Defence Against the Dark Arts XXXII: Anthony Horowitz’s Diamond Brothers at Christmas

A few books with a Christmas theme have inspired posts in the past. 

I wanted to produce something similar for this year; I remembered that the seventh book in Anthony Horowitz’s Diamond Brothers series is called The Greek Who Stole Christmas so I decided to renew my acquaintance with these very amusing little stories. 

I found enough suitable material for another seasonal article.

Christmas for the Diamond Brothers 
Christmas is not a good time of year for Nick the clever boy detective and his big – and dim - brother Herbert, who prefers to be known as Tim, as they are always very short of money and are often in danger from their enemies.

The action in The Falcon's Malteser, which is the first book in the series, takes place during the holiday season. These words from Nick Diamond set the tone:

“...the grey December sky. The Christmas decorations had gone up in Regent Street – it seemed that they’d been up since July – and the stores were wrapped in tinsel and holly. Somewhere, a Salvation Army band was playing “Away in a Manger.” I felt a funeral march would have been more appropriate.“

Things get worse: Tim and Nick are arrested by the police and held in a freezing cold interrogation room. They are released, only to be rearrested and held overnight in a cell in the police station. 

The police decide to let Nick go; he rises to the occasion with a typical witty remark:

“You can go, laddy,” Snape said. “It’s only big brother we want.”

“How long are you going to keep him for?” I asked. “It’s only five days to Christmas.”

“So?”

“He hasn’t had time to buy my present yet.” 

Two quotations about mediocrity

This post contains a small amount of commentary on two short quotations that highlight a very big topic. 

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said something in The Valley of Fear that has been very widely quoted:

“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius...”

This seems at first sight to be spot on, but it needs to be qualified and expanded.

It is very true that many people can't evaluate or even see people who are far above or ahead of them; it does indeed often take one to know one!

What Conan Doyle doesn't mention however is that some people who are nothing special do know - or sense - talent - or even genius - when they see it, and they may try to discourage, sabotage or even destroy it!

Someone who is only a below-average performer at something or who knows only a little about a subject can often see very clearly that other people are much better at it than they are or know much more about it than they do. They may acknowledge and show respect for this, or they may feel envious, diminshed and resentful.

This is from Robert A. Heinlein's science fiction novel for younger readers Have Space Suit—Will Travel:

“Some people insist that 'mediocre' is better than 'best.' They delight in clipping wings because they themselves can't fly. They despise brains because they have none.”

This too is very true: some people do indeed try to cut others down to size; I have seen and experienced this for myself. The tall poppy syndrome comes to mind here, as do the crabs in the bucket who try to drag down a fellow crab that wants to climb up and escape.

Fear, negativity, envy and spite are often behind such mean-spirited behaviour. Rafael Sabatini's proposition that equality is a by-product of envy is relevant here, and so are these words from Kathleen Raine's autobiography Farewell Happy Fields:

“…winged souls are more often dragged down by the commonplace herd, who, ignorant of the use of wings, clip them and forbid their flight, than the wingless injured by the escape of the winged ones…Who, among the vulgar, heeds the misery of imagination hampered and thwarted?…”

There is more to come about all this.

Diana Wynne Jones's Witch Week

Halloween is the time when many people's thoughts turn to witches.

I suddenly remembered reading Diana Wynne Jones's Witch Week (1982) many years ago; I decided to take another look to see if it contains any article-inspiring content.

This little book for children combines magic-related fantasy with boarding-school life. While there is little to say about the main story and there isn't much material suitable for direct quotation, there are still a few elements that inspire commentary.

The Witch Week of the title, a time of many strange incidents, begins a few days before Halloween, which makes the book very suitable for the occasion. 

The cover on this edition is just right for Halloween:

Keeping the balance

A previous article mentions the importance of balancing depressing books with reading material that lifts the spirits.

Witch Week contains both cruelty and humour; scenes that are very painful to read because they involve humiliation and bullying are balanced by witty dialogue and descriptions of amusing incidents.

The power of hate again
Witch Week provides supporting evidence for the proposition that hatred can sometimes be helpful. 

Charles Morgan is a loner and odd one out among the pupils. He lists in his journal everything that he hates, which includes the school buildings and at one point all the people in the school!

This hatred helps to keep him going.

Upton Sinclair on the politician's paymasters

Several good, relevant and topical quotations from the American muckraking journalist and author Upton Sinclair have been featured on here, most recently in the article about honest politicians.

These wise words are from his 1940 novel World's End:

"If you wanted to understand a politician you mustn't pay too much attention to his speeches, but find out who were his paymasters. A politician couldn’t rise in public life, in France any more than in America, unless he had the backing of big money, and it was in times of crisis like this that he paid his debts.”

This applies to the present day and the UK too.

There is currently much speculation here about possible  funding sources for some politicians: for example, there are allegations that they are getting money from Russia, China, big business or billionaires. 

Maybe some politicians really are are just pawns and puppets.

We need to follow the money!

The day of reckoning probably will come for some of these politicians. They have laid themselves open to pressure and blackmail from their handlers, backers and paymasters. There is a price for everything, and debts must be paid.

Honest politicians really are doomed!

This is another post in the topical series that features alarming and pessimistic politics-related quotations.

These words from Taylor Caldwell appear in the article about the lack of honour in politics:

“An honest politician is either a hypocrite—or he is doomed.” 

Upton Sinclair wrote something that supports this proposition:

“Such was the new technique for the conquest of power. Fool those who were foolable, buy those who were buyable, and kill the rest.”

From Wide Is the Gate (1943)

The above extract reminds me of how potential troublemakers are dealt with in John Christopher's Guardians:

“We are constantly on the alert for trouble...Anyone showing creative intelligence and initiative stands out conspicuously from the mob and can be dealt with.”

“Dealt with” means eliminated! 

Upton Sinclair is yet another writer whose life and works I hope to investigate when I have more time.

Money and hate: two quotations that come very close to home

Two quotations that made a big impression on me when I first came across them many years ago suddenly surfaced in my mind recently. After realising how very applicable they are to many people and their lives, I decided to feature them in a short article.

A very unfair aspect of life
I once read something that resonated very strongly. I can't remember where I read it or what the exact wording was, but it was something like this:

“Not having money is much worse than having money is good.”

I agree with this proposition, and I think that it can be applied to many things other than money. It seems obvious to me that while being in possession of certain things might not bring us any particular benefit, we would definitely be much worse off without them. In other words, the disadvantages that come from not having something may greatly exceed the advantages of having it.

Some things are conspicuous mainly by their absence.

Someone who leaves school with little or nothing in the way of marketable qualifications or skills may be in big trouble, whereas someone who has achieved a string of good exam results and mastered some basic abilities may find that these attainments are no big deal. The first person may be way behind the majority, but the second one will not be ahead of the crowd. 

Someone who hates their job so much that they go down to minus 100 on the happiness scale is unlikely to reach plus 100 if they get work that they really enjoy: they will be lucky if they get to plus 10! 

The above two examples come from personal experience.

Upton Sinclair's wise words about checking the evidence

Some of the American author Upton Sinclair's wise words that resonate strongly with me have been quoted in previous articles, including, for example, one about the difficulty of getting through to people and another that contains his description of what it feels like to be used and thrown aside. 

I intended to search for more article-inspiring material from Upton SInclair at the time, but other topics intervened. I recently decided to take a further look, and I found another good quote to highlight:

"It is foolish to be convinced without evidence, but it is equally foolish to refuse to be convinced by real evidence." 

This speaks for itself. It may state the obvious, but it is very true. 

Where the proposition that unseen forces are at work in some people's lives is concerned for example, I have seen many examples of both automatic, immediate, mindless, enthusiastic acceptance of the idea and automatic, immediate, mindless, contemptuous denial and dismissal of even the possibility. 

Both types of reaction are indeed foolish; I think of these positions as two sides of the same bad coin.

It is good practice to neither believe nor disbelieve, but entertain possibilities. It is best to consider the evidence or lack of it and look at the cases for and against before making any decisions and commitments.

Taylor Caldwell's topical words about governmental tasks

Taylor Caldwell, who had something insightful to say about the causes of major wars, wrote this in a historical novel set in ancient Rome:

“Antonius heartily agreed with him that the budget should be balanced, that the Treasury should be refilled, that public debt should be reduced, that the arrogance of the generals should be tempered and controlled, that assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt, that the mobs should be forced to work and not depend on government for subsistence, and that prudence and frugality should be put into practice as soon as possible.”

From A Pillar of Iron (1965)

It is interesting to see how very relevant this is to what is happening in the US and the UK right now.

For example, major cost-cutting exercises are in progress in both places, both governments are cutting their foreign aid budgets, and in the UK new plans are afoot to get more people off benefits and into work.

An unpleasant bus incident with interesting implications

Jarring experiences on buses have been mentioned in several articles, including, for example, the one about another string of minor incidents. 

In many cases, these incidents happened just after I had been in contact with an energy vampire and wasn't feeling too good; the dynamics were different in the example featured in this post.

Many years ago, I returned to London after having had a very enjoyable day at the seaside. I was looking forward to having some tea and something light to eat when I got home; I was in a state that might be described as pleasantly tired but contented. 

As I waited for the bus outside Victoria Station, I noticed that the other people at the bus stop seemed to be in a similar, happy but rather subdued, state.

The bus came; we all got on. The small number of other passengers either conversed very quietly or sat in peaceful silence.

Everything changed when someone who seemed switched off, disconnected from what was going on around her, got on the bus a few stops later. Two formerly quiet men immediately became offensively loud and foul mouthed. 

I didn't think much of the incident at the time, but I later came to see it as supporting evidence for some of my ideas.

Trouble of various kinds breaks out around some people, but they are often oblivious of the effect they have on others. They may feel like victims, but they may unwittingly be the cause of bad experiences that they have.

I suspect that the men were influenced by the bad energy that surrounded the new bus passenger. It is possible that they had been drinking, which would have made them more open to contagion.

There is a lot to learn from incidents such as this one.

Two quotations about the benefits of financial independence

Some people think of money mainly in terms of buying the basics and paying the bills; others are self-indulgent consumers who think in terms of wants rather than needs and go in for 'success hardware', designer clothes, expensive holidays, huge show-place homes and other luxuries.

I have always seen money primarily as a provider of peace, privacy and protection; I used it to obtain a much-needed sanctuary in the form of a little place of my own. 

I have also found it very useful for buying books!

One of the articles inspired by Dion Fortune's occult novels contains some thoughts about how financial independence enables people to maintain their personal integrity and freedom of mind.

Great minds think alike. I recently came across two more quotations that support such ideas.

C. S. Lewis and freedom from 'the system'
I found this reference to financial independence in an article that C. S. Lewis wrote for The Observer in 1958:

“I believe a man is happier, and happy in a richer way, if he has 'the freeborn mind'. But I doubt whether he can have this without economic independence, which the new society is abolishing. For economic independence allows an education not controlled by Government; and in adult life it is the man who needs, and asks, nothing of Government who can criticise its acts and snap his fingers at its ideology.”

Financial independence certainly does give people the opportunity to educate themselves, follow up their ideas and learn to think for themselves. It also seems true that the increasing reliance on the welfare state is reducing these opportunities. 

Taylor Caldwell and freedom from other people
Taylor Caldwell wrote this in her 1949 novel Let Love Come Last:

“A sensible man makes it a point to gather together as much money as possible, as soon as possible, so that he can henceforth be safe from his own kind, and can live in peace. A lion has his claws and teeth, an elephant has his strength, a fox has his cunning — to defend himself. And man must have money.”

Money certainly does help when it comes to defending ourselves against and escaping from people we don't want in our lives.

These are thought-provoking issues. There may be more to say about them later.

“There is no honour in politics”

A recent article features a statement from the Scottish writer George MacDonald to the effect that as no good person would go into politics, anyone who is elected to power will not be a decent human being. 

His words may be unwelcome and depressing, but there are many recent examples in both the UK and the US that support them.

Other people mentioned on here have said much the same thing.

This is from Benjamin Disraeli, who saw it all from the inside:

“There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable; for in politics there is no honour.“

Taylor Caldwell, who had something to say about the causes of major wars, also said this in her historical novel Captains and the Kings:

“...politics and moral ethics never mix. Politics and ethics are a contradiction in terms. An honest politician is either a hypocrite—or he is doomed.”

Although Captains and the Kings is set in the United States and the story starts in the 1850s, much of the material in this book has wider applications.

More memorable material from Dion Fortune's occult novels

This is yet another article in the series inspired by Dion Fortune's occult novels. It contains a few more of her thought-provoking propositions.

Three essential qualities
The Demon Lover contains what might be called a person specification for advanced occult work:

“Dr Latimer had brains and kindness, but no strength; the hard-faced man had brains and strength, but no kindness; the newcomer had all three, and Veronica knew by this that he was a far greater man in every way than either of the others was ever likely to be.” 

Each of these qualities needs to be developed to a far greater than average degree. Finding people who meet two of the requirements must be difficult enough; good luck with finding someone who meets all three! Such people may exist in fiction, but how many are to be found in real life? 

Balancing the qualities
Assuming that kindness includes mercy and that strength includes justice, this further extract from The Demon Lover is of interest because it reminds me of of a very similar statement in a very different novel:

“...although unbalanced mercy is but weakness, unbalanced justice is cruelty and oppression.”

When I first saw this, I immediately thought of some words from Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre that support the above proposition:

“Feeling without judgment is a washy draught indeed; but judgment untempered by feeling is too bitter and husky a morsel for human deglutition.”

Feeling that is not balanced with rationality may well be not much good to anyone on the receiving end, and judgement that is not balanced with compassion may indeed be too harsh for most people to digest.

Some alarming words about wars from Taylor Caldwell

I have been noticing more and more occurrences of the alarming prediction that World War III is both inevitable and  imminent.

There are many conspiracy theories about the causes of major wars; they often involve power and money: 'cui bono' and all that.

These sinister theories may be new to some people, but they have been circulating for a very long time. There is nothing new in the observation that differing factions often unite in the face of a common enemy either. 

The author Taylor Caldwell, who has been mentioned in a few articles on here, said something in a book first published in 1952 that is very applicable to the current global political situation:

“You see,” went on the doctor warmly, “when a nation threatens another nation the people of the latter forget their factionalism, their local antagonisms, their political differences, their suspicions of each other, their religious hostilities, and band together as one unit. Leaders know that, and that is why so many of them whip up wars during periods of national crisis, or when the people become discontented and angry...

Attacking another nation, then, acts as a sort of catharsis, temporarily, on men’s fear of their immediate neighbors. This is the explanation of all wars, all racial and religious hatreds, all massacres, and all attempts at genocide.”

From The Devil's Advocate

The recent series of violent riots in the UK is an indication that all is not well here. The US economy is reported to be slowing down, with many job losses.

Are the people becoming increasingly discontented and angry? Are the US and the UK moving towards a time of national crisis?  

If so, are the leaders going to whip up a war or two? 

Benjamin Disraeli too had something to say on the subject of conflicts between nations.

Perhaps we should take his advice and hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

A very relevant quotation from the writer George MacDonald

The recent general election in the UK was held on July 4th, a day of great significance in the US; the impending presidential election in the US will be held on November 5th, a  a day of great significance in the UK.

Some of the people standing for and elected to office do not inspire much confidence. Is this really the best that the political parties can do? Why can't they come up with better people?

The Victorian author and poet George Macdonald, who has been mentioned in a few articles on here, said something that is very relevant to the current unsatisfactory situation: 

“It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellow men.”

He could well be right about this.

The reader's dilemma: so many books, so little time

The article about L. M. Montgomery's compulsion to read and write contains this quotation from one of her journals:

“I doubt if I shall ever have time to read the book again -- there are too many new ones coming out all the time which I want to read. Yet an old book has something for me which no new book can ever have -- for at every reading the memories and atmosphere of other readings come back and I am reading old years as well as an old book.”

For an avid reader, a 'book drunkard' as  L. M. Montgomery called herself, the dilemma of there not being enough hours in the day to do all the reading they would like to is a very real and major one. 

The 'so many books, so little time' dilemma does indeed often involve making a decision to select a familiar old friend rather than a fresh new book to read or vice versa; in other words, all reading is at the expense of other reading. 

I commented on L. M. Montgomery's thoughts about reading and the feelings of nostalgia that old books can invoke at the time. I have since come across another quotation about the advantages of old over new books, and this has inspired a few more words on the subject.

Comfort food for the mind
Elizabeth Goudge states that our favourite books can provide great comfort when we are going through difficult times in our lives.

A few comments about life from a Dion Fortune occult novel

The first article in the series inspired by Dion Fortune's occult novels contains quotations relevant to the topic of operating from a position of weakness versus operating from a position of strength.

This article features three memorable statements from The Sea Priestess about what Douglas Adams called Life, the Universe and Everything. They seem both very true and very depressing to me.

A striking and very true description of life
It was this statement that inspired this article:

“It seemed to me that life is an all-in wrestling match without a referee. It had fairly got me down.“

It seems like that to many people!

Life does indeed often feel like one long fight for survival, one long battle against hostile forces with no one to see fair play.

The problems and attacks keep coming; they are unrelenting and never-ending and there is often no respite.

There is no justice in the world; no one is minding the store, so people who behave badly towards others do indeed often get away with it.

No wonder people get depressed!

All this reminds me of something that Marvin the Paranoid Android says in Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

“Life! Don't talk to me about life.”

If life gives with one hand it takes with the other
These quotations from The Sea Priestess suggest that there is a great price to be paid in return for a great advantage:

“It is said that the gods always make you pay the price for any great blessing, but in my case, having sent me a pretty unmitigated curse, they funded up handsomely in other directions.”

“Then I told her my idea that whereas the gods are always reputed to make mortals pay up for any great benefit bestowed, I, by virtue of my asthma, seemed to be running a kind of credit account with them. She agreed.”

The context of the speaker's remarks is not really relevant to this article; it is the proposition that great gifts come at a great price that is of interest here.

Get it in writing!

This article was inspired by a comment that I came across in one of Dion Fortune's occult novels.

The speaker, a man, decides to send a male colleague who will make a good impression to talk in person to a woman about property matters: 

“It is my experience that women take things in much better when they are told than when they are written to. As a matter of fact, being out of their depth when it comes to house property, they judge the man and not the scheme.”

From The Sea Priestess

This may at first sight seem rather patronising, not to mention just not true! However, the speaker does qualify what he says: he is not generalising about all women, just the ones he has been involved with in connection with his estate agency business.

The context of his remark is not relevant to this article; it is the underlying propositions that some people prefer to receive information in person and that the messenger is sometimes more important than the message that are of interest here.

While I much prefer to get information in writing and see the message as being more important than the messenger, I know from experience that some people do indeed want to be told rather than written to and often are more influenced by the teller than by the tale.

Passing on information in person
I suspect that many of the people who prefer to do everything in person are extroverts and/or feeling types! They just want company; they want human contact and personal attention so they look for pretexts to arrange a get-together.

Introverts may find it frustrating and annoying when such people want to meet rather than just exchange emails, however despite my personal preferences I can see that there is something to be said in favour of passing on information in person.

A few words from a Celtic exorcist

The thought-provoking proposition that people of Celtic origin are particularly open to certain unseen influences was first mentioned in an article about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novella The Parasite.

A list of writers of interest with Celtic connections followed, and there are references to this heritage in a few other articles.

The Reverend Dr. Donald Omand, a Scotsman and a Church of England exorcist, is another example of someone who attributes his psychic powers to his Celtic origin.

From his book Experiences of a Present Day Exorcist (1970):

“...the gift of ‘second sight’, so prevalent among people of Celtic origin...”

“Ferguson was a strange mixture of devil and saint, as is so often found in Celtic peoples.“

“Being called on so often to counter the machinations of Black Magicians, I have learned how they achieve their ends. If I did turn from Jekyll to Hyde, I should be more dangerous than most through the feyness which has been passed on to me by my Celtic forebears, I am afraid to think uncharitably of people, even of those who may wish to harm me, for I know what the result may be.”

It is lucky then for everyone he encountered that Dr. Omand always used his powers for good rather than evil!

He has some amazing stories to tell and much to say about topics such as witchcraft, ill-wishing and curses in his book:

A last look at cult expert Steve Hassan's Freedom of Mind

After producing a series of articles in which I highlight and comment on material of special interest from Steven Hassan's best-selling guidebooks Combating Cult Mind Control and Freedom of Mind, I thought that I had reached the end of the exercise. However, Freedom of Mind has inspired just one more post.

Steve Hassan's detailed advice about how families and friends can help cult members and cult leavers via his Strategic Interactive Approach (SIA) is very useful indeed. It is best to go straight to the source for his wise words on building teams, planning interventions, role playing, winning the trust of the cult member, asking key questions and other associated exercises and procedures; here I just want to feature a few miscellaneous extracts of particular interest, some of which have a wider application.

Indirectly asking for help
Steve Hassan describes a technique used by clever cult members to drop subtle hints to their families:

“I have had several families contact me after their cult son or daughter told them not to get a professional counselor to get them out. Before the cult member made that remark, the families had not realized that they could contact someone like me for help.”

This approach could be used in other situations - and I don't mean just by people who say, “It's my birthday tomorrow, but please don't tell anyone and don't get me anything!”

Echoes of Dion Fortune
A recent article contains this quotation from a Dion Fortune occult novel:

“You don’t know what you do want, but you do know what you don’t want.

Steve Hassan says something similar:

“It is useful, for instance, to be able to recognize and articulate the difference between what you do not want (a mediocre job) and knowing what you do want (a fulfilling career).”

It is indeed very useful to bring goals, preferences and requirements out into the open and nail them down. 

Steve Hassan calls this exercise 'assertive motivation'. It can help to remove blocks, increase understanding and get someone going in the right direction.

Another scene of interest from a Dion Fortune occult novel

As mentioned in the article inspired by The Demon Lover, there are scenes in Dion Fortune's occult novels that have particular relevance to some of the topics on here. 

This post features another of these scenes, this time from Moon Magic (1956). It presents the idea that people with certain metaphysical powers and the right training and intention can use occult methods to draw others to them for mutual benefit.

Lilith Le Fay calls out for a colleague
Moon Magic contains much occult-related material that people who live entirely in the three-dimensional universe would dismiss as ridiculous rubbish, purple prose, or, as Richard Hannay describes a speech he makes in John Buchan's Greenmantle, confounded nonsense!

I skip through many of the occult scenes myself, but find this novel worth reading for the commentary-inspiring material that it contains.  

Lilith Le Fay is one of the main characters. She is a priestess of Isis and a practitioner of ceremonial magic. 

She needs to find someone to work with her when she performs the rituals. She advertises the job vacancy in a very unusual way:

“There was nothing for me to do but watch and wait. I could not go and find the people I wanted; I had to wait for them to find me. This I knew they would do because I was sounding the call of Isis, vibrating it on the Inner Planes as a wireless operator sounds his key-call. Those who were on my wave-length would soon be picking it up, and then curious combinations of circumstances would do the rest. They would come from the ends of the earth like homing pigeons, picking up the call subconsciously and not knowing what it was that drew them.“

The procedure may seem preposterous and the practitioner delusional, but it works! Lilith Le Fay attracts the right man for the job by broadcasting on the right wavelength: she puts out the call, and a man who has the qualities that she requires eventually appears in her life.

The shadow side of the Moon Magic scene
Most people will immediately dismiss the suggestion that some people can communicate via other dimensions as very unlikely indeed - or even crazy. However, when people who are interested in unseen influences and have had certain unusual experiences are first introduced to this idea, they find that it makes sense and could explain a lot. 

Further consideration by such people may cause them to realise that, assuming it is correct, this proposition has some alarming implications; they may rightly suspect that the forces involved do not always work for the benefit of the people using or affected by them. 

In particular, there is a negative or shadow side to the calling phenomenon.