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Page 107 of 1141904 · PDF PAGE 100
AN ESSAY IN ONTOLOGY 93 being convinced on insufficient grounds.1 This is surely the last refuge of incompetence. But though, always on the original hypo- thesis of the infinity of s pace, &c., the Ad- vaitist position of the Vedantists and the great Germans is unassailable, yet on practical grounds the Dvaitists have all the a dvantage. Fichte and the others exhaust themselves trying to turn the simple and obvious posi- tion that: “If the Ego alone exists, where is any place, not only for m orals and religion, which we can very well do without…
1907 · PDF PAGE 230
…straining at the gnats of vestment in the hope of swallowing the camel of Illumination. In the matter of Pentecost, we hear only, in the way of the ‘conditions of the experiment,” that ‘‘they were all with one accord in one place.” Now, this being
1929 · PDF PAGE 59
…for the examination not to take Italian, because so many people spoke it so perfectly, or Spanish, because it was considered the easiest way into the service, but Russian, on account of its extreme difficulty, and because the knowledge of it made one eligible for appointment to the most interesting and brilliant court in Europe. This led to my going to St. Petersburg, a journey which worked wonders in enlarging my outlook on the world. {115} The passion for travel was already very strong in me. Home was my idea of hell; and London itself had a …
1929 · PDF PAGE 383
…ither get no vision at all or {613} expose himself to deception, and that probably of the deadly dangerous kind. God is never so turned away from man, and never so much sendeth him new paths, as when he maketh ascent to divine speculations or works in a confused or disordered manner, and as it adds, with unhallowed lips, or unwashed feet. For of those who are thus negligent, the progress is imperfect, the impulses are vain, and the paths are dark. (Zoroaster) I solemnly warn the world that, while courage is the first virtue of the Magician, pre…
1929 · PDF PAGE 532
…th. No wonder One said that the Book T was in ashes in the Urn of a Magus! I can't see at all how it will affect me at present. Even the Way of the Tao looks idiotic --- but then of course that's what it is! So I suppose that's it, all right. And its freedom, in an utterly fascinating and appalling sense, is beyond my fiercest conception. An experience of this intensity demands a period of repose, no less than a boat race or any other form of intense effort. The adepts have always insisted on due preparation for any initiation. As The Book of t…
1929 · PDF PAGE 476
…d Mount Eagle or whoever it was, with Guy Faux. But nobody in British Intelligence had sufficient of that quality to notice me. I have always been unduly optimistic about England. I know such a lot of people who are far from being fools. But war seems to deaden perception. Men who are in ordinary times quite acute become ready to assume that anyone who is waving a Union Jack and singing "Britannia Rules the Waves" must be an Admiral of the Fleet. Everybody assumed that the irritating {752} balderdash I wrote for The Fatherland must be the stark…
1906 · PDF PAGE 261
…rly, the scientific method and imagination checked, the logical faculty thwarted—thousands of workers lost each year to Science? And the way to do this is not only through the negative common-sense of indifference; organise, organise, organise! Fora flag we offer you the stainless lotus-banner, of the Buddha, in defence of which no drop of blood has ever been, nor ‘ever will be shed, a banner under which you will join forces with five hundred million of your fellow-men. And you will not be privates in the army; for you the highest place, the pl…
1929 · PDF PAGE 468
… magical virtues of silence. I couldn't publish an attack on a man in the witness-box which was evidently temporary accommodation on the way to the dock. So I held my peace and wrote to Bottomley to tell him that I bore no malice and hoped he would clear himself. I hope it comforted him in penal servitude to remember that one, at least, of the men whom he had wantonly wronged wished him well. I wish him well no less today, but alas that he cannot be hurt by the hard things I happen to say. Any alteration of my pamphlet would destroy the whole s…
1907 · PDF PAGE 133
…another kind of philosophy—the kind that goes with glacier travel in the Mustagh ‘Tagh. Orpheus slept. Book IV. was begun in Cairo on my way to England, and bears marks of confirmed Buddhism up to the death of Orpheus. 3ut the more I saw of Buddhism the less I liked it, and the first part of Book IV. is flatly contradicted by its climax. This is a pitiable sort of confession for a man to make ! What was I to do? I could not rewrite the whole in order to give it a philosophic unity. Gerald Kelly forcibly prevented me from throwing it into the ri…
1929 · PDF PAGE 21
… queen of Henry VI, who was my favourite character in history. This is highly significant, as indicating the type of woman that I have always admired. I want her to be wicked, independent, courageous, ambitious, and so on. I cannot place the "ragstag", but it is probably euphonic. {57} "Gregor" is, of course, my cousin; "story" is what was then my favourite form of amusement. I cannot place the "yaka", but that again is probably euphonic. I cannot imagine why, at this very early age, I cultivated a profound aversion to, and contempt for, Queen …
1929 · PDF PAGE 155
…gy to go for a short stroll. I was very anxious to show Thornton a beautiful view of a hillside and river, which I had come across on my way home. We set out, he being armed with a sketch book and a kukri, which he would always carry about with him, though I could never understand the reason; if I had been anticipating the day's events, I should not have troubled to inquire. At the edge of the hill weariness overtook me; I sat down, pointing to him a tiny path down the hill slope which he was to pursue. He was rather a long time returning, and …
1929 · PDF PAGE 338
… and undertook the task. My plan in such cases is not to undeceive the patient. I proposed to treat his story as literally true in every way and to fight fire with fire. I said to him: "What you must do is to develop your own magical powers so as to beat your mother at her own game." He had considerable capacity for Magick and understood the object of the measures which I proposed. We began by chartering a yacht, which we anchored in an unfrequented river on the south coast. I obligated him and proceeded to teach him how to develop his astral b…
1929 · PDF PAGE 488
… that rhythm and rime were incompatible with poetry. Her creed contained many similar dogmas, all fixed with bigoted intolerance. I got away from this dessicated spinster and her dreary drone with alacrity. I proceeded westward. As I came through the desert, thus it was. As I came through the desert ... Chicago is the forlorn outpost of civilized man. Every mile beyond marks a lower rung on the ladder of evolution. St Paul and Minneapolis are merely magnified markets always open. There is no life of any kind outside business. I suppose that poo…
1929 · PDF PAGE 526
…s book perhaps ranks next to those in which my pen was definitely and authentically inspired. (The criterion of such inspiration, by the way, is that in the case of an inspired book such as Liber VII or Liber LXV I do not dare to "change as much as the style of a letter". I show, in fact, precisely that reverence for the author which should always be observed by the mere editor, and in this case, having not only the manuscript but my memory to assist me in case of any question arising as to the text in consequence of what my earliest tutor woul…
1929 · PDF PAGE 337
… one can bring them to manifestation. Being in itself neither good nor evil, it is extraordinarily dangerous. {546} I may regard, by the way, that what we call "good" and "bad" are both extremely limited. The greatest disasters arise from what we call indifference. I once examined the horoscopes of a number of murderers in order to find out what planetary dispositions were responsible for the temperament. To my amazement, it was not the secret and explosive energy of Heschel, not the sinister and malignant selfishness of Saturn, not the ungover…
1929 · PDF PAGE 165
…e governed, as history proves, by any alien autocracy with sufficient moral courage to dismiss Hindu subtlety as barbaric and go its own way regardless of reason. But India has always conquered its invaders by initiating them. No sooner does the sahib suspect that he is not Almighty God than the attributes of Jehovah cease to arm him with unreasonable omnipotence. Our rule in India has perished because we have allowed ourselves to consider the question of divine right. The proverb says that the gods themselves cannot contend with stupidity, and…
1929 · PDF PAGE 221
…hen I had to upset my arrangements. I had {369} not even yet suspected the truth that the fine flight of Rose's rapture was carrying me away on its wings. Her love for me was evoking my live for her, and I had rather made a point of contracting out of any such complications. I was prepared to propitiate physiology, but only on condition that the domain of psychology suffered no interference. However, there I was, married to one of the most beautiful and fascinating women in the world. The love between us grew to the utmost possibilities of pass…
1929 · PDF PAGE 493
…er of the A.'. A.'.. I have called the vision corresponding to this the "Vision of Wonder" which permeates one's daily life in a similar way. The difference is that penetrating beyond sensory perceptions, one is aware of the mechanism of events, of the subtle chain of causes which connect them. One perceives in detail how each impression necessarily succeeds its forerunner. The effect is that one is lost in wonder at the ingenuity of the universe, to use a very inadequate word, as being the only one available. One feels the intense awed admirat…
1929 · PDF PAGE 376
…have been three hundred pounds. The cost of production was nearer four hundred. Similar figures apply to the other nine numbers. In this way I satisfied myself that no one could reproach me with trying to make money out of Magick. As a matter of fact, it went utterly against the grain to take money at all. When anyone showed interest in my poetry or my magical writings, the attitude so delighted me that I felt it utterly shameful to have any kind of commercial transaction with so noble an individual, and I used, as often as not, to beg him to a…
1929 · PDF PAGE 435
…cords. Neither of the {691} women had ever seen this open and Cremers suspected that he kept these letters in it. She got him out of the way for a day by a forged telegram, entered the room, untied the cords and drew the box from under the bed. To her surprise it was very light, as if empty. She proceeded nevertheless to pick the lock and open it. There were no letters; there was nothing in the box, but seven white evening dress ties, all stiff and black with clotted blood!