Item #62962 The Mystery of the Ages Contained in the Secret Doctrine of all Religions. Marie CAITHNESS, Countess of, Duchess of Pomár.
The Mystery of the Ages Contained in the Secret Doctrine of all Religions.
The Mystery of the Ages Contained in the Secret Doctrine of all Religions.

The Mystery of the Ages Contained in the Secret Doctrine of all Religions.

London: C. L. H. Wallace, 1887. Third Edition. Hardcover. Octavo. xxxii + 542pp. Original dark green cloth with gilt lettering to spine and upper board. Gilt Ouroboros design and black borders on upper cover, gilt rooster design to rear cover, beveled edges. Albumen photographic portrait frontispiece of the author with tissue guard opposite title page, several diagrams. The author, Marie Sinclair, Countess of Caithness (1830 – 1895) was well-known in Spiritualist and Theosophical circles. In addition to hosting séances, she had many more corporeal luminaries as her house guests, including H. P. Blavatsky whom many suspected she would succeed. She also became the friend and financial backer of Anna Kingsford. In this work she set out to explore the different manifestations of the secret "Esoteric Doctrine" ("or Universal Wisdom Religion") which she felt to be the basis or foundation of all religions. Table of Contents; Chapter I: Introduction; Chapter II: The Theory and Practice of Theosophy; Chapter III: Hermetic Theosophy; Part I. The Secret of Mythology; Chapter IV: Hermetic Theosophy, Part II, Egyptian and Christian Gnosticism; Chapter V: Oriental Theosophy. Part I, The Theosophy of the Brahmins, Magi, and Druids; Chapter VI: Oriental Theosophy; Part II. Buddhist Theosophy; Esoteric Buddhism, Chinese Theosophy; Chapter VII: Pagan Theosophy, Theosophic Ideas of the Ancient Romans; Chapter VIII: Semitic Theosophy Part I. The Kabbala of Hebrew Theosophy; Chapter IX: Semitic Theosophy; Part II. The Sufis and Mohammedan Theosophy. Chapter X: Christian Theosophy. The Theosophy of Christ; Chapter XI: The Theosophic Interpretation of the Bible; Chapter XII: Conclusion. The book ran through four editions, all in the same year (1887) suggesting that the print run of each was very small. Cloth lightly rubbed, edges lightly chafed, upper corners bumped and chafed, lower corner and spine ends lightly bruised and chafed, page edges darkened, pages toned with some foxing to first and last leaves, a few creased page corners, owner's name and date on front blank, a very few scattered pencil lines outside text but otherwise unmarked. Overall a tight clean VG copy of this scarce early edition. Item #62962

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