QUOTES OF ALEISTER CROWLEY

 I was in the death struggle with self: God and Satan fought for my soulthose three long
hours. God conquered — now I have only one doubtleft — which of the twain was God?
 Aceldama : A Place To Bury Strangers In (1898) Preface.

 I am certainly of opinion that genius can be acquired, or, in the alternative, that it is an
almost universal possession. Its rarity may be attributed to the crushing influence of
a corrupted society. It is rare to meet a youth without high ideals, generous thoughts, a sense
of holiness, of his own importance, which, being interpreted, is, of his own identity with God.
Three years in the world, and he is a bank clerk or even a government official. Only those who
intuitively understand from early boyhood that they must stand out, and who have the
incredible courage and endurance to do so in the face of all that tyranny, callousness, and the
scorn of inferiors can do; only these arrive at manhood uncontaminated.
 "Energized Enthusiasm : A Note On Theurgy" in The Equinox Vol. 1 no. 9 (Spring 1913).

 I am inclined to agree with the Head Master of Eton that pæderastic passions among
schoolboys 'do no harm'; further, I think them the only redeeming feature of sexual life at public
schools.
 "Energized Enthusiasm : A Note On Theurgy" in The Equinox Vol. 1 no. 9 (Spring 1913).

 There seems to be much misunderstanding about True Will … The fact of a person being
a gentleman is as much an ineluctable factor as any possible spiritual experience; in fact,
it is possible, even probable, that a man may be misled by the enthusiasm of an
illumination, and if he should find apparent conflict between his spiritual duty and his
duty to honour, it is almost sure evidence that a trap is being laid for him and he should
unhesitatingly stick to the course which ordinary decency indicates … I wish to say
definitely, once and for all, that people who do not understand and accept this position have
utterly failed to grasp the fundamental principles of the Law of Thelema.
 Magical Diaries of Aleister Crowley : Tunisia 1923 (1996), edited by Stephen Skinner p. 21.

 Black magic is not a myth. It is a totally unscientific and emotional form ofmagic, but it
does get results — of an extremely temporary nature. The recoil upon those who practice it
is terrific.
It is like looking for an escape of gas with a lighted candle. As far as the search goes, there is
little fear of failure!
To practice black magic you have to violate every principle of science, decency, and
 intelligence. You must be obsessed with an insane idea of the importance of the petty
object of your wretched and selfish desires.
I have been accused of being a "black magician." No more foolish statement was ever made
about me. I despise the thing to such an extent that I can hardly believe in the existence of
people so debased and idiotic as to practice it.
 Article "The Worst Man in the World" in The Sunday Dispatch (2 July 1933); quoted in The
Magical Revival (1972) by Kenneth Grant.

 Sit still. Stop thinking. Shut up. Get out!

The first two of these instructions comprise the whole of the technique of Yoga. The last two are
of a sublimity which it would be improper to expound in this present elementary stage.
 Eight Lectures On Yoga (1939) Ch. 4.

 The best models of English writing are Shakespeare and the Old Testament, especially the
book of Job, the Psalms, the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. … In writing
English the most important quality that you can acquire is style. It makes all the difference to
anyone who reads what you write, whether you use the best phrases in the best way.
 First and only letter to his son Aleister Ataturk (May 1947), as quoted in Do What Thou Wilt :
A Life of Aleister Crowley (2000) by Lawrence Sutin, p. 416.
The Book of the Law (1904)[edit]

Every man and every woman is astar.

I am above you and in you. Myecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy.

Do what thou wilt shall be the wholeof the Law.

Love is the law, love under will.

There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.

Also known as Liber AL vel Legis

 Every man and every woman is a star.

 I:3.

 These are fools that men adore; both their Gods & their men are fools.
 I:11.

 I am above you and in you. My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy.
 I:13.

 Then saith the prophet and slave of the beauteous one: Who am I, and what shall be
the sign? So she answered him, bending down, a lambent flame of blue, all-touching, all
penetrant, her lovely hands upon the black earth, & her lithe body arched for love, and her
soft feet not hurting the little flowers: Thou knowest! And the sign shall be my ecstasy,
the consciousness of the continuity of existence, the omnipresence of my body.
 I:26.

 I am divided for love's sake, for the chance of union.

 I:29.

 Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

 I:40 This famous statement derives from several historic precedents, including that
of François Rabelais in describing the rule of his Abbey of Thélème in Gargantua and
 Pantagruel: Fait ce que vouldras (Do what thou wilt), which was later used by
the Hellfire Club established by Sir Francis Dashwood. It is also similar to the Wiccan
proverb: An ye harm none, do what thou wilt; but the oldest known statement of a
similar assertion is that of St. Augustine of Hippo: Love, and do what thou wilt.

 Love is the law, love under will.

 I:57.

 Sing the rapturous love-song unto me! Burn to me perfumes! Wear to me jewels! Drink to
me, for I love you! I love you!
 I am the blue-lidded daughter of Sunset; I am the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night-
sky.
 To me! To me!
 The Manifestation of Nuit is at an end.
 I:63-66.

 I am alone. There is no God where I am.

 II:23.

 Now a curse upon Because and his kin!

 May Because be accursed for ever!
 II:28-29.

 ...Wisdom says: be strong! Then canst thou bear more joy. Be not animal; refine thy rapture!
If thou drink, drink by the eight and ninety rules of art: if thou love, exceed by delicacy; and if
thou do aught joyous, let there be subtlety therein!
 But exceed! exceed!
 II:70-71.

 There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.

 III:60.

 There is a splendour in my name hidden and glorious, as the sun of midnight is ever the son.
 III:74.

 The ending of the words is the Word Abrahadabra.

 III:75.

 The Book of the Law is Written and Concealed.

 Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
The study of this Book is forbidden. It is wise to destroy this copy after the first reading.
Whosoever disregards this does so at his own risk and peril. These are most dire.
 The Comment, This section restates several phrases of the work as a whole, in a
summary way.

 There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.

Love is the law, love under will.
 The Comment; This is a summary combination and restatement of the assertions of I:40
and I:57.
Magick Book IV : Liber ABA[edit]
A work in four parts, first published between 1911 and 1936.

 The old spelling MAGICK has been adopted throughout in order to distinguish the
Science of the Magi from all its counterfeits.
 Part II : Magick (1912).

Part III : Magick in Theory and Practice (1929)[edit]

Magick in Theory and Practice

ALL may understand instantly that their souls, their lives, in every relation with every
other human being and every circumstance, depend upon MAGICKand the right
comprehension and right application thereof.
Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.

There is a single main definition of the object of all magical Ritual. It is the uniting of the
Microcosm with the Macrocosm.
The first task of the Magician in every ceremony is therefore to render his Circle absolutely
impregnable.

The Magician must be wary in his use of his powers; he must make every act not
only accord with his Will, but with the properties of his position at thetime.

The Inmost is one with the Inmost; yet the form of the One is not the form of the other;
intimacy exacts fitness. He therefore who liveth by air, let him not be bold to breathe water.
 This book is for
ALL:
for every man, woman, and child.
My former work has been misunderstood, and its scope limited, by my use of
technical terms. It has attracted only too many dilettanti and eccentrics, weaklings
seeking in "Magic" an escape from reality. I myself was first consciously drawn to
the subject in this way. And it has repelled only too many scientific and practical
minds, such as I most designed to influence.
But
MAGICK
is for
ALL.
 Introduction.

 In my third year at Cambridge, I devoted myself consciously to the Great Work,

understanding thereby the Work of becoming a Spiritual Being, free from the
constraints, accidents, and deceptions of material existence.
I found myself at a loss for a name to designate my work, just as H. P.
Blavatskysome years earlier. "Theosophy", "Spiritualism", "Occultism", "Mysticism",
all involved undesirable connotations.
I chose therefore the name.
"MAGICK"
as essentially the most sublime, and actually the most discredited, of all the
available terms.
I swore to rehabilitate
MAGICK,
to identify it with my own career; and to compel mankind to respect, love, and
trust that which they scorned, hated and feared. I have kept my Word.
 Introduction.

 I must make
MAGICK
the essential factor in the life of
ALL.
In presenting this book to the world, I must then explain and justify my position by
formulating a definition of
MAGICK
and setting forth its main principles in such a way that
 ALL
may understand instantly that their souls, their lives, in every relation with
every other human being and every circumstance, depend upon
MAGICK
and the right comprehension and right application thereof.
 Introduction.

 Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with
Will.
(Illustration: It is my Will to inform the World of certain facts within my knowledge. I
therefore take "magical weapons", pen, ink, and paper; I write "incantations" —
these sentences — in the "magical language" ie, that which is understood by the
people I wish to instruct; I call forth "spirits", such as printers, publishers,
booksellers and so forth and constrain them to convey my message to those
people. The composition and distribution of this book is thus an act of Magick
by which I cause Changes to take place in conformity with my Will.)
In one sense Magick may be defined as the name given to Science by the vulgar.
 Introduction.

 The essence of
MAGICK
is simple enough in all conscience. It is not otherwise with the art of
government. The Aim is simply prosperity; but the theory is tangled, and the
practice beset with briars.
In the same way
MAGICK
is merely to be and to do. I should add: "to suffer". For Magick is the verb; and it is
part of the Training to use the passive voice. This is, however, a matter of Initiation
rather than of Magick in its ordinary sense. It is not my fault if being is baffling, and
doing desperate!
 Introduction.

 There is a single main definition of the object of all magical Ritual. It is the
uniting of the Microcosm with the Macrocosm. The Supreme and Complete
Ritual is therefore the Invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel; or, in the language of
Mysticism, Union with God.
 Ch. 1 : The Principles of Ritual
 Cleanliness is next to Godliness, and had better come first. Purity means
singleness. God is one. The Wand is not a Wand if it has something sticking to it
which is not an essential part of itself. If you wish to invoke Venus, you do not
succeed if there are traces of Saturn mixed up with it.
 Ch. 13 : Of the Banishings and of the Purifications.

 The first task of the Magician in every ceremony is therefore to render his
Circle absolutely impregnable.
 Ch. 13 : Of the Banishings and of the Purifications.

 “The Devil” is, historically, the God of any people that one personally dislikes. This
has led to so much confusion of thought that THE BEAST 666 has preferred to let
names stand as they are, and to proclaim simply that AIWAZ, the solar-phallic-
hermetic “Lucifer,” is His own Holy Guardian Angel, and “The Devil” SATAN or
HADIT, the Supreme Soul behind RA-HOOR-KHUIT the Sun, the Lord of our
particular unit of the Starry Universe. This serpent, SATAN, is not the enemy of
Man, but He who made Gods of our race, knowing Good and Evil; He bade “Know
Thyself!” and taught Initiation. He is “the Devil” of the Book of Thoth, and His
emblem is BAPHOMET, the Androgyne who is the hieroglyph of arcane perfection.
 Ch. 21 : Of Pacts with the Devil

 Thou spiritual Sun! Satan, Thou Eye, Thou Lust! Cry aloud! Cry aloud! Whirl the
Wheel, O my Father, O Satan, O Sun! Thou, the Saviour! Silence! Give me Thy
Secret! Give me suck, Thou Phallus, Thou Sun! Satan, thou Eye, thou Lust! Satan,
thou Eye, thou Lust! Satan, thou Eye, thou Lust! Thou self-caused, self-determined,
exalted, Most High!
 Appendix IV : Liber Samekh.

 Now this word SABAF, being by number Three score and Ten, is a name of Ayin,
the Eye, and the Devil our Lord, and the Goat of Mendes. He is the Lord of the
Sabbath of the Adepts, and is Satan, therefore also the Sun, whose number of
Magick is 666, the seal of His servant the BEAST.
 Appendix IV : Liber Samekh.

 Acts which are essentially dishonourable must not be done; they would be
justified only by calm contemplation of their correctness in abstract cases.
 Appendix VI : A few principal rituals – Liber Reguli.
 Love is a virtue; it grows stronger and purer and less selfish by applying it to
what it loathes; but theft is a vice involving the slave-idea that one's neighbor is
superior to oneself.
 Appendix VI : A few principal rituals – Liber Reguli.

 Crime, folly, sickness and all phenomena must be contemplated with

complete freedom from fear aversion or shame. Otherwise we shall fail to see
accurately, and interpret intelligently; in which case we shall be unable to
outwit and outfight them.
 Appendix VI : A few principal rituals – Liber Reguli.

 It has always been fatal when somebody finds out too much too suddenly. If John
Huss had cackled more like a hen, he might have survived Michaelmas, and been
esteemed for his eggs. The last fifty years have laid the axe of analysis to the root of
every axiom; they are triflers who content themselves with lopping the blossoming
twigs of our beliefs, or the boughs of our intellectual instruments. We can no longer
assert any single proposition, unless we guard ourselves by enumerating
countless conditions which must be assumed.
 Appendix VI : A few principal rituals – Liber Reguli.

 The Magician must be wary in his use of his powers; he must make every act
not only accord with his Will, but with the properties of his position at the
time. It might be my Will to reach the foot of a cliff; but the easiest way — also the
speediest, most direct least obstructed, the way of minimum effort — would be
simply to jump. I should have destroyed my Will in the act of fulfilling it, or what
I mistook for it; for the True Will has no goal; its nature being To Go.
 Appendix VI : A few principal rituals – Liber Reguli.

 A parabola is bound by one law which fixes its relations with two straight lines at
every point; yet it has no end short of infinity, and it continually changes its
direction. The Initiate who is aware Who he is can always check is conduct by
reference to the determinants of his curve, and calculate his past, his future,
his bearings, and his proper course at any assigned moment; he can even
comprehend himself as a simple idea.
 Appendix VI : A few principal rituals – Liber Reguli.

 His own infinity becomes zero in relation to that of the least fragment of the solid. He
hardly exists at all. Trillions multiplies by trillions of trillions of such as he could not
 cross the frontier even of breadth, the idea which he came to guess at only because
he felt himself bound by some mysterious power.
 Appendix VI : A few principal rituals – Liber Reguli.

 His first conception must evidently be a frantic spasm, formless, insane, not to be
classed as an articulate thought. Yet, if he develops the faculties of his mind, the
more he knows of it the more he sees that its nature is identical with his own
whenever comparison is possible.
The True Will is thus both determined by its equations, and free because
those equation are simply its own name, spelt out fully. His sense of being
under bondage comes from his inability to read it; his sense that evil exists to thwart
him arises when he begins to learn to read, reads wrong, and is obstinate that his
error is an improvement.
 Appendix VI : A few principal rituals – Liber Reguli.

 We know one thing only. Absolute existence, absolute motion, absolute

direction, absolute simultaneity, absolute truth, all such ideas: they have not,
and never can have, any real meaning. If a man in delirium tremens fell into the
Hudson River, he might remember the proverb and clutch at an imaginary straw.
Words such as "truth" are like that straw. Confusion of thought is concealed, and
its impotence denied, by the invention. This paragraph opened with "We
know": yet, questioned, "we" make haste to deny the possibility of
possessing, or even of defining, knowledge. What could be more certain to a
parabola-philosopher that he could be approached in two ways, and two only? It
would be indeed little less that the whole body of his knowledge, implied in the
theory of his definition of himself, and confirmed by every single experience. He
could receive impressions only be meeting A, or being caught up by B. Yet he
would be wrong in an infinite number of ways. There are therefore Aleph-Zero
possibilities that at any moment a man may find himself totally transformed. And it
may be that our present dazzled bewilderment is due to our recognition of the
existence of a new dimension of thought, which seems so "inscrutably infinite" and
"absurd" and "immoral," etc. — because we have not studied it long enough to
appreciate that its laws are identical with our own, though extended to new
conceptions.
 Appendix VI : A few principal rituals – Liber Reguli.

 The discovery of radioactivity created a momentary chaos in chemistry and

physics; but it soon led to a fuller interpretation of the old ideas. It dispersed
 many difficulties, harmonized many discords, and — yea, more! It shewed the
substance of Universe as a simplicity of Light and Life, manners to compose atoms,
themselves capable of deeper self-realization through fresh complexities and
organizations, each with its own peculiar powers and pleasures, each pursuing its
path through the world where all things are possible.
 Appendix VI : A few principal rituals – Liber Reguli.

 The Inmost is one with the Inmost; yet the form of the One is not the form of
the other; intimacy exacts fitness. He therefore who liveth by air, let him not be
bold to breathe water. But mastery cometh by measure: to him who with labour,
courage, and caution giveth his life to understand all that doth encompass him, and
to prevail against it, shall be increase. "The word of Sin is Restriction": seek
therefore Righteousness, enquiring into Iniquity, and fortify thyself to overcome it.
 Appendix VI : A few principal rituals – Liber Reguli.
Book VI : Liber O (1909)[edit]
Book VI : Liber O vel Manus et Sagittae

By doing certain things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned
against attributing objective reality or philosophic validity to any of them.

 In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and
Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which may or
may not exist. It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain
things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned
against attributing objective reality or philosophic validity to any of them.
  There is little danger that any student, however idle or stupid, will fail to get
some result; but there is great danger that he will be led astray, obsessed and
overwhelmed by his results, even though it be by those which it is necessary
that he should attain. Too often, moreover, he mistaketh the first resting-place
for the goal, and taketh off his armour as if he were a victor ere the fight is well
begun.
It is desirable that the student should never attach to any result the importance
which it at first seems to possess.
777 (1909)[edit]

The cause of human sectarianismis not lack of sympathy in thought, but inspeech; and
this it is our not unambitious design to remedy.

Liber 777 at bibliotecapleyades.net - The Complete Revised 777 (including Arabic parts)- Liber 777 at hermetic.com PDF file

 The following is an attempt to systematize alike the data of mysticism and

the results of comparative religion.
The skeptic will applaud our labours, for that the very catholicity of
the symbols denies them any objective validity, since, in so many
contradictions, something must be false; while the mystic will rejoice
equally that the self-same catholicity all-embracing proves that very
validity, since after all something must be true.
Fortunately we have learnt to combine these ideas, not in the mutual
toleration of sub-contraries, but in the affirmation of contraries, that
transcending of the laws of intellect which is madness in the ordinary man,
genius in the Overman who hath arrived to strike off more fetters from our
understanding.

 Here again, there is no tabulation; for us it is left to sacrifice literary charm,

and even some accuracy, in order to bring out the one great point.
 The cause of human sectarianism is not lack of sympathy in thought,
but in speech; and this it is our not unambitious design to remedy.
Liber XV : The Gnostic Mass (1913)[edit]
The central rite of Ordo Templi Orientis and its ecclesiastical arm, Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica. Full text online

I believe in one Gnostic and Catholic Church of Light, Life, Love and Liberty, the
Word of whose Law isTHELEMA.

 I believe in one secret and ineffable LORD; and in one Star in the
Company of Stars of whose fire we are created, and to which we shall
return; and in one Father of Life, Mystery of Mystery, in His name
CHAOS, the sole viceregent of the Sun upon the Earth; and in one Air
the nourisher of all that breathes.
And I believe in one Earth, the Mother of us all, and in one Womb
wherein all men are begotten, and wherein they shall rest, Mystery of
Mystery, in Her nameBABALON.
 III Of the Ceremony of the Introit, including what is called
the "Creed of the Gnostic Catholic Church".

 I believe in one Gnostic and Catholic Church of Light, Life, Love

and Liberty, the Word of whose Law is THELEMA.
 III Of the Ceremony of the Introit, "Creed of the Gnostic Catholic
Church".

 I believe in the communion of Saints.

And, forasmuch as meat and drink are transmuted in us daily into
 spiritual substance, I believe in the Miracle of the Mass.
And I confess one Baptism of Wisdom, whereby we accomplish the
Miracle of Incarnation.
And I confess my life one, individual and eternal that was, and is, and is
to come.
 III Of the Ceremony of the Introit, "Creed of the Gnostic Catholic
Church".

 There is no part of me that is not of the gods!

 VIII : Of the Mystic Marriage and Consummation of the Elements.
The Book of Lies (1913)[edit]
The Book of Lies : Which is also Falsely Called BREAKS. The Wanderings or Falsifications of the One Thought of Frater

Perdurabo, which Thought is itself Untrue. Liber CCCXXXIII [Book 333]

The Many is as adorable to the One as the One is to the Many.

 The Many is as adorable to the One as the One is to the Many.

This is the Love of These; creation-parturition is the Bliss of the
One; coition-dissolution is the Bliss of the Many.
The All, thus interwoven of These, is Bliss.
Naught is beyond Bliss.
 3 : The Oyster.

 I slept with faith and found a corpse in my arms on awakening; I

drank and danced all night with doubt and found her a virgin in the
morning.
 45 : Chinese Music
Moon Child (1917)[edit]
  It is a terrible error to let any natural impulse physical or mental
stagnate. Crush it out, if you will, and be one with it; or fulfill it, and
get it out of the system; but do not allow it to remain there and
putrefy. The suppression of the normal sex instinct, for example, is
responsible for a thousand ills. In Puritan countries one inevitably
finds a morbid preoccupation with sex coupled with every form of
perversion and degeneracy.
The Confessions of Aleister Crowley (1929)[edit]

The people who have really madehistory are the martyrs.

The Confessions of Aleister Crowley : An Autohagiography Only the first 2 Parts were published in 1929, the full 6 Parts in 1969.

The country is flooded with the nastypornography of women writers,

while there is an outcry against epoch-making masterpieces
of philosophylike Jurgen.
 No event can be fairly judged without background and perspective.

I do not want to father a flock, to be the fetish of fools and fanatics, or

the founder of a faith whose followers are content to echo my opinions.
I want each man to cut his own way through the jungle.

Intolerance is evidence ofimpotence.

 The definition of self-respect contains a clause to include

pitiless contempt for some other class. … English society is
impregnated from top to bottom with this spirit. The supreme
satisfaction is to be able to despise one's neighbor and this fact
goes far to account for religious intolerance. It is evidently
 consoling to reflect that the people next door are headed
for hell.
 Ch, 3.

 Adaptation to one's environment makes for a sort of survival;

but after all, the supreme victory is only won by those who
prove themselves of so much hardier stuff than the rest that no
power on earth is able to destroy them. The people who have
really made history are the martyrs.
 Ch. 4.

 The apparent discrepancy in the Gospel narrative aroused no

doubt in my mind as to the literal truth of either of the texts.
Indeed, my falling away from grace was not occasioned by any
intellectual qualms; I accepted the theology of the Plymouth
Brethren. In fact, I could hardly conceive of the existence of
people who might doubt it. I simply went over to Satan's side;
and to this hour I cannot tell why.
 Ch. 5.

 I resolved passionately to reach the spiritual causes of

phenomena, and to dominate the material world which I
detested by their means. I was not content to believe in a
personal devil and serve him, in the ordinary sense of the word.
I wanted to get hold of him personally and become his chief of
staff.
 Ch. 5.

 My mother was naturally a rather sensual type of woman and

there is not doubt that sexual repression had driven her as
nearly as possible to the borders of insanity.
My cousin Agnes had a house in Dorset Square. My mother
took me to tea there one afternoon. A copy of Dr. Pascal was in
the room. The word "Zola" caught my mother's eye and she
made a verbal assault of hysterical fury upon her hostess. Both
women shouted and screamed at each other simultaneously,
amid floods of tears. Needless to say, my mother had never
read a line of Zola — the name was simply a red rag to a cow.
 This inconsistency, by the way, seems universal. I have
known a printer object to set up "We gave them hell and
Tommy", while passing unquestioned all sorts of things to
which exception could quite reasonably be taken by
narrow-minden imbeciles. The censor habituallypasses what
I, who am no puritan, consider nauseating filth, while refusing
to license Oedipus Rex, which we are compelled to assimilate
at school. The country is flooded with the nasty pornography of
women writers, while there is an outcry against epoch-making
masterpieces of philosophy like Jurgen. The salacious
musical comedy goes its libidinous way rejoicing,
while Ibsenand Bernard Shaw are on the black list. The fact
is, of course, that the puritan has been turned by sexual
repression into a sexual pervert and degenerate, so that he is
insane on the subject.
 Ch. 7.

 As long as sexual relations are complicated by religious,

social and financial considerations, so long will they cause
all kinds of cowardly, dishonourable and disgusting
behaviour. When war conditions imposed artificial restraint on
the sister appetite of hunger, decent citizens began to develop
all kinds of loathsome trickery. Men and women will never
behave worthily as long as current morality interferes with
the legitimate satisfaction of physiological needs. Nature
always avenges herself on those who insult her. The
individual is not to blame for the crime and insanity which are
the explosions consequent on the clogging of the safety valve.
The fault lies with the engineer. At the present moment, society
is blowing up in larger or smaller spots all over the world,
because it has failed to develop a system by which all its
members can be adequately nourished without conflict and the
waste products eliminated without discomfort.
 Ch. 7.

 The conscience of the world is so guilty that it always assumes

that people who investigate heresies must be heretics; just as if
a doctor who studies leprosy must be a leper. Indeed, it is only
 recently that science has been allowed to study anything
without reproach.
 Ch. 17.

 To read a newspaper is to refrain from reading something

worth while.The natural laziness of the mind tempts one to
eschew authors who demand a continuous effort of
intelligence. The first discipline of education must therefore
be to refuse resolutely to feed the mind with canned
chatter.
People tell me that they must read the papers so as to know
what is going on. In the first place, they could hardly find a
worse guide. Most of what is printed turns out to be false,
sooner or later. Even when there is no deliberate deception,
the account must, from the nature of the case, be presented
without adequate reflection and must seem to possess an
importance which time shows to be absurdly exaggerated; or
vice versa. No event can be fairly judged without
background and perspective.
 Ch. 23.

 The pious pretence that evil does not exist only makes it
vague, enormous and menacing. Its overshadowing
formlessness obsesses the mind. The way to beat an enemy is
to define him clearly, to analyse and measure him. Once an
idea is intelligently grasped, it ceases to threaten the mind with
the terrors of the unknown.
 Ch. 33; also quoted with Americanized spelling as The
pious pretense that evil does not exist only makes it
vague, enormous and menacing.

 Destiny is an absolutely definite and inexorable

ruler. Physical ability and moral determination count for
nothing. It is impossible to perform the simplest act when the
gods say "No." I have no idea how they bring pressure to bear
on such occasions; I only know that it is irresistible. One may
be wholeheartedly eager to do something which is as easy as
falling off a log; and yet it is impossible.
  Ch. 48.

 Falsehood is invariably the child of fear in one form or

another.
 Ch. 49.

 I embrace hardship and privation with ecstatic delight; I

want everything the world holds; I would go to prison or to
the scaffold for the sake of the experience. I have never
grown out of the infantile belief that the universe was
made for me to suck. I grow delirious to contemplate the
delicious horrors that are certain to happen to me. This is the
keynote of my life, the untrammeled delight in every possibility
of existence, potential or actual.
 Ch. 54.

 Modern morality and manners suppress all natural

instincts, keep people ignorant of the facts of nature and
make them fighting drunk on bogey tales. … Knowing
nothing and fearing everything, they rant and rave and riot like
so many maniacs. The subject does not matter. Any idea which
gives them an excuse of getting excited will serve. They look
for a victim to chivy, and howl him down, and finally lynch him
in a sheer storm of sexual frenzy which they honestly imagine
to be moral indignation, patriotic passion or some equally
avowable emotion. It may be an innocent Negro, a Jew like Leo
Frank, a harmless half-witted German; a Christ-like idealist of
the type of Debs, an enthusiastic reformer like Emma
Goldman or even a doctor whose views displease the Medial
Trust.
 Ch. 57.

 I admit that my visions can never mean to other men as

much as they do to me. I do not regret this. All I ask is that my
results should convince seekers after truth that there is beyond
doubt something worth while seeking, attainable by methods
more or less like mine. I do not want to father a flock, to be
the fetish of fools and fanatics, or the founder of a faith
 whose followers are content to echo my opinions. I want
each man to cut his own way through the jungle.
 Ch. 66.

 Intolerance is evidence of impotence.

 Ch. 69.
Magick Without Tears (1954)[edit]

As soon as you put men together, they somehow sink, corporatively,

below the level of the worst of the individuals composing it.

 The customer is usually wrong; but statistics indicate that

it doesn't pay to tell him so.
 Ch XXI.

 As soon as you put men together, they somehow sink,

corporatively, below the level of the worst of the
individuals composing it. Collect scholars on a club
committee, or men of science on a jury; all their virtues vanish,
and their vices pop out, reinforced by the self-confidence which
the power of numbers is bound to bestow.
 Ch LXXIII.

 How right politicians are to look upon their constituents as

cattle! Anyone who has any experience of dealing with any
class as such knows the futility of appealing to intelligence,
indeed to any other qualities than those of brutes.
 Ch LXXIII