Man—Hieroglyph of the Universe
GA 201
9 May 1920, Dornach
Lecture Thirteen
I have now brought together many and various matters which may help us to a perception of the structure of the Universe in its relation to Man. We have seen—and this must be emphasised again and again—that the Universe cannot be grasped without Man. That means that it is not possible to understand the Universe in itself, without keeping in mind Man and the relation of the Universe to him. If one wishes to form in a very simple way an idea of Man's connection with the Universe, one need only think of a theme in elementary astronomy—the so-called ‘obliquity of the ecliptic’—that is, the oblique position of the Earth's axis in relation to the line, the curve, which passes through the Zodiac. This obliquity of the ecliptic may be understood and even interpreted as you will; with such interpretations we are not for the moment concerned as to whether they accord with reality or not; we are concerned rather to bring a certain fact to your notice. If the Earth's axis—the axis on which the Earth turns daily—were perpendicular to the plane through the Zodiacal ecliptic, then day and night would be equal throughout the year over the whole Earth. If the Earth's axis lay in the ecliptic, then over the whole Earth one half of the year would be day and one half night. Both extremes do in a certain respect actually occur at the equator and at the poles. But in between lie regions where the length of day varies in the course of the year. We need only reflect a little on this matter to arrive at the tremendous significance for the whole evolution of earthly civilisation, of the position of the Earth's axis in cosmic space. Just reflect, we could all of us throughout the Earth be only Eskimos if the axis lay in the ecliptic; were it vertical to the ecliptic, the whole Earth would be filled with the kind of civilisation that prevails at the equator.
Thus as regards the position of the Earth's axis, no matter how it may be interpreted—of course an understanding of the truth depends upon what interpretation we give it, but any interpretation will serve to make one perceive the connection between Man, his culture and civilisation, and the structure of the Universe; and the fact behind the interpretation, whatever the latter may be, compels us to regard Man and the Earth as forming part of the Universe, and not, in respect of man's physical being, as though he could be considered independently. This cannot be done. As physical being, Man is not a reality in himself, but only when regarded as one with the whole Earth, just as a hand severed from the human organism cannot be regarded as in any true sense a reality: it dies, it is only thinkable in connection with the organism. A rose, when plucked, dies, and as a reality it is only conceivable in connection with the rose-tree which is rooted in the Earth; so too, to estimate Man in his entirety, in his totality, one cannot regard him as simply enclosed in the boundaries of his skin.
Thus what we experience on Earth must be considered in connection with the Earth's axis. It is important in a view of the Universe based on reality that what is a partial truth should not be interpreted as a whole truth. We come to comprehend in its reality the whole man as a being of soul and spirit by not considering him as a reality in his physical nature. He is a reality as a being of soul and spirit, a complete independent reality, a true individual. What he inhabits between birth and death—the physical and etheric bodies—are not realities in themselves, they are members of the whole Earth, and as we shall presently see, they are even part of another whole.
This brings us to something which must be observed still more closely. I must again and again point out one thing. The ideas we form of man almost always tend, unconsciously, to our regarding him as a solid body. True, we are aware that he is not precisely a hard body, that he is to some extent plastic, but we are very often unaware that he consists of far more than 75% fluid, of which only the residue can be regarded as solid mineral being. Man is really 75% a water being. Now I ask you, therefore, is it possible to describe the human organism, as is usually done, in sharp outlines—saying: ‘Here we have the lobes of the brain, here this organ’, and so forth, and then assume that the solidly circumscribed organs combine in their activity to bring about the activity of the whole organism? There is no sense whatever in that. It is a question of bearing in mind the fact that Man within the limits of his skin, is, as it were, surging water; that what is purely inwardly surging fluidity also has a meaning, and that we should not describe Man as if he were more or less a solid body. In Spiritual Science this has a very deep significance. For precisely when we consider the solid in Man, which is in a manner connected with the external minerals, we find that the solid in the human being has a certain relation to the Earth.
We have observed the various relations of Man to the world around him, we will now establish the relation of his solid substance to the Earth. This connection exists; the watery element in Man has, however, primarily no connection with the Earth but with the planetary Universe outside, and especially with the Moon. Precisely as the Moon, not directly but indirectly, has a relation to the ebb and flow of the tides, to certain configurations of the fluid part of the Earth, so too it has a connection with what takes place in the fluid part of the human organism. I described yesterday that we have on the one side the astronomy that applies to the Sun—and also to the Earth. We ourselves are part of that astronomy, for we are organised into it as organisms containing solid substances. Lunar astronomy however, is different. We are organised into lunar astronomy in so far as it is connected with our fluid constituents. Thus we see that the forces of the Cosmos work into the solid and fluid parts of our physical nature.
This has a still greater significance, which is, that what we call our Ego has primarily a direct influence on our solid man, and that what we call our astral body has an indirect influence on our fluid man—so that what works from the soul and spirit upon our organisation, comes, through our bodily nature, also into connection with all the forces of the Cosmos. These movements of the Cosmos have always been a subject of observation, from the most varied points of view. When we look back to the ancient Persian civilisation we find that even then researches were made into the movements of the Universe. These researches were also made by the Chaldeans and by the Egyptians, and it is not without interest to study the attitude of the Egyptians to movements of the Universe. They had, of course, for what were apparently quite material reasons, to study the connection of the Earth with the outer Cosmos, for their land depended upon the inundations of the Nile which took place precisely when the Sun was in a definite position in the Universe. This position could be determined by that of Sirius; so that the Egyptians had arrived at making observations as to the position of the Sun in relation to what we now call the Fixed Stars. Especially in the Egyptian sacerdotal colonies, in their Mysteries, extensive researches were made into the relation of the Sun to the other stars. As I have already said, the Egyptians knew perfectly well that each year the Sun appeared to have shifted its position in the heavens in regard to the other stars, and they calculated thereby that the stars—whether apparently or really is immaterial just now—as they daily moved round the heavens, had a certain velocity, and that the daily movement of the Sun had also a certain velocity, but not quite so great as that of the stars. The Sun always lagged somewhat behind. The Egyptians knew and recorded the fact that the Sun lagged behind about one day in 72 years, so that when a particular star which rose with the Sun in a definite year rises again 72 years later, the Sun does not rise with it but 24 hours later. A star belonging to the world of fixed stars, a star in the Zodiac, outstrips the Sun by one day, one full day, in every 72 years. Multiply 72 by 360 and we obtain 25,920 years. That is a number which we often meet with. It is the time needed by the Sun in its lagging behind to get back to its starting-point; having thus gone round the whole Zodiac. The Sun is therefore exactly one degree behind in 72 years, for a circle has, as we know, 360 degrees. According to this reckoning, the Egyptians divided the great year—which really comprises 25,920 years—into 360 days; but such a day was 72 years long. And 72 years, what is that? It is the average limit of duration of man's life. Certainly there are individuals who live to be older, others not so old, but in general it constitutes the farther limit for human life. Thus one can say: The whole connection in the Universe is so constructed that it sustains a man's whole life for a solar day, which is 72 years. True, man is emancipated from that. He can be born at any time; but his life here as physical man between birth and death is arranged according to the solar day. Referring to historical records, one generally finds that the ordinary year of the Egyptians was reckoned as 360 days (not 365.25 as it actually is), until later on it was found to accord so little with the course of the stars that the other 5 days had to be inserted. How came it that the Egyptians originally took 360 days for the year? In the cosmic year a degree—that is, a 360th part—is actually a cosmic day of 72 years. Thus in the Egyptian Mysteries it was taught that man is so connected with the Cosmos, that the duration of his life is one day of the cosmic year. He was thus organised into the Cosmos. His relation to the Cosmos was made clear to him through connections which belong to the decadence of the whole evolution of the Egyptian people.
The essential nature of man and his connection with the Cosmos was not then made known to the wide mass of the Egyptians—that is characteristic of the time. It was said that if all men knew the nature of their being, how it is organised into the Cosmos, and that the duration of their own life has its part in the duration of the Sun's revolution, then those who felt themselves organised into the Universe would not allow themselves to be ruled, for each would regard himself as a member of the Universe. Only those were allowed to know this who it was believed were called to be leaders. The rest were not to possess such knowledge of the Cosmos, but a knowledge of the day only. This is connected with the decadence of the Egyptian civilisation. It was certainly necessary in regard to many other things, that immature people should not be initiated into the Mysteries, but this was extended to such things as gave power to the leaders and rulers.
Now, very much of what permeates our human souls today is derived from oriental sources. Traditional Christianity too contains much which has come from oriental sources; and especially into Roman Christianity a strong impulse has descended from Egypt. Just as the Egyptians were kept in ignorance concerning their connection with the Cosmos, so in certain circles of Romanism the view prevails that people must be kept in ignorance of their connection with the Cosmos which comes about through the Mystery of Golgotha. Hence the fierce conflict which arises when, from an inner necessity of our age, we emphasise that the Event of Golgotha is not simply something which must be regarded as outside the rest of cosmic conception but rather as inserted into it, when we show how what took place on Golgotha is really connected with the whole Universe and its constitution. It is regarded as the worst heresy to describe Christ as the Sun-Spirit, as we have done.
It must not be supposed that the point at issue is not well-known; but just as the Egyptian priest knew quite well that the ordinary year has not 360 days but 365.25, so certain people are perfectly well aware that the matter with which the Christ Mystery deals is also connected with the Sun Mysteries. But present-day humanity is to be hindered from receiving this knowledge—the very knowledge that it needs; for as I have already said, the materialistic view of the Universe is much preferred by that side to Spiritual Science. Materialistic science also has its practical consequences, in which again the present time may be compared with ancient Egypt. I call attention to the fact that the Egyptians as such were thus dependent upon the course of the Sun, on the relation of the earthly to the heavenly, as regards their external civilisation. The withholding of the knowledge of the connection of cosmic phenomena and their effect on the cultivation of the land, represented a certain power in the hands of the declining priesthood, for thereby the Egyptian labourers had to submit to direction from the priests, who had the requisite knowledge.
Now if the European and American civilisations were to retain their present character, adhering only to the materialistic, Copernican view of the Universe—with its off-shoot, the Kant-Laplace theory—a materialistic cosmogony must necessarily arise concerning earthly phenomena, biological, physical and chemical. It would be impossible for a cosmogony of this kind to include the moral world order in its structure. It could not embrace the Christ-Event, for it is impossible to be a believer in the materialistic view of the world and at the same time a Christian; that is an inner lie, it is something that cannot be, if one is honest and upright. Hence it was inevitable that the practical consequences should be seen in Europe and American culture, of the split between materialism on the one hand and a moral cosmogony on the other, and along with the moral cosmogony, also the contents of the religious faiths. This result was evidenced in the fact that men who had no external reason for being inwardly dishonest, threw faith overboard, and established a materialistic cosmogony for human life also. Thereby the materialistic cosmogony became a social cosmogony. This would however have the further consequence for our European and American civilisation that man would have a materialistic cosmogony only and would know nothing of the Earth's connection with cosmic powers, in the sense that we have described it. Within a certain caste, however, the knowledge of the connection with the cosmogony would remain, just as the Egyptian priests kept the knowledge of the Platonic year, the great cosmic year and the great cosmic day; and such circles could hope then to rule the people who under materialism degenerate into barbarism.
Of course these things have been said today only from a sense of duty towards truth; but they must be said out of such a duty to truth. It is of importance that a certain number of people should realise how necessary it is to give the Mystery of Golgotha its cosmological significance. This significance must be recognised by a number of people, who must on their part, undertake a certain responsibility that the fact should not remain hidden from earthly humanity—the fact that humanity is connected with the non-earthly Spirit, who lived in Palestine in the Man Jesus, at the beginning of our era. It is necessary that the knowledge of the entrance of Christ from the non-earthly world into the Man Jesus of Nazareth, should not be withheld. To such penetration belongs the overcoming of that dishonesty which is so general today in questions of cosmic conceptions and of faith. For what is done today? We are told on the one hand that the Earth moves in an ellipse round the Sun and has evolved in the sense of the Kant-Laplace theory, and we subscribe to this; and on the other hand we are told that at the beginning of our era such and such events took place in Palestine. These two things are accepted, without being connected; people accept them and think it of no consequence. It is not without consequence however, for it is much less evil when a lie is consciously accepted, than when it takes shape unconsciously, and degrades Man and drags him down. For if we consider a lie as it appears in a man's consciousness, every time he falls asleep it leaves his physical and etheric bodies with his consciousness, and lives on in spaceless, timeless being, in the eternal being, while Man is in dreamless sleep. There is prepared all which can result from the lie in the future; that is, everything is made ready to correct it, if it is in the consciousness. But if it is in the unconscious, it remains with the physical and etheric bodies lying in bed. When Man is not occupying these bodies, it then belongs to the Cosmos, and not to the earthly Cosmos alone, but to the whole Cosmos; there it works for the destruction of the Cosmos; above all, for the destruction of the whole of humanity, for this destruction begins in humanity itself.
Man can escape what threatens humanity in this way, by no other means than by striving after inner truth as regards such supreme questions of existence. Thus there is a kind of appeal to humanity today from out of the impulses of our time to realise that a materialistic astronomy knowing nothing of how at a definite point of time the Event of Golgotha took shape, should no longer exist. Every astronomy which includes the Moon in the structure of the Universe just the same as the Sun and Earth, instead of allowing the two streams to run in with one another, but still as separate streams—every such astronomy is no Christian astronomy but a heathen astronomy. Therefore every theory of evolution which describes the Universe homogeneously must from the Christian stand-point be rejected. If you follow my book, Occult Science, you will see how, in the description of the Saturn and Sun periods, the stream divides into two, which then intermingle and work together. Here we have two streams. In the descriptions usually given, however, the ideas are in accordance with the continuation of the pagan development. And you will find this true down to the very details. You know that Darwinian theorists describing the evolution of the organic form, would say: First there were simple organic forms, then more complicated forms, then more and more complicated forms, and so forth, up to Man. But this is not so. If we take Man as three-membered, his head alone is the development from the lower animal form. What is added to it has arisen later. Thus we cannot say that in our vertebral column we have something which transforms itself into head, we must say: Our head certainly arose from earlier structures which were spine-like; but the present spine has nothing to do with that development, it is a later appendage. What is now our head-organisation has arisen from a differently formed spine.
This I say for those who are interested in the theory of descent. I mention it so that you may see that a straight line leads from cosmic considerations to consideration of what lies in human evolution, and so that you may see the necessity for an enlightened Spiritual Science in all different realms of knowledge and of life. For science must not simply continue to develop, as did the science of the last century, under the influence of the materialistic view of the Universe, which is itself a child of the materialistic comprehension of Christianity. We owe materialism to the materialisation of the Christian view of the Universe. The teaching of the cosmic Christ must be re-established in opposition to the materialised form of Christianity we have today. This is the most important task of our time; and until its importance is realised, man will not be able to see clearly in any domain.
I have wanted to tell you these things, because they will enable you to understand better why ill-willed opponents fight so strenuously against what we are bringing before the world today. I was obliged to connect this whole study with a kind of cosmology, with the consideration of which we will continue in the next lecture.
Dreizehnter Vortrag
[ 1 ] Wir haben nun die verschiedensten Dinge zusammengetragen, welche dazu führen können, eine Empfindung zu bekommen von dem Bau des Weltenalls in seinen Verhältnissen zum Menschen. Wir haben gesehen - und darauf muß ja immer wieder aufmerksam gemacht werden -, daß das Weltenall ohne den Menschen nicht begriffen werden kann; das heißt also, daß ein Begreifen des Weltenalls an sich, ohne daß man den Menschen dazurechnet und das Verhältnis des Weltenalls zum Menschen ins Auge faßt, nicht möglich ist. Wenn Sie sich, ich möchte sagen, in einer ganz populären Weise eine Vorstellung darüber bilden wollen, wie der Mensch zusammenhängt mit dem Weltenall, dann brauchen Sie ja nur an dasjenige zu denken, was Gegenstand der elementarsten Astronomie ist, nämlich die sogenannte Schiefe der Ekliptik, das heißt die schiefe Stellung der Erdachse gegenüber der Linie, der Kurve, die sich dutch den Tierkreis ziehen läßt. Diese Schiefe der Ekliptik, man mag sie auffassen, wie man will, man mag sie auch interpretieren, wie man will, bei solchen Interpretationen kommt es zunächst gar nicht darauf an, ob man mit dem, was man interpretiert, die Wirklichkeit trifft oder nicht, sondern darauf kommt es an, daß man sich dadurch etwas, sagen wit, nahebringen kann. Wenn auf der Ebene, die man durch die Tierkreis-Ekliptik legen kann, die Erdachse, das heißt diejenige Achse, um die man die täglichen Umdrehungen der Erde ausgeführt denken kann, senkrecht stünde, so wären über die ganze Erde hin fortwährend das ganze Jahr hindurch Nacht und Tag gleich. Läge die Erdachse in der Ekliptik drinnen, so wäre über die ganze Erde hin ein halbes Jahr Tag, ein halbes Jahr Nacht. Beide Extreme sind ja in einer gewissen Weise erfüllt am Äquator und an den Polen. Dazwischen aber liegen diejenigen Gebiete, welche verschieden lange Tage im Laufe des Jahres haben. Und Sie brauchen nur einmal ein wenig diese ganze Sache zu überdenken, so wird Ihnen sogleich beikommen, welche ungeheure Bedeutung für die ganze Kulturentwickelung der Erde diese Stellung der Erdachse im Weltenraume hat. Denken Sie nur einmal, daß wir ja alle Eskimos wären über die ganze Erde hin, wenn die Erdachse in der Ekliptik läge, und denken Sie sich einmal, daß die ganze Erde erfüllt sein müßte genau von derjenigen Kultur, die am Äquator ist, wenn die Erdachse senkrecht stehen würde auf der Ekliptik.
[ 2 ] Zum Verständnis der Wirklichkeit kommt es natürlich darauf an, wie man sich etwas interpretiert. Aber um sich nahezubringen, welch ein Zusammenhang zwischen dem Menschen, seiner Kultur und Zivilisation und dem Bau des Weltenalls ist, genügt ja jede Interpretation, und es zwingt einfach die Tatsache, mag sie nun welche immer sein, die hinter dieser Interpretation steht, diese Tatsache zwingt dazu, den Menschen und die Erde als etwas Einheitliches aufzufassen — nicht den Menschen, insofern er ein physisches Wesen ist, als etwas aufzufassen, was man nur für sich ansehen könne. Das kann man eben nicht. Der Mensch ist als physisches Wesen nicht eine Wirklichkeit für sich, sondern er ist ein physisches Wesen mit der ganzen Erde zusammen. Ebensowenig wie Sie eine Hand, die Sie abtrennen vom menschlichen Organismus, als irgend etwas Reales ansehen können - sie stirbt ab, sie ist nur denkbar im Zusammenhange mit dem Organismus -, ebensowenig wie Sie eine Rose, die gepflückt ist, als etwas Reales ansehen können - sie stirbt ab, sie ist nur denkbar im Verein mit dem ganzen in der Erde wurzelnden Rosenstock -, ebensowenig kann man auch den Menschen, wenn man ihn in seiner Ganzheit, Totalität beurteilen will, als bloß in den Grenzen seiner Haut eingeschlossen betrachten.
[ 3 ] Man muß also dasjenige, was der Mensch auf der Erde erlebt, so im Zusammenhange betrachten mit der Erdachse, wie man in anderer Hinsicht eine gewisse Art von Intelligenz schon im Zusammenhange betrachtet mit dem Gesichtskreis oder dem Gesichtswinkel des Menschen. Darauf kommt es ja an bei einer Weltanschauung, die auf Wirklichkeit ausgeht, daß nicht dasjenige, was nur Teilwirklichkeit ist, als eine volle Wirklichkeit aufgefaßt werde. Und man kommt gerade dazu, jene Totalität, die der Mensch als GeistSeelen-Wesen ist, in ihrer Wirklichkeit zu erfassen, wenn man den Menschen als physisches Wesen nicht als in sich abgeschlossene Wirklichkeit betrachtet. Als Geist-Seelen-Wesen ist der Mensch eine Wirklichkeit, eine in sich abgeschlossene Wirklichkeit, eine wirkliche Individualität. Dasjenige aber, was er bewohnt zwischen Geburt und Tod - der physische und der Ätherleib -, das sind für sich keine Realitäten, das sind Glieder des Erdenganzen und, wie wir gleich sehen werden, sogar noch eines anderen Ganzen.
[ 4 ] Sehen Sie, damit kommen wir dann auf etwas, was noch in genauerem Sinne beachtet werden muß. Ich muß immer wiederum auf eines hinweisen: Die Vorstellungen, die man sich über den Menschen macht, sie gehen, ich möchte sagen, unbewußt fast immer darauf hin, wenigstens nahezu, den Menschen als eine Art festen Körper zu betrachten. Gewiß, man ist sich ja bewußt, daß der Mensch nicht gerade ein harter Körper ist, daß er gewissermaßen ein bildsamer Körper ist; aber man wird sich gewöhnlich nicht bewußt, daß der Mensch ja bis zu mehr als 75 Prozent aus Flüssigkeit besteht und nur zu dem Reste eigentlich als ein Wesen, das MineralischFestes in sich enthält, aufgefaßt werden darf. Der Mensch ist zu 75 Prozent eigentlich ein Wasserwesen. Nun, geht es denn an, frage ich Sie, diesen menschlichen Organismus so zu schildern, wie man das gewöhnlich tut; in scharf konturierten Bildern zu sagen: da hat man diesen Lappen des Gehirns, da hat man das Organ und so weiter, und dann so zu tun, als ob diese fest umrissenen Organe in ihrer Betätigung zusammen bewirkten, was als die Betätigung des ganzen menschlichen Organismus zustande kommt? Das hat ja im Grunde genommen eigentlich gar keinen Sinn. Es handelt sich doch darum, daß wir auch ins Auge fassen, daß der Mensch innerhalb der Grenzen seiner Haut so etwas ist wie ein wogendes Wasser, daß also auch dasjenige eine Bedeutung hat, was bloß innerlich wogende Flüssigkeit ist, daß wir also nicht so schildern sollten, als ob der Mensch mehr oder weniger doch ein fester Körper wäre. Das hat geisteswissenschaftlich betrachtet eine ganz tiefe Bedeutung. Denn gerade wenn wir auf das Feste sehen, das mit dem äußerlichen Mineralischen in einer gewissen Weise zusammenhängt, so hat dieses Feste im menschlichen Organismus eine gewisse Beziehung zur Erde. Wir haben die verschiedensten Beziehungen des Menschen zur Umwelt konstatiert; wir wollen jetzt dasjenige konstatieren, was Beziehung seines Festen zur Erde ist. Diese Beziehung ist da. Aber was wässeriges Element im Menschen ist, das hat zunächst keine Beziehung des Menschen zur Erde, sondern das hat Beziehung des Menschen zum außerirdischen planetarischen Weltenall, vorzugsweise aber zum Monde. Geradeso wie der Mond, wenn auch nicht direkte, so indirekte Beziehungen hat zu dem Entstehen von Ebbe und Flut, also zu gewissen Konfigurationen des flüssigen Teiles der Erde, so hat der Mond auch seine Beziehungen zu dem, was im flüssigen Teile des menschlichen Organismus vor sich geht. Und wenn ich Ihnen gestern geschildert habe, daß wir auf der einen Seite eine gewisse Astronomie haben, die da gilt für die Sonne - sie gilt auch für die Erde -, so sind wir selbst in diese Astronomie als Organismus, der Festes in sich schließt, eingegliedert. Aber die Mondenastronomie ist eine andere. Und in diese Mondenastronomie sind wir so eingegliedert, daß sie mit dem flüssigen Bestandteil unseres Organismus zu tun hat. Sie sehen also, in unseren physisch-festen und in unseren physisch-flüssigen Leib wirken hinein die Kräfte des Kosmos.
[ 5 ] Das hat aber noch eine viel größere Bedeutung, die darinnen besteht, daß zunächst auf unseren festen Menschen unmittelbar dasjenige einen Einfluß hat, was wir unser Ich nennen, daß aber auf unseren flüssigen Menschen einen unmittelbaren — unmittelbaren, sage ich - Einfluß hat dasjenige, was wir unsern Astralleib nennen, so daß also auch dasjenige, was vom Seelisch-Geistigen auf unsere Organisation wirkt, durch unsere Leiblichkeit in Beziehung kommt zu all dem, was die Kräfte und die Bewegungen des Kosmos sind. Diese Bewegungen des Kosmos sind von den verschiedensten Weltanschauungsgesichtspunkten aus immer Gegenstand der Beobachtung gewesen. Wenn wir hinschauen auf die persische, die urpersische Kultur - da gab es schon Untersuchungen über die Bewegungen im Weltenall; es gab solche bei den Chaldäern, es gab auch solche bei den Ägyptern. Und es ist nicht uninteressant, gerade einmal - ich habe schon dergleichen erwähnt bei Betrachtungen, die mit diesen zusammenhängen - hinzusehen auf die Art, wie sich die Ägypter zu den Bewegungen des Weltenalls verhalten haben. Die Ägypter haben ja namentlich Veranlassung gehabt, aus zunächst scheinbar ganz materiellen Gründen, den Zusammenhang der Erde mit dem außerirdischen Kosmos zu studieren. Denn ihr Land hing ab von den Überschwemmungen des Nil, und die traten ein, wenn die Sonne eine bestimmte Lage im Weltenall hatte. Und diese Lage der Sonne konnte nach der Sirius-Stellung bestimmt werden, so daß die Ägypter schon dazu gekommen waren, über die Stellung der Sonne zu den Sternen, die wit heute Fixsterne nennen, sich Vorstellungen zu machen. Namentlich. waren in ägyptischen Priesterkolonien, in ägyptischen Priestermysterien ausgedehnte Untersuchungen betrieben worden über das Verhältnis der Sonne zu den anderen Sternen, zu den Sternen, die wir heute die fixen Sterne nennen. Das habe ich eben schon erwähnt, daß die Ägypter schon genau wußten, daß die Sonne mit jedem Jahre gegenüber den anderen Sternen am Himmel verschoben erscheint. So daß, wenn die Ägypter damit rechneten, daß die Sterne — ob scheinbar oder wirklich, ist uns gleichgültig - am Himmel herumgehen, so merkten sie, daß das Herumgehen der Sterne in Tagen eine gewisse Geschwindigkeit hat, das Herumgehen der Sonne auch eine gewisse Geschwindigkeit hat, aber keine ganz so große, wie das für die übrigen Sterne der Fall war. Die Sonne bleibt immer etwas zurück. Die Ägypter wußten und verzeichneten das, daß die Sonne in 72 Jahren um einen Tag zurückbleibt, daß also, wenn ein bestimmter Stern, mit dem zugleich die Sonne in einem bestimmten Jahre aufgegangen ist, nach 72 Jahren wiederum aufgeht, die Sonne mit ihm nicht zugleich aufgeht, sondern daß sie dann erst 24 Stunden später aufgeht. Der Stern, der der Fixsternwelt angehört, der ist in 72 Jahren der Sonne um einen Tag, um einen vollen Tag vorausgeeilt. Das ist der Weg, den die Sterne machen und den die Sonne macht (Tafel 24, oben). Aber die Sonne bleibt in 72 Jahren um einen Tag zurück. Wenn ich mit 360 multipliziere, so bekomme ich 25 920 Jahre. Das ist die Zahl, die uns öfter begegnet ist. Es ist die Zeit, welche die Sonne braucht, um dutch ihr Zurückbleiben dahin zu kommen, daß sie wiederum zum Ausgangspunkt kommt, daß sie also um den ganzen Tierkreis herumgegangen ist. Sie ist also in 72 Jahren gerade um einen Grad zurückgeblieben, denn ein Kreis hat ja, wie Sie wissen, 360 Grade. Nach diesen teilten die Ägypter das große Jahr, das eigentlich 25 920 Jahre umfaßt, in 360 Tage. Aber ein solcher Tag ist 72 Jahre lang, und 72 Jahre, was ist denn das? Das ist im Durchschnitt auch die höchste Lebensdauer des Menschen. Gewiß werden einzelne älter, andere nicht so alt, aber es ist eine obere Grenze für das menschliche Leben. So daß man also sagen kann, dieser ganze Zusammenhang ist im Weltenall daraufhin konstruiert, daß er ein Menschenleben erhält durch einen Sonnentag hindurch, der 72 Jahre lang ist. Allerdings, der Mensch ist davon emanzipiert. Er kann immer geboren werden. Er ist davon emanzipiert, zu gewissen Zeiten geboren zu werden, aber sein Leben hier als physischer Mensch zwischen Geburt und Tod richtet sich nach diesem Sonnentag ein. Wenn man nun in der Geschichte nachliest, so wird man meistens finden, daß die Ägypter auch das gewöhnliche Jahr zu 360 Tagen angenommen haben, nicht zu 365% Tagen, wie es wirklich ist, bis später die Sache mit dem Gang der Sterne so wenig gestimmt hat, daß man die anderen fünf Tage eingeschoben hat. Aber wodurch ist es denn gekommen, daß die Ägypter ursprünglich das Jahr zu 360 Tagen angenommen haben? Da ist schon ein merkwürdiges Mißverständnis entstanden. Es ist das Mißverständnis entstanden, daß die Priester von einem großen Weltenjahr gesprochen haben. Für dieses Weltenjahr ist wirklich ein Grad, das heißt, der 360. Teil, ein Weltentag von 72 Jahren. So daß also in den ägyptischen Priestermysterien gelehrt worden ist: der Mensch hängt mit dem Kosmos so zusammen, daß seine Lebensdauer ein Tag des Weltenjahres ist. Da wurde der Mensch angegliedert an den Kosmos; es wurde ihm seine Beziehung zum Kosmos klargemacht.
[ 6 ] Aber dutch Verhältnisse, die in der Dekadenz der ganzen Entwickelung des ägyptischen Volkes liegen, wurde den breiten Massen des ägyptischen Volkes - und das ist dort am charakteristischsten zutage getreten — nicht mitgeteilt dasjenige, was Wesenheit des Menschen ist, was Zusammenhang des Menschen mit dem Kosmos ist. Man sagte sich: Wissen einmal alle Menschen, daß sie eine Wesenheit sind, die so eingegliedert ist in den ganzen Kosmos, daß ihre eigene Lebensdauer ein Glied ist in der Lebensdauer eines Sonnenumganges, dann werden diese Menschen, die sich fühlen als in das Weltenall eingegliedert, sich nicht regieren lassen, dann betrachtet sich jeder als ein Glied des Weltenalls. - Es sollten nur diejenigen wissen, daß es so ist, die man zum Führen berufen glaubte. Die anderen Menschen, die sollten nicht ein solches Weltenwissen, sondern ein Tageswissen haben. Das hängt zusammen mit der ganzen Dekadenz der ägyptischen Kulturentwickelung. Und was in bezug auf viele andere Dinge allerdings notwendig war, die unreife Menschheit in gewisse Mysterien nicht einzuweihen, das wurde ausgedehnt gerade von der ägyptischen Kultur auf solche Dinge, die den Führenden, den Regierenden Macht gaben.
[ 7 ] Nun ist vieles von dem, was heute unsere Menschenseele durchdringt, aus orientalischen Quellen gekommen. Und auch das traditionelle Christentum enthält viel, was von orientalischen Quellen stammt. Aber ein starker Einschlag ist gerade in das römische Christentum von dem Ägyptertum hergekommen. So wie das ägyptische Volk unaufgeklärt hat bleiben sollen über seinen Zusammenhang mit dem Kosmos, so herrscht in gewissen Kreisen gerade des Romanismus die Anschauung: das Volk muß unaufgeklärt bleiben über seine Beziehung zum Kosmos, wie sie durch das Mysterium von Golgatha eingetreten ist. - Und deshalb jener heftige Kampf, wenn aus einer Kultur- und inneren Notwendigkeit heraus darauf aufmerksam gemacht wird, daß das Ereignis von Golgatha nicht bloß irgend etwas ist, was außer Zusammenhang gedacht werden müßte mit der übrigen Weltanschauung, sondern daß dieses Ereignis von Golgatha sachgemäß in die übrige Weltanschauung hineingestellt werden muß; wenn darauf aufmerksam gemacht wird, daß wirklich dasjenige, was zu Golgatha geschehen ist, mit dem ganzen Weltenall und seiner Konstitution etwas zu tun hat. Es wird daher als die ärgste Ketzerei aufgefaßt, wenn der Christus in dem Sinne, wie wir es getan haben, als der Sonnengeist bezeichnet wird.
[ 8 ] Man soll nur nicht glauben, daß dasjenige, um was es sich dabei handelt, gewissen, in erster Linie führenden Leuten nicht bekannt sei, die da bekämpfen dasjenige, was ich jetzt angedeutet habe. Es ist ihnen selbstverständlich gut bekannt. Aber geradeso wie die ägyptischen Priester genau gewußt haben, daß das gewöhnliche Jahr nicht 360 Tage, sondern 365% Tage hat, so wissen gewisse Leute sehr gut, daß es sich bei dem Christus-Geheimnis zugleich um das Sonnenmysterium handelt. Aber es soll verhindert werden, daß dieses der gegenwärtigen Menschheit notwendige Wissen wirklich der gegenwärtigen Menschheit mitgeteilt werde. Denn es ist schon einmal wahr, was ich gestern sagte: Die materialistische Weltanschauung ist jener Seite viel lieber als die Geisteswissenschaft. Denn die materialistische Weltanschauung, sie hat ja auch ihre praktischen Folgen. Sie hat praktische Folgen, die, ich möchte sagen, wiederum an einem Vergleich der gegenwärtigen Zeit mit dem alten Ägyptertum studiert werden können. Ich machte darauf aufmerksam, die Ägypter als solche waren abhängig von dem Gang der Sonne, also von dem Zusammenhang des Irdischen mit dem Himmlischen mit Bezug auf ihre äußere Kultur. Es bedeutete eine gewisse Macht in den Händen des untergehenden ägyptischen Priestertums, wenn das Wissen von dem Zusammenhange der Weltenerscheinungen und ihrer Wirkung auf die ägyptische Landkultur geheimgehalten blieb. Dadurch war derjenige, welcher als Arbeiter wirken sollte in Ägypten, angewiesen darauf, seine Direktiven sich geben zu lassen von den Priestern, die das entsprechende Wissen hatten.
[ 9 ] Wenn nun der Charakter europäischer und amerikanischer Zivilisation so bleiben würde, wie er ist, wenn man beibehalten würde nur die materialistische kopernikanische Weltanschauung mit ihrem Sprößling, der Kant-Laplaceschen Theorie, dann würde notwendigerweise auch für die irdischen Erscheinungen, die biologischen, die physikalischen, die chemischen Erscheinungen ein materialistisches Weltenbild entstehen müssen. Dieses materialistische Weltenbild hat keine Möglichkeit, die moralische Weltordnung in ihre Struktur einzubeziehen. Sie hat auch keine Möglichkeit, das Christus-Ereignis in ihre Struktur einzubeziehen; denn daß man zu gleicher Zeit Bekenner der maternalistischen Weltanschauung und zu gleicher Zeit Christ ist, das ist eine innerliche Lüge, das ist etwas, was nicht sein kann, wenn man ehrlich und aufrichtig ist. Daher mußten sich in der europäischen und amerikanischen Kultur ganz notwendigerweise die praktischen Folgen zeigen dieses Zwiespaltes zwischen dem Materialismus auf der einen Seite und dem ohne Zusammenhang mit dem materialistischen Weltenbild stehenden moralischen Weltenbilde und auch den Glaubensinhalten. Und diese Konsequenz zeigte sich darin, daß die Menschen, die nicht durch äußere Gründe Veranlassung hatten, innerlich unehrlich zu sein, daß diese den Glauben über Bord warfen und das materialistische Weltenbild auch für das Menschenleben statuierten. Dadurch wurde das materialistische Weltenbild soziales Weltenbild. Das aber würde sich im weiteten Verfolge unserer europäischen und amerikanischen Kultur so ergeben, daß eben die Menschen nur ein materialistisches Weltenbild haben würden, nichts wissen würden von einem Zusammenhang der Erde mit den Weltenmächten, so wie wir es gestern und in diesen Stunden schon öfter betrachtet haben. Aber einer gewissen Priesterkaste würde bleiben das Wissen von dem Zusammenhang mit dem Weltenbilde, geradeso wie den ägyptischen Priestern das Wissen von dem platonischen Jahr, dem großen Weltenjahr und dem großen Weltentag geblieben ist. Und Hoffnung könnte diese Priesterkaste haben, das Volk, welches unter dem Materialismus barbarisch verkommt, dann zu beherrschen.
[ 10 ] Es ist natürlich, daß solche Dinge heute nur gesagt werden aus einem Pflichtgefühl gegenüber der Wahrheit; aber sie müssen aus dem Pflichtgefühl gegenüber der Wahrheit durchaus gesagt werden. Es handelt sich heute schon darum, meine lieben Freunde, daß eine Anzahl von Menschen erfahre, daß es nötig ist, dem Mysterium von Golgatha seine kosmologische Bedeutung zu geben. Diese kosmologische Bedeutung muß von einer Anzahl von Menschen eingesehen werden, die dann ihrerseits eine gewisse Verantwortung dafür übernehmen, daß der Menschheit der Erde nicht verborgen bleibt die Tatsache, daß sie zusammenhängt mit einem außerirdischen Geist, der in dem Menschen Jesus im Beginn unserer Zeitrechnung in Palästina gewandelt hat. Es ist notwendig, daß diese Erkenntnis von dem Hereindringen des Christus aus außerirdischen Welten in den Menschen Jesus von Nazareth von einer Anzahl von Menschen durchschaut werde. Es gehört heute zu einem solchen Durchschauen ja tatsächlich ein Überwinden jener Unehrlichkeit, die heute in Weltanschauungs- und Bekenntnisfragen eigentlich gang und gäbe ist. Denn was tut man heute? Man läßt sich auf der einen Seite erzählen, die Erde bewegt sich in einer Ellipse um die Sonne und hat sich entwickelt im Sinne der Kant-Laplaceschen Theorie, und unterschreibt dieses; und dann läßt man sich erzählen, im Beginne unserer Zeitrechnung habe in Palästina das und das stattgefunden. Man nimmt diese beiden Dinge, ohne sie miteinander in Beziehung zu bringen, man nimmt sie hin, und man denkt, das sei ohne Folge. Es ist nicht ohne Folge, denn wenn die Lüge bewußt aufgefaßt wird, dann ist es weniger schlimm, als wenn die Lüge unbewußt figuriert und den Menschen herunterbringt, ihn barbarisiert. Denn wenn Sie die Lüge betrachten, wie sie im Bewußtsein ist, so geht sie mit dem Bewußtsein jedesmal beim Einschlafen aus dem physischen und Ätherleib heraus, ist vorhanden im raumlosen, zeitlosen Sein, in dem ewigen Sein, wenn der Mensch im traumlosen Schlafe ist. Da wird vorbereitet alles dasjenige, was aus der Lüge werden kann in der Zukunft, das heißt, es wird vorbereitet alles dasjenige, was die Lüge wieder verbessern kann, wenn die Lüge im Bewußtsein sitzt. Wenn die Lüge aber im Unbewußten ist, dann bleibt sie im Bette liegen mit dem physischen und dem Ätherleib. Da gehört sie, während der Mensch nicht seinen physischen und seinen Ätherleib ausfüllt, dem Kosmos, nicht bloß dem irdischen Kosmos, sondern dem ganzen Kosmos an. Da arbeitet sie an der Zerstörung des Kosmos, vor allen Dingen an der Zerstörung der ganzen Menschheit, denn da beginnt die Zerstörung in der Menschheit selber.
[ 11 ] Dem, was da der Menschheit droht, entgeht man durch nichts anderes als durch das Anstreben innerer Wahrheit in bezug auf solche höchsten Fragen des Daseins. Es ist also gewissermaßen heute eine Art Aufforderung aus unseren Zeitimpulsen heraus an die Menschheit, einzusehen, daß nicht weiter eine Astronomie materialistischer Art existieren darf, die nichts weiß davon, daß in einem bestimmten Zeitpunkte das Ereignis von Golgatha sich bildet. Aber jede Astronomie, welche einschließt in die Weltstruktur den Mond ebenso wie die Sonne und die Erde, statt die beiden in ihren Strömungen ineinanderlaufen zu lassen, so aber, daß sie gesonderte Strömungen sind, jede solche Astronomie ist nichts anderes als eine heidnische Astronomie, keine christliche Astronomie. Daher muß vom christlichen Standpunkte aus jede Evolutionslehre abgelehnt werden, die nur gewissermaßen einheitlich die Welt schildert. Verfolgen Sie meine «Geheimwissenschaft», so werden Sie sehen, wie, indem ich schildere Saturnzeit, Sonnenzeit, die Strömung sich teilt in zwei Strömungen, die dann ineinanderwirken. Da haben Sie die beiden Strömungen. Wenn man aber so schildert, wie gemeiniglich geschildert wird, dann schildert man mit den Begriffen, die durchaus im Sinne der heidnischen Fortentwickelung sind. Das geht bis in die Einzelheiten hinein. Denken Sie nur, wenn der heutige Evolutionstheoretiker so richtig darwinistischer Färbung schildert die Entwickelung der organischen Form, da sagt er: Erst waren einfache organische Formen, dann kamen kompliziertere, dann wiederum kompliziertere und so weiter bis herauf zum Menschen (Tafel 25, oben). — So ist es nicht, sondern, wenn Sie den Menschen nehmen, dreigliedern, so ist nur sein Haupt die Ausbildung der niederen Tierformen (Zeichnung, rechts). Was der Mensch als Haupt hat, das ist die Ausbildung der niederen Tierformen. Dasjenige, was an das Haupt angegliedert ist, das ist später entstanden. So daß wir nicht sagen dürfen, in unserem Rückenmark haben wir etwas, was sich zum Kopfe umbildet, sondern wir müssen sagen: Unser Haupt, unser Kopf ist ja gewiß aus früheren Gebilden entstanden, die Rückgrat-ähnlich waren; aber das heutige Rückgrat hat nichts zu tun mit dieser Entwickelung, sondern ist ein späterer Ansatz; und von einem anders geformten Rückgrat stammt dasjenige, was heute Kopforganisation ist.
[ 12 ] Das erwähne ich für diejenigen, die sich schon etwas mit Deszendenztheorie beschäftigt haben. Ich erwähne es deshalb, damit Sie sehen, daß eine gerade Linie von kosmischen Betrachtungen zu Betrachtungen dessen führt, was in der Menschheitsentwickelung ist, und damit Sie sehen, daß es notwendig ist, daß Geisteswissenschaft hineinleuchte in alle einzelnen Wissens- und Lebensgebiete; daß einfach die Sache nicht so fortgehen kann, wie sich die Wissenschaft in den letzten Jahrhunderten unter dem Einflusse der materialistischen Weltanschauung, die wiederum ein Kind der materialistischen Auffassung des Christentums ist, entwickelt hat. Verdankt wird der Materialismus dem Materialistisch-Werden der christlichen Weltanschauung. Die Lehre von dem kosmischen Christus muß wieder hergestellt werden gegen die Vermaterialisierung dieser Lehre. Das ist die allerwichtigste Aufgabe der Zeit. Und ehe man nicht einsehen wird, daß dies die allerwichtigste Aufgabe der Zeit ist, wird man auf keinem Gebiete klar sehen können.
[ 13 ] Ich habe Ihnen heute etwas anführen wollen, aus dem Sie, ich möchte sagen, intimer erkennen können, warum böswillige Gegner mit solcher Heftigkeit sich gegen dasjenige wenden, was aus einer inneren Notwendigkeit heraus vor die Welt heute hintreten muß. Und ich mußte diese ganze Betrachtung anknüpfen gewissermaßen an eine Art Kosmologie. Wir werden mit dieser Kosmologie am nächsten Freitag um acht Uhr hier fortfahren.
Thirteenth Lecture
[ 1 ] We have now gathered together a wide variety of things that can lead to a feeling for the structure of the universe in its relationship to human beings. We have seen—and this must be emphasized again and again—that the universe cannot be understood without human beings; that is to say, it is not possible to understand the universe in itself without including human beings and considering the relationship of the universe to human beings. If you want to form a very popular idea of how human beings are connected with the universe, then you need only think of what is the subject of elementary astronomy, namely the so-called obliquity of the ecliptic, that is, the oblique position of the Earth's axis in relation to the line, the curve that can be drawn through the zodiac. This obliquity of the ecliptic, however one may understand it, however one may interpret it, in such interpretations it does not matter at first whether what one interprets corresponds to reality or not, but what matters is that one can thereby bring something closer to oneself, so to speak. If the Earth's axis, that is, the axis around which the Earth's daily rotations can be imagined, were perpendicular to the plane that can be drawn through the ecliptic, then night and day would be equal throughout the entire Earth throughout the entire year. If the Earth's axis were inside the ecliptic, there would be half a year of day and half a year of night across the entire Earth. Both extremes are fulfilled in a certain way at the equator and at the poles. In between, however, lie those areas which have days of varying lengths throughout the year. And you only need to think about this whole thing for a moment to realize the enormous significance that the position of the Earth's axis in space has for the entire cultural development of the Earth. Just think for a moment that we would all be Eskimos across the entire Earth if the Earth's axis were in the ecliptic, and imagine that the entire Earth would be filled with exactly the same culture as that found at the equator if the Earth's axis were perpendicular to the ecliptic.
[ 2 ] Of course, understanding reality depends on how one interprets something. But in order to understand what connection there is between human beings, their culture and civilisation and the structure of the universe, any interpretation will suffice, and the fact behind this interpretation, whatever it may be, simply compels us to regard human beings and the earth as a unified whole — not to regard human beings, insofar as they are physical beings, as something that can only be viewed in isolation. That is simply impossible. As a physical being, man is not a reality in himself, but a physical being together with the whole earth. Just as you cannot regard a hand that you have severed from the human organism as something real—it dies, it is only conceivable in connection with the organism—just as you cannot regard a rose that has been picked as something real—it dies, it is only conceivable in connection with the whole rose bush rooted in the earth—just as you cannot consider the human being, if you want to judge him in his wholeness, his totality, as merely enclosed within the limits of his skin.
[ 3 ] One must therefore consider what human beings experience on earth in connection with the earth's axis, just as one considers a certain kind of intelligence in connection with the human field of vision or angle of vision. What matters in a worldview based on reality is that what is only partial reality is not taken to be complete reality. And we arrive at understanding the reality of that totality which is the human being as a spirit-soul being precisely when we do not regard the human being as a physical being in a self-contained reality. As a spirit-soul being, man is a reality, a self-contained reality, a real individuality. But what he inhabits between birth and death—the physical and etheric bodies—are not realities in themselves; they are members of the whole earth and, as we shall see in a moment, even of another whole.
[ 4 ] You see, this brings us to something that needs to be considered more closely. I must always point out one thing: the ideas we have about human beings almost always, I would say unconsciously, tend to regard human beings as a kind of solid body. Of course, we are aware that human beings are not exactly hard bodies, that they are, in a sense, malleable bodies; but we are not usually aware that human beings consist of more than 75 percent fluid and that only the remainder can actually be regarded as a being that contains mineral solids. Humans are actually 75 percent water beings. Now, I ask you, is it appropriate to describe this human organism as it is usually described, in sharply contoured images: here you have this lobe of the brain, there you have this organ, and so on, and then to act as if these clearly defined organs, in their activity, together bring about what is the activity of the whole human organism? That makes no sense at all, really. The point is that we must also consider that within the limits of his skin, man is something like a surging body of water, that what is merely a surging fluid within him also has meaning, that we should not describe him as if he were more or less a solid body. From a spiritual scientific point of view, this has a very profound meaning. For when we look at the solid substance that is connected in a certain way with the external mineral world, this solid substance in the human organism has a certain relationship to the earth. We have established the most diverse relationships between the human being and the environment; we now want to establish the relationship between the solid substance and the earth. This relationship exists. But the watery element in human beings does not initially have a relationship to the earth, but rather to the extraterrestrial planetary universe, and preferably to the moon. Just as the moon has an indirect, if not direct, relationship to the ebb and flow of the tides, and thus to certain configurations of the liquid part of the earth, so too does the moon have a relationship to what goes on in the liquid part of the human organism. And when I described to you yesterday that, on the one hand, we have a certain astronomy that applies to the sun—it also applies to the earth—we ourselves are integrated into this astronomy as organisms that contain solid matter. But lunar astronomy is different. And we are integrated into this lunar astronomy in such a way that it has to do with the fluid part of our organism. You see, therefore, that the forces of the cosmos are at work in our physical-solid and physical-fluid bodies.
[ 5 ] But this has a much greater significance, which consists in the fact that what we call our ego has a direct influence on our solid human being, but that what we call our astral body has a direct — I say direct — influence on our fluid human being, so that what acts on our organization from the soul and spirit also comes into relation with all the forces and movements of the cosmos through our physical body. These movements of the cosmos have always been the subject of observation from the most diverse worldview perspectives. If we look at Persian, ancient Persian culture, there were already investigations into the movements in the universe; there were such investigations among the Chaldeans, and there were also such investigations among the Egyptians. And it is not uninteresting, just for once — I have already mentioned something similar in considerations related to this — to look at the way the Egyptians related to the movements of the universe. The Egyptians had particular reason, for reasons that at first glance seem entirely material, to study the connection between the earth and the extraterrestrial cosmos. For their country depended on the flooding of the Nile, and these floods occurred when the sun was in a certain position in the universe. And this position of the sun could be determined by the position of Sirius, so that the Egyptians had already come to form ideas about the position of the sun in relation to the stars, which we now call fixed stars. Extensive investigations had been carried out, particularly in Egyptian priest colonies and in Egyptian priest mysteries, into the relationship of the sun to the other stars, to the stars that we today call fixed stars. I have already mentioned that the Egyptians knew precisely that the sun appears to shift relative to the other stars in the sky every year. So when the Egyptians calculated that the stars—whether apparent or real, it is irrelevant to us—move around in the sky, they noticed that the movement of the stars has a certain speed in days, and that the movement of the sun also has a certain speed, but not quite as great as that of the other stars. The sun always lags behind a little. The Egyptians knew and recorded that the sun lags behind by one day in 72 years, so that when a certain star rises at the same time as the sun in a given year, it rises again after 72 years, but the sun does not rise at the same time, but only 24 hours later. The star that belongs to the fixed star world has, in 72 years, raced ahead of the sun by one day, by one full day. This is the path that the stars take and that the sun takes (plate 24, above). But the sun lags behind by one day in 72 years. When I multiply this by 360, I get 25,920 years. This is the number we have encountered frequently. It is the time it takes for the sun to make up for its delay so that it returns to its starting point, that is, so that it has gone around the entire zodiac. In 72 years, it has therefore fallen back by exactly one degree, because, as you know, a circle has 360 degrees. According to this, the Egyptians divided the great year, which actually comprises 25,920 years, into 360 days. But such a day is 72 years long, and 72 years, what is that? On average, it is also the maximum lifespan of a human being. Certainly, some individuals live longer, others not so long, but it is an upper limit for human life. So one can say that this whole context is constructed in the universe in such a way that it sustains a human life through a solar day that is 72 years long. However, human beings are emancipated from this. They can always be born. They are emancipated from being born at certain times, but their life here as physical human beings between birth and death is based on this solar day. If you look back in history, you will find that the Egyptians also assumed that the ordinary year had 360 days, not 365 days as it really is, until later the matter of the movement of the stars became so inaccurate that the other five days were inserted. But how did it come about that the Egyptians originally assumed the year to be 360 days? A strange misunderstanding arose. The misunderstanding arose that the priests spoke of a great world year. For this world year, one degree, that is, the 360th part, is really a world day of 72 years. Thus, in the Egyptian priestly mysteries, it was taught that man is so connected with the cosmos that his life span is one day of the world year. Man was thus affiliated with the cosmos; his relationship to the cosmos was made clear to him.
[ 6 ] But due to circumstances that lay in the decadence of the entire development of the Egyptian people, the broad masses of the Egyptian people — and this is most characteristic there — were not told what the essence of man is, what the connection between man and the cosmos is. It was said: Once all people know that they are beings who are so integrated into the whole cosmos that their own lifespan is a link in the lifespan of a solar cycle, then these people, who feel themselves to be integrated into the universe, will not allow themselves to be ruled, then everyone will consider themselves to be a link in the universe. Only those who were believed to be called to lead should know that this was so. The other people should not have such knowledge of the world, but rather knowledge of everyday life. This is connected with the whole decadence of Egyptian cultural development. And what was necessary in relation to many other things, namely not to initiate immature humanity into certain mysteries, was extended by Egyptian culture to include things that gave power to the leaders and rulers.
[ 7 ] Now, much of what permeates our human soul today has come from Oriental sources. And traditional Christianity also contains much that originates from Oriental sources. But a strong influence has come into Roman Christianity from Egypt. Just as the Egyptian people were supposed to remain uninformed about their connection to the cosmos, so in certain circles of Romanism the view prevails that the people must remain uninformed about their relationship to the cosmos as it came into being through the Mystery of Golgotha. - And that is why there is such fierce opposition when, out of a cultural and inner necessity, attention is drawn to the fact that the event of Golgotha is not just something that must be thought of as separate from the rest of the worldview, but that this event of Golgotha must be properly placed within the rest of the worldview; when attention is drawn to the fact that what happened at Golgotha really has something to do with the entire universe and its constitution. It is therefore considered the worst heresy to describe Christ as the spirit of the sun in the sense in which we have done.
[ 8 ] One should not believe that what is at stake here is not known to certain leading people who are fighting against what I have just indicated. They are of course well aware of it. But just as the Egyptian priests knew very well that the ordinary year has not 360 days but 365% days, so certain people know very well that the mystery of Christ is at the same time the mystery of the sun. But they want to prevent this knowledge, which is necessary for the present human race, from really being communicated to the present human race. For what I said yesterday is true: the materialistic worldview is much more appealing to that side than spiritual science. For the materialistic worldview also has practical consequences. It has practical consequences which, I would say, can be studied by comparing the present time with ancient Egypt. I pointed out that the Egyptians as such were dependent on the course of the sun, that is, on the connection between the earthly and the heavenly in relation to their external culture. It meant a certain power in the hands of the declining Egyptian priesthood if the knowledge of the connection between world phenomena and their effect on Egyptian agriculture was kept secret. As a result, those who were to work in Egypt were dependent on receiving their directives from the priests who possessed the relevant knowledge.
[ 9 ] If the character of European and American civilization were to remain as it is, if only the materialistic Copernican worldview with its offshoot, the Kant-Laplace theory, were to be retained, then a materialistic worldview would necessarily have to arise for earthly phenomena, biological, physical, and chemical phenomena. This materialistic worldview has no way of incorporating the moral world order into its structure. Nor does it have any way of incorporating the Christ event into its structure, for to be a believer in the materialistic worldview and at the same time a Christian is an inner lie, something that cannot be if one is honest and sincere. Therefore, in European and American culture, the practical consequences of this conflict between materialism on the one hand and the moral worldview and religious beliefs, which have no connection with the materialistic worldview, had to manifest themselves. And this consequence manifested itself in the fact that people who had no external reason to be dishonest inwardly threw their faith overboard and also established the materialistic worldview for human life. As a result, the materialistic world view became the social world view. However, this would result in the further development of our European and American culture in such a way that people would have only a materialistic world view and would know nothing of a connection between the earth and the world powers, as we have already considered yesterday and several times today. But a certain priestly caste would retain the knowledge of the connection with the world view, just as the Egyptian priests retained the knowledge of the Platonic year, the great world year, and the great world day. And this priestly caste could then hope to rule over the people who were barbarically degenerating under materialism.
[ 10 ] It is natural that such things are only said today out of a sense of duty to the truth; but they must be said out of a sense of duty to the truth. It is already a matter of urgency today, my dear friends, that a number of people learn that it is necessary to give the mystery of Golgotha its cosmological meaning. This cosmological significance must be understood by a number of people who will then take on a certain responsibility to ensure that the fact that humanity on Earth is connected to an extraterrestrial spirit who walked in the person of Jesus in Palestine at the beginning of our era does not remain hidden from humanity. It is necessary that this insight into the entry of Christ from extraterrestrial worlds into the human being Jesus of Nazareth be understood by a number of people. Today, such insight actually requires overcoming the dishonesty that is commonplace in questions of worldview and confession. For what is being done today? On the one hand, people allow themselves to be told that the earth moves in an ellipse around the sun and has developed in accordance with Kant's and Laplace's theory, and they accept this; and then they allow themselves to be told that at the beginning of our calendar, this and that took place in Palestine. One accepts these two things without relating them to each other, one accepts them and thinks that this has no consequences. It is not without consequences, because if the lie is consciously perceived, then it is less serious than if the lie figures unconsciously and debases people, barbarizes them. For if you consider the lie as it is in consciousness, it leaves the physical and etheric bodies every time you fall asleep, and is present in the spaceless, timeless being, in eternal being, when man is in dreamless sleep. There, everything that can become a lie in the future is prepared, that is, everything that can improve the lie again when it is in consciousness is prepared. But when the lie is in the unconscious, it remains in bed with the physical and etheric bodies. There it belongs, while man does not fill his physical and etheric bodies, to the cosmos, not merely to the earthly cosmos, but to the whole cosmos. There it works on the destruction of the cosmos, above all on the destruction of the whole of humanity, for there the destruction begins in humanity itself.
[ 11 ] The only way to escape what threatens humanity is by striving for inner truth in relation to such highest questions of existence. So today, in a sense, there is a kind of call from the impulses of our time to humanity to realize that a materialistic astronomy that knows nothing about the event of Golgotha forming at a certain point in time cannot continue to exist. But any astronomy that includes the moon in the structure of the world in the same way as the sun and the earth, instead of allowing the two to run into each other in their currents, but in such a way that they are separate currents, any such astronomy is nothing other than a pagan astronomy, not a Christian astronomy. Therefore, from the Christian point of view, any theory of evolution that describes the world as uniform must be rejected. If you follow my “Secret Science,” you will see how, when I describe the Saturn period and the Sun period, the current divides into two currents that then interact with each other. There you have the two currents. But if you describe it as it is commonly described, then you are using concepts that are entirely in line with pagan ideas of evolution. This goes down to the smallest details. Just think, when today's evolutionists, with their Darwinian coloring, describe the development of organic forms, they say: First there were simple organic forms, then more complicated ones, then even more complicated ones, and so on up to man (plate 25, above). That is not how it is. If you take the human being and divide him into three parts, only his head is the development of the lower animal forms (drawing, right). What man has as his head is the development of the lower animal forms. That which is attached to the head developed later. So we cannot say that we have something in our spinal cord that transforms into the head, but we must say: Our head certainly arose from earlier formations that were similar to the spine; but the present spine has nothing to do with this development, but is a later addition; and what is now the head organization comes from a differently formed spine.
[ 12 ] I mention this for those who have already studied the theory of descent. I mention it so that you may see that a straight line of cosmic observations leads to observations of what is happening in human evolution, and so that you may see that it is necessary for spiritual science to shine into all individual areas of knowledge and life; that things simply cannot continue as they have under the influence of materialistic worldview, which is itself a child of the materialistic interpretation of Christianity. Materialism is owed to the materialistic development of the Christian worldview. The teaching of the cosmic Christ must be restored against the materialization of this teaching. That is the most important task of the time. And until people realize that this is the most important task of the time, they will not be able to see clearly in any field.
[ 13 ] Today I have wanted to show you something from which you can, I would say, gain a more intimate understanding of why malicious opponents are so vehemently opposed to what must come before the world today out of an inner necessity. And I had to link this whole consideration, as it were, to a kind of cosmology. We will continue with this cosmology here next Friday at eight o'clock.