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The Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
GA 162

25 July 1915, Dornach

2. The Tree of Life II

My dear friends,

We saw yesterday how the peoples concerned in forming world-history may be divided on the one hand into what may be called the continuous stream of evolving knowledge and wisdom, and, on the other, the life-element which at a certain time must unite with this wisdom. It is an example of the cooperation—immense in its consequences—of the different one-sided elements in world-existence in order to produce a complete and harmonious whole. And I have already pointed out how the after-effect is to be perceived right into our own times, on the one hand, of the lifeless knowledge-principle, the ageing wisdom-principle, and, on the other hand, of the life-without-knowledge, which unites itself like a young shoot in humanity's evolution with the knowledge-principle, brought down from antiquity and becoming dry and withered.

Now today we will consider the world of the same facts somewhat more subjectively, will give our attention to it in direct connection with a consideration of the nature of man. We will place once more before our soul the familiar fact of the rhythmic alternation that occurs in man's daily life; namely, that he alternates in the course of his daily life between the union of his four members—the physical man, the etheric man, the astral man and the ego-man—and a sort of separation of these four members into two and two—the union of the physical man with the etheric man, and of the ego with the astral man.

The alternation of sleeping and waking rests indeed upon this rhythmic succession of the more or less united condition of these four members and their separation. We have already spoken on one occasion of how the fact now expressed can be considered more closely and exactly, but for today's study what has been said can serve for a broad foundation.

If we think of the human being in sleep it can happen that, without any special development having been undergone, he has the following experience. A definite consciousness, particularly in specially clear and aware moments of waking up, can come before his soul that at the moment of waking he, as soul-being, lifts himself out of a living and weaving in what one might call a finely spiritualised existence.

It must strike most people, if the conditions are favourable, that they do not awake from sleep as if out of a nothingness, but as if they emerged from a full but much more etheric, lighter weaving and living than what we pass through from waking up to going to sleep. It will certainly have already struck many people, in waking, that they lived during sleep in an element in which they felt themselves to be actually cleverer than they were when awake. The majority of men must on awaking have said to themselves: Yes, this or the other came; it placed itself before my soul ... I knew quite exactly: I have experienced something there that I cannot bring clearly enough into the waking consciousness. And then one can find oneself quite stupid in contrast to the cleverness in which one was during this nocturnal weaving and living, in this far more etheric element than the life of the physical world is from waking up to going to sleep. One was with one's whole being—of this one must be clear—immersed in a weaving and living which is around us just as is the physical living and weaving for the physical consciousness, but which cannot be grasped by this physical consciousness, and is generally completely forgotten in the moment of waking.

But all the same, and even without any special occult training, a man can be clear that during sleep he was weaving in such an element as he cannot fully take with him into the waking life. This fact too, of which everyone can really very easily convince himself, is understood when we take the wonderful primeval two-fold saying to which we referred yesterday, that two-fold utterance which says: Because men have learnt to know or to distinguish good and evil, because they have eaten of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they shall not eat of the Tree of Life.

What does it really mean: Not eat of the Tree of Life? You will perhaps no longer find incomprehensible what I have to say concerning these words if you bring before your soul in a reasoned way the meaning of ‘to have eaten of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.’ Each can say to himself: If what we call the Luciferic temptation had not taken place, man would obviously be in a different position in this earthly life; for as he is now, the effect of the Luciferic temptation is mingled in his earthly life. This means: in our earthly life we attain to a certain kind of knowledge, a certain way of confronting things with our intellect and reason in order to get certain knowledge of the things of the world. Nevertheless it is quite clear that we should have had a different knowledge of things if the Luciferic temptation had not come to pass. This is exactly what the two-fold utterance implies. It means that the knowledge we obtain of the world and its phenomena is a knowledge that has entered through the Luciferic influence, a knowledge that represents the course of evolution which has entered through the partaking of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. All our knowledge is the sort—such as it has become—that had to enter as a result of the tasting of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Had man not partaken of this Tree, then a different knowledge must needs have been there from that which exists under the present ‘normal’ circumstances, where Lucifer works within our existence.

When you keep in mind that our whole everyday knowledge is really influenced by the fact of the Luciferic temptation, that our everyday knowledge is the fulfilment of our having eaten of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, it will no longer appear to you so inconceivable if I now bring before you a fact to be known from many occult perceptions. This is the fact that our nightly sleeping non-knowledge, the darkness of sleep which spreads out over our consciousness, is simply the effect of the not-being-allowed to eat of the Tree of Life. Had we been allowed to eat of this Tree then something similar would have come to pass for sleep as for waking. But this was not to happen. And thus for the sleep condition an unconsciousness has entered.

But now when this unconsciousness of sleep is overcome, when it is possible through a spiritual-scientific methodical development to know something of what really goes on in that weaving and living in an etheric element, then we become aware how we actually spend our life between going to sleep and waking. We spend this life from going to sleep to awaking—it is a fact that can shatter one—in, one might say, the arms of Lucifer. And one can understand the deep mystery that underlies this whole world of facts when we see: in the same moment that man was punished by being forbidden to eat of the Tree of Life, Lucifer was condemned to eat of the Tree of Life perpetually. And since Lucifer lays claim to what weaves and lives from falling asleep to awakening which appears to us so endlessly clever when it echoes to us in waking, then this weaving and living in what does not come to our consciousness (because Lucifer claims it for himself) has quite a definite result.

Thus we can say: Our living and weaving in the fine etheric element that I have indicated, is something of which Lucifer takes possession ... and because Lucifer takes possession of it, it comes about that something predestined for men by the Jahve-Godhead does not take place. It was destined for man by the Jahve-Godhead that on awaking he should possess in his etheric and physical bodies what is weaving and living there in sleep. I must draw this somewhat diagrammatically (see p.5a) so that you may perhaps see more exactly what we are concerned with. I might describe through this (red) the ego living outside the physical body during sleep; the part of our astral that lives during sleep outside the physical I will indicate through this (yellow); what of our physical body remains in bed through this (blue), and what of our etheric body remains in bed I will indicate with this (ochre yellow).

Now the following was determined from the beginning. It was designed for man by the evolving Jahve-Godhead that on his awaking the etheric weaving and living which has been described should dip down into both the etheric body and the physical body. You must not be horrified that it is Lucifer who weaves with us while we live in the fine etheric element from going to sleep to awaking. I have already in various lectures indicated that it is quite false if people think they must be on their guard against Lucifer in every sphere of life. That is a materialistic prejudice. Spiritual beings are not there because they actually ought not to be there. And most people act in a wrong may towards the Luciferic and the Ahrimanic beings when they seem to wish to have nothing to do with what is Luciferic or Ahrimanic. It is a matter of appreciating beings where they are in their element and knowing that they only work harmfully in elements where they do not belong. So it is right for earthly life that Lucifer lives and weaves, from our going to sleep to awaking, in the element of which we men are to know nothing, since we already have the other knowledge which is an effect of the tasting of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

But in the moment of waking, something comes in which we must unfathom if we would understand the necessary development of life that should come today through the world-concept of Spiritual Science. When in specially favourable moments one is aware in one's consciousness of this living and weaving like an echo; this interweaving of which we feel the after-experience, ought to come into our etheric body and physical body when we wake. For what is weaving there is our astral body. This lives and weaves in the swelling cosmic sea—and what it there weaves out, what it lives through and experiences, ought to come into our etheric body and also into our physical body.

If I wished to make a drawing of the intention of the Jahve Divinities guiding earthly evolution, I should have to draw this living and weaving in which our astral body dwells during the night so as to show that all this enters our etheric body as well as our physical body in our waking condition. That I have drawn here would show how the experiences of our astral body would be absorbed by the physical and etheric bodies when we wake up. This should have entered in the course of human earthly evolution or of earthly human evolution if the original purposes of the Jahve-deities could have been accomplished.

This, however, on account of the Luciferic temptation at that time, has not come about. Something else, however, happened, so we must draw the state of affairs which then entered somewhat differently.

If that is the physical body (blue) and that the etheric body (yellow ochre) (all schematically sketched), then the experience of the astral body really only comes into the etheric body, at most presses against the physical body and influences it somewhat. In reality it only enters the etheric body. I am not obliged to draw it like this (b) because it is kept back, because it halts through finding a boundary at the physical body, but because—through a secret pact between Lucifer and Ahriman which has appeared in consequence of the Luciferic and Ahrimanic interweaving in earthly evolution—because Lucifer in the moment of our waking hands over to Ahriman what actually ought to enter the physical body. That which would therefore be here (a) from the night's experience is not given over to our physical body, but to Ahriman in our physical body. To distinguish it as Ahrimanic I will draw it like this (yellow spots)—(c). And the important fact exists: Ahriman experiences in our physical body Lucifer's experiences during our sleep. This is, in other words, the reason why we cannot ourselves bring our night's experiences into our day-consciousness—because Lucifer hands them over to Ahriman at the moment of waking. Only while they strike their bargain and settle their pact with one another, something comes to our consciousness in the ordinary dream, while it is being passed from the hands of Lucifer into the hands of Ahriman. This too is one aspect of the sleep-life and dream-life.

Let us now consider the ordinary knowledge that we have during the time between waking up and going to sleep. This knowledge, such as we have it, is thus a consequence of the fact that we have partaken of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. What happens is that during the day we gain knowledge about things. From waking to sleeping we gain knowledge of things, a knowledge that our intellect combines, putting one thing with another on the basis of the sense perceptions. We gain this knowledge of things, as must be self-evident to you, through our ego. It is a knowledge that man experiences as earth-man. Man as earth-man, has attained to knowledge because to his other three principles, brought over from Saturn Sun and Moon, the ego has been added upon Earth. As earthly man, in the ego, we experience the knowledge that is our ordinary human knowledge, all in fact which we can acquire about the world under the circumstances of our earthly existence. But the knowledge that we obtain like this has precisely the peculiarity of becoming obscured in our ego. It becomes obscured in our ego as soon as we go to sleep.

Hence arises this fact also: we gain knowledge from waking up to going to sleep, but the moment we go to sleep, it ceases to be in our consciousness, that is to say, it goes out of our ego. Philosophers who make the ego the basis of philosophy and then say: We can make the ego the foundation of philosophy because it is the permanent thing in human life between birth and death, utter a very common absurdity; for the ego, as man experiences it, is extinguished every night. So let us hold these facts before us; that we gain knowledge, that knowledge is however gained through the ego, and the ego is extinguished for our condition between falling asleep and awaking.

Whence does that come? This knowledge is really gained in the sphere of existence which we know to be assigned to Ahriman. We know, in fact, that Ahriman has his kingdom in the ordinary outer physical plane, because all death is allotted to him. (I spoke on this once in special detail in the lectures given in Munich.)1‘The Secrets of the Threshold’ Munich, 1913.

We traverse Ahriman's realm with our consciousness from waking to going to sleep, and inasmuch as we develop our ordinary everyday knowledge in the way to which we are committed by the Luciferic temptation, it always brings us into the realm of Ahriman in the time we spend between waking and sleeping. We are actually always weaving and living in the kingdom of Ahriman with our ordinary search for external knowledge, for knowledge connected with the outer sense world.

Lucifer—we must always keep this separate—has brought this about, but it is not the kingdom of Lucifer in which we live and weave, but we live and weave and have our existence in Ahriman's realm; and indeed that is very easy to understand since Ahriman as we know is in our physical body. He helps us perpetually when we want to gain knowledge through the physical body. We gain knowledge in the first instance through the physical body, through the senses, the ordinary instruments of the physical body. There within sits Ahriman;

Lucifer gives to him in the moment of our waking, what he has experienced in us during the night. During the day, in connection with Ahriman, we strive after what we call our knowledge in the world; on our falling asleep Ahriman richly repays the gift which Lucifer gave him at our moment of waking.

Whereas at the moment of waking Lucifer gives over to Ahriman for our physical body what he has passed through with us during sleep, at the moment of our going to sleep, Ahriman gives over to Lucifer, what he has experienced with us all day. This then is handed over by Ahriman to Lucifer. And while our whole day's experience ought really to be carried over to the whole night's experience, and I should then have to draw the night's experience like this (a), the truth is that what was gained by day only passes into the astral body. In the ego it is seized by Lucifer (b) so that in the time from our sleeping to our waking up Lucifer experiences in us what continues to live and weave in us from the day's knowledge, from what we have gained for ourselves from waking to going to sleep. We can thus say: Ahriman, instead of ourselves, enjoys during the day our night experiences; and Lucifer instead of us, enjoys in our ego, during our sleep, our day's experiences. In our physical body Ahriman relishes his repast, in our ego Lucifer; Ahriman during the day, Lucifer during the night.

Now it is a matter of discovering the consequences for our human life of these facts. Let us first examine the fact that from our going to sleep to awaking, Lucifer claims our ego. This, you see, prevents us from re-living in the night the knowledge we experience by day, what we contemplate in the world, what judgments we make, what we differentiate, what we combine in the world. We should really live it through, if we could continue it during the night. According to the original purpose of the Jahve-deities we were to gain the knowledge during the day and live it through, work through it, during the night. Had this intention been realised, then we should have a quite different science from what we now have. We should have a science that was really a living science, where every concept which we experience would be alive in us, where, moreover, we should know that concepts which we form during the day are shadows of living beings, as I have often described; for during the night we should see clearly all that we experience during the day. During the day we form some or other concept; in the night all the concepts would wake up and live, and we should know that it was all elemental living beings. That is what we should know. From falling asleep to waking up we should know that what lives and weaves in the world is direct life; elemental working and weaving and life. This cannot be so for us because Lucifer seizes it, because Lucifer takes it away from us. And so he takes from us the life- of science. Every night he sucks out the life of science for himself, and for us remain only the abstract ideas, the dead concepts, which are given us through science. Humanity has a science that is sucked out by Lucifer, well sucked out by Lucifer!

That is the reason why science gives the impression that it cannot get near to what actually lives and weaves in things, why it appears as if one made dead concepts out of the living and weaving. Science seems a kind of compilation, something through which one feels one always stays outside life, never comes inside life. All that philosophers from time immemorial have sweated—I should say, have philosophised—over the boundaries of knowledge, over the impossibility of arriving at the basis of existence, rests upon the fact that they felt: Beneath what we can grasp in concepts lies the living life. This we cannot approach because Lucifer sucks it up and claims for himself, and so, in other words, makes the concepts dry and abstract.

Now let us take the other case. What would happen if we were not at the mercy of the fact that on waking up Ahriman lays claim to our night-experience? What would enter us on awaking? We should possess in our day consciousness the whole connection with our experiences of the night. In other words, we should bring the whole spiritual world into our day consciousness and in what we have as day-consciousness would intermingle what we have lived through in the night. We should not be able to have the sort of relation we have now between our day consciousness and the night experiences, since this exists by virtue of what Lucifer has effected in our day consciousness. But if Lucifer had not influenced this day consciousness in the way described we should approach things in quite a different way. Then our approach to them would be in harmony with what comes into us from our night experiences. That would produce a very considerable alteration in all that we experience during the day.

Our daily life consists, as you know, of observing things, forming ideas and concepts of them. Then of course we also combine ideas, but between birth and death we always couple together something that we have gone through in the day with something else that we have gone through by day. If the position were different, if the night experiences came properly into the life of day, then we should combine each day experience with what has stayed with us like a memory of the night experiences.

As it is now, we meet a person—and we say to ourselves: I know this person. But why do we say, I know this person? Only for the simple reason that we have seen him before in our day's experiences. We combine the one day experience with the other and that is expressed in our saying: We know this man. It would be entirely different if we were to bring in the night experiences in the way I have indicated. Then by day we should know: this or that spiritual being corresponds to him. We should have experienced him in the night, we should be able to identify him with his spiritual background; we should have the physical woven through by the spiritual. And thus would the whole world make itself concrete, woven through with the spirit. By reason of the Luciferic temptation, however, this cannot be, the spirit remains outside, it is not left for us. Ahriman claims it for himself, and so it remains in the etheric body alone (Diagram (b) page 5a). There it remains in the etheric body, it does not come to concrete form, it does not come to the point where one really sees it in the objects. One can only say: I feel in my etheric body that this spiritual element is there as something weaving and living. One feels it in the etheric body but one does not get it out into what one sees.

I hope you mark how this is: the spiritual element, instead of entering our physical body and showing itself to us at every turn, stays behind in the etheric. But we feel it in us and can say: The Spirit is there, it lives and weaves in the world but it does not make itself concrete for us. Above all, what we experience of the spiritual in this way, cannot become knowledge. It would be knowledge for us if it entered the physical body. It remains faith, since it is experienced merely in the etheric body. All that lies in mere faith as rejection of concrete knowledge arises from man's quite justifiable feeling that he will keep within normal life, he will not come to this making concrete, he is afraid of possible errors there.

Thus you see: Faith is Knowledge held back in the etheric body. The knowledge that we have by day is held back in the astral body, and is thus in the night knowledge held back in the astral body, becoming therefore devoid of life. On the other hand the living faith that is devoid of knowledge, because its knowledge is taken by Ahriman, confronts knowledge devoid of faith, the knowledge whose faith is taken away through Lucifer. See that here (p.9) we can add: Lucifer experiences in our ego Ahrimanic experiences.

I should like to epitomize in these two phrases what perhaps can remain in your memory from the extraordinarily important matters considered today. These studies have shown in particular the share of Ahriman and Lucifer in our life, have shown how Lucifer and Ahriman work together so that we may not possess the harmony between faith and knowledge, but have instead the wrong duality, of faith without knowledge, and knowledge without faith.

It is entirely false to think that we can ever flee from Ahriman or Lucifer. It is much more correct that Ahriman and Lucifer have their proper world mission, for all that has been Shown as happening, had to happen; mankind had to be led in the way we have described. Mankind had to be guided for a time through a stream which then found its outflow in what was depicted yesterday, in the gradually dying knowledge. There were certain peoples of the world with a predominating tendency which led to the condition which is sketched here (Diagram (c), p.5a) and there streamed towards this, as I described yesterday, a type of humanity from Central Europe who were so constituted that they had rather developed this condition (Diagram (b), p.5a).

And solely through the co-operation and harmonising of these two streams of humanity can the living grasp of the Christ Impulse come about.

For it is also possible for these two streams to fall apart and not reckon with each other in the comprehension of Christ and the Christ Impulse. Let us suppose that the one stream the stream issuing from Europe—is subject to the predisposition of being overpowered by Ahriman during the waking state. Let us suppose this stream became strongly developed and strove for an understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha. Then its development would lead it to reject the facts which are connected with the external occurrence of the Mystery of Golgotha; it wishes to have nothing through the physical body. Inasmuch as it is overpowered by Ahriman it will not penetrate into a concrete grasp of this whole great cosmic event of the descent of the Christ to Earth, and so on. It much prefers to find support in Jesus, through man's inner etheric nature, and founds a Jesus-ology, a science of Jesus; it rejects the part of the Mystery of Golgotha that takes effect outside in the world.

The predominance of this stream (diagram b) has little interest in the direct connection of man's inner nature with the man in Christ, with Jesus; it looks far more to what it is accustomed to look—the abstract grasp of what works out there in the cosmos—this stream strives towards a Christology. The other looks chiefly to Jesus, this one to Christ. One can only know the truth if one conceives of Jesus-Christ or Christ-Jesus as a unity in the way shown by Spiritual Science, which seeks to overcome both the one-sided aspects. It is just as clear that there is a Cosmic Being, the Christ, who was outside the earth sphere before the Mystery of Golgotha, and who through this Mystery came into the earthly sphere and so gave the whole human evolution a new impulse (so that an earthly event was prepared beforehand in the Cosmos), as it is clear that this event is intimately connected with Jesus of Nazareth. That is to say, one must be clear that the Christ, as He was before the Mystery of Golgotha, could not have brought the cosmic happening into the earthly happening without the physical human body of Jesus, and that He therefore had to go through the Mystery of Golgotha. We must be clear that it was necessary for the Christ to go through what He did go through, in the body of Jesus.

It is not a matter of Jesus alone or of the Christ alone, in a one-sided way, but of Christ Jesus. What happened on earth has not happened through the Christ, but through the fact that Christ lived in Jesus. A Christology is just as impossible as a mere Jesus-ology; the one and only possibility is a spiritual science of Christ-Jesus. The fact of the Mystery of Golgotha belongs of necessity to what had to enter earthly evolution.

Thus if that is to happen which is foreshadowed by the Mystery of Golgotha—namely, that a right relation shall enter between Lucifer and Ahriman in respect of what happens in the world through man, then it must be recognized how these two powers, Lucifer and Ahriman, work together in the human being. Man must confront this working together consciously. And this he will do when he seeks through Spiritual Science to characterise the two streams and thereby find the way to Christ-Jesus. This, too, is what is to be shown in that carved work which we venture to assume will one day find a place in an outstanding position in our Building. The Archetype of Man in the centre, the Ahrimanic and Luciferic beings at the sides. So that in the whole structure of the group we have a direct expression of what will be enacted in mankind's future evolution as regards the Trinity in place of what was enacted in the past. We have this expression in the triad: Christ-Lucifer-Ahriman.

We will speak of this next time.

Neunter Vortrag

Gestern sahen wir, wie gewissermaßen verteilt ist auf die weltgeschichtlichen Völkerströmungen dasjenige, was wir bezeichnen können als den fortlaufenden Fluß des sich entwickelnden Wissens, der sich entwickelnden Weisheit auf der einen Seite, und auf der anderen Seite das sich in einer gewissen Zeit mit dieser Weisheit vereinigen müssende Leben. Es ist dies ein Beispiel für die im Grunde genommen in ihren Konsequenzen erschütternde Tatsache von dem Zusammenwirken der verschiedenen Einseitigkeiten im Weltendasein, um ein Ganzes, um eine Harmonie hervorzubringen. Und ich habe schon darauf aufmerksam gemacht, wie bis in unsere Zeiten herein wahrzunehmen ist die Nachwirkung, sowohl auf der einen Seite des lebenlosen Wissensprinzipes, des altwerdenden Wissensprinzipes, wie auch auf der anderen Seite des wissenlosen Lebensprinzipes, das wie ein junger Trieb in der Entwickelung der Menschheit sich vereinigt mit dem aus Urzeiten heraufgebrachten und sich verstrohenden Wissensprinzipes.

Nun wollen wir heute dieselbe Tatsachenwelt einmal etwas subjektiver ins Auge fassen, wollen sie ins Auge fassen in unmittelbarer Anknüpfung an die Betrachtung des menschlichen Wesens. Die so oft an uns herangetretene Tatsache der rhythmischen Verwandlung des Menschen im täglichen Lebenslaufe wollen wir noch einmal vor unsere Seele stellen: nämlich, daß der Mensch abwechselt im Laufe seines alltäglichen Lebens zwischen dem Zusammensein seiner vier Glieder - des physischen Menschen, des ätherischen Menschen, des astralischen Menschen und des Ich-Menschen - und einem gewissermaßen Getrenntsein dieser vier Glieder zu zwei und zwei: dem Verbundensein des physischen Menschen mit dem ätherischen Menschen und des Ich mit dem astralischen Menschen.

Der Wechsel von Schlafen und Wachen beruht ja auf dieser rhythmischen Folge des gewissermaßen Vereintseins dieser vier Glieder und des gewissermaßen Getrenntseins derselben. Wir haben schon einmal davon gesprochen, daß man diese Tatsache, die hiermit ausgedrückt worden ist, noch genauer betrachten kann; allein für die heutige Betrachtung mag sie uns als eine hinreichende Grundlage auch so dienen.

Wenn wir das menschliche Sein, das menschliche Weben im Schlafe betrachten, so kann ja, auch ohne daß mit dem Menschen eine besondere Entwickelung eingetreten ist, doch diesem Menschen, namentlich in besonders lichten, in besonders geweckten Momenten des Aufwachens, ein deutliches Bewußtsein vor die Seele treten, daß er, als seelischer Mensch, beim Aufwachen wie heraus sich hebt aus einem Weben und Leben in einem, ich möchte sagen, feingeistigen Sein.

Es muß doch den meisten Menschen auffallen, wenn die Verhältnisse günstig sind, daß sie aus dem Schlafe heraus aufwachen nicht wie aus einem Nichts, sondern daß sie heraustauchen aus dem Schlafe wie aus einem vollen, aber viel ätherischeren, leichteren Weben und Leben, als dasjenige ist, das wir durchmachen vom Aufwachen bis zum Einschlafen. Es wird gewiß manchem schon beigefallen sein, aufgefallen sein im Aufwachen, daß er während des Schlafens in einem Elemente lebte, in dem er so darinnen steht, daß er eigentlich während dieses Schlafes gescheiter ist als während des Wachens. Das muß ja doch der größte Teil der Menschen durchgemacht haben, daß sie im Aufwachen sich gesagt haben: Ja, da kam dieses oder jenes; es stellte sich vor meine Seele. Ich weiß ganz genau, ich habe da etwas erlebt, was ich jetzt nicht deutlich genug hereinbringen kann in das Wachbewußtsein. - Und dann kann man sich gewissermafßen dumm vorkommen gegenüber der Gescheitheit, in der man war in diesem nächtlichen Weben und Leben, in diesem viel ätherischeren Elemente, als das Leben der physischen Welt ist vom Aufwachen bis zum Einschlafen. Man war mit seinem ganzen Wesen - dessen muß man sich klar sein - untergetaucht in ein Weben und Leben, das in ähnlicher Art um uns herum ist wie das physische Leben und Weben vor dem physischen Bewußtsein, das nur nicht erfaßt werden kann von diesem physischen Bewußtsein, das gewissermaßen zumeist vollständig vergessen wird im Momente des Aufwachens.

Aber ebenso kann sich der Mensch, auch ohne besondere okkulte Schulung, klar sein darüber, daß er während des Schlafes in einem solchen Elemente webend darinnen war, das er nicht voll mitnehmen kann in das wache Leben. Auch diese Tatsache, von der sich jeder im Grunde sehr leicht überzeugen kann, wird verstanden, wenn wir den wunderbaren Urdoppelspruch nehmen, auf den wir schon gestern hingewiesen haben, jenen Doppelspruch, der da besagt: Weil die Menschen gelernt haben, zu erkennen oder zu unterscheiden das Gute und das Böse, weil sie gegessen haben von dem Baume der Erkenntnis des Guten und des Bösen, sollen sie nicht essen von dem Baume des Lebens.

Was heißt es denn: «Nicht essen von dem Baume des Lebens?» Sie werden es vielleicht nicht mehr unbegreiflich finden, was ich über diesen Ausspruch zu sagen habe, wenn Sie sich vernünftigerweise vor die Seele führen, was es denn eigentlich nur heißen kann: gegessen zu haben von dem Baume der Erkenntnis des Guten und des Bösen. - Jeder kann sich doch sagen: Wäre das nicht vorgekommen, was wir die luziferische Verführung nennen, so würde der Mensch offenbar anders in diesem Erdenleben dastehen müssen; denn so wie er dasteht, mischt sich hinein in sein Erdenleben die Wirkung der luziferischen Verführung. - Das heißt, wir bringen es in unserem Erdenleben bis zu einer gewissen Art von Erkenntnis, bis zu einer gewissen Art, uns durch unseren Verstand und durch unsere Vernunft zu den Dingen zu stellen, durch sie ein gewisses Wissen von den Dingen der Welt zu bekommen. Es ist doch ganz klar: wir müßten ein anderes Wissen von den Dingen der Welt bekommen, wenn die luziferische Verführung nicht stattgefunden hätte. Das besagt gerade der angedeutete Doppelspruch. Das heißt, das Wissen, das wir von der Welt und deren Erscheinungen bekommen, ist ein solches Wissen, das durch den luziferischen Einfluß eingetreten ist, ein Wissen, das darstellt die fortlaufende Entwickelung, die eingetreten ist durch den Genuß vom Baume der Erkenntnis des Guten und des Bösen. All unser Wissen ist ein solches, daß es eintreten mußte, so wie es geworden ist, als Folge des Genusses vom Baume der Erkenntnis des Guten und des Bösen. Hätte der Mensch nicht genossen vom Baume der Erkenntnis des Guten und Bösen, so müßte eben ein anderes Wissen da sein als das, welches unter den heutigen «normalen» Verhältnissen da ist, wo Luzifer in unser Dasein herein wirkt.

Wenn Sie so sich vor Augen stellen, daß im Grunde genommen unser gesamtes Tageswissen beeinflußt ist von der Tatsache der luziferischen Verführung, daß unser Tageswissen die Erfüllung ist davon, daß wir genossen haben von dem Baume der Erkenntnis des Guten und des Bösen, so wird es Ihnen nicht mehr so unbegreiflich erscheinen, wenn ich Ihnen jetzt die aus vielen okkulten Wahrnehmungen heraus zu erkennende Tatsache vor Augen führe: daß unser nächtliches, schlafendes Nichtwissen, unsere über das Bewußtsein sich ausbreitende Finsternis des Schlafes einfach die Wirkung ist des Nicht-Essendürfens von dem Baume des Lebens. Gerade so, wie unser Alltagswissen die Wirkung ist des Gegessenhabens von dem Baume der Erkenntnis des Guten und des Bösen, so ist das Nicht-Wissen während des Schlafes die Folge des Nicht-haben-essen-Dürfens von dem Baume des Lebens. Würden wir von diesem Baume haben essen dürfen, so würde für den Schlaf etwas Ähnliches eingetreten sein wie für das Wachen. Das hat aber nicht kommen dürfen. Und so ist denn eingetreten für den Schlafzustand die Bewußtlosigkeit.

Wenn aber nun diese Bewußtlosigkeit des Schlafes überwunden wird, wenn die Möglichkeit eintritt, durch eine geisteswissenschaftliche methodische Entwickelung, etwas zu wissen von dem, was sich wirklich da vollzieht in dem vorhin angedeuteten Weben und Leben in einem ätherischen Elemente, dann werden wir gewahr, wie eigentlich wir vom Einschlafen bis zum Aufwachen unser Leben verbringen. Wir verbringen dieses Leben nämlich - es ist dies eine Tatsache, die einen erschüttern kann - vom Einschlafen bis zum Aufwachen in den Armen Luzifers, möchte ich sagen. Und man kann verstehen, was da eigentlich geschehen ist, verstehen das tiefe Mysterium, das dieser ganzen Tatsachenwelt zugrundeliegt, dadurch daß man sieht: in demselben Momente, da der Mensch damit bestraft worden ist, nicht essen zu dürfen von dem Baume des Lebens, wurde Luzifer dazu verurteilt, fortwährend von diesem Baume zu essen. Und weil er dasjenige, was da webt und lebt vom Einschlafen bis zum Aufwachen, was uns, wenn es uns nachklingt im Wachen, so unendlich gescheit vorkommt, weil Luzifer das in Anspruch nimmt, so hat dieses Weben und Leben in dem, was uns nicht zum Bewußtsein kommt, eben weil er es für sich in Anspruch nimmt, eine ganz gewisse Folge.

Also wir können sagen: Unser Leben und Weben in dem feinen, ätherischen Elemente, das ich angedeutet habe, das ist etwas, dessen sich Luzifer bemächtigt. Und weil sich Luzifer dessen bemächtigt, so kommt das zustande, daß etwas nicht geschieht, was eigentlich durch die Jahve-Gottheiten den Menschen vorbestimmt war. Durch die Jahve-Gottheiten war vorbestimmt den Menschen, beim Aufwachen hereinzubekommen in den Ätherleib und in den physischen Leib dasjenige, was da webt und lebt im Schlafe. Ich muß das etwas schematisch zeichnen, damit Sie vielleicht genauer sehen können, um was es sich da handelt. Ich möchte dasjenige, was von unserem Ich außerhalb des physischen Leibes lebt während des Schlafes, schematisch etwa durch dieses bezeichnen (rot); was von unserem astralischen Leibe während des Schlafens außerhalb des physischen Leibes lebt, mit diesem (gelb); was von unserem physischen Leibe im Bette bleibt, möchte ich mit diesem bezeichnen (blau), und was von unserem ätherischen Leibe im Bette bleibt, mit diesem (ockergelb).

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Nun war folgendes von vornherein bestimmt. Es war dem Menschen durch die sich fortentwickelnden Jahve-Gottheiten bestimmt, daß beim Aufwachen jenes angedeutete ätherische Weben und Leben untertaucht sowohl in den ätherischen Leib wie in den physischen Leib des Menschen. Sie müssen nicht erschrecken darüber, daß Luzifer es ist, der mit uns webt, während wir im ätherischen, feinen Elemente selber leben vom Einschlafen bis zum Aufwachen. Ich habe ja schon in Münchner Vorträgen einmal angedeutet, daß das ganz falsch ist, wenn man glaubt, man müsse sich vor Luzifer auf allen Gebieten des Lebens nur in acht nehmen. Das ist ein materialistisches Vorurteil. Geistige Wesenheiten sind nicht dazu da, daß sie eigentlich nicht da sein sollten. Und es benehmen sich die meisten gegenüber dem Luziferischen und Ahrimanischen unrichtigerweise so, als ob sie nur ja nicht etwas zu tun haben wollten mit dem Luziferischen und Ahrimanischen. Darum handelt es sich aber gar nicht, das Leben so einzurichten, daß man nichts zu tun hat mit dem Luziferischen und Ahrimanischen. Es handelt sich darum, daß man auch diese Wesenheiten da gelten läßt, wo sie in ihrem Elemente sind, und weiß, daß sie schädlich nur wirken in den Elementen, wo sie nicht hingehören. So ist es für das Erdenleben recht, daß Luzifer lebt und webt vom Einschlafen bis zum Aufwachen in dem Elemente, von dem wir Menschen nichts wissen sollen, da wir schon das andere Wissen haben, das eine Wirkung vom Genusse des Baumes der Erkenntnis des Guten und des Bösen ist.

Aber jetzt kommt beim Aufwachen dasjenige, was man durchschauen muß, wenn man die notwendige Lebensentwickelung, die heute durch die geisteswissenschaftliche Weltanschauung kommen soll, verstehen will: Was da verwoben wird, was da eigentlich nachgefühlt wird, wenn man in besonders günstigen Momenten dieses Leben und Weben heute wie einen Nachklang hereinbekommt in das Bewußtsein, was da gewoben wird, das sollte beim Aufwachen in unseren physischen und unseren ätherischen Leib hereinkommen. Denn was da webt, ist unser astralischer Leib. Der lebt und webt im wogenden Weltenmeere; und das, was er sich da erwebt, was er da erlebt und erfährt, das sollte hereinkommen sowohl in unseren ätherischen Leib, wie auch in unseren physischen Leib.

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Wenn ich die Absichten der die Erdenentwickelung leitenden Jahve-Gottheiten zeichnen wollte, dieses Leben und Weben, in dem unser Astralleib während der Nacht ist, müßte ich es so zeichnen können, daß das alles in unseren Wachzustand hereingeht sowohl in unseren ätherischen Leib, wie in unseren physischen Leib (Zeichnung a, schräge Linien, gelb). Was ich hier gezeichnet habe, würde darstellen das beim Aufwachen eintretende Aufgesogenwerden der Erlebnisse unseres astralischen Leibes von dem physischen Leibe und von dem Ätherleibe. Dies hätte eintreten sollen im Verlaufe der menschlichen Erdenentwickelung oder der irdischen Menschenentwickelung, wenn die ursprüngliche Absicht der Jahve-Götter hätte erfüllt werden können. Das aber ist nicht geschehen wegen der damaligen luziferischen Verführung. Etwas anderes ist aber geschehen, so daß wir den Tatbestand, der jetzt eintrat, etwas anders zeichnen müssen.

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Wenn das der physische Leib ist (blau) und das der ätherische Leib (ockergelb) - alles natürlich schematisch gezeichnet -, so tritt das Erlebnis des astralischen Leibes beim Aufwachen nur wirklich in den ätherischen Leib ein, drückt sich höchstens im physischen Leibe ab und beeinflußt etwas den physischen Leib. In Wirklichkeit tritt es nur in den ätherischen Leib ein. Nicht weil es zurückgehalten wird, nicht weil es halt macht, weil es eine Grenze haben würde am physischen Leibe, muß ich das so zeichnen (Zeichnung b), sondern weil durch einen geheimnisvollen Pakt zwischen Luzifer und Ahriman, der eben eingetreten ist infolge der in luziferische und ahrimanische Entwickelung hineinverflochtenen Erdenentwickelung -, weil Luzifer im Momente des Aufwachens dem Ahriman übergibt das, was eigentlich in den physischen Leib hinein sollte. Das, was also hier sein würde (Zeichnung a) von diesem nächtlichen Erleben, wird nicht unserem physischen Leibe, sondern in unserem physischen Leibe dem Ahriman übergeben. Um es als ahrimanisch zu kennzeichnen, will ich es nur so hineinzeichnen (Zeichnung c, gelbe Punkte).

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Und die bedeutsame Tatsache besteht: Ahriman erlebt in unserem physischen Leibe Luzifers Erlebnisse während unseres Schlafes. Das ist mit anderen Worten die Ursache davon, daß wir nicht selber hereinbringen können unsere nächtlichen Erlebnisse in unser Tagbewußtsein, weil sie Luzifer dem Ahriman übergibt während des Aufwachens. Nur während sie da ihren Handel miteinander abschließen, den Pakt miteinander abschließen, kommt uns in dem gewöhnlichen Traum manches zum Bewußtsein, während es so hinübergeht aus den Händen Luzifers in die Hände Ahrimans. Das ist auch eine Seite des Schlaf- und Traumlebens.

Betrachten wir jetzt einmal das gewöhnliche Wissen, das wir während der Zeit vom Aufwachen bis zum Einschlafen haben. Dieses Wissen, das wir so haben, wie wir es haben, ist also eine Folge der Tatsache, daß eben der Genuß eingetreten ist vom Baume der Erkenntnis des Guten und Bösen. Da liegt die Sache also so, daß wir während des Tages Wissen erwerben von den Dingen. Vom Aufwachen bis zum Einschlafen erwerben wir Wissen von den Dingen, ein Wissen, das unser Verstand auf Grundlage der Sinneswahrnehmungen kombiniert. Dieses Wissen, das wir von den Dingen erwerben, das erwerben wir ja, wie es Ihnen doch selbstverständlich sein muß, durch unser Ich. Es ist ein Wissen, das der Mensch als Erdenmensch erlebt. Der Mensch als Erdenmensch hat dadurch das Wissen erlangt, daß ihm zu seinen drei übrigen Prinzipien, die er von Saturn, Sonne und Mond herübergebracht hat, auf der Erde das Ich hinzugegeben worden ist. Als Erdenmensch, im Ich, erleben wir das Wissen, das überhaupt unser menschliches Wissen ist, also alles das, was wir über die Welt unter den Verhältnissen, unter denen wir schon einmal auf der Erde sind, erwerben können. Aber dieses Wissen, das wir auf diese Art erwerben, hat eben die Eigentümlichkeit, daß es sich verdunkelt in unserem Ich. Es verdunkelt sich in unserem Ich, sobald wir einschlafen.

Es tritt also auch diese Tatsache ein, daß wir vom Aufwachen bis zum Einschlafen Wissen erwerben; aber in dem Augenblicke, wo wir einschlafen, hört dieses Wissen auf, für uns bewußt zu sein; das heißt, es geht aus unserem Ich heraus. Philosophen, welche das Ich zur Grundlage der Philosophie machen und dann sagen: Dieses Ich können wir zur Grundlage der Philosophie machen, weil dieses Ich das Bleibende ist in dem Menschenleben zwischen der Geburt und dem Tode -, sagen einen ganz gewöhnlichen Unsinn, denn dieses Ich, so wie der Mensch es erlebt, wird jede Nacht ausgelöscht. Also halten wir uns diese Tatsachen vor die Seele: daß wir uns Wissen erwerben, dieses Wissen aber durch das Ich erworben wird, und dieses Ich ausgelöscht wird für den Zustand zwischen Einschlafen und Aufwachen.

Woher kommt das? Dieses Wissen wird wirklich ja erworben in jenem Gebiete des Daseins, von dem wir wissen, daß es dem Ahriman zugeteilt ist. Wir wissen ja, daß auf dem gewöhnlichen äußeren physischen Plane Ahriman sein eigentliches Reich hat, weil aller Tod ihm zugehört. Ich habe das einmal in Münchner Vorträgen besonders ausführlich charakterisiert. Wir durchmessen mit unserem Bewußtsein Ahrimans Reich vom Aufwachen bis zum Einschlafen, und indem wir unser gewöhnliches Alltagswissen entwickeln, so wie wir es durch die luziferische Verführung entwickeln, bringt uns dieses Alltagswissen immer im Leben zwischen dem Aufwachen und dem Einschlafen in das Reich des Ahriman hinein. Wir weben und leben eigentlich immer im Reiche des Ahriman, mit unserem gewöhnlichen Suchen nach äußerem Wissen, nach Wissen, das sich auf die äußere sinnliche Welt bezieht.

Luzifer - wir müssen das immer trennen - hat das bewirkt; aber es ist nicht das Reich des Luzifer, in dem wir da weben und leben vom Aufwachen bis zum Einschlafen, sondern es ist das Reich des Ahriman, in dem wir leben, weben und sind. Und zwar ist das aus dem Grunde sehr leicht einzusehen, weil Ahriman ja in unserem physischen Leibe ist. Der hilft uns fortwährend, wenn wir uns Wissen durch den physischen Leib erwerben wollen. Wir erwerben das gewöhnliche Wissen zunächst durch den physischen Leib, durch die Sinne, die gewöhnlichen Werkzeuge des physischen Leibes. Da drinnen sitzt ja Ahriman; Luzifer gibt ihm auch beim Aufwachen das, was er in uns während der Nacht erlebt hat. Während des Tages, im Zusammenhang mit Ahriman, erringen wir dasjenige, was wir unser ' Wissen in der Welt nennen. Beim Einschlafen ist es so, daß Ahriman reichlich vergilt die Gabe, die ihm Luzifer beim Aufwachen gegeben hat.

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Während Luzifer dasjenige, was er während des Schlafes mit uns durchgemacht hat, beim Aufwachen dem Ahriman übergibt für unseren physischen Leib, übergibt Ahriman dem Luzifer beim Einschlafen dasjenige, was er den ganzen Tag mit uns erlebt hat. Dieses übergibt also Ahriman beim Einschlafen dem Luzifer. Und während eigentlich unser gesamtes tägliches Erleben sich übertragen sollte auf das gesamte nächtliche Erleben, und ich dann so zeichnen müßte dieses nächtliche Erleben (Zeichnung a, grün), ist das so, daß in Wahrheit das durch den Tag Erworbene nur bis in den astralischen Leib hineingeht, im Ich aber von Luzifer in Empfang genommen wird (Zeichnung b, Kreise), so daß Luzifer in uns in der Zeit vom Einschlafen bis zum Aufwachen dasjenige erlebt, was in uns fortlebt und -webt von dem Tageswissen, von dem, was wir uns erworben haben vom Aufwachen bis zum Einschlafen. Wir können also sagen: Statt unser genießt während des Tages unsere nächtlichen Erfahrungen Ahriman; statt unser genießt während unseres Schlafens, in unserem Ich, Luzifer unsere täglichen Erfahrungen. In unserem physischen Leibe genießt Ahriman, in unserem Ich genießt Luzifer; Ahriman während des Tages, Luzifer während der Nacht.

Nun handelt es sich darum, die Folgen von diesen Tatsachen für unser menschliches Leben einzusehen. Fassen wir zunächst einmal _ diese Tatsache, daß Luzifer vom Einschlafen bis zum Aufwachen unser Ich in Anspruch nimmt, ins Auge. Sehen Sie, dies hindert uns, dasjenige, was wir als Wissen während des Tages erfahren, was wir uns ausdenken über die Welt, was wir urteilen, unterscheiden, verbinden in der Welt, auch während der Nacht zu durchleben. Wir würden es wirklich durchleben, wenn wir es durch die Nacht hindurch fortsetzen könnten. Nach der ursprünglichen Absicht der Jahve-Gottheiten war es so, daß wir unser Wissen während des Tages sammeln und es während der Nacht durchleben, durcharbeiten sollten. Wäre diese Absicht realisiert worden, dann würden wir eine ganz andere Wissenschaft haben als die, welche wir so haben. Wir würden eine Wissenschaft haben, die wirklich eine lebendige Wissenschaft wäre, wo jeder Begriff, den wir erfahren, in uns lebendig wäre, wo wir auch wüßten, daß Begriffe, die wir erfahren während des Tages, Schatten sind von Lebewesen, wie ich es öfter beschrieben habe; denn wir würden ja in der Nacht folgendes erfahren. Wir würden sehen: Während des Tages erleben wir, wir machen uns diesen oder jenen Begriff; in der Nacht würden alle Begriffe aufwachen, um zu leben, und wir würden erkennen, daß alles das elementarische Lebewesen wären. Das wüßten wir. Vom Einschlafen bis zum Aufwachen wüßten wir: Das, was wir uns als Wissenschaft erwerben, das ist unmittelbares Leben, welches lebt und webt in der Welt; elementarisches Wirken und Weben und Leben.

Das kann es nicht sein für uns, weil Luzifer das erfaßt, und weil Luzifer es uns wegnimmt. Und so nimmt er uns das Leben der Wissenschaft weg. Jede Nacht saugt er das Leben der Wissenschaft für sich heraus, und uns bleiben nur die abstrakten Begriffe, die toten Begriffe, die uns durch die Wissenschaft gegeben sind. Die Menschheit hat so eine Wissenschaft, die von Luzifer ausgesogen ist, richtig ausgesogen ist von Luzifer.

Das ist der Grund, warum die Wissenschaft so empfunden werden muß, als ob sie nicht heran könnte an das, was eigentlich in den Dingen lebt und webt, warum sie so erscheint, als ob man sich von dem Lebenden und Webenden tote Begriffe machte. Die Wissenschaft hat etwas Zusammentragendes, etwas, wobei man fühlt, man bleibt doch immer außerhalb des Lebens stehen, man kommt nicht hinein in das Leben. Alles, was die Philosophen von jeher geschwätzt - ich will sagen, philosophiert haben über die Grenzen des Wissens, über das Nicht-Hineinkommen in die Untergründe des Daseins, das rührt ja davon her, daß sie fühlten: unter dem, was man in Begriffe fassen kann, liegt das lebendige Leben, an das man nicht heran kommt aus dem Grunde, weil Luzifer an diesem Leben saugt und es für sich in Anspruch nimmt und so, mit anderen Worten, die Begriffe strohern, abstrakt macht.

Betrachten wir jetzt den anderen Fall. Was würde geschehen, wenn wir nicht der Tatsache unterlägen, daß beim Aufwachen Ahriman in Anspruch nimmt dasjenige, was nächtliches Erleben in uns ist? Was würde mit uns eintreten beim Aufwachen? Wir würden hineinbekommen in unser Tagesbewußtsein den ganzen Zusammenhang mit den Nachterlebnissen. Wir würden, mit anderen Worten, die ganze geistige Welt in unser Tagesbewußtsein hineinbekommen, und es würde sich hineinmischen in das, was wir als Tagesbewußtsein haben, dasjenige, was das nächtliche Durchleben darstellt. So zusammen würde man es nicht haben können, wie wir jetzt unser Tagesbewußtsein haben zusammen mit den nächtlichen Erlebnissen, aus dem Grunde, weil dieses Tagesbewußtsein auftritt in einer Weise, wie sie durch Luzifer gekommen ist. Aber wenn Luzifer dieses Tagesbewußtsein nicht beeinflußt hätte in der charakterisierten Weise, so würden wir in ganz anderer Weise an die Dinge herantreten. Dann würde vereinbar sein mit diesem Herantreten an die Dinge das Hereinleben desjenigen, was wir nächtlich durchleben. Das würde eine ganz beträchtliche Veränderung hervorrufen in alledem, was wir während des Tages erleben.

Wir gehen ja so durchs Tagesleben, daß wir die Dinge anschauen, daß wir uns Ideen, Vorstellungen über die Dinge machen. Dann kombinieren wir wohl auch, aber es bleibt, möchte ich sagen, zwischen der Geburt und dem Tode immer dabei, daß wir im Grunde genommen zusammenkoppeln das eine, was wir während des Tages erlebt haben, mit anderem, was wir während des Tages erlebt haben. Würde der Tatbestand anders sein, würde er so sein, daß richtig hereinkämen die nächtlichen Erlebnisse in das Tagesleben, so würden wir jedes Tageserlebnis verbinden mit dem, was uns wie eine Erinnerung der Nachterlebnisse geblieben ist.

So wie es jetzt ist, treten wir einem Menschen entgegen; wir kommen diesem Menschen entgegen, wir sagen uns: diesen Menschen kenne ich. - Aber warum sagen wir uns das: diesen Menschen kenne ich? - Nur aus dem einfachen Grunde, weil wir ihn früher schon gesehen haben während der Tageserlebnisse. Wir kombinieren das eine Tagerlebnis mit dem anderen, und das drückt sich so aus, daß wir sagen: Wir kennen diesen Menschen. - Ganz anders wäre es, wenn wir die Nachterlebnisse in der angedeuteten Weise hereinbrächten. Dann würden wir bei Tage wissen: dieses oder jenes geistige Wesen entspricht ihm. Wir würden ihn in der Nacht erlebt haben, wir würden ihn identifizieren können mit seinem geistigen Hintergrund, wir würden sein Physisches vom Geistigen durchwebt haben. So würde sich uns die ganze Welt konkretisieren, durchweben mit Geistigem. So aber, durch die luziferische Verführung, kann das nicht sein. Das Geistige bleibt aus; es bleibt uns nicht. Ahriman nimmt es für sich in Anspruch und so bleibt es nur dadrinnen im Ätherleibe (Zeichnung b, Seite 179); dadrinnen im Ätherleibe sitzt es, es kommt nicht zur Konkretisierung. Es kommt nicht dazu, daß man es wirklich in den Dingen sieht. Man kann nur sagen: Ich fühle in meinem Ätherleibe, daß dieses Geistige da ist als Weben und Leben. Man fühlt es im Allgemeinen, aber man bekommt es nicht herauf in die Anschauung.

Ich hoffe, Sie merken, wie das ist. Statt daß es in den physischen Leib hineingeht, und es sich uns auf Schritt und Tritt zeigen würde, dieses Geistige, bleibt es in der Allgemeinheit stecken. Und wir fühlen es so in uns, daß wir uns sagen können: Das Geistige ist da, es lebt und webt in der Welt, aber es konkretisiert sich uns nicht. Es kann das, was wir so vom Geistigen erleben, vor allem nicht Wissen

werden. Wissen würde es für uns, wenn es hereinkäme in den physischen Leib. Es bleibt Glaube, weil es bloß im Ätherleibe erlebt wird. Alles dasjenige, was im bloßen Glauben liegt an Ablehnung des konkreten Wissens, das kommt davon her, daß der Mensch ganz richtig fühlt: er will im normalen Leben darinnen stehen bleiben, er will nicht zu dieser Konkretisierung kommen; da fürchtet er sich vor den möglichen Irrtümern.

So sehen Sie, ist Glaube im Ätherleibe steckengebliebenes Wissen. Während dasjenige Wissen, das wir bei Tage haben, im astralischen Leibe eben steckenbleibt, also zur Nachtzeit im Astralleib steckengebliebenes Wissen ist und dadurch so unlebendig wird. Der lebendige Glaube, der wissenlos ist, weil ihm sein Wissen genommen wird von Ahriman, ist dasjenige, was gegenübertritt dem glaubenlosen Wissen, dem Wissen, dem der Glaube genommen wird durch Luzifer. So daß wir hier (Zeichnung b, Seite 182) hinzufügen können: Luzifer erlebt in unserem Ich ahrimanische Erlebnisse.

Ich möchte in diese zwei Worte zusammenfassen dasjenige, was Ihnen vielleicht im Gedächtnis bleiben kann von diesen heute angestellten so außerordentlich wichtigen Betrachtungen. Durch diese Betrachtungen nämlich zeigt sich so recht der Anteil Ahrimans und Luzifers an unserem Leben, zeigt sich, wie Luzifer und Ahriman zusammen arbeiten, damit wir nicht die Harmonie bekommen können zwischen Glauben und Wissen, sondern die unrichtige Zweiheit des wissenlosen Glaubens und des glaubeleeren Wissens.

Es ist eben durchaus falsch, wenn wir glauben, daß wir jemals Ahriman oder Luzifer entrinnen können. Richtig ist vielmehr, daß Ahriman und Luzifer wohl ihre Weltaufgabe haben, denn das Ganze, was da geschieht, das mußte ja geschehen; es mußte die Menschheit geführt werden so, wie es angedeutet worden ist; sie mußte eine Zeitlang geführt werden durch solch eine Strömung, die dann ihren Auslauf gefunden hat in dem, was gestern dargestellt worden ist: in dem allmählich sich abtötenden Wissen. Da wurden die Menschen in vorwiegender Weise so in die Welt hineingestellt, daß auf sie gewirkt hat dasjenige, was hier in diesem Tatbestand (Zeichnung c, Seite 179) vorgezeichnet ist. Und dem strömt entgegen, wie ich es gestern dargestellt habe, von Mitteleuropa aus eine Menschheit, die mehr daraufhin veranlagt worden ist, daß sie diesen Tatbestand entwikkelt hatte (Zeichnung b, Seite 182).

Und durch das Zusammenwirken, Zusammentönen dieser beiden Menschheitsströmungen allein nur kann das lebendige Erfassen des Christus-Impulses stattfinden.

Denn es ist zugleich möglich, daß im Christus-Verständnisse, im Verständnisse des Christus-Impulses gewissermaßen auseinanderfallen diese beiden Strömungen und nicht miteinander zu rechnen haben. Nehmen wir einmal an, diese eine Strömung unterliegt, als von Europa ausgehende Strömung, der Anlage, von Ahriman während des Wachens überwältigt zu werden. Nehmen wir an, diese Strömung bildete sich besonders aus und strebte das Verständnis des Mysteriums von Golgatha an: dann bildete sie sich so aus, daß sie diejenigen Tatsachen, die mit dem äußeren Geschehen des Mysteriums von Golgatha zusammenhängen, ablehnt. Sie will nicht durch den physischen Leib hindurch. Indem sie von Ahriman überwälktigt ist, will sie nicht eindringen in ein konkretes Erfassen dieses ganzen, großen kosmischen Ereignisses des Christus-Herabsteigens und so weiter. Sie will vielmehr durch das Innere des Menschen, durch das Ätherische im Menschen, sich anlehnen an den Jesus und gründet eine Jesulogie, eine Wissenschaft von Jesus; sie lehnt ab dasjenige, was hinausgreift in die Welt von dem Mysterium von Golgatha.

Das Überhandnehmen dieser (Zeichnung b) Strömung hat wenig Interesse an dem unmittelbaren Zusammenhang des menschlichen Inneren mit dem Menschen in Christus, mit dem Jesus; sie sieht vielmehr auf dasjenige, auf das sie gewohnt ist zu sehen: auf das abstrakte Erfassen dessen, was draußen im Kosmos wirkt. Es strebt diese Strömung nach einer Christologie. Jene Strömung sieht vorzugsweise auf Jesus, diese vorzugsweise auf Christus. Die Wahrheit kann man nur erkennen, wenn man den Jesus Christus oder den Christus Jesus als Einheit auffaßt, wie das die Geisteswissenschaft tut, welche die beiden Einseitigkeiten zu überwinden sucht. Sie ist sich ebenso klar darüber, daß es ein kosmisches Wesen gibt, den Christus, der vor dem Mysterium von Golgatha außerhalb der Erdensphäre war und durch das Mysterium von Golgatha in die Erdensphäre hereinkam und dadurch der ganzen menschlichen Entwickelung einen anderen Impuls gab, so daß ein irdisches Geschehnis aus dem Kosmos herein vorbereitet worden ist, und sich weiterhin vollzieht; aber ebenso klar ist es, daß dieses Geschehnis innig zusammenhängt mit dem Jesus von Nazareth. Das heißt, man muß sich klar darüber sein, daß der Christus, wie er vor dem Mysterium von Golgatha war, nicht hätte hereintragen können jenes kosmische Geschehen in das irdische Geschehen ohne den physischen Menschenleib des Jesus, und daß er daher durchgehen mußte durch das Mysterium von Golgatha. Es war das notwendig, es kam darauf an, daß der Christus in dem Jesus das erlebte, was er in dem Jesus erlebt hat.

Nicht auf den Jesus einseitig, nicht auf den Christus einseitig, sondern auf den Christus Jesus, auf den Christus im Jesus kommt es an. Das ist es. Das, was auf der Erde geschehen ist, ist nicht durch den Christus geschehen, sondern dadurch, daß der Christus in dem Jesus gelebt hat. Eine bloße Christologie ist ebenso unmöglich, wie eine bloße Jesulogie; sondern es ist einzig und allein möglich eine Geisteswissenschaft von dem Christus Jesus. Denn es gehört die Tatsache von dem Mysterium von Golgatha ganz notwendigerweise zu dem, was in die Erdenentwickelung hat hereintreten sollen.

Wenn also dasjenige geschehen soll, was vorgezeichnet ist durch das Mysterium von Golgatha: daf ein richtiges Verhältnis eintreten soll zwischen Luzifer und Ahriman in bezug auf das, was durch den Menschen in der Welt geschieht, dann muß erkannt werden, wie die beiden Mächte Luzifer und Ahriman im Menschen zusammenwirken. Bewußt muß sich der Mensch gegenüberstellen diesem Zusammenwirken. Und das wird er eben, wenn er durch die Geisteswissenschaft versucht, sich die beiden Strömungen zu charakterisieren und dadurch den Weg zu dem Christus Jesus zu finden.

Das ist auch dasjenige, was angedeutet werden soll in jenem Bildwerke, das an hervorragender Stelle unseres Baues, wie wir annehmen dürfen, einmal seine Stelle finden wird. Der Urmensch in der Mitte, das Ahrimanische und Luziferische an den Seiten. So daß man in der Art und Weise, wie die künstlerische Darstellung ist, einen unmittelbaren Ausdruck hat für dasjenige, was in der Zukunft der Menschheitsentwickelung sich abspielen soll anstelle dessen, was sich in der Vergangenheit abspielte mit Bezug auf die Trinität, die Dreiheit: Christus - Luzifer - Ahriman. Davon werden wir dann das nächste Mal weitersprechen.

Ninth Lecture

Yesterday we saw how what we can call the continuous flow of developing knowledge and wisdom on the one hand, and on the other hand the life that must unite with this wisdom at a certain point in time, are distributed, as it were, among the peoples of world history. This is an example of the fact, which is fundamentally shocking in its consequences, that the various one-sidednesses in world existence interact to produce a whole, a harmony. And I have already pointed out how, even in our times, we can perceive the after-effects, both on the one hand of the lifeless principle of knowledge, the aging principle of knowledge, and on the other hand of the knowledge-less principle of life, which, like a young shoot in the development of humanity, unites with the principle of knowledge brought up from primeval times and now withering away.

Now let us consider the same world of facts from a somewhat more subjective point of view, let us consider them in direct connection with the observation of the human being. Let us once again bring before our minds the fact that has so often come to our attention, namely, the rhythmic transformation of the human being in the course of daily life: namely, that in the course of their daily lives, human beings alternate between the unity of their four members — the physical human being, the etheric human being, the astral human being, and the I-human being — and a kind of separation of these four members into two and two: the union of the physical human being with the etheric human being and of the I with the astral human being.

The alternation between sleeping and waking is based on this rhythmic sequence of the four members being united and separated. We have already mentioned that this fact can be examined in greater detail, but for today's discussion it will suffice as a sufficient basis.

When we consider human existence, human weaving in sleep, even without any special development having taken place in the human being, a clear consciousness can nevertheless arise in this human being, especially in particularly clear, particularly awakened moments of waking up, that he, as a soul human being, when waking up, lifts himself out of a weaving and living in a, I would say, a fine-spirited being.

Most people must surely notice, when conditions are favorable, that they do not wake up from sleep as if from nothingness, but that they emerge from sleep as from a full, but much more ethereal, lighter weaving and life than that which we go through from waking to falling asleep. Many will surely have noticed upon waking that during sleep they lived in an element in which they were so immersed that they were actually more intelligent during this sleep than during waking life. The majority of people must have experienced this when they woke up and said to themselves: Yes, this or that came; it appeared before my soul. I know quite clearly that I experienced something there that I cannot now bring clearly enough into my waking consciousness. And then one can feel, in a sense, stupid compared to the cleverness one had in this nocturnal weaving and living, in this much more ethereal element than the life of the physical world is from waking to falling asleep. One was, with one's whole being — one must be clear about this — immersed in a weaving and living that is similar to the physical life and weaving around us, but which cannot be grasped by physical consciousness and is, so to speak, completely forgotten in the moment of awakening.

But even without special occult training, human beings can be clear that during sleep they were weaving in such an element that they cannot fully take it with them into waking life. This fact, which everyone can easily convince themselves of, is understood when we take the wonderful primordial double saying that we referred to yesterday, the double saying that states: Because humans have learned to recognize or distinguish between good and evil, because they have eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they shall not eat from the tree of life.

What does it mean, “Do not eat from the tree of life”? You may no longer find it incomprehensible what I have to say about this statement if you reasonably consider what it can actually mean to have eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. - Everyone can say to themselves: If what we call the Luciferic temptation had not occurred, human beings would obviously have to stand differently in this earthly life; for as they stand, the effect of the Luciferic temptation interferes with their earthly life. - This means that in our earthly life we attain a certain kind of knowledge, a certain way of approaching things through our intellect and reason, through which we gain a certain knowledge of the things of the world. It is quite clear that we would have a different knowledge of the things of the world if the Luciferic seduction had not taken place. This is precisely what the double saying alludes to. That is, the knowledge we gain of the world and its phenomena is a knowledge that has come about through the influence of Lucifer, a knowledge that represents the ongoing development that has taken place through the enjoyment of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. All our knowledge is such that it had to come about as it has, as a consequence of partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If man had not partaken of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there would have to be a different kind of knowledge than that which exists under today's “normal” conditions, where Lucifer is at work in our existence.

If you consider that, basically, all our daily knowledge is influenced by the fact of Lucifer's seduction, that our daily knowledge is the fulfillment of our enjoyment of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then it will no longer seem so incomprehensible to you when I now present to you the fact that can be recognized from many occult perceptions: that our nightly, sleeping ignorance, the darkness of sleep spreading over our consciousness, is simply the effect of not eating from the tree of life. Just as our everyday knowledge is the effect of having eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so is ignorance during sleep the consequence of not being able to eat from the tree of life. If we had been allowed to eat from this tree, something similar to waking would have happened to sleep. But this was not allowed to happen. And so unconsciousness came about for the state of sleep.

But when this unconsciousness of sleep is overcome, when the possibility arises, through a spiritual scientific method of development, to know something of what is really going on in the weaving and living in an etheric element, as indicated above, then we become aware of how we actually spend our lives from falling asleep to waking up. For we spend this life — and this is a fact that can be shocking — from the moment we fall asleep until we wake up, in the arms of Lucifer, I would say. And one can understand what actually happened there, understand the deep mystery that underlies this whole world of facts, by seeing that at the very moment when man was punished by being forbidden to eat from the tree of life, Lucifer was condemned to eat from this tree continuously. And because he claims for himself that which weaves and lives from falling asleep to waking up, which seems so infinitely clever to us when it echoes in our waking consciousness, this weaving and living in that which does not come to our consciousness has a very definite consequence, precisely because he claims it for himself.

So we can say: Our life and weaving in the fine, ethereal element that I have indicated is something that Lucifer has taken possession of. And because Lucifer has taken possession of it, something does not happen that was actually predestined for human beings by the Yahweh deities. It was predestined by the Yahweh deities that human beings should, upon awakening, receive into their etheric body and physical body that which weaves and lives there during sleep. I must draw this somewhat schematically so that you may perhaps see more clearly what is involved. I would like to designate schematically, in red, that which lives outside the physical body during sleep; that which remains in the physical body while we are in bed, I would designate schematically in yellow; and that which lives outside the physical body during sleep, I would designate schematically in red. with this (red); what lives outside the physical body during sleep from our astral body, with this (yellow); what remains in bed from our physical body, I would like to designate with this (blue), and what remains in bed from our etheric body, with this (yellow ochre).

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Now the following was determined from the outset. It was determined for human beings by the evolving Yahweh deities that upon awakening, the etheric weaving and life indicated above would submerge into both the etheric body and the physical body of human beings. You need not be alarmed that it is Lucifer who weaves with us while we live in the etheric, fine element from the moment we fall asleep until we wake up. I have already indicated in lectures in Munich that it is completely wrong to believe that one must be wary of Lucifer in all areas of life. That is a materialistic prejudice. Spiritual beings are not there so that they should not be there. And most people behave incorrectly toward the Luciferic and Ahrimanic, as if they did not want to have anything to do with the Luciferic and Ahrimanic. But that is not what it is about, to arrange life so that one has nothing to do with Lucifer and Ahriman. It is about allowing these beings to exist where they are in their element, and knowing that they only have a harmful effect in the elements where they do not belong. Thus, it is right for earthly life that Lucifer lives and weaves from the moment we fall asleep until we wake up in the element of which we humans should know nothing, since we already have the other knowledge, which is an effect of the enjoyment of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

But now, upon awakening, comes that which must be understood if one wants to comprehend the necessary development of life that is to come today through the spiritual scientific worldview: What is woven there, what is actually felt when, in particularly favorable moments, this life and weaving come into our consciousness like an echo, what is woven there should enter our physical and etheric bodies when we wake up. For what is weaving there is our astral body. It lives and weaves in the surging sea of worlds; and what it weaves there, what it experiences and learns, should enter both our etheric body and our physical body.

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If I wanted to draw the intentions of the Yahweh deities who guide the development of the earth, this life and weaving in which our astral body is during the night, I would have to be able to draw it in such a way that everything enters our waking state, both into our etheric body and into our physical body (drawing a, slanted lines, yellow). What I have drawn here would represent the absorption of the experiences of our astral body by the physical body and the etheric body upon awakening. This should have occurred in the course of human evolution on earth or the earthly evolution of human beings if the original intention of the Yahweh gods had been fulfilled. However, this did not happen because of the Luciferic seduction at that time. Something else happened, however, so that we must draw the situation that now arose somewhat differently.

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If this is the physical body (blue) and this is the etheric body (yellow ochre) – all drawn schematically, of course – then the experience of the astral body upon awakening only really enters the etheric body, expressing itself at most in the physical body and influencing it somewhat. In reality, it only enters the etheric body. I have to draw it this way (drawing b) not because it is held back, not because it stops, because it would have a boundary at the physical body, but because, through a mysterious pact between Lucifer and Ahriman, who has just entered as a result of the earthly evolution interwoven with the Luciferic and Ahrimanic evolution — because Lucifer, at the moment of awakening, hands over to Ahriman what should actually enter the physical body. What would therefore be here (drawing a) from this nocturnal experience is not handed over to our physical body, but to Ahriman in our physical body. To mark it as Ahrimanic, I will simply draw it in like this (drawing c, yellow dots).

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And the significant fact is this: during our sleep, Ahriman experiences Lucifer's experiences in our physical body. In other words, this is the reason why we cannot bring our nighttime experiences into our daytime consciousness, because Lucifer hands them over to Ahriman during the waking process. Only while they are concluding their deal with each other, concluding their pact, do some things come to our consciousness in ordinary dreams, while they pass from Lucifer's hands into Ahriman's. This is also one aspect of sleep and dream life.

Let us now consider the ordinary knowledge we have during the time between waking and falling asleep. This knowledge that we have as we have it is therefore a consequence of the fact that we have partaken of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The situation is therefore that during the day we acquire knowledge of things. From the moment we wake up until we fall asleep, we acquire knowledge of things, a knowledge that our intellect combines on the basis of sensory perceptions. This knowledge that we acquire about things, we acquire, as must be obvious to you, through our ego. It is knowledge that human beings experience as earthly human beings. Human beings as earthly human beings have acquired this knowledge because, in addition to the three principles they brought with them from Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon, the ego has been added to them on Earth. As earthly human beings, in our ego, we experience the knowledge that is our human knowledge in general, that is, everything we can acquire about the world under the conditions in which we already exist on earth. But this knowledge that we acquire in this way has the peculiarity of becoming obscured in our ego. It becomes obscured in our ego as soon as we fall asleep.

So this fact also occurs that we acquire knowledge from the moment we wake up until we fall asleep; but at the moment we fall asleep, this knowledge ceases to be conscious to us; that is, it leaves our ego. Philosophers who make the ego the basis of philosophy and then say, “We can make this ego the basis of philosophy because this ego is what remains in human life between birth and death,” are talking utter nonsense, because this ego, as experienced by human beings, is extinguished every night. So let us keep these facts before our souls: that we acquire knowledge, but that this knowledge is acquired through the ego, and that this ego is extinguished in the state between falling asleep and waking up.

Where does this come from? This knowledge is indeed acquired in that realm of existence which we know to be assigned to Ahriman. We know that Ahriman has his actual realm on the ordinary outer physical plane, because all death belongs to him. I once characterized this in particular detail in lectures in Munich. With our consciousness, we traverse Ahriman's realm from waking to falling asleep, and as we develop our ordinary everyday knowledge, just as we develop it through Luciferic seduction, this everyday knowledge always brings us into the realm of Ahriman in the life between waking and falling asleep. We actually always weave and live in the realm of Ahriman, with our ordinary search for external knowledge, for knowledge that relates to the external sensory world.

Lucifer—we must always make this distinction—has brought this about; but it is not the realm of Lucifer in which we weave and live from waking to falling asleep, but rather it is the realm of Ahriman in which we live, weave, and are. This is very easy to understand because Ahriman is in our physical body. He helps us constantly when we want to acquire knowledge through the physical body. We acquire ordinary knowledge first through the physical body, through the senses, the ordinary tools of the physical body. Ahriman sits there; Lucifer also gives him what he has experienced in us during the night when we wake up. During the day, in connection with Ahriman, we attain what we call our 'knowledge of the world'. When we fall asleep, Ahriman richly repays the gift that Lucifer gave him when we woke up.

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While Lucifer hands over to Ahriman what he has experienced with us during sleep for our physical body, Ahriman hands over to Lucifer what he has experienced with us throughout the day when we fall asleep. Ahriman thus hands this over to Lucifer when he falls asleep. And while our entire daily experience should actually be transferred to the entire nightly experience, and I would then have to draw this nightly experience (drawing a, green), in reality what we have acquired during the day only enters the astral body, but is received by Lucifer in the I (drawing b, circles), so that Lucifer experiences in us, in the time between falling asleep and waking up, what lives on and weaves in us from the knowledge of the day, from what what we have acquired from waking up to falling asleep. We can therefore say: instead of us enjoying our nighttime experiences during the day, Ahriman enjoys them; instead of Lucifer enjoying our daily experiences during our sleep, in our ego, Ahriman enjoys them. Ahriman enjoys in our physical body, Lucifer enjoys in our ego; Ahriman during the day, Lucifer during the night.

Now it is a matter of understanding the consequences of these facts for our human life. Let us first consider the fact that Lucifer takes possession of our ego from the moment we fall asleep until we wake up. You see, this prevents us from living through during the night what we experience as knowledge during the day, what we think about the world, what we judge, distinguish, and connect in the world. We would truly live through it if we could continue it throughout the night. According to the original intention of the Yahweh deities, we were supposed to gather our knowledge during the day and live through it, work through it during the night. If this intention had been realized, we would have a completely different science than the one we have. We would have a science that would truly be a living science, where every concept we experience would be alive within us, where we would also know that the concepts we experience during the day are shadows of living beings, as I have often described; for we would experience the following during the night. We would see that during the day we experience and form this or that concept, but at night all concepts would awaken to life, and we would recognize that they are all elementary living beings. We would know this. From the moment we fall asleep until we wake up, we would know that what we acquire as science is immediate life, which lives and weaves in the world; elementary activity, weaving, and life.

This cannot be true for us, because Lucifer grasps it and takes it away from us. And so he takes away the life of science. Every night he sucks the life out of science for himself, and we are left with only the abstract concepts, the dead concepts that science gives us. Humanity has a science that has been sucked dry by Lucifer, truly sucked dry by Lucifer.

That is why science must be perceived as if it cannot touch what actually lives and weaves in things, why it appears as if dead concepts have been made of the living and weaving. Science has something that brings things together, something that makes you feel that you always remain outside of life, that you cannot enter into life. Everything that philosophers have always chattered about—I mean, philosophized about—the limits of knowledge, about not being able to penetrate the depths of existence, stems from the fact that they felt that that beneath what can be grasped in concepts lies living life, which cannot be accessed because Lucifer sucks on this life and claims it for himself and thus, in other words, makes concepts straw-like and abstract.

Let us now consider the other case. What would happen if we were not subject to the fact that when we wake up, Ahriman claims what is in us from our nighttime experiences? What would happen to us when we woke up? We would bring the entire context of our nighttime experiences into our daytime consciousness. In other words, we would bring the entire spiritual world into our daytime consciousness, and what we experience as daytime consciousness would be mixed with what we experience at night. We could not have it together in the way we now have our daytime consciousness together with our nighttime experiences, because this daytime consciousness arises in a way that has come through Lucifer. But if Lucifer had not influenced this daytime consciousness in the manner described, we would approach things in a completely different way. Then the experience of what we go through at night would be compatible with this approach to things. That would bring about a considerable change in everything we experience during the day.

We go through our daily lives looking at things and forming ideas and concepts about them. We also combine these ideas, but I would say that between birth and death we always basically link together one thing we have experienced during the day with another thing we have experienced during the day. If this were not the case, if our nighttime experiences were to enter our daily lives, we would connect every daytime experience with what remains of our nighttime experiences as memories.

As it is now, we encounter a person; we come across this person and say to ourselves: I know this person. But why do we say to ourselves, “I know this person”? Simply because we have seen them before during our daytime experiences. We combine one daytime experience with another, and this is expressed in the statement, “We know this person.” It would be quite different if we brought in our nighttime experiences in the manner suggested. Then we would know during the day: this or that spiritual being corresponds to him. We would have experienced him at night, we would be able to identify him with his spiritual background, we would have interwoven his physical with the spiritual. In this way, the whole world would become concrete for us, interwoven with the spiritual. But through the Luciferic seduction, this cannot be. The spiritual remains absent; it does not remain with us. Ahriman claims it for himself, and so it remains only in the etheric body (drawing b, page 179); it sits there in the etheric body and does not become concrete. It does not come to the point where one really sees it in things. One can only say: I feel in my etheric body that this spiritual element is there as a weaving and living force. One feels it in general, but one cannot bring it up into one's perception.

I hope you understand how this is. Instead of entering the physical body and revealing itself to us at every turn, this spiritual element remains stuck in generality. And we feel it within ourselves in such a way that we can say: The spiritual is there, it lives and weaves in the world, but it does not become concrete for us. What we experience of the spiritual cannot, above all, become knowledge.

It would become knowledge for us if it entered the physical body. It remains faith because it is experienced only in the etheric body. Everything that lies in mere belief in the rejection of concrete knowledge comes from the fact that human beings feel quite correctly that they want to remain within normal life, they do not want to come to this concretization; they fear possible errors.

So you see, belief is knowledge that has remained stuck in the etheric body. Whereas the knowledge we have during the day remains stuck in the astral body, that is, it is knowledge that remains stuck in the astral body at night and thus becomes lifeless. Living faith, which is without knowledge because its knowledge has been taken away by Ahriman, is what stands opposite faithless knowledge, knowledge from which faith has been taken away by Lucifer. So that we can add here (drawing b, page 182): Lucifer experiences Ahrimanic experiences in our ego.

I would like to summarize in these two words what you may remember from these extremely important considerations we have made today. For these reflections reveal the part that Ahriman and Lucifer play in our lives, and show how Lucifer and Ahriman work together to prevent us from achieving harmony between faith and knowledge, and instead create the false duality of faith without knowledge and knowledge without faith.

It is completely wrong to believe that we can ever escape Ahriman or Lucifer. It is much more correct to say that Ahriman and Lucifer have their task in the world, for everything that is happening had to happen; humanity had to be guided in the way that has been indicated; it had to be guided for a time by a current that then found its outlet in what was described yesterday: in the gradual dying away of knowledge. Human beings were placed in the world in such a way that they were influenced by what is depicted here in this situation (drawing c, page 179). And flowing toward this, as I described yesterday, is a humanity from Central Europe that has been predisposed to develop this state of affairs (drawing b, page 182).

And it is only through the interaction and harmonization of these two human currents that a living grasp of the Christ impulse can take place.

For it is also possible that in the understanding of Christ, in the understanding of the Christ impulse, these two currents fall apart, so to speak, and have nothing to do with each other. Let us assume that this one current, as a current emanating from Europe, is subject to the predisposition of being overwhelmed by Ahriman during waking life. Let us assume that this current developed particularly strongly and strove for an understanding of the mystery of Golgotha: then it developed in such a way that it rejected those facts that are connected with the outer events of the mystery of Golgotha. It does not want to pass through the physical body. Overwhelmed by Ahriman, it does not want to penetrate into a concrete grasp of this whole great cosmic event of the descent of Christ and so on. Rather, it wants to lean on Jesus through the inner being of the human being, through the etheric in the human being, and establishes a Jesulogy, a science of Jesus; it rejects anything that reaches out into the world from the mystery of Golgotha.

The prevailing current (drawing b) has little interest in the immediate connection between the human inner being and the human being in Christ, with Jesus; rather, it looks at what it is accustomed to seeing: the abstract grasping of what is at work outside in the cosmos. This current strives for a Christology. That current looks primarily to Jesus, this one primarily to Christ. Truth can only be recognized if one understands Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus as a unity, as spiritual science does, which seeks to overcome both one-sidednesses. It is equally clear to spiritual science that there is a cosmic being, Christ, who was outside the sphere of the earth before the Mystery of Golgotha and entered the sphere of the earth through the Mystery of Golgotha, thereby giving a different impulse to the whole of human development, so that an earthly event was prepared from the cosmos and continues to unfold; but it is equally clear that this event is intimately connected with the Jesus of Nazareth. This means that we must be clear that Christ, as He was before the mystery of Golgotha, could not have brought this cosmic event into earthly events without the physical human body of Jesus, and that He therefore had to pass through the mystery of Golgotha. It was necessary, it was essential that Christ experienced in Jesus what he experienced in Jesus.

It is not important to focus on Jesus alone, or on Christ alone, but on Christ Jesus, on Christ in Jesus. That is what matters. What happened on earth did not happen through Christ, but through Christ living in Jesus. A mere Christology is just as impossible as a mere Jesusology; rather, a spiritual science of the Christ Jesus is the only thing possible. For the fact of the mystery of Golgotha is quite necessarily part of what had to enter into the evolution of the earth.

If, therefore, what is foretold by the mystery of Golgotha is to come to pass, namely that a right relationship is to arise between Lucifer and Ahriman in relation to what happens through human beings in the world, then it must be recognized how the two powers, Lucifer and Ahriman, work together in human beings. Human beings must consciously confront this interaction. And they will do so when they attempt, through spiritual science, to characterize the two currents and thereby find the way to Christ Jesus.

This is also what is to be indicated in the picture that will one day find its place, we may assume, in a prominent position in our building. The original human being in the middle, the Ahrimanic and Luciferic forces on either side. In this way, the artistic representation provides a direct expression of what is to take place in the future of human development in place of what took place in the past with regard to the Trinity, the threefold nature of Christ, Lucifer, and Ahriman. We will continue this discussion next time.