The Temple Legend
GA 93
Notes By The Editor Of The German Edition
The lectures assembled in this series form part of the teaching of Rudolf Steiner's Esoteric School in so far as in them a form of esoteric training was to have been prepared.
The Esoteric School itself was in existence from 1904 until the outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914 and consisted of three sections or classes. (It was reformed in 1924 as the Free High School for Spiritual Science.) Constructed on the basis of anthroposophical knowledge in the form of ideas, a teaching was to have been imparted about the higher stages of knowledge through imagination, inspiration and intuition, as later elaborated still further by Rudolf Steiner in his published writings (cf. Knowledge of the Higher Worlds: How is it Achieved?, Occult Science, etc.). At the same time members were to be given a real understanding that as members of the School they should regard themselves as responsible participants in anthroposophical affairs and in the dissemination of anthroposophical knowledge.
The main contents of the instructions of the first section are already published in the book, Guidance in Esoteric Training, Rudolf Steiner Press 1972.
Preparation was made for the second and third sections through an elucidation of the esoteric content of the picture language of myths, sagas and legends. In particular, with regard to the Temple Legend and the Legend of the True Cross (usually referred to by Rudolf Steiner as the Golden Legend) a basis was to have been created for the fostering of a kind of cult symbolism. Everything in the nature of a cult, ‘but not merely the outward form of the cult, but the understanding of the world through pictures’, meditation in pictures, can lead to a true understanding of oneself and the world ( from a lecture given in Dornach, 27.4.1924 Karmic Relationships, Volume 2 ). For everything is created in picture form for imaginative thinking. ‘Pictures are the true origin of things, pictures underlie all that surrounds us, it is these pictures that are meant by all who speak of spiritual causes’ (Lecture given in Berlin, 6.7.1915). These pictures were clothed in myth and legend by the sages of old. For modern consciousness the right effect depends upon permeating the picture language with a conceptual content.
As the pictures belonging to the Temple Legend and the Golden Legend form an integral part of the section dealing with cult and symbolism, the present series of lectures deal mainly with their interpretation. Rudolf Steiner regarded it as a necessary preliminary to working with pictures—that is, with symbols—that one should first become acquainted with their esoteric content. That entailed the Rosicrucian training as given by him, of which the first step is study and only the second is imaginative thinking.
Concerning the remarks about Freemasonry, one thing is to be especially noted: Rudolf Steiner was at that time about to inaugurate the second section of his Esoteric School, dealing with cult and symbolism. As a new form of the ‘Royal Art’, created out of his own spiritual investigation, was to have been presented in the School, the preparatory lectures were concerned with clarifying its history and nature, and pointing out that mankind is standing at the threshold of a new phase of evolution, indicating what its future content would be.
When in later years he spoke in some of his lectures about what happened in connection with Freemasonry, it is because he always rigorously condemned the mixing of occultism and a striving after power, wherever it occurred. (Cf. e.g. The Karma of Human Vocation, Dornach, 4th to 27th November 1916, The Occult Movement in the Nineteenth Century, Dornach, 10th to 25th October 1915, The Challenge of the Times, Dornach, 29th November to 8th December 1918, How can Mankind find the Christ Again?, Dornach, 25th to 29th December 1918.)
The outbreak of the First World War had proved to him that ‘certain pieces of knowledge’ had been misused by particular occult brotherhoods of the West ‘to stir up the necessary political atmosphere conducive to bringing about the world catastrophe and influencing world events.’ Thus Rudolf Steiner saw himself obliged to draw attention to the fact that an originally good and necessary thing, which was intended to serve ‘the whole of mankind without distinction of race or personal interests’, must necessarily turn to something bad when used ‘as a means of power in the hands of isolated groups of people’ (from an unsigned foreword to Karl Heise's Entente-Freimaurerei und Weltkrieg, Basle 1918).
Regarding the connection which Rudolf Steiner made in a quite definite external form with the Symbolic-Cultic Section of the Misraim-Memphis-Freemasonry of John Yarker, often deliberately misconstrued by his enemies, see Rudolf Steiner, An Autobiography, Chapter 36, as also a forthcoming publication on the history of the Esoteric School, containing letters, circulars and other documents.
As Rudolf Steiner still taught within the Theosophical Society when these lectures were given, he made use of the customary terminology of that time. For historical reasons we have forborne substituting the expression ‘theosophy’ for ‘anthroposophy’, as was usually done at the specific request of Rudolf Steiner after the German Section of the Theosophical Society had re-formed under the title Anthroposophical Society. The reader must be aware, however, that the theosophy taught by Rudolf Steiner—as represented in his fundamental book, Theosophy, an Introduction to the Supersensible Knowledge of the World—has always been identical with what he later only referred to as ‘anthroposophy’ or ‘anthroposophically-orientated spiritual science.’
Concerning the texts, it must be stressed that, in common with most of the early transcripts, where professional stenographers were not employed, they are noticeably incomplete, sometimes only existing in the form of notes. Stylistic and logical imperfections must not, therefore, be laid at Rudolf Steiner's door. But even though we are not always dealing with a word for word transcript, the contents as they have been conveyed to us form a unique and indispensable part of the complete works of Rudolf Steiner. In order to guarantee as far as possible a text which is free from mistakes, all sources have been tested and compared, and where shorthand notes exist these too have been used in checking. In the notes at the end of the book the sources have been given for each lecture separately. Words and phrases in the text enclosed in square brackets are the insertions of the editor, (And in a few cases by the translator of the English edition.) whereas those enclosed in ordinary brackets are original to the text. The copious notes are intended to compensate as far as possible for the deficiencies of the text. Pertinent books from Rudolf Steiner's own library were the chief source material used.
Vorbemerkungen Des Herausgebers
Zur 3. Auflage
Die in dem vorliegenden Band zusammengefaßten Vorträge sind ihrem Inhalte nach eigentlich dem Lehrgut von Rudolf Steiners Esoterischer Schule zuzurechnen.1Die Esoterische Schule bestand von 1904 bis zum Ausbruch des Ersten Weltkrieges im Sommer 1914 in drei Klassen, siehe GA 264, 265 und 266 (früher 245). Nach zehnjährigem Unterbruch wurde sie im Jahre 1924 neu begründet als «Freie Hochschule für Geisteswissenschaft», siehe «Die Konstitution der Allgemeinen Anthroposophischen Gesellschaft und der Freien Hochschule für Geisteswissenschaft - Der Wiederaufbau des Goetheanum», GA 2604. Allerdings konnte Rudolf Steiner infolge seiner bald darauf eingetretenen schweren Erkrankung nur noch die erste Klasse einrichten, deren Inhalte in GA 270 erscheinen werden. Denn es sollte mit ihnen auf eine darin von 1906 an gepflegte Form esoterischen Arbeitens vorbereitet werden.
Durch die Erläuterungen des esoterischen Gehaltes der Bildersprache von Mythen, Sagen und Legenden, insbesondere mit der Tempellegende und der Kreuzesholzlegende, von Rudolf Steiner zumeist Goldene Legende genannt, sollte eine Grundlage geschaffen werden für die Pflege einer gewissen Kultsymbolik. Alles Kultusartige, «aber nicht nur das äußerlich Kultusartige, sondern das Verstehen der Welt in Bildern», das Meditieren in Bildern kann erst zu realer Selbst- und Welterkenntnis führen. (Vortrag Dornach, 27. 4. 1924 in «Esoterische Betrachtungen karmischer Zusammenhänge», Band II, Bibl.Nr. 236.) Denn aus Bildern, wie sie sich dem imaginativen Denken ergeben, ist alles geschaffen. «Bilder sind die wahren Ursachen der Dinge, Bilder liegen hinter allem, was uns umgibt... diese Bilder haben alle gemeint, die von geistigen Urgründen gesprochen haben» (Vortrag Berlin, 6. Juli 1915 in «Menschenschicksale und Völkerschicksale», Bibl.-Nr. 157). Diese Bilder wurden von den Wissenden früherer Zeiten in Mythen und Legenden gekleidet. Für das moderne Bewußtsein hängt die rechte Wirkung davon ab, inwieweit die Bildsprache mit dem ideellen Verständnis durchdrungen werden kann.
Da die Bilder der Tempellegende und der Goldenen Legende einen integrierenden Bestandteil der symbolisch-kultischen Abteilung bildeten, sind die hier vorliegenden Vorträge vornehmlich ihrer Interpretation gewidmet. Rudolf Steiner betrachtete es als eine dem Gegenwartsbewußtsein notwendige Voraussetzung für das Arbeiten mit Bildern respektive mit Symbolik, zuerst den esoterischen Gehalt dem ideellen Verständnis begreiflich zu machen. Das erfordert der von ihm gelehrte rosenkreuzerische Schulungsweg, dessen erste Stufe das Studium und dessen zweite erst das imaginative Denken ist.
Zu den Äußerungen über die Freimaurerei ist insbesondere eines zu berücksichtigen: Rudolf Steiner stand damals im Begriff, die zweite, die symbolisch-kultische Abteilung seiner Esoterischen Schule einzusichten. Da in derselben die sich ihm aus seiner eigenen Geistesforschung ergebende neue Form der «Königlichen Kunst» gepflegt werden sollte, handelte es sich in den vorbereitenden Vorträgen darum, deren Geschichte und Wesen klarzulegen und darauf hinzuweisen, daß die Menschheit vor einer neuen Entwickelungsepoche dieser königlichen Kunst steht und was deren zukünftigen Inhalt bilden wird.
Wenn er sich dagegen in späteren Jahren in Vorträgen, die seit langem gedruckt vorliegen,2Vgl.z.B. die siebenbändige Reihe «Kosmische und menschliche Geschichte» (1914 bis 1917), Bibl.-Nr.170 bis 174 und b; «Die okkulte Bewegung im 19. Jahrhundert und ihre Beziehung zur Weltkultur» (1915), Bibl.-Nr. 254; «Gegenwärtiges und Vergangenes im Menschengeiste» (1916), Bibl.-Nr.167; «Die soziale Grundforderung unserer Zeit - In geänderter Zeitlage», (1918), Bibl.-Nr.186; «Wie kann die Menschheit den Christus wiederfinden? Das dreifache Schattendasein unserer Zeit und das neue Christus-Licht» (1918), Bibl.-Nr.187; «Gegensätze in der Menschheitsentwickelung» (1920), Bibl.-Nr. 197: «Heilfaktoren für den sozialen Organismus» (1920), Bibl.-Nr. 198. scharf gegen gewisse freimaurerische Zusammenhänge wendete, so aus dem Grunde, weil er die Verquikkung von Okkultismus und Machtstreben, wo immer sie auch auftrat, streng verurteilte. Der Ausbruch des Ersten Weltkrieges hatte ihm erwiesen, daß «die Grundlagen gewisser Erkenntnisse» durch bestimmte westliche Geheimgesellschaften «zu Antrieben einer die Weltkatastrophe vorbereitenden politischen Gesinnung und Beeinflussung der Weltereignisse» mißbraucht wurden. So sah er sich verpflichtet, darauf hinzuweisen, daß eine ursprünglich gute und im Kern notwendige Sache, die «der ganzen Menschheit ohne Rassenund Interessenunterschiede» dienen sollte, zu einer schlechten Sache werden muß, wenn sie «zur Machtgrundlage einzelner Menschengruppen» gemacht wird.3Aus dem (nicht gezeichneten) Vorwort zu Karl Heise «Entente-Freimaurerei und Weltkrieg», Basel 1918.
Über eine von Gegnern Rudolf Steiners oft mißdeutete Verbindung in einer ganz bestimmten äußerlichen Form, die er für die symbolisch-kultische Abteilung mit der durch John Yarker vertretenen Memphis-Misraim-Maurerei eingegangen ist, vergleiche man den Dokumentationsband «Zur Geschichte und aus den Inhalten der erkenntniskultischen Abteilung der Esoterischen Schule 1904-1914», GA 265.
Da Rudolf Steiner zur Zeit der hier vorliegenden Vorträge noch im Rahmen der Theosophischen Gesellschaft lehrte, gebrauchte er die damals übliche Terminologie. Von einer Ersetzung des Ausdrucks «Theosophie» durch «Anthroposophie», wie dies nach der Verselbständigung der deutschen Sektion der Theosophischen Gesellschaft zur «Anthroposophischen Gesellschaft» auf ausdrückliche Angabe Rudolf Steiners zumeist vorgenommen wurde, ist hier aus historischen Gründen abgesehen worden. Der Leser muß sich jedoch bewußt sein, daß die von Rudolf Steiner gelehrte «Theosophie» - gemäß seinem grundlegenden 1904 erstmals erschienenen Werk «Theosophie - Einführung in übersinnliche Welterkenntnis und Menschenbestimmung» (Bibl.-Nr. 9) - von Anfang an identisch war mit dem, was er später nur noch Anthroposophie oder anthroposophisch orientierte Geisteswissenschaft genannt hat.
In bezug auf die Texte muß ausdrücklich darauf hingewiesen werden, daß sie wie die meisten Nachschriften aus den frühen Jahren, in denen noch nicht von Berufsstenographen nachgeschrieben wurde, spürbar lückenhaft, manchmal nur notizenhaft sind. Stilistische und logische Unebenheiten dürfen daher nicht Rudolf Steiner zur Last gelegt werden. Aber auch wenn es sich nicht immer um wortwörtliche Nachschriften handelt, so bilden die überlieferten Inhalte doch einen einzigartigen und unentbehrlichen Bestandteil im Gesamtwerk Rudolf Steiners. Um so weit als möglich einen fehlerfreien Text zu gewährleisten, wurden jeweils sämtliche Unterlagen geprüft und soweit Originalstenogramme vorliegen, auch diese in die Prüfung einbezogen. In den Hinweisen ist für jeden Vortrag gesondert angegeben, welche Unterlagen für die Bearbeitung zur Verfügung gestanden haben. Einfügungen in eckigen Klammern [ ] sind Hinzufügungen des Herausgebers, wogegen Einfügungen in gewöhnlichen Klammern ( ) so in den Nachschriften enthalten sind. Die ausführlichen Hinweise möchten dazu dienen, die Mängel der Nachschriften soweit als möglich auszugleichen. Als literarisches Quellenmaterial wurden vor allem einschlägige Werke aus der Bibliothek Rudolf Steiners herangezogen.
H.W.
Preliminary Remarks by the Editor
On the third edition
The lectures compiled in this volume are, in terms of their content, actually part of the curriculum of Rudolf Steiner's Esoteric School. 1The Esoteric School existed from 1904 until the outbreak of World War I in the summer of 1914 in three classes, see GA 264, 265, and 266 (formerly 245). After a ten-year hiatus, it was re-established in 1924 as the “Free University of Spiritual Science,” see “The Constitution of the General Anthroposophical Society and the Free University of Spiritual Science – The Reconstruction of the Goetheanum,” GA 2604. However, due to his serious illness shortly thereafter, Rudolf Steiner was only able to establish the first class, the contents of which will appear in GA 270. For they were intended to prepare them for a form of esoteric work cultivated there since 1906.
Through Rudolf Steiner's explanations of the esoteric content of the imagery of myths, legends, and sagas, especially the temple legend and the legend of the cross, mostly referred to as the Golden Legend, a foundation was to be laid for the cultivation of a certain cult symbolism. Everything cult-like, “but not only the outward cult-like, but the understanding of the world in images,” meditation in images can only lead to real self-knowledge and knowledge of the world. (Lecture in Dornach, April 27, 1924, in “Esoteric Considerations of Karmic Relationships,” Volume II, Library No. 236.) For everything is created from images as they arise in imaginative thinking. “Images are the true causes of things; images lie behind everything that surrounds us... these images are what all those who have spoken of spiritual origins have meant” (Lecture in Berlin, July 6, 1915, in “Human Destiny and the Destiny of Nations,” Library No. 157). These images were clothed in myths and legends by the knowledgeable people of earlier times. For the modern consciousness, the right effect depends on the extent to which the imagery can be permeated with ideal understanding.
Since the images of the Temple Legend and the Golden Legend formed an integral part of the symbolic-cultic section, the lectures presented here are primarily devoted to their interpretation. Rudolf Steiner considered it a necessary prerequisite for working with images or symbolism in the present consciousness to first make the esoteric content comprehensible to the ideal understanding. This is required by the Rosicrucian path of training he taught, the first stage of which is study and the second imaginative thinking.
One thing in particular should be taken into account with regard to his statements on Freemasonry: Rudolf Steiner was at that time in the process of gaining insight into the second, symbolic-cultic section of his Esoteric School. Since this was to cultivate the new form of the “royal art” that had emerged from his own spiritual research, the preparatory lectures were concerned with clarifying its history and nature and pointing out that humanity was on the threshold of a new epoch in the development of this royal art and what its future content would be.
In contrast, in later years, in lectures that have long been available in print,2See, for example, the seven-volume series “Cosmic and Human History” (1914 to 1917), library no. 170 to 174 and b; “The Occult Movement in the 19th Century and Its Relationship to World Culture” (1915), library no. 254; “The Present and Past in the Human Spirit” (1916), library no. 167; “The Social Demand of Our Time - In a Changed Situation” (1918), library no. 186; “How Can Humanity Find Christ Again? The Threefold Shadow Existence of Our Time and the New Light of Christ” (1918), Bibl. No. 187; ‘Opposites in Human Evolution’ (1920), Bibl. No. 197: ”Healing Factors for the Social Organism” (1920), Library No. 198. He sharply opposed certain Masonic connections because he strongly condemned the fusion of occultism and the pursuit of power wherever it occurred. The outbreak of the First World War had proved to him that “the foundations of certain insights” were being misused by certain Western secret societies “to drive a political attitude that was preparing for a world catastrophe and influencing world events.” He therefore felt obliged to point out that something that was originally good and essentially necessary, something that was supposed to serve “all of humanity without racial or class distinctions,” must become a bad thing if it is made “the basis of power for individual groups of people.” 3From the (unsigned) preface to Karl Heise, Entente-Freimaurerei und Weltkrieg (Entente Freemasonry and World War), Basel, 1918.
For more information on a connection, often misinterpreted by Rudolf Steiner's opponents, which he entered into in a very specific external form for the symbolic-cultic department with the Memphis-Misraim Masonry represented by John Yarker, see the documentary volume Zur Geschichte und aus den Inhalten der erkenntnis-kultischen Abteilung der Esoterischen Schule 1904-1914 (On the History and Contents of the Knowledge Cultic Department of the Esoteric School 1904-1914), GA 265.
Since Rudolf Steiner was still teaching within the Theosophical Society at the time of the lectures presented here, he used the terminology customary at that time. For historical reasons, we have refrained from replacing the term “theosophy” with “anthroposophy,” as was done in most cases after the German section of the Theosophical Society became independent and was renamed the “Anthroposophical Society” at the express request of Rudolf Steiner. However, the reader must be aware that the “theosophy” taught by Rudolf Steiner – in accordance with his fundamental work “Theosophy – An Introduction to a Super-Sensory Knowledge of the World and of Human Destiny” (Bibliography No. 9), first published in 1904 – was identical from the outset with what he later called anthroposophy or anthroposophically oriented spiritual science.
With regard to the texts, it must be expressly pointed out that, like most transcripts from the early years, when they were not yet transcribed by professional stenographers, they are noticeably incomplete, sometimes only in the form of notes. Stylistic and logical inconsistencies cannot therefore be attributed to Rudolf Steiner. But even if they are not always verbatim transcripts, the content that has been handed down forms a unique and indispensable part of Rudolf Steiner's complete works. In order to ensure that the text is as error-free as possible, all documents have been checked and, where original shorthand transcripts are available, these have also been included in the check. The notes indicate separately for each lecture which documents were available for editing. Insertions in square brackets [ ] are additions by the editor, whereas insertions in ordinary brackets ( ) are contained in the transcripts. The detailed notes are intended to compensate for any shortcomings in the transcripts as far as possible. The main literary source material used was relevant works from the Rudolf Steiner Library.
H.W.