The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Editor's Preface to the 3rd Edition

[ 1 ] 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.

[ 2 ] 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.

[ 3 ] 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.

[ 4 ] 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.

[ 5 ] 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.}

[ 6 ] 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.

[ 7 ] 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.

[ 8 ] 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.

—Hella Wiesberger