Aleister Crowley Quotes

Existence, as we know it, is full of sorrow. To mention only one minor point every man is a condemned criminal, only he does not know the date of his execution. This is unpleasant for every man. Consequently every man does everything possible to postpone the date, and would sacrifice anything that he has if he could reverse the sentence. Practically all religions and all philosophies have started thus crudely, by promising their adherents some such reward as immortality. No religion has failed hitherto by not promising enough the present breaking up of all religions is due to the fact that people have asked to see the securities. Men have even renounced the important material advantages which a well organized religion may confer upon a State, rather than acquiesce in fraud or falsehood, or even in any system which, if not proved guilty, is at least unable to demonstrate its innocence. Being more or less bankrupt, the best thing that we can do is to attack the problem afresh without preconceived ideas. Let us begin by doubting every statement. Let us find a way of subjecting every statement to the test of experiment. Is there any truth at all in the claims of various religions Let us examine the question.

innocence man age people men truth system religion existence sorrow sacrifice problem present immortality ideas date find falsehood question fact experiment execution state reward religions begin important criminal breaking thing fraud

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.

doubt faith night awakening morning found corpse arms

I was asked to memorise what I did not understand; and, my memory being so good, it refused to be insulted in that manner.

manners memory good understand

If one were to take the bible seriously one would go mad. But to take the bible seriously, one must be already mad.

bible mad

The joy of life consists in the exercise of one's energies, continual growth, constant change, the enjoyment of every new experience. To stop means simply to die. The eternal mistake of mankind is to set up an attainable ideal.

mistakes growth life change experience mankind joy exercise enjoyment eternal stop mistake die

Ordinary morality is only for ordinary people.

people morality ordinary

Am I right in suggesting that ordinary life is a mean between these extremes, that the noble man devotes his material wealth to lofty ends, the advancement of science, or art, or some such true ideal; and that the base man does the opposite by concentrating all his abilities on the amassing of wealth?'Exactly; that is the real distinction between the artist and the bourgeois, or, if you prefer it, between the gentleman and the cad. Money, and the things money can buy, have no value, for there is no question of creation, but only of exchange. Houses, lands, gold, jewels, even existing works of art, may be tossed about from one hand to another; they are so, constantly. But neither you nor I can write a sonnet; and what we have, our appreciation of art, we did not buy. We inherited the germ of it, and we developed it by the sweat of our brows. The possession of money helped us, but only by giving us time and opportunity and the means of travel. Anyhow, the principle is clear; one must sacrifice the lower to the higher, and, as the Greeks did with their oxen, one must fatten and bedeck the lower, so that it may be the worthier offering.

opportunity travel extremes philosophy life wealth money man time art science soul creation real houses true sacrifice spirit appreciation gold giving artist write poor works possession ordinary distinction question noble things hand morals rich sonnet abilities sweat bourgeois

One would go mad if one took the Bible seriously; but to take it seriously one must be already mad.

religion bible mad atheism