Manly Palmer Hall

[Light Invisible]

Quote:

LightInvisible Wrote:he felt moved to include a new Foreword

What, 'in order to set the books straight' so to speak? Why did he wait until the 10th edition? I wonder. What 'moved' him??

Sounds like interesting an interesting Foreward.

Well once he actually became a Mason he realised that he had produced an interesting but inaccurate work about Freemasonry.

The foreword wasn't all that interesting but it made the point, here is what he wrote:

Quote:PREFACE TO THE TENTH EDITION

It is gratifying indeed that after more than forty years of continuous publication, and 30,000 copies having been printed, the demand for this little book justifies a new edition. At the time I wrote this slender volume, I had just passed my twenty-first birthday, and my only contact with Freemasonry was through a few books commonly available to the public.
It was from the study of comparative religion that I first became aware of the secret philosophical schools and societies of the ancient world. It was not possible to contemplate the State Mysteries of Egypt, Greece, India and Persia and not be profoundly impressed by the nobility of their teachings, the beauty and solemnity of their rites and ceremonies, and the profound meanings of their symbols, emblems and initiatory rituals. It became evident to me that these sacred institutions and colleges were the custodians of a universal wisdom, and conferred upon their initiates the keys to a sublime science or art dedicated to the regeneration of man and the reformation of human society. Moved by this conviction, I wrote The Lost Keys of Freemasonry.
Many changes have been wrought in the two score years since this writing came to print. A sickly sophistication threatens our way of life, and the very survival of human culture is at hazard. Through long years of confusion, depression, war and tyranny, Freemasonry has stood for the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. It has defended the right of every man to receive a proper education. It has taught respect for Constitutional government. It has sought to unite men in a fraternity of good works – these being the proper labours of a Master Mason.
Feeling that the time had come for all men who believed in the dignity of the human soul and the utility of enlightened ethics to stand and be counted, I petitioned for membership in the Masonic Order in 1954. In November of that year I was raised in Jewel lodge No.374, F.& A. M., San Francisco, California. A year later I took the Scottish Rite Degrees, and am a member of the San Francisco Consistory MRS. In 1961 I received the Investiture of Knight Commander of the Court of Honour.
I am happy to say that the admiration I had so long held for the Masonic Order was increased and deepened by a more intimate knowledge of its principles and a closer personal communion with my Brethren.

Manly P. Hall 32° K.C.C.H
Los Angeles, 1967

My point though is to all those who try to use Hall's work as proof of wrongdoing in Freemasonry should be aware of the fact that he wasn't actually a Mason when he wrote them.


Mike

[horseonwheels]

Mike, seriously though. Any joe with a good head can find out the socalled secrets of masonry in a couple of hours of dedicated search. For a secret society it it is not very secret at all. But you will not hear them from a mason, because that is a matter of honour or something along those lines?

Hall is an excellent theological philosopher and most certainly a 'Joe' with a good head. so, while I assume he would have to spend a little more time searching due to lack of internets, certainly a smart fellow like Hall could find out the not very secret, secrets of Masonry and given them a good thinking?.

I have no problem with Masonry mind you. Whatever voodoo people want to believe in, they should certainly believe in. And if they want to keep it to themself...THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH! Heck, I have been on phoning list for illegal raves that where more secret than Masonry. So you have a religion, that is nice, may it make you a better man!:)I have to, and try to do my best within its boundaries.

[standvast]

Horseonwheels Wrote:Mike, seriously though. Any joe with a good head can find out the socalled secrets of masonry in a couple of hours of dedicated search.

One can find out typical stuff, read about the degrees and rituals, look up a few "secrets"
explained through second or third hand intepretations...
but would you say one can truly experience or study in depth anything as comprehensive as freemasonry,
to form an opinion on it in a few hours ?

Horseonwheels Wrote:I assume he would have to spend a little more time searching due to lack of internets, certainly a smart fellow like Hall could find out the not very secret, secrets of Masonry and given them a good thinking?.

He did accumulate a vast library over his lifes years,..
but i think the experience (once being a mason and going through what he had only described from outside)
shifted his perception from 3rd person observer mode to that of "participant".

Sure, one can study something and find out a lot about it,..then report on it,
and in a sense i think Hall had well orientated himself on freemasonry beforehand,
yet certain aspects may only fall into place when made sense of in context , or in practice,
or by having been given a meaning which is not apparent or easily deducted by someone alien to the experience referred to.

LI Wrote:3 decades before he actually knew anything about it.

It sounds a bit charged IMHO to state "before he knew anything about it"
The fact that Hall started out from a perspective of studying Comparitive Mythology
which he applies in his talks /books when making comparisons to further
explanation / understanding / illumination
show me he sorta got the jist of it from the onset of his studies. ;)

namaste'