The Gnostic Church of L.V.X.

Editorial

Paul Joseph Rovelli

Vol. II, No. 1

At this time in my life I am looking late into what most consider my youth with the prospect of middle age looming to its beginnings; just a few years down the road. And there has been a period of emotional adjustment to prepare me for this prospect. Since my earliest childhood I have awaited the wisdom that I still believe only comes with age. And memories of my grandfather’s wisdom follow me about all the corridors of my days. 

Yet at this time there is a certain emptiness because of that wisdom that I so yearn for but cannot truly taste at this time. And so, this is my second editorial where I incorporate quotes from sources other than myself. I have been through a few seemingly minor events recently that have reminded me of this search in a very strange way. Without divulging those petty vanities, I will share the bounty of these quotes.

When I was about fifteen or sixteen years old I came across these two quotes. And they impressed me so much that I have carried them with me every day since. The first is a short one by Anais Nin and this is what she said about America:  

"All around,there is excitement in place of exultation;rush and action in place of depth; humor in place of feeling."

We live in a time of great technological progress and a corresponding culture that keeps our attention focused without the central core of our beings. The inner work that is the primary component of Thelema is anathema to such consumer-oriented concerns. One can only hope that those reading this might take it to heart and apply it to each and every situation that one finds themselves acting within.

The next quote is a bit more lengthy and is excerpted from a book entitled ‘A Child of the Century’ by Ben Hecht:

"A wise man knows he has only one enemy—himself. This is an enemy difficult to ignore and full of a cunning lacking in the enemies outside. It assails one with doubts, fears and disgust.It always seeks to lessen, and leads one away from one’s goals. It is an enemy never to be vanquished but constantly outwitted. 

A wise man never measures anything but what he feels for it. A woman is not as wonderful as his love,a dollar is not as big as his need for it. 

A wise man will not trust too much those who admire him,even for his wisdom. He knows that an admirer is never truly satisfied until he can substitute pity for his admirationand disdain for his applause. Our admirers are always on the lookout for evidence of our collapse. They find a solace in the fact that our superiority was transitoryand that we end as they do—old and useless.

 A wise man will always allow a fool to rob him of ideas without yelling "Thief."If he is wise he has not been impoverished.Nor has the fool been enriched. The thief flatters us by stealing. We flatter him by complaining. I know that a man who tries to convert me to any causeis actually at work on his own conversion,unless he is looking for funds under the mask of some fancied nobility. 

A wise man is never impressed by other "wise men." I noticed early that pompous people have actually less a high opinion of themselvesthan a desire to create such an opinion in others. I know that man who shows me his wealthis like the beggar who shows me his poverty;they are both looking for alms from me,the rich man for the alms of my envy,the poor one for the alms of my guilt. 

A wise man saves his good manners for disaster. A fool practices them when they are useless. 

A wise man cannot evade pain or rage,but when they come to him he treats them as visitors and not as permanent relatives. A man who suffers too long or remains too long angry is not at grips with any enemy,but coddling a disease.

 A man’s desire to hear the intimate cry of another’s heart never lessens. When he hears it something more remarkable than peace, honor and solvency appear in his life.He buds again through love.He comes into a sort of spectacular existence in another’s need of him.His humanity fizzes in him because another soul desires him.

Love is the magic[k]ian that pulls him out of his own hat." 

The preceding quote reads so much like a guide book for a warrior. May all our paths journey to such distant shores and may we rejoice in the spoils of our victory.