they award one franc as damages to a widow whose husband, her sole support, has been assassinated in cold blood. But the moral effect of a victory will react all over the world. It will turn the great publicity which I already enjoy into a money making publicity.
The one thing that can ruin our plans is that it should be supposed by any one concerned even for a moment that we are short of funds.
Supposing on the other hand, that I can make a triumphant re-entry into Paris and London, everyone will perceive that they have been betting on the wrong horse and start to claim me the celebrated hero martyr, etc.
From the above it would appear that Move 3 is the aforesaid triumphal re-entry and the starting of various actions, besides the civil action against the newspapers, which have been imprudent, we shall have to begin criminal actions against Hunt [Carl de Vidal Hunt] for theft of manuscripts or documents, and possibly against Mrs. Bass [Kasimira Bass].
I am waiting to hear from Smith. We require definite evidence that a letter purporting to have been written by Mrs. Reynolds [Rosa Reynolds] is a forgery.
You will readily understand that no serious a matter is going to have its ripples spreading throughout the whole word and in this way the first point of our plans for establishing the Law of Thelema will have been gained.
The point is that I cannot make Move #3 until Move #2 has been completed. It is not the slightest use my reappearing in Paris unless I feel myself in some position to fee the lawyer in case he should spring it on me.
Move 4 is of course to sell all the stuff older than you by the million. This should not be difficult, given sufficient public interest. I may mention, incidentally, that I have not yet heard from Hearst's man with regard to the offer we made him.
I am sure you will understand as a chess player, or even as a poker player if you play poker, that I have to play pretty close to the chest.
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