The Rudolf Steiner Archive

17. Knowledge of Substance as the Basis of Knowledge of Remedies

[ 1 ] Whoever wants to judge the effect of remedies must have an eye for the effects of forces that arise in the human organism when a substance that shows certain effects outside of it is introduced into it in some way.

[ 2 ] A classic example can be found in formic acid. It occurs as a corrosive, inflammatory substance in the body of ants. There it appears as a secretion product. The corresponding animal organism must produce such a product in order to carry out its activity in an appropriate manner. Life lies in the excretory activity. Once the excretory product has been produced, it no longer has a function in the organism. It must be excreted. The essence of the organism lies in its activity, not in its substances. The organization is not a combination of substances, but an activity. The substance carries within itself the incentive to activity. If it has lost this incentive, it has no further significance for the organization.

[ 3 ] Formic acid is also produced in the human organism. But that is where it has its significance. It serves the ego organization. Through the astral body, parts are separated from the organic substance that are destined to become lifeless. The ego organization needs this transition of the organic substance into the lifeless state. But it needs the process of transition, not what then arises through the transition. Once that which develops towards the inanimate is formed, it becomes a burden within the organism. It must either be separated directly or dissolved in order to be removed indirectly.

[ 4 ] If something that should be dissolved is not dissolved, it accumulates in the organism and can form the basis for gouty or rheumatic conditions. The formic acid that forms now enters the human organism to dissolve it. If it is produced in the necessary quantity, the organism removes the products that lead to the lifeless in the right way. If the power of production is too weak, gouty or rheumatic conditions develop. If you supply them to the organism from outside, you support it by giving it what it cannot produce itself.

[ 5 ] You can get to know these types of effects by comparing one substance with another in its continued effect in the human organism. Take clover acid. Under certain conditions it can change into formic acid. In its effects, the latter represents a metamorphosis of clover acid. Clover acid is a secretion of the vegetable as formic acid is of the animal. The production of clover acid produces an activity in the plant organism that is analogous to the production of formic acid in animals. This means that the production of clover acid corresponds to the etheric realm, while the production of formic acid corresponds to the astral realm. The diseases which manifest themselves in gouty and rheumatic conditions are due to a deficient activity of the astral body. There are other conditions which present themselves in such a way that the causes of gout and rheumatism, which originate in the astral organism, are transferred back into the etheric organism. Then it is not merely a build-up of forces in the astral direction, which hinders the ego-organization, but also obstructive effects in the etheric, which cannot be overcome by the astral organization. They show themselves in a sluggish activity of the abdomen, in inhibitions of the liver and spleen activity, in stone-like deposits of bile and the like. If clover acid is added in these cases, the etheric organism is supported in its activity in an appropriate manner. Clover acid strengthens the etheric body, because the power of the ego organization is transformed by this acid into a power of the astral body, which then has a stronger effect on the etheric body.

[ 6 ] Based on such observations, one can learn about the effect of substances that are beneficial to the organism. Observation can be based on plant life. In the plant, physical activity is interspersed with etheric activity. In the plant we learn what can be achieved through etheric activity. In the animal-astral organism this activity is transformed into astral activity. If it is too weak as an etheric activity, it can be strengthened by adding the etheric activity of an introduced plant product. The human organism is based on the animal. For that which takes place between the human etheric and astral body, the same applies within certain limits as in the animal.

[ 7 ] It will be possible to restore the disturbed relationship between etheric and astral activity with remedies from the plant kingdom. However, such remedies will not be successful if something in the physical, etheric and astral human organization is disturbed with regard to its interrelationship with the ego organization. The ego organization must direct its activity towards processes that aim at becoming mineral.

[ 8 ] This is why only minerals can be used as remedies for the corresponding pathological conditions. In order to get to know the healing effect of a mineral, it is necessary to examine a substance to see to what extent it can be broken down. This is because the mineral supplied from outside must be broken down in the organism and rebuilt in a new form from its own organic forces. The healing effect must consist in such a degradation and reconstruction. And the result must lie in the line that a deficient self-activity of the organism is taken over by the activity of the supplied remedies.

[ 9 ] Take the example of an excessive period. In it, the power of the ego organization is weakened. It is consumed one-sidedly in the preparation of blood. Too little of it remains for the absorption power of the blood in the organism. The path that forces should take in the organism that lie towards the lifeless is too short because these forces act too violently. They exhaust themselves halfway.

[ 10 ] They can be helped by supplying the organism with calcium in some form of compound. This contributes to the formation of blood. The ego activity is relieved of this area and can turn its attention to blood absorption.