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Correspondence from Aleister Crowley to David Curwen
The Ridge, Hastings.
10. 5. 47
Dear Mr. Curwen,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Your letter of no date exhibits yourself as a Confidence trickster of not too high quality, as it should be obvious to the meanest intelligence that I am not the kind of person to let the same wasp sting me twice.
All this business about solicitors, for instance. As soon as you are in good standing you can go to them with a letter of authority from me to show you the relevant documents—from which you will see that I have four executors and two literary executors, and that the whole of my assets are already vested in the Sovereign Sanctuary of the O.T.O. in return for an income, which ends with my life.
I am further prepared to bet you £100—the money to be deposited in cash with a disinterested party—that I have never made any statement to you, or to anybody else, about the O.T.O. which is not strictly and exactly true; but I am certainly not going to hand over all the private business of the Order to a man of whom all I know is that his word of honour has no meaning for him.
Incidentally, you talk about a worthless piece of information: you cannot judge its value unless and until you have tested it, which on your own statement you have not done.
Your theory that the Sovereign Sanctuary is a figment of my imagination, exhibits you as a really not too clever calculator. It is unlikely that I should have been working steadily for close on fifty years and got my name well known all over the world, without having acquired some considerable following.
Anyhow, as soon as you make good, you can of course be supplied with a list of members in good standing.
I am sorry if I cannot take a higher view of you, but you gave me your solemn word and confirmed it in writing, that you would pay the balance of your fees on the dates agreed. Now, you are trying to sneak out of it by what I can only describe as plain dishonesty, coupled with a kind of obstinate foolishness, which I am glad to say I have rarely come across previously in my life.
Nor need you think that I am likely to call it a day, as you say breezily.
The O.T.O. is a serious business, and knows how to protect itself, and to insist on its rights.
If a little surprise should come to you, you must not be surprised, for you have had fair warning.
This is not the first time that Tricksters have attempted to get the better of me.
Yours sincerely,
David Curwen Esq. 7a Melcombe Street Baker Street, NW1
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