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The Riddle of Humanity
GA 170

6 August 1916, Dornach

Lecture V

Today the essential thing for which I would like to use our time is to develop some things that will provide the basis for tomorrow's discussion. These things are an expansion of what was described yesterday.

Consider how birth or, say, conception, is the entry into the life a person leads between birth and death. Think of what we have said in the course of the past years about how a human being enters the physical body. We know that in a certain sense the three lower realms of nature—the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms—flow together in man, and that he rises above these three realms that are joined together symbiotically in him. But as a being of soul and spirit he also grows into these realms. Man becomes human by descending to the physical plane and growing into the mineral, plant and animal realms. After death, he ascends again. Then something similar happens from a spiritual point of view: in the spiritual world something happens that resembles the growing into the three kingdoms of physical existence on earth. With all such descriptions you must be clear that everything that has already been said in earlier presentations still holds true. Everything we have previously said about how a human being grows into the spiritual world after passing through the gates of death still holds good—the further details that arise are only to be taken as additions to that. Thus we can say: as a human being grows into the spiritual worlds he is received into the realm of morality, the aesthetic realm and the realm of wisdom, or truth. Now, in this life when we speak of the moral realm, the realm of the good, the aesthetic realm, the realm of the beautiful, and the realm of truth, of wisdom, naturally we are speaking more or less abstractly. But the forces in the spiritual world into which a human being grows and which are left behind when physical existence is once more taken up, are absolutely concrete forces. They are real, spiritual modes of existence. We use names like these just to summarise. Here on earth, a person's aura carries a kind of remnant of the things he received when he had ascended to the spiritual world. Having left behind the realms of wisdom, of beauty, of truth, mankind must enter the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms. But the three spiritual realms continue to shine into the human aura, so that if we include his spiritual parts, then the whole man is a being who lives most directly in the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms, and lives more at a distance from that which, so to speak, comes down from the three spiritual realms, hovers before him, and shines and weaves through him. The light from the three spiritual realms shines over a human being. A schematic kind of a drawing will help us see how these things are connected with human nature, but please note that it is just a schematic drawing. All that I am going to show you is just schematic, but it will clarify much for you if studied carefully. For the sake of clarity, I will draw everything to do with the I like this (green). Everything to do with the astral body will be yellow; everything to do with the etheric human being, lilac, and everything to do with the physical human being, red.

Figure 1

Now we will take a schematic look at mankind. We will observe how mankind stands in the cosmos, in so far as a human being is a moral being, that is, through his participation in the moral forces of the cosmos. Then we will observe mankind in so far as a human being participates, in the way we described yesterday, in the aesthetic impulses of the cosmos. And then we will observe mankind's participation in the impulses of wisdom. Thus we are going to outline a kind of psychic physiology—forgive the slightly nonsensical form of the expression, but you will understand what I mean. Naturally, this outline is meant imaginatively.

When we observe the human being who stands in the moral sphere, you will be especially reminded of what we said yesterday—that the Greeks felt and experienced the relationship between the physical and the soul-spiritual more strongly than is the case today. Hence Plato, for example, was able to give a clear account of how man is taken hold of, gripped, by moral impulses coming from the spiritual universe. Plato says that there exist four virtues. The whole of morality takes hold of the whole human being. But all that is naturally to be taken with the well-known grain of salt. Naturally, even though it grips the whole person, the human being is subsequently divided up into the particular virtues. The first virtue Plato mentions is wisdom—wisdom now understood as a virtue, not as science. Since wisdom as a virtue is related to the way truth is experienced, it takes hold of those forces that flow from the moral sphere to the head. Therefore it can be pictured like this. (See drawing.) And therefore Plato says: The head of the moral man is gripped by wisdom; the breast is gripped by the virtue of strength of heart (Starkmut)—I cannot find a better word—strength of mind, or industriousness, but a kind of industriousness that includes the forces of the heart: an industriousness of the soul.

The person who does not give in to his animal instincts is not necessarily wise. The wise human being—wise in the sense implied by strength of heart—is the one who possesses moral ideas, ideas he can grasp and according to which he is able to direct his life. But even though the moral impulse is grasped in the form of moral ideas, it nevertheless streams into the physical person, into the body. Therefore we can picture morality as flowing into a human being here (green); here it flows into the I. That is where the Platonic moral sphere of wisdom would be located.

Whenever strength of heart—strength of mind, industriousness of the soul—streams down out of the moral sphere, it streams into the area of the chest, which encloses the heart. We can say: When morality radiates down, it is here, in the area of the chest and heart, where it particularly takes hold of the astral. So we will show this next in-pouring (yellow). Thus we now have wisdom as virtue in the head (green), strength of heart as virtue in the area of the chest (yellow).

Plato calls the third virtue temperance, sophrosyne, and he quite rightly assigns it to the abdomen. Human desires are aroused in the abdomen, and the temperate person is the one who is able to rule over his desires by thinking about them, feeling his way into them and consciously experiencing them. It is no virtue to live a life that simply chases after desires. Animals can also live like that. Temperance first arises when the desires are made as conscious as it is possible for them to be made. This happens in the etheric body; for, to the extent that thought, temperance and courage are human, they must be taken hold of by the etheric body. Therefore we must put this (violet) into our drawing. Thus, as I said yesterday, the moral sphere takes hold of the whole physical human being. And the head is included, as I explicitly stated yesterday.

And then Plato refers to a fourth, comprehensive virtue that flows into the whole physical body, which is actually invisible, as I showed you yesterday. He calls this virtue dikaiosyne. We have to translate this as justice, although the modern sense of the word does not entirely match Plato's meaning. Plato's word, ‘justice’, is not meant abstractly. It refers to the ability to give our lives direction, the ability to know ourselves and to orient ourselves in life. So we can say that here (red) the moral sphere, as justice, as uprightness, streams into the whole physical body. This gives us a schematic indication of how, in the human aura, morality streams into the human being.

Now we want to indicate how aesthetic impulses stream into man. Here there is a slight displacement. Things are simply displaced upward by one stage. What we previously pictured as within the head must now be pictured higher (green), so that it is hovering around the head. In aesthetic experience, the etheric stream circumvents the I and flows directly into the astral body, giving one the impression that the I hovers in the etheric that surrounds the head. A person who feels and responds a little to beauty does not need to be very clairvoyant to experience how he seems to live in the space that surrounds his head while he is contemplating a work of art. Within the head, however, the person is gripped directly; there the astral body is taken hold of, which we will draw in with these (yellow) rays.

Figure 2

On the other hand, beauty works in the area of the breast in such a way as to allow that surging back and forth I described yesterday.

One could say that the aesthetic glows through the region of the breast. And beauty actually affects nothing beyond what belongs to the aura of the head, the head itself, and the breast. In other words, in the case of beauty, not all of the area wherein sophrosyne lives comes into consideration. But our materialistic age is distinguished by the way it so thoroughly involves the sphere of sexuality in artistic considerations—a piece of mischief for which our age is responsible, for it is precisely in the contemplation of beauty that such things are absolutely irrelevant and should be absolutely out of the question. Thus, only the lowest kind of aesthetic considerations, those that no longer have anything to do with art, are to be located in the physical body (red).

Now we want to use the same schema for picturing the man who is striving for truth. Once more, there is a displacement, a kind of outward displacement. Yesterday I mentioned that the striving for truth circumvents both the I and the astral body and flows directly into the etheric portion of the head where thoughts are generated. So here, directly into the head, is where I must draw the ether streaming into the etheric body, here where thoughts are generated. On the other hand, when we strive for truth—and this is something one only notices after initiation—it only affects the I and the astral body outside us, in the aura; then it streams into the etheric portion of the head; then into the breast, where its life already affects the physical body (red). If we are to feel truth—and we must feel truth—it has to work into us; it must stream down into the region of the breast. Spirituality has to be experienced in the way we experience the moral.

Figure 3

All of the preceding lives in the aura of the physical plane and therefore applies to the physical plane. In this instance, that into which we enter after death participates in the aura on the physical plane. Just as our physical organism connects us to the forces of the mineral, plant and animal realms, so the moral sphere, the aesthetic sphere and the sphere of wisdom connect us to the forces of the spiritual world.

Even though some of the things I have said have come out very badly—perhaps they will come out better later—I want to present something further to you, something that belongs in the context of the whole. One can say: Whereas it is our physical body that connects us with the realm of physical becoming, our brain connects us with certain elemental beings, namely those elemental beings that belong to the sphere of wisdom. In the third drawing, that which we indicated with yellow was still outside; in the second drawing, it is internal. The green that here (drawing 2) is hovering around the head is even further outside. To etheric observation, this green hovers in the immediate vicinity of our head. The I lives in it, and alongside the I are found the elemental beings of the myths and sagas. There they are called elves, fairies, and so on. When we enjoy something aesthetically, all that is hovering around our heads.

But here (drawing 3), it is spiritual beings from the astral sphere that are hovering around us. It is possible to picture how perception and truth take hold of a person as he wakes from sleep. Although it is not physically visible, the way a person is taken hold of and received on awakening can be expressed in words. Today I would like to put into concrete words how man comes alive in the sphere of truth and wisdom when he awakens. The words are not so bad in their present form, and perhaps they will be improved later. A person should speak to the spirits that surround and take hold of him when he awakens in the following manner:

O, Ye!, from spheres of light stream through this head,

—spoken to the spirits!—

Stream through it

—the head—

Move there in ways which spirits pure are led,
Damp well down his brain's insane confusion
;

with the ordered processes of thought that dissipate madness—

Damp well down his—man's—brain's insane confusion,
From his striving untangle all doubt's fire and fear
,

—just feel the words! They scatter doubts, banish them as wisdom pours in!—

To guide him within from the paths of illusion.

he would be following a path of illusion if he only followed—the path of dreams; in so far as he enters the sphere of truth, the surrounding spiritual world frees his inner being from false paths.—

In daily experience four goals are clear;

we still have to discuss this; everything here divides into fours—

In daily experience four goals are clear,
Now lead him on untouched by apprehension
.

—lead man toward his goals—

First strive for countenance that fills with light,
Then spirit's quest for power hold fast.
Once lame-wingd senses move again in flight,
His day in freedom can unfold
.

—It will be freed from everything dreamlike and arbitrary that would otherwise rule it with the force of necessity—

Thus truest spirit duty it fulfils:
Through holy light to lead him where he wills
.

—So might man address the spirits that take hold of him when he awakens to the life of truth.

When a person awakens to the life of beauty, other spirits surround him. This is already something that is easier to convey to you. These are spirits that live in the sphere of the I:

O Ye!, surround this head with airy circling,
Your paths in noble elfin fashion tracing,
And soften in the heart its harvest grim
,

—for this reaches into the heart—

Remove reproach's bitter, glowing arrows,

—the reproaches are reproaches of conscience, but also of pleasure and displeasure, which have to do with the surging world of the soul.—

Within him make all pure from horror's gleam.

—Earlier the brain was involved, now it is the inner world.—

Within him make all pure from horror's gleam.
Four in number are the nightly hollows,
Now, friendly, fill them up without a seam.
First lower head down on the pillow cool
,

—That corresponds to the words of the earlier verse: First strive for countenance that fills with light,—

Bathe it then in dews from Lethe's flood released;

—In the case of wisdom, the words go: To spirit's quest for power hold fast,—

Soon limbs, cramp-stiffened, will again grow supple,

—Corresponding to: Once lame-winged senses move again in flight,—

In rest, against the day his strength's increased.

—Corresponding to: His day in freedom can unfold.—

Fulfil most comely duty of the elf,

—These are elemental beings. There (drawing 3) it was spirits who live in the etheric, so the verse said: Thus truest spirit duly it fulfils, Through holy light to lead him where he wills.—

Return to holy light man's self.

Here (drawing 1), we are concerned with the influence of the entire cosmic sphere: morality. As I said, the whole of the universe influences the entire human being. That calls for the following words:

O Ye!, stream through this head with strength to move,

—Morality, and will, is revealed when man is moved to deeds.—

O Ye!, stream through this head with strength to move,
And in good earthly deeds yourselves soon prove
.

—For the right employment of the will in the world follows from these, and also temperance.—

So boldly stamp out torment of absurdity,

—which emanates from the body in the guise of desires. Yesterday I described how what rules in the bodily passions is related to moral impulses.—

So boldly stamp out torments contradictory,
Ennoble desire's power, wherein dark forces surge,
Abduct his soul, away from spirit-fatality
.

—This spirit-fatality is nothing but the consequence of animal passions.—

In human obsession, pathways four do merge,

—In earlier times, one called drives that originate in the body ‘obsessions’—

Tear them away from embrace of infirmity.
Conquer the fires in which the senses groan,
Illumine that which dies in pleasure,
And hear how speak in ensouled tone
The powers that match eternal measure
.

—For deeds of karma work in eternity.—

Attempt to strive in world-willed action,
Awaken him to life-benediction
.

And there you have a description of the threefold manner in which the surrounding cosmos takes hold of the human aura.

How do the spirits that grip him take hold of the man of wisdom?

O Ye!, from spheres of light stream through this head,
Move there in ways which spirits pure are led,
Damp well down his brain's insane confusion;
From his striving untangle all doubt's fire and fear,
To guide him within from pathways of illusion.

In daily experience four goals are clear;
Now lead him on untouched by apprehension.

First strive for countenance that fills with light,
Then spirit's quest for power hold fast.
Once lame-winged senses move again in flight,
His day in freedom can unfold.
Thus truest spirit duty it fulfils:
Through holy light to lead him where he wills
.

The aesthetic sphere comes especially to the fore in the third act of the second part of Faust, when Faust is united with Helen, who personifies beauty:

O Ye!, surround this head with airy circling,
Your paths in noble elfin fashion tracing,
And soften in the heart its harvest grim,
Remove reproach's bitter, glowing arrows,
Within him make all pure from horror's gleam.

Four in number are the nightly hollows,
Now, friendly, fill them up without a seam.

First lower head down on the pillow cool,
Bathe it then in dews from Lethe's flood released,
Soon limbs, cramp-stiffened, will again grow supple,
In rest, against the day his strength's increased.
Fulfil most comely duty of the elf,
Return to holy light man's self
.

And then the moral sphere:

O Ye!, stream through this head with strength to move,
And in good earthly deeds yourselves soon prove.
So boldly stamp out torment of absurdity,
Ennoble desire's power, wherein dark forces surge,
Abduct his soul, away from spirit-fatality.

In human obsession, pathways four do merge,
Tear them away from embrace of infirmity.

Conquer the fires in which the senses groan,
Illumine that which dies in pleasure,
And hear how speak in ensouled tone
The powers that match eternal measure.
Attempt to strive in world-willed action,
Awaken him to life-benediction
.

You see, the more profound elements are only revealed when one approaches these things spiritually and really takes hold of their spiritual content. Now, in a single stroke, the Faust of Part Two appears before us—the Faust around whom Goethe placed a hovering circle of elves. He represents the human being who stands within the spiritual-aesthetic sphere. And there are parallel occurrences when he stands within the sphere of wisdom and truth, or within the moral sphere.

One really has to call on the assistance of the feelings if one is to grasp these things. In pursuing them, one is somehow reminded of Nietzsche's remark, ‘The world is deep, deeper than the day has thought!’ The day represents physical life, physical perception, physical experience. ‘The world is deep, deeper than the day has thought!’ And that it is, especially when the entire human being is included as part of it—this being who is following a path of cosmic evolution, and who, for us in our present stage, is beyond our powers to grasp. That means that in our present state of being we do not understand much about ourselves. So much, so inconceivably much, has gone into our becoming what we are. And there is so inconceivably much contained in the Earth evolution that is still to come, and in our passage through the spheres of Jupiter, Venus and Vulcan! Only little by little does one disentangle oneself from the implications of current thought and approach that which, because it is more spiritual, is more difficult to conceive and is rarely touched on by the habitual thinking of people of today. Observing man as he presently is on Earth, we see that the seeds, so to speak, of what will develop during Jupiter, Venus and Vulcan already are hidden within him. But the human being is also the result of the Saturn, Sun and Moon spheres. Yesterday I said that wisdom and everything concerned with truth was established on Old Sun and will be completed on Jupiter. Let us picture that graphically once more.

Figure 4

The seed that was planted on Old Sun will more or less complete its development on Jupiter. Thus we can say: The period within which truth develops stretches from Sun to Jupiter. On Jupiter truth will have become thoroughly inward, and so will have become wisdom: Truth becomes wisdom!

Everything that belongs to the aesthetic sphere began on Old Moon. It will be completed on Venus. We could draw it in like this: From here, Moon, to completion here, Venus. This is where beauty develops. You see how it overlaps.

Everything contained within these two streams—and the third stream, also—is actually resting unconsciously in the depths of our being. And now, on Earth, the sphere we can call the sphere of morality is beginning. It will be completed on Vulcan. So we have a third, overlapping stream, the stream of morality. To these must be added a fourth stream that will be completed when the goals of the Earth sphere are achieved. Morality begins on Earth; but Earth also marks the completion of a higher order, one that was already beginning on Saturn. So we have another stream, another order, that flows from Saturn to Earth, and we will now call that the stream of justice—justice in the sense that was explained earlier. As you know, the senses had their beginnings on Saturn. These senses have the tendency to scatter a human being in all directions. You know that we distinguish twelve senses. The development of the twelve senses through Sun, Moon and Earth leads mankind to justice, to a rightness and uprightness that also includes moral justice and moral uprightness once it has been taken hold of by the moral nature of the Earth. Moral justice first makes its appearance on Earth. And justice works inwardly to counter the peripheral tendency of the senses; the sphere—or stream—of justice works toward the centre.

Everything pictured here is contained within the human being, but, as you know, the prevailing awareness includes only the smallest part of what is actively living and weaving in man. Nevertheless, this all continues to live in the depths of his being, working and weaving. And yet one can ask oneself: Are things as they appear? Is it really true that men grasp so little of how humanity is carried by this broad stream of being out of which it emerges?

Such an awareness is not just restricted to circles of the initiated. It is developing in humanity. There really are people who experience what lives and works in the streams which are carrying mankind along. Thanks to what could be called their natural gifts they feel it surge up during especially privileged moments. This is manifested in the most various ways. There are men who feel the depths of humanity in a higher sense than is often the case with external, philistine notions of religion. People often speak of guilt, and there are some pastors who try to deepen their flock's sense of things by leading them to experience guilt. But that is a superficial way of looking at things. This superficiality also has its justification, but one can go deeper. And those who have a deeper experience feel how morality connects with that glowing, resounding force that is streaming up from the powers that rule in the human depths. Self-knowledge would be much more common if people were not so timid and so afraid of getting to know themselves. But the awareness of what rules in the depths is already suppressed in the unconscious levels of the soul because people have such unconscious fear and inhibition and anxiety about confronting themselves in all their manifoldness and complexity. And when it does surge up, what comes glowing and gleaming from out of the depths really does make a sphinx-like impression. The experiences of others who have really felt such things in their own soul can be deeply moving.

The following literary passage expresses beautifully how the human depths can appear to a man from out the surging dreams of his soul life. One must imagine someone who has laid himself down to rest after the toils and the burdens of the day. But as he rests, out of the darkness and shadow, the human depths rise up before his soul in powerful dreams. Here is how a Polish poet once described it:

And in the secret magic of the night,
There, before my palace,
My dreams took hold of the ghostly mists and built
Unimaginable blossoms with dead eyes
That formed a balefully grinning Medusa
In the moonlight drenched with dew,
And she waxed monstrous.—
As the moon streamed into my chamber
And lay across the bed of my exhaustion—
I was roused from sleep by lecherous,
Monstrous desires
Which shuddered on my stammering lips
And sent hot fires of fever streaming from my eyes
Towards creatures that were yours!
Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!
—My guilt, my most great guilt!

These words of Jan Kasprowicz9Jan Kasprowicz (1860 – 1926): The source of the cited text has not yet been discovered. are a beautiful, lyrical expression of a quite wonderful experience, an experience that is at once questioning and also touches on the answers. The question is contained in the way this literary work makes the transition from memories of the day, through the aesthetic sphere, into the moral sphere—mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! One should not shrink from the questions that rise up out of the surging depths of life. These things are not there to rouse fear, but to kindle questions. The ‘unimaginable blossoms with dead eyes that formed a balefully grinning Medusa’ are questions, questions that have taken on the shapes of the plant kingdom. And as for how that is connected with the moon, we only have to remind ourselves of the stream that begins on Moon to understand how the silent floods of moonlight connect outer physical reality with spiritual experience. One has here a wonderful description of a spiritual experience:

And in the secret magic of the night.
There, before my palace,
My dreams took hold of the ghostly mists and built
Unimaginable blossoms with dead eyes
That formed a balefully grinning Medusa
In the moonlight drenched with dew,
And she waxed monstrous.—
As the moon streamed into my chamber
And lay across the bed of my exhaustion—
I was roused from sleep by lecherous,
Monstrous desires

—just think of the third speech, to the spirits of the moral sphere—

I was roused from sleep by lecherous,
Monstrous desires
Which shuddered on my stammering lips
And sent hot fires of fever streaming from my eyes
Towards creatures that were yours!
Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!
—My guilt, my most great guilt
!

Then think of how the moral sphere shines into the stupefying fires of the senses, conquering them and illuminating that which dies in pleasure—and of how it is greeted by the resounding of ensouled powers that match eternal measure.

Yes, if one wants to delve deeply into everything that relates to humanity, one must certainly call on the help of the feelings. That is the only way one ever will arrive at a picture of how, when a human being steps onto the physical plane, he can live his way into the spiritual realms—the realms of morality, of aesthetics, and of that which has to do with conceptions and with truth. For a human being does not just enter into the mineral, plant and animal realms. Man remains human as he passes through all these realms. Mankind descends through the realms of mineral, plant, animal and human; and mankind ascends through the moral, the aesthetic, and through the realm of truth and wisdom. In this way, humanity participates in that wonderful stream of being that develops as it flows through Saturn, Sun, Moon and Earth and on towards Jupiter, Venus and Vulcan. There are lesser streams that overlap and unite in man, creating the separate forces he needs in the course of his development. These are granted to humanity from out of the deep impulses that rule the cosmos.

Fünfter Vortrag

Ich werde im wesentlichen heute die Zeit dazu benützen, einige Grundlagen zu entwickeln, aus denen sich dann gewisse Dinge ergeben werden, zu denen wir morgen kommen wollen - Grundlagen, die Erweiterungen des gestern Ausgeführten darstellen werden.

Denken wir daran, daß der Mensch durch die Geburt, oder sagen wir durch die Empfängnis hereintritt in das physische Leben, in das Leben, das er zubringt zwischen der Geburt und dem Tode auf dem physischen Plane. Denken wir daran, wie der Mensch in dieses physische Leben eintritt, so wie wir es die Jahre her dargestellt haben. Wir wissen ja, daß der Mensch in gewissem Sinne ein Zusammenfluß ist der niederen Naturreiche — des mineralischen, des pflanzlichen, des tierischen Reiches —- und sich über diese drei Reiche, die in ihm gleichsam zur Symbiose verbunden sind, dann erhebt. Aber er wächst als geistig-seelisches Wesen in diese drei Reiche hinein. So daß wir sagen können: Der Mensch wächst, indem er heruntersteigt zum physischen Plan, in das mineralische, pflanzliche, tierische Reich hinein und wird Mensch. Nun steigt er ja nach dem Tode wieder hinauf. Für die geistige Anschauungsweise ist etwas Ähnliches der Fall: So wie dieses Hineinwachsen in die Reiche des physischen Daseins geschieht, vollzieht sich etwas sehr Ähnliches im Geistgebiete. Sie müssen bei all solchen Darstellungen, die ich da gebe, sich natürlich immer klar sein, daß alles das, was wir schon gesagt haben über das Hineinwachsen des Menschen in die geistige Welt nach dem Durchgang durch die Todespforte, bestehen bleibt, und daß dieses, was wir als weitere Ausführungen an uns herantreten lassen, eben nur noch dazu gilt. So daß wir sagen können: Der Mensch wächst hinein in die geistige Welt so, daß ihn aufnimmt das moralische Reich, das ästhetische Reich, das Weisheitsreich oder Wahrheitsreich. Nur natürlich, wenn wir im Leben hier sprechen vom moralischen Reich, von dem Reich des Guten, vom ästhetischen Reich, dem Reich des Schönen und dem Reich der Wahrheit, der Weisheit, dann meinen wir die Dinge mehr oder weniger abstrakt. In der geistigen Welt aber sind die Kräfte, in die der Mensch da hineinwächst, und die er wieder verläßt, wenn er ins physische Dasein kommt, ganz konkret, sind wirkliche geistige Daseinsformen. Wir fassen sie nur mit solchen Namen zusammen. Dasjenige nun, was den Menschen aufnimmt, wenn er in die geistige Welt hinaufkommt, das ist gewissermaßen wie in Resten in seiner Aura hier auf der Erde vorhanden. Der Mensch wächst als physisches Wesen auf dem physischen Plan hinein ins mineralische, ins pflanzliche, ins tierische Reich, nachdem er das Reich der Weisheit, der Schönheit, der Moralität verlassen hat. Aber die Herunterstrahlungen dieser drei geistigen Reiche, die gehen noch hinein in seine Aura; so daß der ganze Mensch, wenn wir den Geistesteil des Menschen eben zum Menschen hinzunehmen, erstens in dem lebt, was er mineralisch, pflanzlich, tierisch, physisch-menschlich ist, und ferner auch in dem, was ihn gewissermaßen umschwebt, durchstrahlt, durchwebt aus den drei geistigen Reichen herunter, die ihn überstrahlen, überleuchten. Nun können wir uns durch eine Art schematischer Zeichnung, die aber, wie gesagt, eben nur eine schematische Zeichnung sein soll, versinnlichen, wie das nun eigentlich ist, was da mit der Natur des Menschen zusammenhängt. Was ich jetzt aufzeichnen werde, ist durchaus schematisch, aber es kann Ihnen viel erklären, wenn Sie es gründlich betrachten. Damit wir möglichst klar die Dinge haben, will ich einmal alles das, was zum Ich gehört, in dieser Weise darstellen (grün). Alles, was zum astralischen Leib gehört, gelb, alles, was zum ätherischen Menschen gehört, lila, was zum physischen Menschen gehört, rot. (Siehe Zeichnungen Seiten 78, 81, 82.)

Und nun wollen wir den Menschen einmal schematisch betrachten. Wir wollen ihn betrachten, so wie er im Weltenall drinnensteht als moralischer Mensch, das heißt als Mensch, der an den Moralkräften des Weltenalls Anteil hat. Dann wollen wir ihn betrachten als Mensch, der an den ästhetischen Impulsen des Weltenalls Anteil hat in dem Sinne, wie wir gestern das betrachtet haben. Und dann wollen wir den Menschen betrachten, wie er an den Weisheitsimpulsen Anteil hat. Also wir wollen gewissermaßen eine psychische Physiologie — verzeihen Sie das etwas unsinnig gebildete Wort, aber Sie werden verstehen, was ich damit meine — entwerfen, die ja natürlich imaginativ gemeint ist. Wenn wir den Menschen, insofern er in der Moralitätssphäre drinnensteht, betrachten, da werden wir besonders an dasjenige erinnert, was ich gestern darlegte: daß die Griechen noch mehr das Verhältnis des Geistig-Seelischen und des Physischen gefühlt und empfunden haben, als es heute der Fall ist. Daher hat Plato zum Beispiel noch ganz deutlich dieses eigentümliche Verhältnis dargestellt, wie der Mensch erfaßt, ergriffen wird von den Moralitätsimpulsen aus dem geistigen Universum heraus. Plato sagt: Eigentlich gibt es vier Tugenden. Von der Gesamtmoralität wird der Gesamtmensch erfaßt. — Aber alles das ist natürlich mit dem bekannten grano salis zu nehmen. Natürlich würde, wenn der ganze Mensch erfaßt wird, er auch wiederum nach den einzelnen Tugenden abgeteilt. Die erste Tugend, von der Plato spricht, ist die Weisheit — Weisheit als Tugend jetzt genommen, nicht als Wissenschaft. Weil diese Weisheit als Tugend verwandt ist mit dem, was in der Wahrheit erlebt wird, so wenden sich die Kräfte, die gerade die Weisheit aus der Moralitätssphäre heraus ergreift, auch noch an das Haupt des Menschen, so daß wir die Sache so darstellen können: (Zeichnung 1). Plato sagte also: Es wird erfaßt beim moralischen Menschen der Kopfteil von der Weisheit, der Brustteil von dem, was man nennen könnte die Tugend der Herzhaftigkeit - ich kann kein besseres Wort finden -, Starkmut, Tüchtigkeit, aber solche Tüchtigkeit, daß die herzhaften Kräfte drinnen sind: seelische Tüchtigkeit.

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Weise — das Wort im Sinne der Tugendhaftigkeit gemeint - ist derjenige Mensch, der sich nicht bloß seinen tierischen Trieben überläßt, sondern der aus der Moral heraus gewisse Ideen hat, die er erfaßt, und nach denen er sich richtet. Aber es strahlt schon der moralische Impuls in das Körperliche, in das Leibliche hinein, auch wenn dieser moralische Impuls in moralischen Weisheitsideen erfaßt wird. Daher können wir sagen: Da strahlt herein in den Menschen die Moralität so, daß wir uns das Hereinstrahlen ins «Ich» vorstellen dürfen (grün). Das wäre also die platonische Weisheitssphäre der Moralität.

Der Brustteil, der das Herz umschließt, wäre das Gebiet, wo die Herzhaftigkeit, der Starkmut, die seelische Tüchtigkeit aus der Moralitätssphäre einstrahlt. Wir können sagen: Da ergreift die Moralität, indem sie weiterstrahlt, insbesondere das Astralische und belebt den Brustteil mit dem Herzen. Wir können also dieses weitere Erstrahlen so zeichnen (gelb). So daß wir haben: Weisheit als Tugend im Kopfteil (grün), Herzhaftigkeit als Tugend im Brustteil (gelb).

Eine dritte Tugend ist, was Plato die Besonnenheit, Sophrosyne, nennt, und die schreibt er dem Unterleib zu, was ganz richtig ist. Der Unterleib ist der Erreger der Triebe des Menschen, aber der Mensch, der mit seinem Nachdenken und Nachfühlen und Nachempfinden die Triebe beherrscht, ist ein besonnener Mensch. Das bloße Ausleben der Triebe, das auch das Tier kennt, ist keine Tugend, sondern erst das Durchsetzen der Triebe mit dem Grade von Bewußtsein, der eben möglich ist, ist Besonnenheit. Das wird dann im Ätherleib erfaßt, weil Gedanken, Besonnenheit, Mut, insofern sie menschlich sind, im Ätherleibe erfaßt werden. Wir müssen also die Zeichnung so gestalten (violett). Also es erfaßt schon die Moralitätssphäre den physischen Menschen als Ganzes, wie ich gestern ausgeführt habe. Der Kopf ist dabei, das habe ich gestern ausdrücklich gesagt.

Und als vierte umfassende Tugend, die nun in den ganzen physischen Leib strömt, von dem ich Ihnen gestern gezeigt habe, daß er eigentlich unsichtbar ist, nennt Plato Dikaiosyne. Das müssen wir übersetzen mit Gerechtigkeit, obwohl das Wort Gerechtigkeit in den modernen Sprachen nicht vollständig damit übereinstimmt; denn Gerechtigkeit müssen wir so nehmen: daß der Mensch sich zu richten weiß, gerecht, richtungsgemäß, daß er einer menschlichen Richtung folgt im Leben. Also es ist nicht das abstrakte Wort Gerechtigkeit bloß gemeint, sondern das Sich-Richtung-Gebende, Sich-Auskennende, Sich-Orientierende im Leben. So daß wir sagen können: Da hat die Einströmung der Moralitätssphäre in den ganzen physischen Leib Anteil als Gerechtigkeit (rot). Auf diese Weise hätten wir schematisch angedeutet, wie in der menschlichen Aura die Moralitätsimpulse hereinstrahlen in den Menschen.

Jetzt wollen wir andeuten, wie die ästhetischen Impulse in den Menschen hereinstrahlen (Zeichnung II). Da sind die Dinge etwas verschoben, und zwar einfach um eins hinauf verschoben. Da muß man dasjenige, was man vorher noch in das Haupt hereingezeichnet hat, höher zeichnen, so daß es das Haupt gleichsam umschwebt. Im Ästhetischen wird das Ich umflossen und das Ästhetische strömt gleich in den astralischen Leib herein, so daß man den Eindruck hat, wie wenn das Haupt von dem Ich im Ästhetischen umschwebt würde. Wer ein wenig Gefühl und Empfinden des Schönen hat, der kann schon, ohne besonders stark hellfühlend zu sein, empfinden, wie er beim Anblick irgendeines Kunstwerkes eigentlich in einer äußeren Umgebung des Kopfes lebt. Dagegen die unmittelbare Ergreifung des Menschen, die ist im Kopf drinnen; da wird der astralische Leib ergriffen, so daß wir hier die Strahlungen so zu zeichnen hätten.

Dagegen der Brustteil wird so ergriffen beim Schönen, damit dieses Auf- und Abwogen, das ich gestern beschrieben habe, stattfinden kann, daß jetzt das Ätherische den Brustteil durchglüht, könnte man sagen. Und das wirklich Schöne wirkt so, daß außer der Kopfaura, dem Kopf und dem Brustteil eigentlich nichts in Betracht kommen soll. Also dasjenige, worin die Sophrosyne lebt, das soll für die Betrachtung des Schönen in Wirklichkeit gar nicht in Betracht kommen. Unser materialistisches Zeitalter aber zeichnet sich gerade dadurch aus, daß es die Sexualsphäre für die künstlerische Betrachtung so sehr heranzog — ein Unfug unseres materialistischen Zeitalters -, denn die kommt gerade bei der Betrachtung des Schönen absolut nicht in Betracht, sondern ist absolut ausgeschlossen. So daß wir also nur das Allerniederste der ästhetischen Betrachtung, was nicht mehr in das Reich der Kunst gehört, in das Physische zu verlegen hätten (rot).

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Jetzt wollen wir dasselbe Schema anwenden für den Menschen, insofern er nach Wahrheit strebt (Zeichnung III). Da ist es wiederum verschoben, gewissermaßen hinaus verschoben. Ich habe gestern gesagt: Beim Wahrheitsstreben wird durchflossen das Ich und der astralische Leib, und die Wahrheit strömt gleich in den Ätherteil des Kopfes herein, wo die Gedanken erzeugt werden. Dann muß ich das so zeichnen, daß ich hier direkt für den Kopf das Hereinströmen des Äthers in den Ätherleib des Kopfes zeichne, wo die Gedanken erzeugt werden. Dagegen, wenn wir die Wahrheit erfassen — das merkt man erst nach der Initiation —, so wirkt sie zuerst außer uns in der Aura durch das Ich und den astralischen Leib, strömt dann in den Ätherteil des Kopfes, und der Brustteil wird hier schon durchlebt als physischer Leib (rot). Wollen wir die Wahrheit fühlen - und wir müssen sie fühlen -, dann muß sie herunterwirken, dann muß sie herunterstrahlen in den Brustteil; es muß das Spirituelle so erlebt werden wie die Moralität.

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Also das ist alles für den physischen Plan, das lebt alles in der Aura des physischen Planes. Da hat dasjenige, in das wir eintreten nach dem Tode, Anteil an der Aura des physischen Planes. Geradeso, wie wir mit den Kräften der mineralischen, pflanzlichen, tierischen Welt durch unseren physischen Organismus zusammenhängen, hängen wir mit den Kräften der geistigen Welt in dieser Weise durch die Moralitätssphäre, durch die ästhetische Sphäre, durch die Weisheitssphäre zusammen.

Ich möchte, obwohl einzelnes, was ich jetzt sage, noch sehr schlecht geraten ist - es wird vielleicht später besser geraten -, es Ihnen doch heute vorbringen, weil es in den ganzen Zusammenhang hineingehört. Man kann sagen: Während wir hier mit dem physischen Werden zusammenhängen durch den physischen Leib, hängen wir durch das Gehirn mit Elementarwesen, namentlich der Weisheitssphäre angehörigen Elementarwesen zusammen. Dasjenige, was bei Zeichnung II schon drinnen ist und als gelb bezeichnet wird, das ist bei Zeichnung III noch draußen. Weiter draußen ist das Grüne, das hier (Zeichnung II) das Haupt umschwebt. In diesem Grün, in dem das Ich lebt und worin mit uns die elementarischen Wesen leben, in diesem Grün, das bei der ästhetischen Betrachtungsweise unmittelbar unser Haupt umschwebt, da würden wir die elementarischen Wesenheiten finden, von denen die Mythen und Sagen sprechen und ihnen Namen geben: Elfen, Alben und so weiter; das umschwebt unser Haupt, wenn wir ästhetisch genießen.

Hier (Zeichnung III) umschweben uns aber noch geistigere Wesenheiten, die der Astralsphäre angehören. Wollte man darstellen etwa den Menschen, wie er, wenn er aus dem Schlafe aufwacht, sich hineinlebt in die Wahrheitssphäre, so könnte man das durch gewisse Worte ausdrücken, wie er da — was man im Physischen nicht sieht- umschwebt und umspielt und ergriffen wird, indem die Wahrnehmung, die Wahrheit ihn ergreift; wie er da erfaßt wird, wie er empfangen wird, das könnte man darstellen durch gewisse Worte. Die Worte sind heute noch schlecht, sie werden vielleicht später besser werden; aber ich will doch in gewisse Worte bringen, wie der Mensch, nachdem er aufwacht, sich einlebt in diese Sphäre, in die Weisheits-Wahrheitssphäre. Zu den Geistern, die ihn da umgeben und ergreifen, könnte man dann sprechen:

Die ihr im Haupt erstrahlt aus lichtem Kreise,

- zu den Geistern gesprochen! —

Erfaßt es- das Haupt —Äther
Erfaßt es jetzt nach reiner Geister Weise,Äther
Erdämpfet seines Hirnes wirren Wahn;

— die geordnete Gedankenfolge, die den Wahn zerstreut —

Erdämpfet seines — des Menschen — Hirnes wirren Wahn
Entwirrt den Zweifel brennend bangen Strebens,

— fühlen Sie nur die Worte! Der Zweifel wird dadurch zerstreut, gebannt, daß die Weisheit hereinstrahlt

Sein Innres lenket von verkehrter Bahn.

- er würde verkehrter Bahn folgen, wenn er nur der Traumwelt folgen würde; indem er sich in Weisheit einlebt, reinigt diese Geisterwelt, die ihn umfließt, sein Inneres von verkehrter Bahn

Vier sind der Ziele täglichen Erlebens;

- wir werden davon noch zu sprechen haben; alles läßt sich hier viergliedrig darstellen —

Vier sind der Ziele täglichen Erlebens;
Nun ohne Kleinmut führet ihn heran.

— den Menschen zu den Zielen —

Erst strebt zum Antlitz lichterfüllet hin,
Dann haltet fest des Geistes Kräfteringen.
Erstarkt ist bald der flügellahme Sinn,
Kann er befreit den Tag vollbringen.

— befreit von allem Traumhaften, Unwillkürlichen, notwendig Bestimmenden —

Erfüllt der Geister wahrste Pflicht,
Tragt ihn hin durchs heilge Licht.

So könnte man zu den Geistern sprechen, die da den Menschen ergreifen, indem er erwacht zum Weisheitsleben.

Indem der Mensch erwacht zum Schönheitsleben, umschweben ihn die Geister — nun, das kann ich Ihnen schon besser vortragen. — Das ist also zu den in der Ich-Sphäre lebenden Geistern:

Die ihr dies Haupt umschwebt im luftgen Kreise,
Erzeigt euch hier nach edler Elfen Weise,
Besänftiget des Herzens grimmen Strauß,

— es geht bis ins Herz hinein —

Entfernt des Vorwurfs glühend bittre Pfeile,

— Vorwurf für Gewissensvorwurf, aber für Gefallen oder Mißfallen, also innerlich ästhetisch angeschaut, das Wogende

Sein Innres reinigt von erlebtem Graus.

— früher hat man es mit dem Gehirn zu tun, jetzt mit dem Innern

Sein Innres reinigt von erlebtem Graus.
Vier sind die Pausen nächtiger Weile,
Nun ohne Säumen füllt sie freundlich aus.
Erst senkt sein Haupt aufs kühle Polster nieder,

— das entspricht den früheren Worten: Erst strebt zum Antlitz lichterfüllt dahin —

Dann badet ihn im Tau aus Lethes Flut;

— das ist bei der Weisheit: Dann haltet fest des Geistes Kräfteringen

Gelenk sind bald die krampferstarrten Glieder,

— das entspricht im Weisheitlichen: Erstarkt ist bald der flügellahme Sinn

Wenn er gestärkt dem Tag entgegen ruht.

— das entspricht: Kann er befreit den Tag vollbringen

Vollbringt der Elfen schönste Pflicht,

— es sind die Elementarwesen. Hier (Zeichnung III) sind es die Geister, die im Ätherischen leben; daher muß es heißen: Erfüllt der Geister wahrste Pflicht. Tragt ihn hin durchs heilge Licht

Gebt ihn zurück dem heiligen Licht.

Hier (Zeichnung I) haben wir es zu tun mit dem Hereinwirken der ganzen Weltensphäre: die Moralität. Ich sagte: Es wirkt das ganze Universum auf den ganzen Menschen. Wir müssen es so darstellen:

Die ihr dies Haupt durchstrahlt mit Tatenstärke,

- das Wollen, die Moralität geht über in die Taten —

Die ihr dies Haupt durchstrahlt mit Tatenstärke,
Erweist euch bald in rechtem Weltenwerke.

— weil die Ausführung des Willens auf ihn folgt in rechtem Weltenwerke — und Besonnenheit:

Ertötet kühn des Widersinns Bedrängnis,

— was aus dem Körper als Trieb heraufstrahlt; ich habe es gestern dargestellt, wie in Zusammenhang kommen die Moralimpulse mit dem, was aus den leiblichen Trieben waltet. —

Ertöter kühn des Widersinns Bedrängnis,
Veredelt der Begierdegluten finstre Wucht,
Entführt sein Wesen geist’gem Verhängnis

— dem Folgen nur der tierischen Triebe. —

Vier sind die Wege menschlicher Sucht,

— als Sucht hat man früher bezeichnet, was nur aus den Trieben, aus dem Fleisch kommt —

Entreißet die der kränklichen Umfängnis.
Besiegt des Sinnenfeuers Stöhnen,
Erleuchtet, was in Lust erstirbt.
Beseelt wird euch entgegentönen,
Was Kraft für Ewigkeiten wirbt.

— weil das Karma der Tat in die Ewigkeiten wirkt

Versucht des Weltenwirkens Streben,
Erweckt ihn zu gnadevollem Leben.

Da haben Sie die dreifache Art und Weise, wie der Mensch ergriffen wird in seiner Aura von der umgebenden Welt.

Wie wird der Weisheitsmensch ergriffen von den Geistern, die ihn erfassen?

Die ihr im Haupt erstrahlt aus lichtem Kreise,
Erfaßt es jetzt nach reiner Geister Weise,
Erdämpfet seines Hirnes wirren Wahn;
Entwirrt den Zweifel brennend bangen Strebens,
Sein Innres lenket von verkehrter Bahn.
Vier sind der Ziele täglichen Erlebens;
Nun ohne Kleinmut führet ihn heran.
Erst strebt zum Antlitz lichterfüllet hin,
Dann haltet fest des Geistes Kräfteringen.
Erstarkt ist bald der flügellahme Sinn,
Kann er befreit den Tag vollbringen.
Erfüllt der Geister wahrste Pflicht,
Tragt ihn hin durchs heilge Licht.

Die ästhetische Sphäre, in die Faust sich hineinlebt, kommt ja besonders im dritten Akt des zweiten Teils zum Ausdruck in der Vereinigung mit Helena, mit der Schönheit:

Die ihr dies Haupt umschwebt im luftgen Kreise,
Erzeigt euch hier nach edler Elfen Weise,
Besänftiget des Herzens grimmen Strauß,
Entfernt des Vorwurfs glühend bittre Pfeile,
Sein Innres reinigt von erlebtem Graus.
Vier sind die Pausen nächtiger Weile,
Nun ohne Säumen füllt sie freundlich aus.
Erst senkt sein Haupt aufs kühle Polster nieder,
Dann badet ihn im Tau aus Lethes Flut;
Gelenk sind bald die krampferstarrten Glieder,
Wenn er gestärkt dem Tag entgegen ruht.
Vollbringt der Elfen schönste Pflicht,
Gebt ihn zurück dem heiligen Licht.

Moralsphäre:

Die ihr dies Haupt durchstrahlt mit Tatenstärke,
Erweist euch bald in rechtem Weltenwerke.
Ertötet kühn des Widersinns Bedrängnis,
Veredelt der Begierdegluten finstre Wucht,
Entführt sein Wesen geist’gem Verhängnis.
Vier sind die Wege menschlicher Sucht,
Entreißet die der kränklichen Umfängnis.
Besiegt des Sinnenfeuers Stöhnen,
Erleuchtet, was in Lust erstirbt.
Beseelt wird euch entgegentönen,
Was Kraft für Ewigkeiten wirbt.
ersucht des Weltenwirkens Streben,
Erweckt ihn zu gnadevollem Leben.

Sie sehen, wenn man geistig an die Dinge geht und wirklich das Geistige erfaßt, dann erscheint manches erst in seiner vollen Tiefe. Denn jetzt steht auf einmal der Faust des zweiten Teiles vor uns — den Goethe umschweben läßt vom Elfenkreis —, so wie der ästhetische Mensch in der ästhetisch-geistigen Sphäre drinnensteht. Und parallel damit geht das Darinnenstehen in der Wahrheits-Weisheitssphäre und in der Moralitätssphäre.

Man muß, wenn man diese Dinge erfaßt, wirklich auch etwas das Gefühl zu Hilfe nehmen. Man wird dabei fast an Nietzsches Wort erinnert: «Die Welt ist tief, und tiefer als der Tag gedacht!» Der Tag bedeutet da das physische Erleben, das physische Wahrnehmen, die physische Erfahrung. «Die Welt ist tief, und tiefer als der Tag gedacht!» Das ist sie wirklich, und insbesondere, wenn man den Menschen in seiner vollen Ganzheit zu dieser Welt mitzählt; diesen Menschen, der auf der Weltenbahn seiner Evolution lebt und von dem wir eigentlich in unserem gegenwärtigen Dasein noch wenig erfassen können. Das heißt: Von uns selber erfassen wir in dem gegenwärtigen Dasein noch wenig. Es steckt so viel, so unendlich viel in dem, woraus wir geworden sind, und was wir alles einstmals werden wissen müssen bei unserem Durchgang durch Jupiter-, Venus-, Vulkansphäre, und es steckt so viel in uns von dem, was noch werden soll innerhalb unserer Erdenevolution! Erst nach und nach lebt man sich herauf aus dem, was noch anklingt an die Vorstellungen der heutigen Zeit, zu dem, was, weil es schon mehr geistig ist, dem Menschen schwer wird zu erfassen, was mit den gewohnten Vorstellungen die heutige Menschheit noch sehr wenig erfaßt. Wenn wir den Menschen so betrachten, wie er heute auf der Erde lebt, so steckt ja, man könnte sagen, samenhaft in ihm schon das, was während der Jupiter-, während der Venus-, während der Vulkanperiode sich entwickeln wird. Aber ebenso ist der Mensch ein Ergebnis der Saturn-, Sonnen-, Monden-, Erdensphäre. Ich sagte gestern: Das Weisheitliche, das Wahrheitsmäßige ist schon auf der Sonne veranlagt und wird auf dem Jupiter abgeschlossen sein. Wollen wir uns das auch einmal graphisch darstellen.

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Für dieKeimanlage auf der Sonne wird auf dem Jupiter ein gewisser Abschluß erreicht sein; so daß wir also sagen können: Von der Sonne zum Jupiter ist die eigentliche Entwickelung der Wahrheit; sie wird auf dem Jupiter ganz innerlich geworden sein; dann wird sie eben ganz Weisheit sein: Wahrheit wird Weisheit!

Auf dem Mond beginnt dann dasjenige, was die ästhetische Sphäre enthält. Das wird abgeschlossen sein auf derVenus. Wir können das etwa so zeichnen: Mond, abgeschlossen Venus; wir haben also hier die Entwickelung der Schönheit. Sie sehen, das greift über.

Eigentlich ruht das alles in unseren Untergründen, im Unterbewußten, wasin diesen zwei Strömungen, und auch noch in der dritten enthalten ist; denn während der Erdenentwickelung beginnt nun das, was wir nennen können die Moralitätssphäre. Sie erreicht ihren Abschluß auf dem Vulkan. Wir haben also eine dritte Strömung, wiederum übergreifend: die Strömung der Moralität. Dazu haben wir noch eine vierte Strömung, die abgeschlossen sein wird, wenn einmal die Erde am Ziel ihrer Entwickelung angelangt sein wird. Mit der Erde beginnt die Moralität. Aber sie schließt eine höhere Ordnung wiederum ab, eine Ordnung, die schon begonnen hat am Saturn; so daß wir nun eine Ordnung, eineStrömung haben vom Saturn zur Erde, und diese wird nun genannt: Gerechtigkeit, in dem Sinne, wie ich früher das Wort erklärt habe. Sie wissen, daß auf dem Saturn die Sinne zuerst veranlagt wurden. Diese Sinne würden den Menschen nach allen Richtungen zerstreuen. Sie wissen, zwölf Sinne unterscheiden wir - der Sinn würde, indem er sich entwickelt durch Sonne, Mond und Erde, den Menschen zur Orientierung, zur Gerechtigkeit tragen, wo auch die moralische Gerechtigkeit dann, wenn sie von der Moralnatur der Erde erfaßt wird, erst eingeschlossen wird; moralische Gerechtigkeit ist erst auf der Erde vorhanden. Was da innerlich wirkt dem Peripherischen der Sinne gegenüber als Zentralisches, das ist die Sphäre oder Strömung der Gerechtigkeit.

Das alles, was man so darstellt, ist im Menschen enthalten, und Sie wissen alle, nur ein Geringes ist dem Menschen jeweilig bewußt von dem, was in ihm wirkt und lebt und webt. Aber es wirkt und webt und lebt in seinem Grunde. Da kann man sich doch fragen: Wird denn so wenig, wie es oftmals scheinen will, von dem Menschen erfaßt, wie da der Mensch in einer breiten Strömung des Seins drinnen ist und auftaucht aus dieser breiten Strömung des Seins, und wie er wenig weiß von dem, was er alles ist?

So ganz bloß beschränkt auf Initiiertenkreise ist das Bewußtsein doch nicht, sondern es kommt schon an den Menschen heran. Es gibt ja doch wirklich Menschen, die, man möchte sagen, durch eine natürliche Begabung zuweilen heraufstrahlen fühlen in besonders begnadeten Momenten, was da unten wirkt und lebt in den Strömungen, in die der Mensch hineinversetzt ist. In der mannigfaltigsten Weise kommt das zum Vorschein. Einzelne Menschen gibt es, welche in einem höheren Sinne, als das bei der äußeren philiströsen Religionsauffassung oftmals der Fall ist, dieses Tiefere im Menschen erfühlen. Man redet oftmals von Schuld, und gewisse Pastoren suchen gerade den Menschen dadurch zu vertiefen, daß sie ihm so recht ein Schuldbewußtsein beibringen. Aber das ist nur ein oberflächliches Erfassen. Es ist ja das Oberflächliche auch berechtigt, aber man kann tiefer gehen. Und tiefere Menschen fühlen auch mit dem, was sonst bloß das Schuldbewußtsein ist, verknüpft dieses Herauftönen und Heraufleuchten eines Waltens aus den Untergründen des menschlichen Seins. Hätten die Menschen nicht solche Scheu und solche Furcht, sich selbst kennenzulernen, so würden sie viel häufiger sich selber kennenlernen. Aber schon die unterbewußte Seele drängt zurück, was da in den Untergründen waltet, weil der Mensch unbewußt Furcht und Scheu und Angst vor sich selbst, vor seinen Weiten und vor seinen Tiefen hat. Wenn es aber einmal heraufleuchtet und heraufstrahlt, dann ist es wirklich so, als ob alles sphinzartig wäre an dem, was da heraufleuchtet und heraufstrahlt. Und man empfindet tief mit Menschen, welche aus wirklicher innerer Seelenerfahrung solches haben.

Wie schön kommt in folgendem Iyrischen Erzeugnis zum Ausdruck, wie vor einer Menschenseele aufersteht in flutenden Träumen des Seelenlebens das, was in menschlichen Untergründen lebt. Man stelle sich einen Menschen vor, der des Tages Arbeit und des Tages Last hinter sich hat, der sich zur Ruhe begeben hat, aber aus der Ruhe, aus dem Dunkel und der Finsternis heraus wie greifbar vor sich fühlt, wie in einem mächtigen Seelentraume, dasjenige, aus dem der Mensch aufsteigt. So schildert das einmal ein polnischer Dichter:

Und im geheimen Zauber der Nacht,
Da vor meinem Palast,
Erbaut aus dem Nebelgespinst meiner Träume,
Unerhörte Blumen mit toten Augen
Einer tückisch grinsenden Medusa
In dem Mondlicht-durchsättigten Tau
Ins Ungeheure aufwuchsen —
Als der Mond sich in meine Kemenate hineinstahl
Und sich auf das Bett meiner Erschöpfung legte,
Da weckte mich aus dem Schlaf die lüsterne,
Ungeheuerliche Lust,
Die meine Lippen in irrem Stammeln erbeben
Und meine Augen in heißem Fieberfeuer strahlen ließ
Nach deinem Getier!
Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!
— Meine Schuld, meine große Schuld! —

Diese schönen Iyrischen Worte von Jan Kasprowicz sind in der Tat ein ganz wunderbares Erlebnis, fragend, aber zugleich berührend etwas von der Antwort. Fragend, weil gewissermaßen in diesem Iyrischen Erzeugnis der Übergang lebt: Erinnerung an den Tag durch das Ästhetische hindurch in die moralische Sphäre hinein — mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Man darf sich nicht scheuen vor dem Fragenden, das da ersteht aus dem flutenden Unterleben. Diese Dinge sind nicht geeignet, Furcht zu erregen, sondern Fragen zu entzünden. Die «unerhörten Blumen mit den toten Augen, einer tückisch grinsenden Medusa gleich», sind aus dem Pflanzenreich herausgeformte Fragewesen, Fragegestalten. Und wie das mit dem Monde zusammenhängt — wir brauchen uns nur zu erinnern an die Mondenströmungen, dann werden wir begreifen, daß der Mondenschein mit seinem leisen Fluten die äußere physische Realität zusammenfügt mit dem Geist-Erlebnis. Es ist wirklich ein wunderbares Geist-Erlebnis, mit dem man es da zu tun hat:

Und im geheimen Zauber der Nacht,
Da vor meinem Palast,
Erbaut aus dem Nebelgespinst meiner Träume,
Unerhörte Blumen mit toten Augen
Einer tückisch grinsenden Medusa
In dem Mondlicht-durchsättigten Tau
Ins Ungeheure aufwuchsen
Als der Mond sich in meine Kemenate hineinstahl
Und sich auf das Bett meiner Erschöpfung legte, —
Da weckte mich aus dem Schlaf die lüsterne,
Ungeheuerliche Lust

— erinnern Sie sich an die dritte Anrede, an die Geister bei der Moralitätssphäre —

Da weckte mich aus dem Schlaf die lüsterne,
Ungeheuerliche Lust,
Die meine Lippen in ihrem Stammeln erbeben
Und meine Augen in heißem Fieberfeuer strahlen ließ
Nach deinem Getier!
Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

Dann denken Sie sich das Hereinleuchten der Moralsphäre, die da besiegt der Sinnenfeuer Stöhnen, die erleuchtet, was in Lust erstirbt, der beseelt wird entgegentönen, was Kraft für Ewigkeiten wirbt.

Man muß schon das Gefühl zu Hilfe nehmen, wenn man versuchen will, in alle Tiefen dessen einzudringen, mit dem der Mensch zusammenhängt. Denn nur dadurch bekommt man allmählich eine VorstelJung, wie sich der Mensch hineinlebt in die Reiche der Geistigkeit Moralität, Ästhetik, in das Vorstellungsmäßige, das Wahrheitsmäßige geradeso, wie er sich beim Betreten des physischen Planes hineinlebt in das Mineralische, das Pflanzliche und das Tierische. Mensch ist der Mensch durch alle diese Reiche hindurch, und das Menschenwesen steigt herab durch das Mineralische, Pflanzliche, Tierische, Menschliche, steigt hinauf in das Moralische, Ästhetische und in das Wahrheits-Weisheitsvolle. Und eingefügt ist der Mensch in den Strom des Daseins, das in wunderbarer Weise durch die Entwickelungssphären von Saturn, Sonne, Mond und Erde, Jupiter, Venus, Vulkan hindurch, übergreifend und dadurch die einzelnen Kräfte miteinander verbindend, den Menschen ausstattet im Laufe seiner Evolution mit alledem, was ihm eben zugeteilt ist aus den tieferen Impulsen des Weltenalls heraus.

Fifth Lecture

Today I will essentially use the time to develop some basic principles from which certain things will then emerge that we want to come to tomorrow—basic principles that will represent extensions of what was said yesterday.

Let us remember that through birth, or let us say through conception, human beings enter physical life, the life they spend between birth and death on the physical plane. Let us remember how human beings enter this physical life, as we have described over the years. We know that human beings are, in a certain sense, a confluence of the lower natural realms — the mineral, plant, and animal realms — and that they rise above these three realms, which are united in them as in a symbiosis. But they grow into these three realms as spiritual-soul beings. So we can say that human beings grow by descending to the physical plane, into the mineral, plant, and animal realms, and become human beings. Now, after death, they ascend again. Something similar happens in the spiritual realm: just as this growing into the realms of physical existence takes place, something very similar happens in the spiritual realm. In all the descriptions I am giving here, you must of course always be clear that everything we have already said about the human being growing into the spiritual world after passing through the gate of death remains valid, and that what we are now going to consider is only an addition to this. So we can say that human beings grow into the spiritual world in such a way that they are taken up by the moral realm, the aesthetic realm, the realm of wisdom, or the realm of truth. Of course, when we speak here in this life of the moral realm, the realm of goodness, the aesthetic realm, the realm of beauty, and the realm of truth and wisdom, we mean these things in a more or less abstract sense. In the spiritual world, however, the forces into which human beings grow and which they leave behind when they enter physical existence are very concrete; they are real spiritual forms of existence. We simply summarize them with such names. That which receives the human being when he ascends into the spiritual world is, in a sense, present in remnants in his aura here on earth. As a physical being, the human being grows on the physical plane into the mineral, plant, and animal realms after leaving the realm of wisdom, beauty, and morality. But the radiations of these three spiritual realms still penetrate into his aura, so that the whole human being, if we take the spiritual part of the human being and add it to the human being, lives first of all in what is mineral, plant, animal, physical-human, and furthermore also in what, in a sense, surrounds him, radiates through him, interweaves him from the three spiritual realms that shine upon him, illuminate him. Now we can visualize, by means of a kind of schematic drawing, which, however, as I said, is only meant to be a schematic drawing, how this actually is, what is connected with the nature of the human being. What I am now going to draw is entirely schematic, but it can explain a great deal to you if you look at it thoroughly. In order to make things as clear as possible, I will represent everything that belongs to the I in this way (green). Everything that belongs to the astral body is yellow, everything that belongs to the etheric human being is purple, and everything that belongs to the physical human being is red. (See drawings)

And now let us consider the human being schematically. Let us consider him as he stands in the universe as a moral being, that is, as a being who participates in the moral forces of the universe. Then let us consider him as a being who participates in the aesthetic impulses of the universe in the sense we considered yesterday. And then let us consider human beings as participating in the impulses of wisdom. So we want to sketch out, as it were, a psychic physiology — forgive me for using this somewhat nonsensical term, but you will understand what I mean — which is, of course, meant to be imaginative. When we consider human beings insofar as they stand within the sphere of morality, we are particularly reminded of what I explained yesterday: that the Greeks felt and sensed the relationship between the spiritual-soul and the physical even more than we do today. That is why Plato, for example, still clearly described this peculiar relationship, how human beings are grasped, seized by the moral impulses coming from the spiritual universe. Plato says: There are actually four virtues. The whole human being is grasped by the whole morality. — But all this must of course be taken with the usual grain of salt. Of course, if the whole human being is grasped, he would also be divided according to the individual virtues. The first virtue Plato speaks of is wisdom — wisdom taken now as a virtue, not as a science. Because this wisdom as a virtue is related to what is experienced in truth, the forces that draw wisdom out of the sphere of morality also turn to the head of the human being, so that we can represent the matter as follows: (drawing 1). Plato said, therefore, that in moral people, the head is governed by wisdom, the chest by what might be called the virtue of heartiness — I can find no better word — fortitude, efficiency, but efficiency of such a kind that the hearty forces are within: spiritual efficiency.

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Wise — in the sense of virtuous — is the person who does not merely surrender to their animal instincts, but who, out of morality, has certain ideas that they grasp and follow. But the moral impulse already radiates into the physical, into the bodily, even if this moral impulse is grasped in moral ideas of wisdom. We can therefore say that morality radiates into human beings in such a way that we can imagine it radiating into the “I” (green). This would be the Platonic sphere of wisdom of morality.

The chest, which surrounds the heart, would be the area where heartiness, fortitude, and spiritual vigor radiate from the sphere of morality. We can say that morality, by radiating further, takes hold in particular of the astral and enlivens the chest with the heart. We can therefore draw this further radiance as follows (yellow). So we have: wisdom as a virtue in the head (green), heartiness as a virtue in the chest (yellow).

A third virtue is what Plato calls prudence, sophrosyne, which he attributes to the lower abdomen, which is quite correct. The lower abdomen is the source of human instincts, but a person who controls their instincts through reflection, empathy, and compassion is a prudent person. The mere indulgence of instincts, which animals also know, is not a virtue; only the assertion of instincts with the degree of consciousness that is possible is prudence. This is then grasped in the etheric body, because thoughts, prudence, and courage, insofar as they are human, are grasped in the etheric body. We must therefore draw the diagram as follows (purple). So the sphere of morality already encompasses the physical human being as a whole, as I explained yesterday. The head is involved in this, as I expressly stated yesterday.

And as the fourth comprehensive virtue, which now flows into the entire physical body, which I showed you yesterday is actually invisible, Plato calls dikaiosyne. We have to translate this as justice, although the word justice in modern languages does not completely correspond to it; for we have to take justice to mean that the human being knows how to judge, justly, in accordance with direction, that he follows a human direction in life. So it is not merely the abstract word justice that is meant, but rather the giving of direction to oneself, knowing oneself, orienting oneself in life. So we can say: the influx of the sphere of morality into the entire physical body participates as justice (red). In this way, we have schematically indicated how moral impulses radiate into the human being in the human aura.

Now let us indicate how aesthetic impulses radiate into the human being (drawing II). Here, the elements are slightly shifted, simply shifted upward by one. What was previously drawn into the head must now be drawn higher, so that it seems to float around the head. In the aesthetic realm, the ego is surrounded and the aesthetic flows directly into the astral body, giving the impression that the head is floating around the ego in the aesthetic realm. Anyone who has a little feeling and sensitivity for beauty can, without being particularly clairvoyant, sense how, when looking at a work of art, they actually live in an outer environment of the head. In contrast, the immediate grasping of the human being is inside the head; there the astral body is grasped, so that we would have to draw the rays here.

In contrast, the chest area is so affected by beauty that the rising and falling I described yesterday can take place, so that now the etheric glows through the chest area, one might say. And true beauty has such an effect that nothing else should be considered except the head aura, the head, and the chest area. So that which is the life of sophrosyne should not really be considered at all in the contemplation of beauty. Our materialistic age, however, is characterized precisely by the fact that it has drawn the sexual sphere so much into artistic contemplation — a folly of our materialistic age — because it is absolutely irrelevant to the contemplation of beauty and is absolutely excluded from it. So that we would have to relegate to the physical realm (red) only the lowest form of aesthetic contemplation, which no longer belongs to the realm of art.

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Now let us apply the same scheme to human beings insofar as they strive for truth (drawing III). Here again, it is shifted, shifted out, so to speak. Yesterday I said that in the pursuit of truth, the I and the astral body are permeated, and truth flows directly into the etheric part of the head, where thoughts are generated. Then I must draw this in such a way that I draw the inflow of ether into the etheric body of the head, where thoughts are generated, directly for the head. On the other hand, when we grasp the truth — this can only be noticed after initiation — it first acts outside of us in the aura through the ego and the astral body, then flows into the etheric part of the head, and the chest part is already experienced here as the physical body (red). If we want to feel the truth — and we must feel it — then it must work down, it must radiate down into the chest part; the spiritual must be experienced in the same way as morality.

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So that is all for the physical plane; it all lives in the aura of the physical plane. That which we enter after death has a share in the aura of the physical plane. Just as we are connected to the forces of the mineral, plant, and animal worlds through our physical organism, we are connected to the forces of the spiritual world in this way through the sphere of morality, through the sphere of aesthetics, through the sphere of wisdom.

Although what I am about to say is still very poorly formulated – it may be better later – I would like to present it to you today because it belongs in the overall context. One could say that while we are connected to physical becoming through the physical body, we are connected to elemental beings, namely those belonging to the sphere of wisdom, through the brain. What is already inside in drawing II and is designated as yellow is still outside in drawing III. Further outside is the green that surrounds the head here (drawing II). In this green, in which the I lives and in which the elemental beings live with us, in this green, which in aesthetic contemplation immediately surrounds our head, we would find the elemental beings of which myths and legends speak and give names: elves, albs, and so on; this surrounds our head when we enjoy aesthetics.

Here (drawing III), however, we are surrounded by even more spiritual beings that belong to the astral sphere. If one wanted to depict, for example, how a person, when he awakens from sleep, lives his way into the sphere of truth, one could express this in certain words, how he is surrounded and played upon and seized by what cannot be seen in the physical realm, as perception, as truth, seizes him; how he is grasped, how he is received. that could be expressed through certain words. The words are still poor today, they will perhaps become better later; but I want to put into certain words how the human being, after waking up, settles into this sphere, into the sphere of wisdom and truth. To the spirits that surround and seize him there, one could then say:

You who shine in the head from a circle of light,

— spoken to the spirits! —

Grasp it — the head — ether
Grasp it now in the pure manner of spirits, ether
Dampen the confused delusions of his brain;

— the orderly sequence of thoughts that dispels delusion —

Dampen the confused delusions of his — the man's — brain
Untangle the doubt of burning, anxious striving,

— just feel the words! Doubt is dispelled, banished, by the radiance of wisdom

His inner self is guided from the wrong path.

- he would follow the wrong path if he only followed the dream world; by living in wisdom, this spirit world that surrounds him purifies his inner self from the wrong path

There are four goals of daily experience;

- we will speak more about this later; everything can be represented here in four parts —

Four are the goals of daily experience;
Now lead him forward without timidity.

— the human being to the goals —

First strive toward the face filled with light,
Then hold fast to the spirit's ringing power.
Soon the wingless mind will be strengthened,
And freed, it can fulfill the day.

— freed from all that is dreamlike, involuntary, and necessarily determinative —

Fulfill the truest duty of the spirits,
Carry him through the holy light.

This is how one could speak to the spirits who take hold of people as they awaken to a life of wisdom.

When people awaken to a life of beauty, spirits surround them — now, I can explain that to you better. — So this is for the spirits living in the sphere of the I:

You who surround this head in airy circles,
Show yourselves here in noble elven fashion,
Appease the fierce strife of the heart,

— it goes right to the heart —

Remove the fiery, bitter arrows of reproach,

— reproach for remorse, but for favor or disfavor, thus viewed internally from an aesthetic perspective, the turmoil

His inner self is cleansed of the horrors he has experienced.

— previously, one was dealing with the brain, now with the inner self

His inner being purifies itself of the horrors he has experienced.

Four are the pauses of the night, Now, without delay, they fill it kindly.

First he lowers his head onto the cool pillow,

— this corresponds to the earlier words: First he strives toward the face filled with light —

Then bathe him in the dew from the waters of Lethe;

— this is wisdom: Then hold fast to the power of the spirit

Soon the limbs, stiff with cramp, become supple,

— this corresponds to wisdom: Soon the wingless mind is strengthened

When it rests strengthened toward the day.

— this corresponds to: Can it complete the day liberated

The elves fulfill their most beautiful duty,

— these are the elemental beings. Here (drawing III) they are the spirits who live in the ether; therefore it must be said: Fulfill the spirits' truest duty. Carry him through the holy light

Give him back to the holy light.

Here (drawing I) we are dealing with the influence of the entire world sphere: morality. I said: The entire universe influences the entire human being. We must represent it as follows:

You who radiate this head with strength of action,

— the will, morality passes into deeds —

You who radiate this head with strength of action,
Prove yourselves soon in right world work.

— because the execution of the will follows him in right world work — and prudence:

Kill boldly the distress of absurdity,

— which shines forth from the body as an impulse; yesterday I explained how moral impulses are connected with what governs the physical impulses. —

Kill boldly the distress of absurdity,
Refine the dark force of lust,
Carry away its essence to a spiritual destiny

— which follows only animal instincts. —

There are four paths of human addiction,

— in the past, addiction was defined as something that comes solely from instincts, from the flesh —

Snatch them from their sickly confines.
Defeat the groans of sensual fire,
Enlighten what dies in lust.
Inspiration will resound in response,
What strengthens for eternity.

— because the karma of deeds has an effect in eternity

Try the striving of the world's work,
Awaken it to a life of grace.

There you have the threefold manner in which man is seized in his aura by the surrounding world.

How is the wise man seized by the spirits that grasp him?

You who shine in your heads from a circle of light,
Now grasp it in the pure manner of spirits,
Dampen the confused delusions of his brain;
Untangle the burning doubts of anxious striving,
Guide his inner being from its wrong path.
Four are the goals of daily experience;
Now lead him forward without timidity.
First strive toward the face filled with light,
Then hold fast to the spirit's struggle.
Soon the wingless mind will be strengthened,
And it can complete the day in freedom.
Fulfill the truest duty of the spirits,
Carry him through the holy light.

The aesthetic sphere into which Faust immerses himself is particularly evident in the third act of the second part, in his union with Helena, with beauty:

You who hover around this head in airy circles,
Show yourselves here in noble elfin fashion,
Appease the fierce strife of the heart,
Remove the fiery, bitter arrows of reproach,
Purify his inner being of the horrors he has experienced.
Four are the pauses of the night,
Now, without delay, fill them kindly.
First he lowers his head onto the cool pillow,
Then bathes him in the dew from the waters of Lethe;
Soon his limbs, stiff with cramp, are supple,
When he rests, strengthened, awaiting the day.
Fulfill the fairest duty of the elves,
Return him to the holy light.

Moral sphere:

You who shine through this head with strength of action,
Prove yourselves soon in the right work of the world.
Boldly slay the affliction of absurdity,
Refine the dark force of lustful desire,
Carry his essence away to a spiritual destiny.
Four are the paths of human addiction,
Snatch them from the sickly embrace.
Defeat the groans of sensual fire,
illuminate what dies in lust.

Inspired, you will hear echoing back to you
what strengthens for eternity.

Seek the striving of the world's work,
awaken it to a life of grace.

You see, when you approach things spiritually and truly grasp the spiritual, then many things appear in their full depth. For now, suddenly, the Faust of the second part stands before us — whom Goethe surrounds with a circle of elves — just as the aesthetic human being stands within the aesthetic-spiritual sphere. And parallel to this is standing within the sphere of truth and wisdom and within the sphere of morality.

When one grasps these things, one really must also call upon one's feelings. One is almost reminded of Nietzsche's words: “The world is deep, and deeper than the day thought!” The day here means physical experience, physical perception, physical experience. “The world is deep, and deeper than the day thinks!” This is really true, especially when one includes human beings in their full entirety in this world; these human beings who live on the world path of their evolution and of whom we can actually comprehend very little in our present existence. This means that we still understand very little about ourselves in our present existence. There is so much, so infinitely much in what we have become, and what we will one day have to know during our passage through the spheres of Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan, and there is so much in us of what is yet to become within our earthly evolution! Only gradually do we live our way up from what still echoes in the ideas of the present time to what, because it is already more spiritual, is difficult for human beings to grasp, what present-day humanity still understands very little with its familiar ideas. When we look at human beings as they live on Earth today, we could say that what will develop during the Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan periods is already present in them in seed form. But human beings are also the result of the Saturn, Sun, Moon, and Earth spheres. I said yesterday that wisdom and truth are already present in the Sun and will be completed on Jupiter. Let us illustrate this graphically.

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The seed planted on the Sun will reach a certain stage of completion on Jupiter, so that we can say: From the Sun to Jupiter is the actual development of truth; it will have become completely internalized on Jupiter; then it will be pure wisdom: truth becomes wisdom!

On the moon, then, begins that which contains the aesthetic sphere. This will be completed on Venus. We can draw this roughly as follows: moon, completed Venus; here, then, we have the development of beauty. You see, it extends beyond itself.

Actually, all of this lies in our subconscious, in what is contained in these two currents and also in the third; for during the Earth's development, what we can call the sphere of morality begins. It reaches its conclusion on the volcano. So we have a third current, again overlapping: the current of morality. In addition, we have a fourth current, which will be completed when the Earth reaches the goal of its development. Morality begins with the earth. But it in turn completes a higher order, an order that already began on Saturn; so that we now have an order, a current from Saturn to the earth, and this is now called justice, in the sense in which I explained the word earlier. You know that the senses were first implanted on Saturn. These senses would scatter human beings in all directions. You know that we distinguish twelve senses—the sense, developing through the sun, moon, and Earth, would carry human beings toward orientation, toward justice, where moral justice is then first included when it is grasped by the moral nature of the Earth; moral justice is only present on Earth. What works inwardly as the central element in relation to the periphery of the senses is the sphere or current of justice.

All that is described in this way is contained within human beings, and you all know that only a small part of what works, lives, and weaves within them is conscious to them. But it works and weaves and lives in its foundation. One may well ask: Is so little, as it often seems, grasped by human beings, how human beings are within a broad stream of being and emerge from this broad stream of being, and how little they know of all that they are?

Consciousness is not entirely limited to circles of initiates, but it does reach people. There are indeed people who, one might say, through a natural gift, sometimes feel themselves shining forth in particularly gifted moments, what is working and living down there in the currents into which human beings are placed. This comes to light in the most diverse ways. There are individuals who, in a higher sense than is often the case with the external philistine view of religion, feel this deeper aspect of the human being. People often talk about guilt, and certain pastors seek to deepen people's understanding by teaching them a sense of guilt. But this is only a superficial understanding. The superficial is also justified, but one can go deeper. And deeper people also feel what is otherwise merely a sense of guilt, connected with this sounding and shining forth of a force from the depths of human existence. If people did not have such shyness and fear of getting to know themselves, they would get to know themselves much more often. But even the subconscious soul pushes back what is at work in the depths, because human beings unconsciously have fear and shyness and anxiety about themselves, about their vastness and their depths. But once it shines forth and radiates, then it is truly as if everything that shines forth and radiates were sphinx-like. And one feels deeply with people who have such things from real inner soul experience.

How beautifully the following lyrical work expresses how, in the flooding dreams of the soul, that which lives in the depths of the human soul rises up before the human soul. Imagine a person who has finished the day's work and the day's burdens, who has retired to rest, but who feels, as if tangibly, out of the rest, out of the darkness and gloom, as in a powerful dream of the soul, that from which man rises. A Polish poet once described it thus:

And in the secret magic of the night,
There before my palace,
Built from the misty web of my dreams,
Unheard-of flowers with dead eyes
Of a treacherously grinning Medusa
In the moonlight-saturated dew
Grew into something monstrous —
When the moon stole into my boudoir
And lay down on the bed of my exhaustion,
Then I was awakened from my sleep by the lustful,
Monstrous desire,
Which made my lips tremble in wild stammering
And my eyes shine with a hot feverish fire
For your creature!
Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!
— My fault, my great fault! —

These beautiful lyrical words by Jan Kasprowicz are indeed a wonderful experience, questioning, but at the same time touching on something of the answer. Questioning because, in a sense, the transition lives in this lyrical work: memory of the day through the aesthetic into the moral sphere — mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. One must not shy away from the questioning that arises from the flooding underworld. These things are not meant to cause fear, but to spark questions. The “unheard-of flowers with dead eyes, like a treacherously grinning Medusa” are question beings, question figures formed from the plant kingdom. And how this is connected with the moon—we need only remember the moon's currents, and then we will understand that the moonlight, with its gentle flooding, brings together the outer physical reality with the spiritual experience. It is truly a wonderful spiritual experience that we are dealing with here:

And in the secret magic of the night,
Before my palace,
Built from the mist of my dreams,
Unheard-of flowers with dead eyes
Like a treacherous, grinning Medusa
In the moonlight-saturated dew
Grew into monstrosities
When the moon stole into my boudoir
And lay down on the bed of my exhaustion, —
Then the lustful, monstrous desire woke me from my sleep

— remember the third address, to the spirits in the sphere of morality —

Then the lustful, monstrous desire awakened me from my sleep,
Which made my lips tremble in their stammering
And my eyes shine in a hot feverish fire
After your creatures!
For your beastliness!
Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

Then imagine the light shining in from the moral sphere, defeating the moans of sensual fire, illuminating what dies in lust, inspiring those who are animated with what promises strength for eternity.

One must resort to feeling if one wants to penetrate all the depths with which man is connected. For only in this way can one gradually gain an idea of how man lives his way into the realms of spirituality, morality, aesthetics, into the realm of ideas and truth, just as he lives his way into the mineral, plant, and animal worlds when he enters the physical plane. Human beings are human beings through all these realms, and the human being descends through the mineral, plant, animal, and human realms, ascending into the moral, aesthetic, and truthful-wise realms. And human beings are inserted into the stream of existence, which in a wonderful way passes through the spheres of development of Saturn, Sun, Moon, and Earth, Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan, overlapping and thereby connecting the individual forces with one another, equipping human beings in the course of their evolution with everything that is assigned to them from the deeper impulses of the universe.