Collected Works (Vol. II)

THE EXCLUDED MIDDLE; OR, THE SCEPTIC REFUTED A DIALOGUE BETWEEN A BRITISH MAN OF SCIENCE AND A CONVERTED HINDU [This absurdity is a parody upon the serious essay which follows. It is an exceedingly characteristic trait that Crowley himself should have insisted upon this order, and a severe strain upon the devoted band who try to force themselves to study him. The notes are, of course, Crowley’s throughout. . To elucidate the allusions would require a note to nearly every phrase. The fact seems to be that any one with universal knowledge at the tips of his fingers can read and enjoy Crowley ; but few others.] THE EXCLUDED (OR DIVIDED) MIDDLE M. Well,! Scepticus,? are3 you‘ restored 5 1 Plato, Critias, 214; Schopenhauer, Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung, xxxii. 76; Haeckel, Anthropogenie, 11. viii. 24; Aeschylus, Prom. Vinet., 873-6; Hegel, Logik, lvi. 3; Robertson, Pagan Christs, cvii. 29; Mark ii. 8, iv. 16, x. 24; Tertullian, Contra Marcionem, cxv. 33; Cicero, Pro Varrone,iv.; De Amicitia, xil. ; Goethe, Faust, I. iv, 18; Crowley, Ogera, i. 216; R. Ischak ben Loria, De Revolu- tiontbus Animarum, cci, 14 (see under mipdp, et seg., g.v. p. iil); O. Wilde, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, ed. princ., p. 4; Lev. xvii. Further historical authority may be found in Gibbon and others. 2 Punch, vols. viii., Ixvi. Cf. Art. ‘ Bur- nand” in Dict. Nat. Biog., scil, Viz. a-u-c, xvii, S. P. Q. R. 3 From Z£ucyc. Brit., Art. ‘‘ Existence,’ and ‘* Buddha,’”’ Mahaparinibbana Sutta, to whom the author wishes to express his acknowledg- ments. 4 This joke is the old one. Jones asks Smith, ‘‘Why are you so late?” Smith wittily answers: ‘‘Absurd! I must always come before tea; you can never come till after tea.’ Here ‘‘you” only comes after the ‘‘tea"’ in Scepticus, which shows that Scep- ticus was a tea-totaller. Mysticus is therefore the drinker; which proves (what Burton and all Eastern scholars affirm) that Omar Khay- yam means spiritual wine and not common alcoholic beverages. Cf. Burton, Kasizdah: Love and Safety, ed. princ., p. 45, &c., &c. This word needs little or no explanation. to® health7? Our8 conflict? of yester- day was} severe. 6 Ontogeny can only be misunderstood by thorough study of phylogeny. Crepitation of the bivalves is a concurrent phenomenon. Take away the number you first thought of, and we see that the exostoses of the melanotic pyemata by the river's brim are exostoses and nothing more. . 7 An unpleasant subject—a great comfort to ‘think of—vide Wilde, of. czt., and A Woman | of 20 Importance. Also Krafft-Ebing, Psycho- pathia Sexualis, xx.; The Family Doctor, Quain, Anatomy of Grey Maiter, cxlv. 24. 8 The 24th part of a (solar) day. ® From French con, and Ang. Sax. fican, to tickle: hence, a friendly conflict. 10 10 See 9, above. 11 Vies imaginaires (Crates); also Eaux-de- Vie réelles (Martel). There is a fine model at the Louvre (Room Z, west wall), and any number of the most agreeable disposition at Julien's or Delacluze’s. 12 Distinguish from to-day and to-morrow, except in the case of Egyptian gods; from to-day and for ever, except in the case of Jesus Christ; from to-day, but not from to-morrow, in the case of the Hindustani word ‘‘kal,” which may mean either—not either itself, but ‘* to-morrow "’ or ‘‘ vesterday,” according to the context. Note the comma. 13 From to be, verb intrans. auxil. mood indic. tense imperf. pers. 3rd. 14 From French sevére; from Lat. severus- a-um; from Greek gaupos, a crocodile; from Sanskrit Sar, a king. Cf Persian Sar, a king; also W. African and Kentucky, ‘‘ sar,” master; Lat. Caesar, Germ. Kaiser, Russ. Tsar. Cf. Sanskrit Siva, the destroyer, or severe one. 262