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Correspondence from Karl Germer to Marcelo Motta
West Point, Calif Box 173
Sept. 24, 1961
Dear Marcelo:
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
I sent a letter to you yesterday, and as I received yours of Sept. 18 and 19 at the Post Office, I added a P.S. by hand.
My position is this: don't delay completion of the Book by details now: I accept your version of the Introduction; I also shall accept your decision as to the wrapper. I should have preferred Lady Harris' [Frieda Harris] design out of deference for her devoted work to the G.W. [Great Work] and to A.C. I also leave it entirely to you to decide on the binding.
What I need badly now is the prospectus. As I wrote, send 500 by air direct to Aries Press, and 500 to me, so that we can get started and collect orders.
As soon as you have some advance copies of the book [Liber Aleph] itself, I wish you would send 2 copies to me by air, and one copy by air to Aries Press, so that they can judge what selling price we can set. I am a little worried about what you say about the quality of the paper. I hope I needn't be. I have to send 2 copies of the book to Washington D.C. Copyright office so, better send me 2 for that purpose also. I don't know how long ship's mail takes from there; if your experience is that it will not take more than, say, 3 weeks, it'll be allright.
As for the bulk of the books, I suggest you send me a parcel of 50 to my address. At one time I was sent 50 books from England, and, instead of sending by bookcase in one lot they found it was simpler and cheaper, with not much formality, to send them by mail, bookpost, 5 books in a parcel, and spread out one parcel per week or 5 days, to avoid customs delay and red tape.
Now the Swiss: you are a thousand times right: their DU in a holy text is a blasphemy. The phrase in the published text of Liber AL is: Tu was du willest soll sein das ganze Gesetz (11 syllables), on which I insisted. They have published also LXV and VII in my translations, and—horrible dictu—changed arbitrarily some vital passages. Since I criticized them, they don't answer my letters. The Swiss are a strange crowd. Now your criticism in your letter is really excellent. I wish you would write them a letter direct, in English or French, in the style you wrote me. Don't refer to me as it would possibly weaken your argument. But write from a high level, an authoritative level, from a feeling of deep responsibility at such atrocities against Thelema.
Don't attempt to pay for the little book. As I suggested, send them a copy of Liber Aleph direct—I shall not send them one, together with a copy of the Prospectus. That'd be ample recompensation. Reading through your letter again, every paragraph, every phrase is excellent—you could copy it right off—only make it stronger.
Love is the law, love under will.
I'm driving to Jackson, Cal. to my Bank to send you the $500 to-morrow, Monday.
Fraternally
Karl
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