Recovering the Stolen Jewel from the Palace of the Dragon King - print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Strange Creatures of Mythology
First published in Horizon, Journal of the Philosophical Research Society, Winter 1951, 52 - 72
By Manly P. Hall
A Roman essayist, writing nearly seventeen centuries ago, acknowledged that he had certain mental reservations on the subject of centaurs. He admitted that many regions of the world had not been explored and no doubt these could be the habitat of strange creatures, but it appeared to him unlikely that centaurs would be found gambolling on some remote greensward. This doubting Thomas recommended caution in accepting stories about unicorns, satyrs, dragons, sea serpents, and the like. He took the stand that he would be better satisfied if a few examples of these monsters were available for public examination.
Ancient religious art abounds with representations of what are generally called composita. These are fantastic figures combining the attributes of several species like the winged, man-headed bulls of Assyria and the chi-lin, the unicorn of China. These imaginary orders of living things have intrigued the scholarly for centuries, and numerous explanations have been advanced as keys to the riddle...
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Ancient religious art abounds with representations of what are generally called composita. These are fantastic figures combining the attributes of several species like the winged, man-headed bulls of Assyria and the chi-lin, the unicorn of China. These imaginary orders of living things have intrigued the scholarly for centuries, and numerous explanations have been advanced as keys to the riddle...
Subscribe to the New PRS Journal to read on...
Nothing comes from nothing. Manly Hall’s vision for the All-Seeing Eye was entirely supported by contributions from its readers who paid for their subscription with gifts made according to their means. Manly Hall wrote,
“This magazine is published and distributed privately to those who make possible with their financial support its publication. The magazine cannot be bought and has no fixed value. Like all of the ancient teachings which it seeks to promulgate, it has no comparative value, but the students must support it for its own intrinsic merit.”
