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Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · Bilingual Edition

Attributed to Abraham the Jew

The Manly Hall Manuscript Collection, Volume I

Book of Hieroglyphic Figures

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The Manly Hall Manuscript Collection, Volume IThe Guarded Art · Manuscript 1v · Scan 16

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French Page · Branch 9 of 351

The Guarded Art · Manuscript 1v · Scan 16

French

Ms. 1v

et enfin, tout ce qui peut ravager et désoler le monde, (et cela à l'infini), contre ceux qui s'en moqueront, qui les regarderont comme des contes de vieilles, ou même qui en feront peu de cas; il n'en reste pas là, mais il va plus loin.

Que le Ciel soit pour lui d'airain, et que la terre sur laquelle il marche soit de fer, (comme il est écrit dans le Deutéronome); que le Seigneur lui envoie de la poussière au lieu de pluie, s'il s'approche de ces mystères sans un esprit aussi grand que celui de Moïse; qu'il soit frappé de toutes les plaies de l'Égypte, que son cadavre serve de pâture aux oiseaux du ciel, et aux bêtes de la terre, s'il a l'iniquité et l'indiscrétion de découvrir et manifester à des chiens étrangers, à des païens, à leurs enfants et successeurs, ce que Dieu par sa miséricorde souveraine et sans mesure n'a accordé qu'aux sages, aux prêtres. Que ces sots de curieux soient atteints d'une telle folie, d'un tel aveuglement, et d'un tel transport, qu'ils tâtent en plein midi comme un aveugle a coutume de

Ms. 1v

The Manly Hall Manuscript Collection, Volume I: The Guarded Art

Ms. 1v

and, finally, everything that can ravage and desolate the world—and this without limit—against those who mock these secrets, regard them as old women's tales, or even make light of them. He does not stop there, but goes further.

May the heavens become bronze for him, and the earth on which he walks iron, as is written in Deuteronomy. May the Lord send him dust instead of rain if he approaches these mysteries without a spirit as great as that of Moses. May he be struck with all the plagues of Egypt, and may his corpse become food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, if he has the wickedness and indiscretion to disclose and make known to foreign dogs, to pagans, and to their children and successors what God, in his sovereign and boundless mercy, has granted only to sages and priests. May these foolish meddlers be afflicted with such madness, such blindness, and such frenzy that they grope at midday as a blind man is accustomed to

Ms. 1v

About This Reading Edition

The first manuscript in the Manly Palmer Hall collection at the Getty Research Institute: the Book of Hieroglyphic Figures, presented in French and English with 463 explanatory notes, 13 manuscript plates, 25 source details, an introduction, chapter outline, glossary, bibliography, and register of readings.

Historical Text and Translation

Book of Hieroglyphic Figures (Livre des figures hiéroglyphiques), attributed in the witness to Abraham the Jew. Getty Research Institute, Manly Palmer Hall collection of alchemical manuscripts, accession 950053, Box 1, Hogart manuscript 3; French witness catalogued circa 1800. Manly Palmer Hall is the collector, not the author.

About Diotimos Editions

This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.

Rights

The circa 1800 source manuscript is public domain. The supplied 2026 French reading transcription, English translation, introduction, notes, outline, glossary, register, and editorial arrangement are published with the site owner’s authorization. Source photographs are credited to the Getty Research Institute and Internet Archive in the supplied edition.