The Star in the West

I 20 THE STAR IN THE WEST رود verecundiam suam perfricta fronte excutiant , ut a lupis , tremula clune extentoque collo saltantibus , vix discerni possint .” When the rich approach the poor , “ altera manu fert panem , penem ostentat altera .” Such is another Pantagruelism of Beverland , crude yet to the point. “ The girl who of her own accord presents herself to student , soldier or artist , is con sidered , by Jove ! to give a headlong consent to debauchery . "' ? So we see that whilst the upper classes are prostituting themselves for social position , rank , and riches , the lower are doing so for a few wretched coins ; and the difference ? One eats bread , and the other bread and butter . The “ unco gude " thrive and heap execrations on the “ unco bad.” In “ Oracles ,” Crowley states this with the straightforwardness of a Burns : What fierce temptations might not lovers bring In London's wicked city ? Perhaps you might yourself have one wee fling , If you were pretty . 3 What might not hard starvation drive you to , With Death so near and sure ? Perhaps it might drive even virtuous you, If you were poor. And in “ Orpheus " he well describes the social trinity : Nay ! virtue is the devil's name for vice , And all your righteousness is filthy rags Wherein ye strut , and hide the one base thought . To mask the truth , to worship , to forget ; These three are one .“ The moral character of a nation is its true capital , and the two great laws of existence are The 2 Ibid . 414 . 1 Beverland , 238 . 3 Oracles , vol . ii, p . 5. 4 Orpheus , vol . iii, p . 208 .