THE OLD BOTTLE
153
soon
eclipsed
man's
reason , monopolizing
worship
and exacting
prayer :
What folly can compare
With such stupidity
as prayer
? 1
Crowley
very truly remarks
in that
battering-ram
of religious destruction
,
“ Pentecost
”-a witty note
is
appended ,
quoted
from
the
“ Sydney
Bulletin
, ”
which
suggested , that instead of perpetually
worrying
the Almighty for
rain , the
people
should
pray
once
and for
all
for
a
big range
of
mountains
in
Central
Australia
,
which would
of
course
supply
rain auto
matically --that
man
cannot
elude
fate
by
such
a
paltry dodge
;
for even the god
of
our imaginings
is
not
quite
such
an
ass
as
all
that
.
The
messenger
in
“
Jephthah
”
most sensibly
remarked
,
when
he
rushed
with the news
of
the enemy's
approach
into the as
sembly
of
Israel
:
My lords
,
take heed now
,
prayer
is
good
to
save
While yet the foemen are far off
;
but now
They howl
and clamour
at
our very
gates
.
Which
in
other words simply means
,
as
long
as
man
does not see
or
understand
he
will pray
;
when
he
does
,
he won't
.
Another juggle
to
elude
fate
is
sacrifice
.
Sacrifice
and prayer
have
ever
run
in
harness
together
under
the whistling
of
the priestly
lash
.
“
I
will
brain
you
if
you
refuse
to
render tribute
to
me
,
"
said the primi
tive chief
to
his primitive neighbour
;
“
I
will put you
in
jail
if
you
won't
pay
me your
taxes
,
”
says
the
modern
government
to
the
modern
citizen
.
And
as
1
The Sword
of
Song
,
Pentecost
,
vol
.
ii,
p
.
178
.
2
Ibid
.
vol
.
ii,
p
.
209
.
Jephthah
,
vol
.
i,
p
.
69
.
3