A Study Guide to The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Vols. 1-2)

Volume 1
A Survey Course in Philosophy Based upon the Introduction to An Encyclopedic Outline of Symbolical Philosophy.

Never before published in book form, this study guide to the Introduction of Manly P. Hall's acclaimed encyclopedia of esoteric thought and traditions, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, was written by Hall in 1960. Previously available only as a hand-mimeographed outline for students at the Philosophical Research Society. A Study Guide to the Secret Teachings of All Ages was considered lost for many years — until it was rediscovered in the archives of PRS and prepared for its first-ever book publication. This edition is illustrated with images from The Secret Teachings along with some of the rare, esoteric texts that Hall drew on for his pioneering 1928 volume.

Manly P. Hall’s monumental study of esoteric traditions and symbolism, An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy — commonly known as The Secret Teachings of All Ages — was first published in 1928. An immediate success, it went through numerous reprints and established Hall’s reputation as one of the leading esoteric scholars and teachers of the twentieth century.

Consisting of twelve distinct lessons based on the introduction to The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Hall's survey course poses questions such as: 

• What did Socrates teach concerning the soul?
• What is the essential difference between dogmatic, academic, and skeptical philosophy?
• What ate the basic requisites of personal happiness?
• What is the difference between true broadmindedness and pseudo broadmindedness?

"According to the doctrine of the ancients, philosophy is one of the three divisions of knowledge; the other parts are theology and science. Theology relates to divine and spiritual matters; science, to forces and forms; and philosophy, to reason and thought. Philosophy combines together the worlds of spiritual causes and physical effects, being, therefore, the moderator of all extremes and the unifier of all the elements of action...this survey course covers twenty-five hundred years of human thinking. Beginning with the first Greek sages, it descends through the classical periods to the Christian era."

-Manly P. Hall 

Volume 2
A Survey Course in Philosophy Based upon Chapters I-VI of An Encyclopedic Outline of Symbolical Philosophy.

PRS is pleased to present the 2nd Volume of A Study Guide to The Secret Teachings, containing brand-new essays and analyses of the first six chapters in the book by acclaimed esoteric scholars and mythologists John Bucher, Devon Deimler, Sandra del Castillo, Mitch Horowitz and Stephen Reedy. This volume includes commentaries and questions to guide both general students and experienced readers on Chapters I – VI in The Secret Teachings covering: The Ancient Mysteries & Secret Societies Parts I – III, Atlantis and the Gods of Antiquity, The Life and Writings of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus, and The Initiation of the Pyramid.

It poses questions such as:

• What associations do you have with the term “Mysteries”? 
• What do you think is the relationship between myth and ritual? 
• What does squaring the circle refer to in the context of pyramid building? What does it mean in alchemical and Jungian thought? 
• How do the terms of Hermeticism linger in modern English?
  

Manly Palmer Hall (1901-1990), was a Canadian-born scholar and philosopher. He began his public career in the related fields of philosophy and comparative religion at the age of nineteen and devoted his life to teaching, writing, and lecturing without interruption for over half a century.

Hall travelled extensively in Europe, Asia, and Central America, and assembled a magnificent library. He gave nearly seven thousand different lectures and talks and appeared on numerous radio and television stations throughout the United States. He wrote over thirty-five books, scores of essays, and hundreds of articles.