Quote#Wisdom
The pious pretence that evil does not exist only makes it vague,…
Quote byAleister Crowley · 1875–1947
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: The Confessions of Aleister Crowley (1929), Ch. 33; also quoted with Americanized spelling as The pious pretense that evil does not exist only makes it vague, enormous and menacing..
English (original)
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.
— Aleister Crowley
More from Aleister Crowley
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.
I am certainly of opinion that genius can be acquired, or, in the alternative, that it is an almost universal possession.
There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.
Religion in life is either an amusement and a soporific, or a sham and a swindle.
I was in the death struggle with self: God and Satan fought for my soul those three long hours. God conquered — now I have only one doubt left — which of the twain was God?
Every man and every woman is a star.