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Correspondence from Aleister Crowley to Grady McMurtry
Aston Clinton Bucks Tel: Aston Clinton 4
April 97 [1944]
Dear Louis,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
At last! Only 24 hours here [the Bell Inn]—a real old English country inn—A.1. food!—all oky doke and hunky dory!—and my nerves are nearly able to look themselves in the face again: surprisingly quick recovery.
I got off all the urgent arrears to-day; so the field is clear. But I'm honestly, not morbidly, tired; so I will leave this till the morning. A good night ought to see me fighting fit.
At your most welcome surprise visit I gave you mild hints about youthful cocksureness; but I was very feeble. Consider it now as pitched in 1,000,000 time stronger.
The main point, for you, is the reaction. Elders class you, and ignore you; they won't listen on future occasions. A little diffidence, a little respect for the opinions of others; you are taken much more seriously.
Then—the end of your penultimate paragraph. I might "realize what that means", getting a totally different answer. I do not know of any economic fact which cannot be interpreted in several different ways.
One constantly sees a Finance minister adopting some policy and getting a result exactly opposite to what he aimed at. If I were rash enough, I might lay down one general principle.
"The course of events always wipes out any attempts to interfere with the economic process."
"Morons". I do use the word loosely. Let me say "The average man lacks data for thinking, and the ability to reason on such few facts as he has." But, with the context: the ruling classes think of the voter, and treat him, as of no account at all. Only when elections period, they think up a new set of lies, or treat the old set to a lick of spit and polish.
Until you have sat with said rulers in a [illegible]-room with tongue-loosening drink in abundance, you can form no idea of the contempt felt by the leaders of democracy for democracy.
It needs infinite muddle plus blatant robbery to arouse noticeable revolt; the minute that shows its nose, the leaders are squashed or squared, and the machine grinds on.
It works well, on the whole, because Bosses get advice from those who know their subject: leaders of revolt go to men more ignorant than themselves, chosen precisely because their views are prejudiced.
Did I tell you that you're "Sterling" was Byron? "The destruction of Sennacherib", line 4.
Your plan is a good one in nearly every detail; but it's stage 2, or 3. We need a very thin end to your wedge.
Footnote for morons like A.C.: tell us who is H.P.L. [Howard P. Lovecraft] and why, and if so, how.
I don't like "trailed", "suns", "trace", "with ease", "in store". Line 4 of v[erse] 2 sounds silly.
"What" (last line) is damn rude! I suggest "all".
This is a fine poem all right; but somehow you don't get the fierce [illegible] and power. Something vague, too. A spell of work with the secret of the IX° should put this right.
When you talk of Stars buzzing around, you don't get the terror. Or is it a defect in visualizing? Take the line: "O windy star blown sideways up the sky!" There's some quality there that you miss. I can't say what it is, but I feel. Time will help you, and EXCESS.
I can't discuss Comte de Fénix [Scientific Solution of the Problem of Government]: no copy out here. But "bright-eyes boys" are damn few.
Don't understand your 'formula'. This means that I am (a) a pompous ass (b) a dirty blackmailing blackguard (c) a bastard (d) a pig-headed camel, (e) a bugger: There's more , but I've forgotten it, being (f) a mentally decayed congenital idiot.
Now then, on guard! I'm taking a whack at you, for a change.
In the course of a long and ill-spent life, I have met dozens, perhaps over 100 all told, of people exactly like you in one respect. A pigeon-hole for Brother McMurtry.
Plymouth Brethren, British Israelites, Christian Scientists, Baconians, Flat-Earthers, Great Pyramidists, Freudians, German Professors as a class, "Social Credit"ors, Books of Daniel—Matthew 24—Apocalyptists, U.S.W. All are alike in this: Their hobby solves all problems, and is the only thing that matters. In this, too, they are at one: raise any objections and they don't try to remove it, but start to abuse the critic. Nearly always they accuse him of bad faith!
Let me assure you that the first symptom of any such attitude is to turn an originally open-minded listener into a hostile critic—worse, he won't listen any more. He puts you on his list of offensive bores, and that's that!
So if this comes up again, do try to condescend to treat me as if I were nearly your intellectual equal, try to understand my objectives, made with intent to learn, not to attack; and be ready with answers, not declamations! Then we might get somewhere. If your ideas are right, they'll stand up to anything.
I miscalculated my recovery: this letter has overtaxed my strength. Probably that shows: if so, do please forgive me.
I expect to be here, off and on, for quite a time. I'll try to start sorting the letters to-night.
Love is the law, love under will.
Yours,
666.
P.S. Of course the Cmt de Fénix article is feudal. So is Thelema. Difference: with 93 blood and breeding are only assets among others.
The essay was meant for people like F.D.R. [Franklin Delano Roosevelt] and W.C. [Winston Churchill].
P.P.S. Sorry I'm so tired, I've probably expressed myself badly all through this letter.
A.C.
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