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Correspondence from Aleister Crowley to Gerald Yorke
57, Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey.
17th October, 1939.
Major G. Yorke, Mount Hotel, Ilfracombe.
Care Frater,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Many thanks for your letter undated, but received two days ago.
I am very happy indeed, that you should take the attitude which you do about military matters; recent events are, in my opinion, exactly what you wanted.
I do not think there is as much difficulty about California as you fear; things may get suddenly very much better, which would not surprise me in the least. I have always been of the opinion that the invisible reserves of Germany were at a very low ebb; you remember what Karl [Karl Germer] said in Berlin 8 years ago, that all the apparent prosperity covered the greatest privation. A thin, however brilliant, skin. A little like the flush of the consumptive; I think to-day that it is ten time worse for them.
If, on the other hand, things do not improve, it may be essential to exploit our friendship in America. I might be very useful over there, and I hope they would have the sense to send me out.
(By the way, you were quite wrong about the sales. Their volume does not depend at all on the conditions of the market). In either event, therefore, there is a good chance of my getting over.
To recur to the present situation: what you say about men's lives is true enough, though all men are mortal. It is not sufficient to secure a bare existence for them. Life must be made worth living. Surely, in one way, the very thing for which we are fighting is to give men the opportunity of developing themselves in nobler ways than mere physical well-being; do not forget that the objective of the O.T.O. on the material plane, is to prepare a social order based on the finer instead of the coarser qualities of man. The supreme task of society must always be to give its individual members, each one, the fullest scope for the development of his individual genius. The real object of organization is to secure this.
It seems to me supremely important at this moment when everybody is bent on destruction, to affirm as a magical gesture, the existence of the creative spirit. That is why I am most anxious to get out a publication at the Winter Solstice.
There is not nearly enough time to print Liber Aleph, which is so important a book, that it cannot be produced in a cheap form; nor do I consider that the printers could do it, in the time. The cost of paper has gone up very much and it is all very difficult about labour too.
I think we should get out the Tao Teh King. I feel sure that the printer would put it in hand if I let him have £50 on account; see what you can do about it.
I think that Frieda Harris must have your No. VIII, but she is in Gloucestershire and has either packed it up at Morton House or taken it down with her because she need it. Her work should be over by Christmas at latest. I will write and ask her anyhow.
I have two boxes of matches which I am keeping safely for you.
Love is the law, love under will.
Yours fraternally.
666.
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