Once upon a time at Quest Bookstore in Manhattan, I discovered the writings of Manly P. Hall. In those days, Quest carried only his booklets and in them he wrote about specific topics. The booklets, writing style, and information were, well, I’ll just say, wonderful. Manly P. Hall was a searcher. He spent a lifetime in the libraries of the world.
I have his book, THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES, next to me. In the front of the book are these words, “This book is dedicated to the Rational Soul of the World.” The back of the book notes, “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 founded The Philosophical Research Library in Los Angeles, www.prs.org. It has the most extensive alchemical libraries.
In the Forward, Henry L. Drake writes, “This volume reveals that the lore and legendry of the world, the scriptures and sacred books and the great philosophical systems all tell the same story. Human ambition may produce the tyrant; divine aspiration will produce the adept.” And in the Preface, Manly P. Hall writes, “To avoid a future of war, crime, and bankruptcy, the individual must begin to plan his own destiny, and the best source of the necessary information comes down to us through the writings of the ancients.”
How does one describe a book that offers the reader so much? Maybe one shouldn’t even try-only say that learning about the ancient teachings is crucial to our “soul, mind, and body.” In my heart I’ve always felt that it is our inherent nature to soar, if we’d simply agree with ourselves to do so, and move forward in that direction.