Magick Without Tears

210 MAGICK WITHOUT TEARS The horn of the Doubt-Goat be exaltedl Dive deeper, ever deeper, into the Abyss of Mind, until thou unearth the fox THA T. On, houndsl Yoicksl Tally-hoI Bring THA T to bay I Then, wind the Mortl Once more-what a book that is: I never realized it until now! it says-see that double page at the onset, one with "?" and the other with "!" alone upon the blank. Moreoever you should read the long essay The Soldier and the Hunchback: I and? But everyone of those-rather significant, nicht wahr?-slides into a rhapsody of exaltation, a dithyramb, a Paean} No good here. For what you want is a penny plain pedestrian prose Probability-Percentage. You want to know what the Odds are when I say "certain." A case for casuistry? At least, for classification. It depends rather on one's tone of voice? Yes, of course, and as to the classification, off we jog to the Divine Pymander, who saw, and stated, the quiddity of our query with his accustomed lucidity. He discerns three degrees of Truth; and he distinguishes accordingly: 1. True 2. Certain without error 3. Of all truth. Clear enough, the difference between 1 and 2: ask me the time, I say half-past two; and that's true enough. But the Astronomer Royal is by no manner of means satisfied with any approximation of that kind. He wants it accurate. He must know the longitude to the second; he must have decided what method of measuring time is to be used; he 1. It seems natural to me-apodeictic after a fashion-to treat Doubt as positive, even aggressive. There is none of the wavering, wobbling, woebegone wail of the weary and bewildered wage-slave; it is a triumphant chaUenge, disagreement for its own sake. Irish!