Concerning Death by Aleister Crowley in International, Dec 1917.

“Listen, for thine ears are become dulled to the mean noises of the earth; the infinite silence of the Stars woos thee with subtle music.” [via]

Consider also:

  1. “IT is written in the Book of the Law: Every man and every woman is a Star. It is Our Lady of the Stars that speaketh to thee, O thou that art a star, a member of the Body of Nuit.”
  2. “I CANNOT say how deeply I feel about this matter. The insensate screams of the mob threaten to deafen even those few ears which were attuned to the still small voice of wisdom.”
  3. “Sleep there, nor know me gone: sleep there And never wake, although God’s breath Catch thee at midmost of the prayer Of sleep—that so dream turns to death! Pass, be no more! The beckoning dawn Woos the white ocean: I must go Wither my soul’s desire is drawn. Whither? I know not. Even so.”
  4. “A spirit walking in a dream, I went To the high throne–they shook the firmament With foolish cheers. I knelt before the queen And wept in silence. Then, as it had been And angel’s voice and touch, her face she bent, Lifted and kissed me–oh! her lips were keen! Her voice was softer than a virgin’s eyes: ‘Go! my true knight: for thither, thither lies The only road for thee; thou hast a prayer Wafted each hour–my spirit will be there!’ Too late I knew what subtle Paradise Her dreams and prayers portend: too fresh, too fair! I turned more wretched than myself knew yet. I told my nameless pain I should forget Its shadow as it passed.”
  5. “But the treasures of art, of literature, of music, must this time be preserved for humanity; and we are determined to resist to the death any attack upon those treasures. We are — for the moment — fighting the Germans; but Faust and Siegfried and Zarathustra, the achievement of Kant in philosophy and of Helmholtz in physics, must be put ‘out of bounds.’ We stand above.”