Editing Thelema (section)

==Historical precedents==
The word {{lang|grc|θέλημα}} ({{Transliteration|grc|thelēma}}) is rare in [[Classical Greek]], where it "signifies the appetitive will: desire, sometimes even sexual",{{sfnp|Gauna|1996|pp=90–91}} but it is frequent in the [[Septuagint]].{{sfnp|Gauna|1996|pp=90–91}} [[Early Christian writings]] occasionally use the word to refer to the human will,<ref>e.g. {{bibleverse||John|1:12–13}}</ref> and even the will of the [[Devil in Christianity|Devil]],<ref>e.g. {{bibleverse|2|Timothy|2:26}}</ref> but it usually refers to the will of [[God in Christianity|God]].{{sfnp|Pocetto|1998}} In his 5th-century sermon, Catholic philosopher and theologian [[Augustine of Hippo]] gave a similar instruction:{{sfnp|Sutin|2002|p=127}} "Love, and what you will, do." ({{lang|la|Dilige et quod vis fac}}).{{sfnp|Augustine|1990|p={{page needed|date=November 2021}}}}

In the [[Renaissance]], a character named "Thelemia" represents will or desire in the ''[[Hypnerotomachia Poliphili]]'' of the [[Dominican Order|Dominican friar]] and writer [[Francesco Colonna (writer)|Francesco Colonna]]. The protagonist Poliphilo has two allegorical guides, Logistica (reason) and Thelemia (will or desire). When forced to choose, he chooses fulfillment of his sexual will over logic.{{sfnp|Salloway|1997|p=203}} Colonna's work was a great influence on the [[Franciscans|Franciscan friar]] and writer [[François Rabelais]], who in the 16th century used ''Thélème'', the French form of the word, as the name of a [[François Rabelais#Thélème|fictional abbey]] in his novels, ''[[Gargantua and Pantagruel]]''.{{sfnp|Rabelais|1994|p={{page needed|date=November 2021}}}}{{sfnp|Saintsbury|1911|loc=v. 22, p. 771}} The only rule of this Abbey was "{{lang|fro|fay çe que vouldras}}" <!-- please do not "fix" this quote; it is a direct quote in archaic French. Thanks --> ("{{lang|fr|Fais ce que tu veux}}", or, "Do what you will").

In the mid-18th century, [[Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer|Sir Francis Dashwood]] inscribed the adage on a doorway of his abbey at [[Medmenham]],{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911|loc=v. 4, p. 731}} where it served as the motto of the [[Hellfire Club]].{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911|loc=v. 4, p. 731}} Rabelais's Abbey of Thelema has been referred to by later writers Sir [[Walter Besant]] and [[James Rice (writer)|James Rice]], in their novel ''[[The Monks of Thelema]]'' (1878), and [[C. R. Ashbee]] in his utopian romance ''The Building of Thelema'' (1910).

=== Definitions ===
==== In Classical Greek ====
In [[Ancient Greek|Classical Greek]] there are two words for [[Volition (psychology)|will]]: ''thelema'' ({{lang|grc|θέλημα}}) and ''boule'' ({{lang|grc|βουλή}}).

* {{Transliteration|grc|Boule}} means 'determination', 'purpose', 'intention', 'counsel', or 'project'
* {{Transliteration|grc|Thelema}} means 'divine will', 'inclination', 'desire', or 'pleasure'{{sfnp|Givens|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fA_NKmJ09tgC&lpg=PR11 xi]}}

The verb {{Transliteration|grc|thelo}} appears very early ([[Homer]], early [[Attic Greek|Attic]] inscriptions) and has the meanings of "ready", "decide" and "desire" (Homer, 3, 272, also in the sexual sense).

==== In the New Testament ====
In the original [[Koine Greek|Greek]] version of the [[New Testament]] the word ''thelema'' is used 62 or 64<ref>{{Cite web |title="KJV Translation Count" |url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=G2307&t=NASB |access-date=29 August 2019 |website=Blue Letter Bible}}</ref> times, twice in the plural (''thelemata''). Here, God's will is always and exclusively designated by the word ''thelema'' (θέλημα, mostly in the singular), as the theologian Federico Tolli points out by means of the ''Theological Dictionary of the New Testament'' of 1938 ("Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven").{{sfnp|Tolli|2004|p={{page needed|date=November 2021}}}}

===François Rabelais and the Abbey of Thélème===
{{Main|François Rabelais}}
[[File:Francois Rabelais - Portrait.jpg|upright|thumb|[[François Rabelais]]]]
François Rabelais was a [[Franciscan]] and later a [[Benedictine]] monk of the 16th century. Eventually he left the monastery to study medicine, and moved to the French city of [[Lyon]] in 1532. There he wrote ''[[Gargantua and Pantagruel]],'' a connected series of books. They tell the story of two giants—a father (Gargantua) and his son (Pantagruel) and their adventures—written in an amusing, extravagant, and satirical vein.

Most critics today agree that Rabelais wrote from a [[Christian humanism|Christian humanist]] perspective.{{sfnp|Bowen|1998|p={{page needed|date=November 2021}}}} The Crowley biographer Lawrence Sutin notes this when contrasting the French author's beliefs with the Thelema of [[Aleister Crowley]].{{sfnp|Sutin|2002|p={{page needed|date=November 2021}}}} In the previously mentioned story of Thélème, which critics analyze as referring in part to the suffering of loyal Christian reformists or "evangelicals"{{sfnp|Chesney|2004|p={{page needed|date=November 2021}}}} within the French Church,<ref>Hayes, E. Bruce, "Enigmatic prophecy" entry in {{harvp|Chesney|2004|p=68}}.</ref> the reference to the Greek word θέλημα "declares that the will of God rules in this abbey".<ref>Rothstein, Marian, "Thélème, Abbey of" entry in {{harvp|Chesney|2004|p=243}}.</ref> Sutin writes that Rabelais was no precursor of Thelema, with his beliefs containing elements of [[Stoicism]] and Christian kindness.{{sfnp|Sutin|2002|p={{page needed|date=November 2021}}}}

In his first book (ch. 52–57), Rabelais writes of this Abbey of Thélème, built by the giant Gargantua. It is a classical [[utopia]] presented in order to critique and assess the state of the society of Rabelais's day, as opposed to a modern utopian text that seeks to create the scenario in practice.{{sfnp|Stillman|1999|p=60}} It is a utopia where people's desires are more fulfilled.{{sfnp|Stillman|1999|p=70}}  Satirical, it also epitomises the ideals considered in Rabelais's fiction.{{sfnp|Rothstein|2001|p=17, n. 23}} The inhabitants of the abbey were governed only by their own free will and pleasure, the only rule being "Do What Thou Wilt". Rabelais believed that men who are free, well born and bred have honour, which intrinsically leads to virtuous actions. When constrained, their noble natures turn instead to remove their servitude, because men desire what they are denied.{{sfnp|Rabelais|1994|p={{page needed|date=November 2021}}}}

Some modern Thelemites consider Crowley's work to build upon Rabelais's summary of the instinctively honourable nature of the Thelemite. Rabelais has been variously credited with the creation of the philosophy of Thelema, as one of the earliest people to refer to it.{{sfnp|Edwards|2001|p=478}} The current National Grand Master General of the U.S. [[Ordo Templi Orientis]] Grand Lodge has opined that:

{{blockquote|1=Saint Rabelais never intended his satirical, fictional device to serve as a practical blueprint for a real human society&nbsp;... Our Thelema is that of ''The Book of the Law'' and the writings of Aleister Crowley.{{sfnp|Sabazius X°|2007}} }}

[[File:Hogarth Dashwood.jpg|upright|thumb|left|Portrait of [[Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer]], by [[William Hogarth]] from the late 1750s]]

Aleister Crowley wrote in ''The Antecedents of Thelema'' (1926), an incomplete work not published in his day, that Rabelais not only set forth the law of Thelema in a way similar to how Crowley understood it, but predicted and described in code Crowley's life and the holy text that he received, ''[[The Book of the Law]]''. Crowley said the work he had received was deeper, showing in more detail the technique people should practice, and revealing scientific mysteries. He said that Rabelais confines himself to portraying an ideal, rather than addressing questions of political economy and similar subjects, which must be solved in order to realize the Law.{{sfnp|Crowley|1998}}

Rabelais is included among the [[Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica#Saints of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica|Saints of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica]].{{sfnp|Crowley|1919b|p=249}}

===Francis Dashwood and the Hellfire Club===
[[Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer|Sir Francis Dashwood]] adopted some of the ideas of Rabelais and invoked the same rule in French, when he founded a group called the Monks of [[Medmenham]] (better known as the [[Hellfire Club]]).{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911|loc=v. 4, p. 731}} An abbey was established at Medmenham, in a property which incorporated the ruins of a [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] abbey founded in 1201.  The group was known as the Franciscans, not after Saint [[Francis of Assisi]], but after its founder, [[Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer]]. [[John Wilkes]], [[George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe|George Dodington]] and other politicians were members.{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911|loc=v. 4, p. 731}} There is little direct evidence of what Dashwood's Hellfire Club practiced or believed.{{sfnp|Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon|2006}} The one direct testimonial comes from John Wilkes, a member who never got into the chapter-room of the inner circle.{{sfnp|Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon|2006}}

[[Sir Nathaniel Wraxall, 1st Baronet|Sir Nathaniel Wraxall]] in his ''Historical Memoires'' (1815) accused the Monks of performing Satanic rituals, but these reports have been dismissed as hearsay.{{sfnp|Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon|2006}} Daniel Willens argued that the group likely practiced [[Freemasonry]], but also suggests Dashwood may have held secret Roman Catholic sacraments. He asks if Wilkes would have recognized a genuine Catholic Mass, even if he saw it himself and even if the underground version followed its public model precisely.{{sfnp|Willens|1992}}
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