Magick Without Tears

POWER AND AUTHORITY 375 elected a cobbler, as it could, it would not empower the New Fellow to perform a boiling-point determination, or read a Vernier. In our own case, though Our authority is at least as absolute as that of the Pope and the Church of Rome, it does not confer upon me any power transferable to others by any act of Our will. Our own authority came to Us because it was earned, and when We confer grades upon other people Our gift is entirely nugatory unless the beneficiary has won his spurs. To put it in a slightly different form of words: Any given degree is, as it were, a seal upon a precise attainment; and although it may please Us to explain the secret or secrets of any given degree or degrees to any particular person or persons, it is not of the slightest effect unless he prove in his own person the ability to perform those functions which all We have done is to give him the right to perform and the knowledge how to perform. The further you advance in the Order the more will you fmd yourself pestered by people who have simply failed to understand this point of Magical theory. Another thing is that the business of teaching itself is a very tricky one; even such simple matters as travelling on the astral plane are not to be attained by any amount of teaching unless the pupil has both the capacity and the energy as well as the theoretical and intellectual ability to carry out successfully the practices. I have thought it most important that you should impress upon everybody these points. It is absolutely pitiful to watch the vain struggle of the incompetent; they are so earnest, so sincere, so worthy in every way of every possible reward and yet they seem unable to advance a single step. There is another side to this matter which is really approximating to the criminal. There are any number of teachers and masters and bishops and goodness knows what