Warning: This largely overlaps A. E. Waite, The Holy Kabalah q.v. ( )

THE DOCTRINE AND LITERATURE OF THE KABALAH

PREFACE

FEW educated persons, and certainly none belonging
to the class of students for which this work is more
especially designed, will require to be told that the
Kabalah is a form of esoteric philosophy, that it
makes for itself a high claim, or that this claim has,
from time to time, been admitted by persons who are
entitled to our consideration. Nor will it be needful
to state that the literature called Kabalistic rose up
among the Jews during the Christian centuries which
succeeded their dispersal and the destruction of their
Holy City. It offers a strong contrast to the sacred
scriptures of Israel, which are direct, beautiful and
simple, while Kabalism is involved, obscure and in
many ways repellent as regards its outward form.
The Bible is in focus with humanity; the Kabalah is
distorted out of all correspóndence with the simple
senses, and we must grind our intellectual lenses with
exceeding care if we would bring it into perspective...