The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Introductory words by Marie Steiner to the second edition of the book in 1932

“The myths of ancient times sought in the annual cycle of the sun a reflection of the lives of the great leaders of humanity, and as ancient clairvoyance sought signs in the stars, the cosmic aspect of the fate of the sun heroes on earth emerged. In the prehistory of humanity, such sun myths had a deep justification, because the course of humanity was modeled on cosmic development through its great leaders.”

Rudolf Steiner would have turned 67 on this day. He was the great herald of cosmic events and the meaning of human development; but no “astral myth” is attached to his life, rather, for 20 years, the most malicious slander of his opponents about his life has repeatedly appeared in public, often in the most foolish form. To counter this, Rudolf Steiner gave an outline of his life in the form of a lecture to members of the Anthroposophical Society as early as 1912 [1913].

But for all those who followed his last year of life, it was the strongest revelation of the self-chosen and self-fought mission of his entire life. Thus, in a new way, the course of a year was an image of the course of life, but it was an inner sun that gave this year its light.

Anyone who reflects on Rudolf Steiner's life on such a commemorative day will find in it not a typical repetition of ancient cosmic events, but the example of a future course of human development, fought for by humanity. This life journey cannot be understood in mythical terms, but rather in apocalyptic terms.

Carl Unger wrote these words in the last year of his life, on February 27, 1928, the third anniversary of Rudolf Steiner's death. They may serve as a foreword to this new edition of that life journey, whose serious maturity will surely be recognized by anyone with an open mind, thus uniting the memory of two colleagues, one of whom was the other's most loyal student and most devoted helper in the difficult service to humanity. The younger man had to pay for this allegiance with his life all too early, for at the moment when he was about to give a public lecture on anthroposophy, he was struck by the bullet of an irresponsible person who was, after all, only a willing tool for effective thoughts of hatred; thus his words have the power of blood testimony. They express what countless others have felt in a similar way, who cannot be named here because there are too many of them. But let the words of a few be reproduced here, in which they have expressed their heartfelt gratitude and amazement, as an echo of that life whose simple narrative ends so suddenly, and which in our time has no equal in terms of sacrificial power, love of humanity, and depth of insight.