Manly P. Hall (1901-1990), widely regarded as a sage and teacher steeped in the wisdom of antiquity, was one of the leading esoteric scholars of the twentieth century.
He wrote: "Hence the disciple of the Ancient Wisdom is taught to realize that man is not essentially a personality, but a spirit."—Manly P. Hall
In an age when serious study of 'other religions' was anathema to most, Hall found deep cross-cultural threads and revealed many interconnected roots of modern religious expression.... His legacy is over 200 printed volumes, 8000 lectures, a hand picked library which is one of the finest in the field, and a Society and University that continue in his spirit of universal exploration and learning. He is founder of The Philosophical Research Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1934 for the purpose of assisting thoughtful persons to live more graciously and constructively in a confused and troubled world. The Society is entirely free from educational, political, or ecclesiastical control. Dedicated to an idealistic approach to the solution of human problems, the Society's program stresses the need for the integration of religion, philosophy, and the science of psychology into one system of instruction. The goal of this instruction is to enable the individual to develop a mature philosophy of life, to recognize his proper responsibilities and opportunities, and to understand and appreciate his place in the unfolding universal pattern.
In 1990 Mr. Hall was recognized as an honorary 33º Mason (the highest rank possible in the Scottish Rite). To understand this honor we observe that others on this list are former President Gerald Ford, Norman Vincent Peale, Senator J. Strom Thurmond...
No doubt this honor is due to Mr. Hall’s lifelong study of the philosophical basis of Freemasonry, writing several books on the subject, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry, Masonic Orders of Fraternity, Freemasonry of the Ancient Egyptian, The Secret Destiny of America, and his belief our continent was set aside for a great experiment of enlightened self-government by ancient philosophers, and that the seeds of this plan for the founding of America were planted one thousand years before the Christian era and is partly revealed in the symbolism of the Great Seal of the United States.
Hall States: "Mystical speculations about God, the world, and man occupied the minds of many medieval scholars and theologians. They conceived creation itself to be a symbol or figure through which the Divine Will manifested its purposes and intentions-thus by analogy, the world revealed God, and man revealed the world. The human being himself was a microcosm-a miniature of the cosmos. After the collapse of the pagan cultural institutions, it was unlawful to teach classical learning or to advance scientific knowledge contrary to the prevailing scholasticism. To avoid persecution and at the same time perpetuate for the benefit of qualified disciples the more advanced formulas of the ancient wisdom, the sacred truths were presented symbolically through the beautiful engraved devices of the emblem writers.
The seventeenth century restoration of learning gradually brought about a Universal Reformation as proclaimed in the Fama of the Rosicrucians. A careful study of the emblem books of that period reveals that most of the figures and designs were based upon Egyptian or Greek mythology, and like the alchemical symbols, perpetuated the secret teachings of esoteric fraternities. Today, those well informed in the Orphic Mysteries and the mystical speculations of the Neoplatonists can interpret the design with little difficulty. It appears that the emblem books were, in many cases, actual extensions of Pythagorean and Platonic metaphysics. Paracelsus said that the first hieroglyphic book is nature, published in folio, and the second hieroglyphic book is man, published in duodecimo.
To live in the world without becoming aware of the meaning of the world is like wandering about in a great library without touching the books. It has always seemed to me that symbolism should be restored to the structure of world education. The young are no longer invited to seek the hidden truths, dynamic and eternal, locked within the shapes and behavior of living beings."
Bio (link takes you off site): http://www.prs.org/mphbio.htm
  -----.Man: The Grand Symbol of the Mysteries 5th Edition. Los Angeles: Philosophical
Research Society, 1947.
Science is not based upon facts, but upon observation, experiment, Logic, reason, and opinion - until why has been established. Here is a book that maintains that all facts must be answered to the question, Why. Not how, when, or what. Science has not been fair, just, nor equitable in its examination of metaphysics. It has not been scientific in its examinations. It has reasoned from prejudices rather than from available data. |
 -----. The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical PhilosophyReduced Size Hardbound in Color by Manly Palmer Hall 12.9 x 9.0 x 0.8 inches In 1928, a 20-something Renaissance man named Manly Hall self-published a vast encyclopedia of the occult, believing that "modern" ideas of progress and materialism were displacing more important and ancient modes of knowledge. Hall's text has become a classic reference, dizzying in its breadth: various chapters explore Rosicrucianism, Kabbalah, alchemy, cryptology, Tarot, pyramids, the Zodiac, Pythagorean philosophy, Masonry and gemology, among other topics. This affordably priced edition would be vastly improved by a new foreword, placing the work in some kind of historical and critical context and introducing readers to the basic contours of Hall's sweeping corpus. Instead, we have a disciple's adulatory 1975 foreword, which merely parrots the same themes of mystery and esoterica that are espoused in the book. Readers who are unfamiliar with Hall's work will be at a loss in ferreting out which chapters have stood the test of time and which have been vigorously debunked (like the one on Islam, which actually uses novelist Washington Irving as a primary source on the prophet Muhammad). However, they will also marvel at the sheer scope of Hall's research and imagination, and at J. Augustus Knapp's famous illustrations, including a 16-page color insert. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. Llewellyn New Times George Barron, Curator of the De Young Museum of San Francisco, in his tribute to this remarkable work. From the Author I wish to express my deep indebtedness to those faithful artists and engravers whose remarkable meditation pictures have guided my labors for so many years. This book is dedicated to the truths they served and the wonderful designs which they have bestowed as a priceless heritage upon the truth seekers of the future. It is my sincere hope that this memorial may continue to serve and inspire new generations of kindly and dedicated people. Manly P. Hall Los Angeles, California October 1, 1975.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition. Product Description: Like no other book of the twentieth century, Manly P. Hall's legendary The Secret Teachings of All Ages is a codex to the ancient occult and esoteric traditions of the world. Students of hidden wisdom, ancient symbols, and arcane practices treasure Hall's magnum opus above all other works. While many thousands of copies have sold since its initial publication in 1928, The Secret Teachings of All Ages has previously been available only in oversized, expensive editions. For the first time, Hall's celebrated classic is now published in an affordable trade paperback volume. Literally hundreds of entries shine a rare light on some of the most fascinating and closely held aspects of myth, religion, and philosophy from throughout the centuries. More than one hundred line drawings and a sixteen-page color insert reproduce some of the finest illustrations of the original book, while reset and reformatted text makes this edition of The Secret Teachings of All Ages newly accessible to readers everywhere. This is truly a wonderful work and reference. Incredible research. Jessika
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 The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Reader's Edition) by Manly Palmer Hall Small Paperback Size Dimensions (in inches): 1.84 x 9.18 x 6.09 A classic since 1928, this masterly encyclopedia of ancient mythology, ritual, symbolism, and the arcane mysteries of the ages is available for the first time in a compact "reader's edition." Like no other book of the twentieth century, Manly P. Hall's legendary The Secret Teachings of All Ages is a codex to the ancient occult and esoteric traditions of the world. Students of hidden wisdom, ancient symbols, and arcane practices treasure Hall's magnum opus above all other works. While many thousands of copies have sold since its initial publication in 1928, The Secret Teachings of All Ages has previously been available only in oversized, expensive editions. For the first time, Hall's celebrated classic is now published in an affordable trade paperback volume. Literally hundreds of entries shine a rare light on some of the most fascinating and closely held aspects of myth, religion, and philosophy from throughout the centuries. More than one hundred line drawings and a sixteen-page color insert reproduce some of the finest illustrations of the original book, while reset and reformatted text makes this edition of The Secret Teachings of All Ages newly accessible to readers everywhere. |
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 Lectures on Ancient Philosophy: An Introduction to Practical Ideals. Los Angeles: Philosophical Research Society, 1996. The one hope of the world is philosophy, for most of the sorrows of modern life result from the lack of a proper philosophic code. In the twenty chapters the author covers such subjects as the nature of the Absolute, the disciplines of salvation, pagan theogony and cosmogony, mathematics, Emerson's concept of the oversoul, ancient Mystery rituals, the goal of philosophy. Originally published as a companion guide to the encyclopedic The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Lectures on Ancient Philosophy is a textbook for those who desire to live intelligent and effective lives. For thousands of years men have sought the answer to the essentials of right living. The quest of the human heart for knowledge has resulted in the formulation of certain great tenets and hypotheses concerning divine and natural law. Anyone wishing to understand the laws by which the wise of every age have regulated their lives to achieve happiness and integrity will find in this book a clear and concise presentation of the Ancient Wisdom. |
 -----. The Mystical Christ: Religion as a Personal Experience. Los Angeles: The Philosophical Research Society,1993. The Mystical Christ is an unfoldment of the devotional side of the Christian faith. It has been written to meet the demand for a basic statement of a strong and idealistic faith. The author was convinced that only by religious insight can people find the internal peace and security which they must have to preserve an enlightened way of life. Product Description: |
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 -----. The Ways of the Lonely Ones: a Collection of Mystical Allegories. Los Angeles: Philosophical Research Society, 1962. The author presents the heart-side of the philosophic life which appeals directly to the intuitive part of human nature. This life is not merely what it seems to be. Hidden from our eyes by a cloak of materiality is a wonderful world which eyes of the dreamer can see and the soul of the mystic comprehend One of the first books I read when I put my foot on the spiritual path. Jessika |
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 -----. Reincarnation: The Cycle of Necessity, Los Angeles: Philosophical Research Society, 1967. The thirty-two chapter book presents a clear and direct development of various aspects of the doctrine of rebirth. It is the author's conviction that belief in rebirth enlarges the human viewpoint ..., and removes from the consciousness the fear of death which is the great delusion of the Occident. Among the subjects discussed are reincarnation in Oriental, Greek, and American Indian systems of thought; the theory as set forth in the Old and New Testaments and interpreted by early Christian Fathers; the rebirth of animals, plants, and minerals; the idea of soul-mates; the memory of past lives; and the fate of the suicide. An extensive bibliography is included. |
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 -----. Pathways of Philosophy. Los Angeles: Philosophical Research Society. A study of the descent of Western idealism in the Platonic and Neoplatonic traditions as continued by outstanding creative thinkers from St. Thomas Aquinas to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Includes as well the following representatives of the Platonic descent: Paracelsus, Francis Bacon, Jakob Boehme, and Immanuel Kant. These philosophers and mystics have influenced profoundly the entire course of modern civilization. Their lives are significant, for only when we know the men themselves can we interpret correctly the force and character of their ideals through the examples of their lives and ideas. |
