Customer Reviews

The Secret Teachings of all Ages

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just thought I should warn any prospective buyer that the people giving this book 5 stars are doing this on the basis of the text alone. While I agree with their assessments there, the illustrations really leave a lot to be desired. They're poorly copied, and with such a low resolution you cannot see any fine detail at all. There are NO colour pictures. I first ordered this version, then after seeing the poor pictures, tried the version sold on Amazon as 'The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Reader's Edition)', going by other reviewer's comments on how clear the pictures were. Besides costing less, that version also has a very helpful index at the back which the version under review sadly lacks. The Reader's Edition may have somewhat cheaper paper, but the illustrations are well-reproduced, all the detail can be seen very well, and it has about a dozen glossy pages with full colour illustrations. As far as these two books go then, it's a question of better paper with poor illustrations versus cheaper paper with clear illustrations. I guess you can't win 'em all.

"The Secret Teachings of All Ages" is a portal to and a directory of esoteric symbology and knowledge. It is known as an encyclopedic outline of Masonic, hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian symbolical philosophy, but it is so very much more!

Manly P. Hall is one of the most important and prolific chroniclers of the Western esoteric writers, and this book is arguably his most important. In fact for the library of the serious student of esoteric organizations and movements "The Secret Teachings of All Ages", is a must have!

In this book you will find "explanations" of the most important symbols of the mystery schools, and hundreds of beautiful full color and black and white illustrations. Many of the illustrations fill the large 13 x 8.5 inch pages.

This is one of the books I recommend to students of the mysteries.

The work covers a wide area of philosophy and
theology. For instance, the following areas are
covered fairly:

o the ancient occult and philosophical values

o Platonic philosophy of the unmoved, self-moved and
that which is moved

o a reconciliation of Scholasticism with theology and philosophy

o vicoism where God controls His world through natural law

There is an extensive discussion of the Druids which contains
the world above, the world below and the present. In our world,
good and evil are in a balanced state. The Atlantis civilization
is discussed extensively. Atlanteans made ornate palaces,
perfume, temples, docks, as well as a network of bridges
and canals. The Gnostics believe that Christ personifies the
"Divine Mind" .

The design of the first Pyramid is presented in detail.
The chambers of the pyramid relate to the human heart,
brain and generation systems. In addition, there is a
challenging discussion on Pythagoras, the superabundant
numbers and deficient number systems.

This work is an excellent rendition of the philosophies
of the Ages. Acquire it to complete your personal library.

This reprinting of the original is smaller and the images have been mutilated by what appears to be an excess of photo copying. The majority of the images are completely unreadable, I find this book a waste of money. The text is still intact, and worth the read if that is all you desire.

I just received this book. Have not read it yet, but I can already see that I am disappointed in the print quality. All of the illustrations are blurred. There are beautiful and very detailed drawings that look very interesting, but they are so blurred that I can't see them. I have the paperback version of the book. I wonder if more expensive editions have better quality illustrations?

Tons of obscure esoteric information in this tome. This particular edition has no index or bibliography so it isn't terribly useful for research.

I HAD THE 70S VERSION SOME TIME AGO, A HUGE TOME WITH PICTURES THAT ILLUSTRATED SOME IMPORTANT POINTS. THEY DON'T TELL YOU THAT WITH THIS BOOK THERE ARE NO ILLUSTRATIONS (NOT THE ONES IN THE LARGE FORMAT 70S VERSION). I WAS SORELY DISAPPOINTED TO FIND THIS OUT AFTER BUYING THE BOOK FROM AMAZON & RECEIVING IT IN THE MAIL. IT IS RARE TO GET A 70S COPY. ALL OF THE INFO IS IN THIS ONE AND THIS IS AN ESSENTIAL BOOK ON METAPHYSICAL HISTORY AND INSIGHT FUL - A MUST AND A PERMANENT PART OF MY LIBRARY.

This is pretty high-brow stuff, not your run-of-the-mill, sit down and read from cover to cover book, but rather a volume of information that you'll want to savor and reflect over each chapter. Some very interesting Masonic references here as well. Anyone wishing to familiarize themselves with the esoteric arts would want this book in their library. Written in the language of the period, one truley gets a sense of looking back through time to see what was important and notable in the days gone by. Centainly not for the everyman, but lovers of philosophy and the arcane will be quite happy with this work.

I won't say how much I paid for my copy years ago. I might would cry. : ) This book has more interesting and useful metaphysical information than just about any book out there. It's not an encyclopedia of practices, but a compendium of organizations, societies, beliefs, Masonic lore and explanations of several principles that aren't readily understood by the non-initiated. It's even entertaining reading....

This book is one of those rare gems that has the ability to fascinate you on every page. I recommend it to anyone who wants to soak up some mystical tidbits from a vast terrain of sources. This book was very had to find for some time and it is an amazing testimony to our times to see it for under $20!!!