Building Stones for an Understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha
GA 175
17 April 1917, Berlin
Lecture VI
We shall the better understand the real nature of the events of today and especially of the immediate future if, from a spiritual angle, we see them as the continuation of the events which took place during the early years of Christianity. This may seem paradoxical today. It is difficult to bring home to the majority of people how certain forces which at that time had been implanted in, and had made a deep impact upon the evolution of the Earth and Man, are still operative today, because, in the present climate of contemporary thought they fail to perceive the deeper impulses, the deep underlying forces that are at work in contemporary events. They prefer to approach everything from a purely superficial standpoint. These deeper spiritual forces are not accessible to mankind today because people are not prepared to investigate them. Anyone who wishes to penetrate a little beneath the surface events of our time will find, in many a published document and in the vicissitudes of fortune that befall those who are unaware of the motives that determine their actions, impulses that are often a continuation, a resurgence of certain impulses that were manifested especially in the early centuries of the Christian era. It is not even possible to characterize the outstanding examples of the resurgence of ancient impulses in our present age because people cannot endure their characterization. But those who study the first Christian centuries in Europe from a certain standpoint will be able to detect the forces that are emerging once again and are actively at work. I have therefore attempted to draw your attention to certain phenomena connected with the expansion of Christianity in the first centuries A.D., because, through the appropriate use of the ideas derived from them, much that is taking place today will immediately become clear to you.
I propose to add further information based upon our recent investigations which we can discuss in detail later. Let us first look at this new material so that our later enquiry may bear fruit.
I have often spoken to you of the remarkable fact that the early Roman emperors acquired Initiation by constraint and this explains many of their actions. Consequently they gained knowledge of certain facts connected with the great impulses of cosmic events, but they exploited this knowledge derived from the Mysteries to their own advantage.
It is most important to realize that the intervention of the Christ Impulse into the historical life of mankind was not merely an event on the physical plane which we can apprehend through a study of the historical facts, but was a genuinely spiritual event. I have already pointed out that the Gospel report that Christ was known to the devils has deeper implications than is usually recognized. We are told that Christ performed acts of healing which are described in the Gospels as the casting out of evil spirits. And we are constantly reminded that the devils knew who Christ was. On the other hand Christ Himself rebuked the devils and “suffered them not to speak for they knew He was the Christ.” (Mark I, 34; Luke IV, 41). The appearance of Christ therefore was not only a matter for the judgement of men. It is possible that at first people did not have the slightest inkling of what the coming of Christ presaged. But the devils—beings belonging to a super-sensible world—recognized Him. The super-sensible world therefore knew of His advent. The more informed leaders of the early Christians were firmly convinced that the coming of Christianity was not merely an event on the terrestrial plane but something that was related to the spiritual world, something which evoked a radical change in the spiritual world. Without a shadow of doubt the leading spirits of early Christianity were firmly persuaded of this.
Now it is a remarkable phenomenon that the Roman emperors, because of their forced initiation which gave insight into the spiritual world, had a presentiment of the far-reaching importance of the Christ Impulse. There were some emperors. however, who despite their irregular initiation, understood little of these secrets; but there were others who understood so much that they were able to divine something of the power and effectiveness of the Christ Mystery. And it was these more talented, the more perspicacious emperors who began to pursue a definite policy towards Christianity which was then gaining ground. Indeed the first emperor to adopt this policy was Tiberius who succeeded Augustus, though the objection might be raised that Christianity was not as yet widely diffused. This objection, however, is not valid for, when he learned of Christ's birth in Palestine, Tiberius—who had received a partial initiation into the ancient Mysteries—realized its significance. Let us consider for a moment that policy towards Christianity which began under Tiberius and was pursued by all the initiated emperors. Tiberius announced his intention to admit Christ to the Roman pantheon.
The Roman empire pursued a deliberate policy towards the worship of the gods. In essence it was as follows: when the Romans conquered a people they received the gods of the newly conquered people into their Olympus. They declared that these gods were also deserving of veneration and they were added to the Roman pantheon. The object of this policy therefore was to appropriate not only the material or temporal goods, but also the spiritual forces of the conquered peoples. The initiated Caesars saw in the gods something more than the mere external images; they had a deeper understanding than the people. They knew that the visible image of the gods concealed real spiritual powers pertaining to the different Hierarchies. Their policy was perfectly consistent and comprehensible, for the authoritarian principle of Rome was consciously reinforced by the power which was believed to derive from the assimilation of other gods. And, as a rule, the worship of other gods was accepted not only in an outward and exoteric way, but the Mystery-teachings of other peoples were also taken over by the Roman Mystery-centres and merged with the Mystery-cult of the ancient Roman empire. And since, at that time, it was generally held that it was neither right nor possible to govern without the support of the spiritual powers symbolized by the gods, this practice was taken for granted.
The aim of Tiberius therefore was to integrate the power of Christ, as he conceived it, with the impulses proceeding from the other deities recognized by him and his peoples. The Roman Senate thwarted his intention and nothing came of it. None the less the initiated emperors, Hadrian among them, made repeated efforts to achieve this goal, but constantly met with opposition from the dignitaries who could make their influence felt. And when we examine the objections raised against this policy of the initiated emperors we can form a good idea of what happened at this decisive turning-point in human evolution.
We witness here a remarkable coincidence. On countless occasions Roman writers, influential personalities and large sections of the Roman populace accused the Christians of profaning what others held to be sacred, and vice versa. In other words, the Romans repeatedly emphasized that the Christians were radically different in thought and feeling from the Romans and other peoples—for the other peoples together with their gods had been assimilated by the Romans. Thus everyone looked upon the Christians as people with a different make-up, people with different feelings and responses. Now this view could be dismissed as a calumny; suchlike accusations are always ready to hand, of course, when one takes a superficial view of history. But we cannot regard this view as a calumny when we realize that many of the opinions of earlier times and many of the contemporary opinions concerning the Mystery of Golgotha have passed over verbatim into Christian teaching. To put it more clearly, the Christians expressed their sentiments in words that could be found amongst many of their contemporaries. One of these was Philo of Alexandria,1Philo of Alexandria or Philo Judaeus (circa 30 B.C.–A.D. 40) was an important representative of Hellenistic Judaism. He believed that the Pentateuch had divine authority. In his “Allegories of the Sacred Law”, a commentary on Genesis, he regarded the characters in Genesis as allegories of states of soul. He is considered to be the first religious philosopher (cf. H. A. Wolfson, Philo. (2 vols.) 1947). a contemporary of Christ, who probably had first-hand knowledge of what was later found in the Christian writings. Philo makes the following remarkable statement: “According to traditional teachings I must hate that which others love” (he is referring to the Romans) “and love that which others hate.” If you bear this statement in mind and turn to the Gospel of St. Matthew, you will find countless passages which echo this statement of Philo. And so we can say that Christianity has developed, as it were, out of a spiritual aura which required people to say, “we love what others hate”. This means—and this saying was quoted in the early Christian communities and served as one of the fundamental principles of Christian teachings—that Christians themselves openly acknowledged what others reproached them with. It was not therefore a calumny; it accorded with the Roman view: “the Christians love what we hate and hate what we love”. And the Christians, for their part, said exactly the same of the Romans.
It is clear therefore that something wholly different from anything that had been known before now entered human evolution—otherwise it would not have had so great an impact. Of course, if we wish to understand this whole situation we must realize that the new impulse had come from the spiritual worlds. Many who were contemporaries of the Mystery of Golgotha, such as Philo, caught fleeting glimpses of it which they described each after his own fashion. And so many of the passages from the Gospels which are interpreted expediently today, as in the case of Barres, whom I mentioned at the conclusion of my last lecture, will be seen in their true light when we cease to interpret them to suit our convenience, but when our interpretation is determined by the whole spirit of the age. There are strange interpretations in Barres; indeed Biblical exegesis assumes very strange forms nowadays. Much that Philo says agrees closely with the Gospels and I would like to quote a passage which shows that because he was not inspired to the same extent as were the Evangelists later, his style was rather different from theirs. As a talented writer in the popular sense he made less heavy demands upon the reader than the Evangelists. In one notable passage Philo gave expression to something that was occupying the hearts and minds of the men of his time. He says: “Do not concern yourselves with the genealogical records or the documents of despots, take no thought for the things of the body; do not attribute to the citizen civic rights or civil liberties, which you deny to those of humble origin or who have been purchased as slaves in the market, but give heed only to the ancestry of the soul!” If the Gospels are read with understanding one cannot fail to recognize that something of this attitude of mind, albeit raised to a higher level, pervades the Gospels and why therefore an opportunist like Barres can write the passage I quoted to you in my last lecture. We should do well to bear his words in mind and I propose therefore to read them to you once again.
“It is a waste of time to look for the after-life. Perhaps it does not even exist. No matter how we approach the question we are never vouchsafed an answer. Let us leave all occultism to adepts and charlatans. Mysticism of every kind is totally irrational. Let us submit to the authority of the Church because, with the traditional teaching and practical experience of centuries she prescribes the code of ethics in which nations and children must be instructed. And finally we must submit because, far from exposing us to the dangers of mysticism, she actively protects us against them, silences the voices of the mystery teachings, expounds the Gospels and tailors the liberal anarchy of the Saviour to the needs of modern society.”
In the passage which I quoted from Philo we can see, since it is echoed again and again in the New Testament, what lies behind this whole movement. Philo's reference to the ancestry of the soul carries profound implications; he implies something that is opposed to the leading ideas of the Roman empire. For the Roman empire recognized only physical inheritance in its various forms, and the whole social order was founded on this principle. And suddenly the cry was raised: “Take no thought for the ancestry of the body but give heed only to the ancestry of the soul!” One could hardly imagine a more radical breach with the fundamental principles of the Roman empire, a greater contrast. And this contrast was raised to a higher level by the advent of Christ Jesus—indeed the world had been waiting for this moment—and was vigorously opposed to the existing world order of that time.
The Roman emperors would have been only too pleased to receive Christ into their pantheon as a new god amongst the other gods though He struck at the very roots of their society, for the Christ God who embodies a far deeper reality would thereby have become one of their own gods. But the initiated emperors soon realized that the advent of the Christ would be fraught with difficulties for them. When initiation of the emperors, as was the case in Rome after Augustus had been made obligatory by imperial decree, the forces of initiation exercised a powerful influence in the external world. They influenced the policies of the emperors and were operative in the measures and impulses which shaped society. The aims and intentions of the initiated emperors were more clearly defined, more uncompromising than those of the ordinary initiate. Suppose, for example, that one of the emperors who had received initiation had said: “Now John the Baptist baptized with water. Through this baptism by water the etheric body was loosened” (the initiated emperors were of course aware of this) “and the candidates for baptism thereby gained insight into the inner structure of the spiritual world.” They were aware that a decisive turning-point in the history of the world had now been reached. This was known to those whose etheric bodies had been loosened through total immersion. Let us now suppose that one of these emperors had said: “I accept the challenge”—such things were not unknown in the Mysteries “I am prepared to do battle against that which has entered the world at this decisive moment in history!”—One must realize how autocratic, self-willed, these emperors were. But they never dreamt for a moment that they might be powerless against the will of the gods; they were determined—and it was for this purpose they had themselves initiated—to try issue with the spiritual world-impulses and to stem the tide of world-evolution. Such things had already happened before; and they are happening before our eyes today, only people are unaware of it.
Here is a historical incident that confirms the hypothesis I have suggested above. In the age of Constantine, Licinius ruled over the Eastern part of the empire. He took it upon himself to challenge the gods. He decided to celebrate a cult act, for these ritual performances symbolized the struggle against the spiritual powers. The ceremony was intended to demonstrate publicly that he had undertaken to challenge the gods. In other words, he wished to ridicule baptism in the eyes of his fellow men (for it was baptism that had made known to the world that the turning-point in world-history had come), and so challenge Christianity and blunt the force of the Christian impulse. To this end a festival was organized at Heliopolis. It was arranged that an actor, Gelasius, should be dressed in the white robes of a priest and be immersed in water. It was to be presented as a spectacle, as a burlesque of Christian baptism. Gelasius, clothed in white, was immersed in the water and was taken out again. He was then exposed to the assembled populace as an object of ridicule. And what happened? Gelasius turned to the people and said: “I have now become a Christian and I will remain a Christian with all the strength at my command.” Licinius had received his answer from the spiritual world. Baptism was no longer an object of ridicule; the effects of baptism were demonstrated for all the world to see. He (Licinius) recognized that the critical moment in world history had arrived. This inititated Emperor had taken it upon himself to challenge the gods and had received his answer.
It is hardly possible for us today to form an idea of the significance of this answer. It was seen by all, even by the heathen, as a complete vindication of baptism, a valid answer, an answer that had to be reckoned with. And those who at that time were initiated into the secrets of world events received a momentary illumination from another source and were granted insight into the meaning and import of Christianity. Widely different customs which had an occult meaning had survived from ancient times. Under the Antonines, for example, the Sibyls delivered their oracles. People consulted them and took their instructions from them. One important oracle of the time of the Antonines predicted that Rome was doomed to destruction, that ancient Rome would not survive! Now oracular utterances, though often ambiguous and open to various interpretations, can be correctly interpreted. This particular oracle gave out this strange prophecy: “Rome will perish and the place where the city once stood will become the haunt of foxes and wolves.” This was a sign that had to be reckoned with. People naturally looked for a deeper meaning but they felt that the turning-point of world history had arrived. The might of Rome would be extinguished. Foxes and wolves would lord it amongst the ruins and take over in her place. Oracles of course often speak ambiguously, but occasionally, even in those times, the aura of initiation was transmitted through an ordinary, uninitiated sage, so that he frequently uttered remarkable prophecies which could only be construed as referring to the turning-point of world evolution.
In my last lecture I spoke of Nero and told you what this initiate emperor really thought. He wished to set the whole world on fire so that he might witness its destruction in person. If Rome as the centre of the world power was to be destroyed, at least he wished to determine for himself the manner of its destruction. Seneca once warned him in a remarkable statement which can be understood only if we are aware that the Roman emperors who were in possession of the principle of initiation believed themselves to be endowed with divine authority which the Christians refused to honour. Seneca, who knew no other way of bringing his message home to the tyrant, said to Nero: “You have absolute power, you have unlimited authority, you can even order the death of those whom you think may contribute in some way to the world order that will follow the downfall of Rome. But there is one thing a despot cannot do, he cannot compass the death of his successor.” These words had profound implications. Seneca was referring of course not to the potential successor if the occasion should arise, but to the actual successor. Seneca wished to indicate that death set a limit to the Emperor's power. The belief that Rome was doomed had an important influence, especially upon imperial circles.
The Christians reacted differently from the Romans to this tradition. We are here faced with a paradoxical situation. The Christians, for their part, championed the idea that Rome would not perish, that her dominion would endure to the end, which always implied the end of an era. It was the Christians, therefore, who upheld the view that the dominion of Rome would endure, that it would outlive the time of the foxes and wolves. Not that the Christians would have denied—if I may risk an oracular statement—that Rome would become the habitat of wolves and foxes They agreed that it was possible, but they maintained, on the other hand, that her power would endure.
We must bear in mind these different attitudes or opinions. Many of them in fact have proved to be correct. For example, the mother of Alexander Severus who was a pupil of Origen—although suspected of heresy, he was none the less regarded as a kind of Church Father—had managed to set up a kind of pantheon for her private use. In her private sanctuary she revered equally Abraham, Christ, Orpheus and Apollonius of Tyana and she considered the worship of these four deities was indispensable for her salvation. As a devoted pupil of Origen she found that this practice was in no way contrary to his teaching.
When we consider these different shades of opinion which I have tried to outline briefly, we find that they reflect the atmosphere of the first three centuries of our era. And during this period we find repeated attempts by initiated emperors to come to terms with Christianity and to incorporate Christianity into their religious system. Despite the recorded persecutions of the Christians this was the Imperial policy up to the fourth century.
Now in the fourth century a remarkable personality appeared on the scene in the shape of the Emperor Constantine,2Constantine was firmly convinced of his divine mission to rule over the world and to establish the orthodox teaching of the Church. He prided himself on having settled the Donatist conflict and the Arian heresy. On his initiative the Council of Nicaea was compelled to introduce the doctrine of the “filioque” which split the Church for a century and a half. a contemporary of Licinius. He was an outstanding personality both politically and spiritually. I have indicated on other occasions how spiritual forces were at work in the personality of Constantine and to some extent guided him in the difficult administration of the Western empire. Today I should like to consider him from another standpoint.
His spiritual make-up was such that he was unable to find a right relationship to the principles of ancient initiation. In contrast to his predecessors and contemporaries he shrank from coercing the hierophants into granting him initiation into the ancient Mysteries. The Sibylline oracles and the prophecies of Rome's impending downfall weighed heavily upon his soul. He was also aware of the Christian teaching that Rome would endure to the end of time. He was well informed on these matters. But he shrank from initiation into the Mysteries; he shrank from carrying the war against the Christians into the realm of the Mysteries. This has significant implications.
What history tells of Constantine is extremely interesting and shows how he tried to find a modus vivendi with Christianity by other means, how he set himself up as the protector of Christianity and introduced Christianity, as he understood it, into the Roman empire. But he could not incorporate his form of Christianity into the old principle of initiation. He was faced with an insurmountable difficulty because the Christians themselves and their leaders were vigorously opposed to this. They felt, and many even realized, that the mission of Christianity was to unveil the ancient Mystery teachings which until then had been kept secret in the Mystery temples. It was their desire that the truths hidden in the Mysteries should be proclaimed to the whole world and should not be restricted to the temples. Fundamentally, the aim of these initiated emperors was to deny Christianity to the people and to restore it again to the Mystery temples. In that event, they believed, people would be initiated into Christianity in the same way as they had been initiated into the secrets of the ancient pagan Mysteries. It was difficult for Constantine to achieve his goal in face of the objectives pursued by the Christians. The Christians saw in the turning-point of world history an event of a spiritual, non-temporal order. And their claim that the Roman empire would endure must be understood as an expression of a wholly spiritual impulse. And this is clearly reflected in the secret teachings of the early Christians. In maintaining that the Roman empire would endure they sought to anticipate what actually came to pass. I pointed out recently that the deeper impulse of the Roman empire has not ceased, that it still lives on, not only in jurisprudence, but in other domains also, which, to those who do not probe more deeply, appear to be a new innovation. But in fact we are simply witnessing a prolongation, an extension of the driving forces behind Imperial Rome. Although the old Roman empire is no more, its spirit still lives on and bites deeply into our civilization.
Certain people maintain that we are haunted today and will always be haunted by the ghost of the old Roman empire. And this is accepted as a truism by the educated, even today, and is unlikely to change. The Christians wished to draw attention to this. But at the same time they contended that Christianity will always contain an element that is antagonistic to the Roman empire, for the spiritual impulse in Christianity will always be at odds with the materialism of Rome. And this contention of the Christians was prophetic.
You will now understand more clearly why the Senators and the Roman Emperors were alarmed, for they naturally associated the decline that was prophesied with the external empire which they saw slowly crumble under the impact of Christianity. And the emperor Constantine shared this view. Although not himself initiated, he was aware that a primordial wisdom had once existed in ancient times when man possessed atavistic clairvoyance. This wisdom had been transmitted to later ages, had been preserved by the priesthood, but had gradually become corrupted. In Rome too, Constantine said to himself: our social order embodies something that is associated with the institutions of this primordial wisdom, but we have simply buried it beneath the social order of a materialistic and secular empire. This was expressed in a pregnant symbol that is an “Imagination”, and not only an “Imagination”, but also an historical cult act, for these “Imaginations” often took the form of cult acts. People knew that in earlier times wisdom was not an arbitrary invention of man but was a revelation from the spiritual worlds. They knew that in primordial times priests had preserved this wisdom, not in Rome, of course, but across the sea in Ilion, in Troy where they originally dwelt. And this is expressed in the legend of the palladium, the so-called image of Pallas Athene which fell from Heaven in Troy, was preserved in a sanctuary, was then transferred to Rome and buried under a porphyry pillar. In all that was connected with this symbolical cult act people felt that they were able to trace back their civilization to the ancient wisdom which they had received from the spiritual world, but that they could not reach the heights which this wisdom had known in ancient Troy.
Such were the feelings Constantine harboured; and he also felt that even if he were to be initiated into the later Mysteries, they would be of little help to him; they would not lead him to the palladium, to the ancient primordial wisdom. He therefore decided to challenge the cosmic powers after his own fashion in order to save the Roman empire from destruction. He realized that this must be achieved in accordance with certain cosmic impulses and that it would have to take place in accordance with certain cult acts which were publicly enacted for all the world to see. He decided therefore to transfer the capital from Rome to the site of ancient Troy, to have the palladium dug up and taken back to Troy. The plan miscarried. Instead of establishing a new Rome on the site of Troy, he decided to found a new city, Constantinople, transfer the power to her and thus save declining Rome for future ages. By these means Constantine hoped to stem the tide of world evolution. He was prepared for Rome to become the habitat of foxes and wolves as the Sibylline oracle had foretold, but at the same time he wished to transfer the hidden impulses of Rome to a new site and so restore them to their original source. Constantine therefore embarked upon the ambitious plan to found Constantinople, and the work was completed in A.D. 326. He intended that the foundation of the city should coincide with this turning-point in world history. He therefore chose to lay the foundation stone at the moment when the Sun stood in the sign of the Archer and the Crab ruled the hour. He followed closely the indications of the cosmic signs. He wished to make Constantinople famous and to transfer to her the enduring impulse of eternal Rome. He therefore had the porphyry pillar (which was later destroyed by storms) transported to Constantinople. He ordered the palladium to be dug up and to be placed beneath the pillar. He also treasured among his possessions some relics of the Cross and a few nails that had originally secured the Cross. The relics of the Cross were made into a kind of frame to hold a much prized statue of Apollo and the nails into a nimbus with which he was crowned. This statue was set up on the porphyry pillar and an inscription was engraved on it which read somewhat as follows: That which sheds its beneficent influence here shall, like the Sun, endure for all time and proclaim the fame of its founder Constantine to all eternity! These things must of course be taken more or less imaginatively, but with this qualification, that they refer at all times to actual historical events.
This whole story has passed over into legend and, transmuted, lives on in the following legend: the palladium which is a symbol for a particular centre of primordial wisdom had been deposited originally in the secret Mystery Centres of the priest-initiates of Troy. It came to light for the first time when it was transported by circuitous routes from Troy to Rome. It saw the light of day a second time when it was transferred from Rome to Constantinople on the orders of Constantine. And those who believe the legend say that it will see the light of day a third time when it is transported from Constantinople to a Slavonic city. This legend is still vitally alive and survives in many things and under manifold forms. Today many things which appear in their purely physical aspects conceal a deeper layer of meaning.
Constantine therefore actively strove to prevent the downfall of the Roman empire in spite of his firm belief in the prophecy of the Sibylline oracle. He wanted to save Rome from herself.
In what I have told you I want you to recognize that in the historical personality of Constantine psychic impulses were at work which had significant and far-reaching effects. And bear in mind also what the earlier Christians and their leaders maintained: “The Roman empire will endure and the Christ Impulse we have received will also be realized and will ever be present amongst us.” Here we see two parallel phenomena of importance which have a significant bearing upon the different currents which have influenced the cultural development of the West. In particular you will be able to form an idea of the attitude towards the Roman empire in the early Christian centuries and in the age of Constantine, and of the sharply conflicting opinions on the way in which the future was envisaged. And you will perhaps find criteria which will enable you to see many of the later events in their true light. And we can only see many of these later events in proper perspective if we answer the following question: How far does the later development of Christianity up to now accord with its original intention and what must be done to bring it into closer rapport with that intention?
It remains for me to speak of a still more important moment in evolution in connection with the expansion of Christianity, the moment when an initiated Emperor called Julian the Apostate came face to face with this emergent Christianity. From the results of our historical enquiry we shall then be in a position to discuss in this context the further question: How can we prepare our souls to draw near to the Christ whose presence will be experienced in the etheric world in the present century? What steps must we take, especially in our present age, to draw near to Him?
In my next lecture I should like to discuss the trend of events under Julian the Apostate and to indicate the relation of our present age to the Etheric Christ in so far as it is permissible to touch upon this question today.
Dreizehnter Vortrag
Vieles ist in der Gegenwart und wird namentlich sein unter den Gestaltungen, welche die Ereignisse der Gegenwart und der nächsten Zukunft annehmen werden, was seinem Wesen nach durchschaut werden kann, wenn man in vernünftiger und geistiger Weise das Fortwirken jener Ereignisse ins Auge fassen wird, welche sich abgespielt haben durch die erste Verbreitung des Christentums. Das mag heute noch manchem paradox klingen. Und dennoch: daß nicht allgemeiner verständlich gemacht werden kann, wie gewisse Kräfte, die dazumal dem menschlichen Werden und dem Erdenwerden überhaupt bei der Verbreitung des Christentums eingeprägt und eingeimpft worden sind, heute noch fortwirken, das rührt nur davon her, daß man heute, nach den ja oftmals charakterisierten Meinungen, die nun einmal in unserer Zeitgenossenschaft herrschen, nicht auf die tieferen Impulse, auf die tieferliegenden Kräfte sieht, die in den Zeitereignissen wirken, und alles nur unter dem Gesichtspunkte desjenigen betrachten möchte, was sich so an der Oberfläche abspielt. Die tieferen geistigen Kräfte sind ja heute dem Menschen aus dem Grunde nicht zugänglich, weil man deren Betrachtung nicht eigentlich liebt. Wer aber nur sich ein wenig einlassen will auf dasjenige, was dem Oberflächengeschehen in unserer Zeit zugrunde liegt, der wird in manchem Dokumente, das in unserer Zeit an die Oberfläche des Daseins tritt, als wirksame Kraft — sogar in manchem, das da und dort geschieht bei den Menschen, die sich nicht bewußt sind, unter welchen Impulsen sie handeln —, der wird unter allem Impulse gewahr werden, die oftmals ein Fortwirken, sogar ein Wiedererscheinen gewisser, besonders in den ersten Jahrhunderten der Verbreitung des Christentums auftretender Impulse sind. Es ist gar nicht einmal möglich, die bedeutungsvollsten, man könnte sagen, Auferweckungen alter Impulse in unserer Zeit heute zu charakterisieren, weil die Menschen eine solche Charakteristik nicht vertragen. Aber derjenige, der von einem gewissen Gesichtspunkte aus gerade die ersten christlichen Jahrhunderte in Europa betrachtet, der wird darauf kommen können, welche Kräfte wirksam sind und wieder erscheinen. Daher war ich und bin ich bestrebt, gewisse Erscheinungen, die mit der Ausbreitung des Christentums in den ersten Jahrhunderten der christlichen Zeitrechnung zusammenhängen, gerade jetzt vor Ihre Seele zu führen, weil Sie durch den entsprechenden Gebrauch der dadurch erlangbaren Vorstellungen gerade vieles in der Gegenwart von selbst durch die eigene Seele werden verstehen können.
Ich will nun heute einiges, das sich aufbaut auf unsere letzten Betrachtungen, herbeitragen, das dann einer späteren Ausführung noch unterliegen wird, das wir aber zuerst einmal uns anschauen wollen, damit diese spätere Betrachtung fruchtbar wird sein können.
Sehen Sie, ich habe Ihnen öfter von dieser eigentümlichen, merkwürdigen Tatsache gesprochen, daß die ersten römischen Cäsaren, die römischen Kaiser, in einer gewissen Weise sich die Initiation erzwungen hatten. Und daß gerade manche Handlungen der römischen Kaiser unter diesem Einflusse geschehen sind, der davon kam, daß sie sich die Initiation erzwungen hatten und daher gewisse Dinge wußten, die mit den Weltenereignissen, mit den großen Impulsen der Weltenereignisse, zusammenhingen, aber daß sie eben, wie wir das letzte Mal gesehen haben, diese Initiationsgeheimnisse in ihrer Art ausnützten.
Nun handelt es sich bei der Betrachtung dieser Dinge vor allem darum, zuerst einzusehen, daß das Hereinkommen des Christus-Impulses in die weltgeschichtliche Bewegung der Menschheit nicht bloß ein äußeres Ereignis des physischen Planes war, welches man versteht, wenn man geschichtlich die Tatsachen, die überliefert sind, betrachtet, sondern daß es ein wirklich geistiges Ereignis war. Ich habe schon darauf hingewiesen, daß etwas Tieferes hinter den in den Evangelien auftretenden Mitteilungen liegt, daß den Christus die Dämonen erkannt haben. Es wird erzählt, daß der Christus Heilungen vollführt hat, welche in den Evangelien dargelegt werden als Dämonen-Austreibungen. Und wir werden immer wiederum darauf aufmerksam gemacht, daß auf der einen Seite die Dämonen, die auf diese Weise gewissermaßen aus dem Menschen herauskamen, eine Kenntnis davon hatten, wer der Christus sei; und auf der anderen Seite wiederum werden wir immer darauf hingewiesen, daß der Christus selbst zu den Dämonen sagte, daß es nicht an der Zeit ist, von ihm zu sprechen, daß sie ihn, wie es in der gangbaren Evangelien-Übersetzung heißt, nicht «verraten» sollen. So daß man also sagen kann: Als der Christus auftrat, waren nicht etwa bloß die Urteile der Menschen beteiligt. Es hätte sein können, daß die Menschen zunächst nicht die geringste Ahnung gehabt hätten, was hinter dem Auftreten des Christus stak. Aber die Dämonen, die Geister, die also gedacht waren angehörend einer übersinnlichen Welt, die haben ihn erkannt. Wir sehen, es ist also ein Ereignis, bei dessen Erkenntnis die übersinnliche Welt mitspielt. Und diese Erkenntnis vor allen Dingen ist es, die von den kenntnisreicheren Führern der ersten Christen mit einer großen Intensität festgehalten worden ist: daß das Christentum gekommen ist nicht bloß als ein irdisches Ereignis, daß sich da nicht etwas abgespielt hat bloß in der Erdenwelt, sondern etwas, was die geistige Welt angeht, was in der geistigen Welt gewissermaßen eine Art Revolutionierung hervorgerufen hat. Das ist es, was von diesen Führern und den Geistern der ersten Christenheit streng und stark festgehalten worden ist.
Nun ist es eine eigentümliche Erscheinung, daß gerade die römischen Cäsaren, welche also um gewisse Dinge, gewisse Geheimnisse der geistigen Welt wußten, da sie sich die Initiation erzwungen hatten, daß diese römischen Cäsaren mehr oder weniger durchaus, gerade durch ihre Initiation, eine Ahnung hatten von der ganzen, großen, weitgehenden Bedeutung des Christus-Impulses. Selbstverständlich gab es unter den römischen Cäsaren solche, die, trotzdem sie sich die Initiation erzwungen hatten, nicht viel verstanden von den Geheimnissen; aber es gab auch solche, die so viel verstanden, daß sie die Wirksamkeit, die Kraft des Christus-Mysteriums ahnen konnten. Und gerade die begabteren und einsichtsvolleren dieser initiierten Cäsaren, die fingen an, eine gewisse Politik zu verfolgen gegenüber dem sich verbreitenden Christentum. Sogar der erste Kaiser nach dem Augustus, Tiberius, fing schon damit an. Obwohl man da einwenden könnte: Ja, da hatte das Christentum ja noch gar keine Verbreitung — so gilt dieser Einwand nicht. Denn Tiberius, als in gewissem Sinne in die alten Mysterien eingeweiht, wußte genau, daß es sich um Bedeutsames handelte, als ihm von Palästina aus gemeldet worden war, was da als Christus-Impuls in die Welt eingezogen war. Und so müssen wir schon ein wenig hinschauen, wie schon unter Tiberius jene Politik begann, welche die initiierten römischen Casären gegenüber dem Christentum befolgt haben. Tiberius hat gerade seinen Willen kundgegeben, der darin bestand, Christus aufzunehmen als einen der Götter unter die anderen römischen Götter.
Das römische Weltreich hat ja gegenüber der Götterverehrung eine ganz bestimmte Politik befolgt. Im wesentlichen bestand diese Politik darin, daß, wenn die Römer über ein Volk den Sieg davongetragen hatten, es erobert hatten, sie mit dem Volke dann auch dessen Götter in ihren Götter-Olymp aufnahmen. Das heißt, sie sagten: Diese Götter dürfen auch verehrt werden, und unsere Götter sind eben um die Zahl dieser Götter vermehrt. Sie hatten eben in ihre Götter-Familie einige andere aufgenommen, und so hatten sich nach und nach die römischen Götter selber auf diese Weise vermehrt. Das war gewissermaßen die Politik, welche die römischen Herrscher befolgten, um all dasjenige, was sie erobern wollten, wirklich auch mit dem Geistigen, dem Seelischen, herüberzunehmen. Und da namentlich solch ein initiierter Cäsar weit davon entfernt war, in den Göttern nur die äußeren Bilder zu sehen, weit davon entfernt war, in den Göttern nur das zu sehen, was das Volk sah, sondern wußte, daß hinter dem, was in den Bildern der Götter aufgestellt war, wirklich geistige Mächte schon vorhanden waren aus den verschiedensten Hierarchien, so war diese Politik eine durchaus verständliche, eine durchaus begreifliche; denn es wurde ja bewußtermaßen der Kraft des römischen Herrschaftsprinzips eingefügt die Kraft, die in der Aufnahme der Götter, der Aneignung der Götter, liegen sollte. Und in der Regel wurde nicht nur äußerlich exoterisch die Götterreligion übernommen, sondern es wurden in den römischen Initiationsstätten auch die Geheimnisse der fremden Mysterien mit aufgenommen und mit dem Mysterienkultus des alten römischen Reiches verbunden. Und da dazumal eben durchaus die Anschauung war, daß man ohne geistige Kräfte, wie sie die Götter repräsentieren, nicht regieren solle und könne, so war das, wie gesagt, eine ganz verständliche Sache.
Tiberius wollte also erreichen, daß auch die Kraft des Christus, wie er sich sie vorstellte, einfach eingefügt werde den Impulsen, die von den anderen von ihm und seinen Völkern anerkannten göttlichen Mächten ausgingen. Der römische Senat vereitelte dem Tiberius dieses Ansinnen, und es kam nicht zustande. Aber immer wieder haben die initiierten Cäsaren diesen Versuch gemacht. Hadrian zum Beispiel hat diesen Versuch gemacht. Aber immer wiederum sträubten sich die Würdenträger, diejenigen, die einen gewissen Einfluß geltend machen konnten, gegen diese Politik der initiierten Cäsaren. Nun, wenn man prüft, was eigentlich vorgebracht wurde gegen diese Politik der initiierten Cäsaren, dann bekommt man gerade durch diese Prüfung eine gute Vorstellung davon, was in diesem allerbedeutsamsten Wendepunkt der menschlichen Erdenentwickelung eigentlich gespielt hat.
Es ist ein merkwürdiges Zusamnmentreffen, das uns da vor Augen treten kann. Sehen Sie, unzählige Male ist von römischen Schriftstellern, römischen einflußreichen Persönlichkeiten, und von da ausgehend auch innerhalb des größeren römischen Volkes immer wieder geltend gemacht worden gegen die Christen, so wie sie dazumal sich zeigten, wie sie sich ausbreiteten: daß diese Christen dasjenige für unheilig halten, was die anderen für heilig halten, und daß sie dasjenige für heilig halten, was die anderen für unheilig halten. Das heißt, es wurde von seiten der Römer darauf aufmerksam gemacht, immer wieder darauf hingewiesen, daß diese Christen sich radikal unterscheiden in ihrem Denken, in ihrem Fühlen, in ihrem Empfinden von den Römern und von allen anderen Völkern; denn die anderen Völker hatten die Römer gewissermaßen mit ihren Göttern eben aufgesogen. Sie sehen daraus, daß es schon so war, daß alle Welt gewissermaßen die Christen als andere Leute ansah, als Leute mit anderen, mit sogar entgegengesetzten Empfindungen und Gefühlen. Nun könnte man das einfach damit abtun, daß man sagte, das wäre eine Verleumdung. Mit solchen Dingen ist man ja bald zur Hand, nicht wahr, wenn man oberflächlich die Geschichte ansehen will. Aber man wird nicht sagen, das sei eine Verleumdung, wenn man folgendes bedenkt: Vieles ist dem Wortlaute nach — Sie wissen ja, solchen Wortlaut überschätzen wir nicht, aber gerade deshalb, weil wir ihn nicht überschätzen, dürfen wir ihn hervorheben -, vieles ist dem Wortlaute nach aus den Anschauungen der Vor- und Mitwelt gegenüber dem Mysterium von Golgatha in die Lehre der Christen übergegangen. Besser könnte man sagen: Die Christen haben mit Worten ihre Empfindungen ausgesprochen, die bei manchen ihrer Zeitgenossen schon zu finden waren. Einer derjenigen, der vielleicht wirklich dem Wortlaute nach dasjenige hat, was bei den Christen wiederum aufgetreten ist, das ist Philo von Alexandrien, den ich ja auch schon öfter hier erwähnt habe, ein Zeitgenosse des Christus. Philo von Alexandrien hat nun einen merkwürdigen Satz; der lautet einfach: Nach dem, was mir überliefert ist, muß ich dasjenige hassen, was die anderen. lieben — und er meint die Römer -, und dasjenige lieben, was die anderen hassen — er meint die Römer. Und wenn Sie diesen Satz des Philo ins Auge fassen und dann in den Evangelien nachschauen, so werden Sie unzählige Anklänge, namentlich im Matthäus-Evangelium, an diesen Satz des Philo finden. So daß man schon sagen kann: das Christentum ist wie aus einer geistigen Aura herausgewachsen, welche bedingt, daß gesagt wurde: Wir lieben dasjenige, was die anderen hassen. Das heißt, die Christen — und dieser Satz wurde oftmals in Christen-Gemeinschaften der ersten Zeit ausgesprochen, war sogar einer der Hauptsätze bei christlichen Unterweisungen -, die Christen sprachen selber das aus, was ihnen die anderen vorwarfen. Es war also keine bloße Verleumdung, sondern es trifft zusammen mit dem, was die Römer sagten: Die Christen lieben, was wir hassen, und hassen, was wir lieben. Aber die Christen sagten auf der anderen Seite dasselbe in bezug auf die Römer.
Daraus sehen Sie, daß wirklich - sonst hätte sich das ja nicht in so starker Weise zum Ausdruck bringen können -, daß wirklich etwas von dem Vorhergehenden ungeheuer Verschiedenes da in die Weltentwickelung der Menschheit eingetreten ist. Natürlich muß man, wenn man diese ganze Situation beurteilen will, sich klar sein, daß das, was eingetreten ist, wirklich herabgekommen ist aus geistigen Welten, und daß manche, die Zeitgenossen waren des Mysteriums von Golgatha, wie Philo, es in gebrochenen Strahlen gesehen und dann auf ihre Art ausgesprochen haben. So daß man manchmal Evangelienworte, die man heute vielfach nun so deutet, wie ich Ihnen das bei jenem Manne am Schlusse des letzten Vortrages angeführt habe, die man heute der Opportunität der Menschen anpaßt, erst im rechten Lichte sehen wird, wenn man sich nicht auf den Standpunkt stellt, in beliebiger Weise zu interpretieren, sondern wenn man aus dem ganzen Geiste der Zeit heraus wirklich die Interpretation gestalten wird. Es sind merkwürdige Sätze in den Evangelien. Sie werden ja wirklich heute zuweilen recht merkwürdig interpretiert. Aber es klingt gerade bei Philo manches stark an die Evangelien an. So möchte ich Ihnen einen Satz aus Philo mitteilen, aus dem Sie sehen werden, daß Philo, nur weil er nicht so inspiriert ist wie die Evangelisten später, in einer etwas anderen Weise schrieb als diese; weil er mehr im weltmännischen Sinne schriftgewandt war, drückte er manches so aus, daß man, um ihn zu verstehen, nicht so viel braucht, wie man bei den Evangelisten braucht, um die Evangelien zu verstehen. Einen merkwürdigen Satz finden Sie bei Philo, der aber ausdrückt manches, was da hereingekommen ist in die Herzen und in die Köpfe der Menschen. Da sagt Philo: Lasset die Erbschaftsregister und die Dokumente der Despoten, lasset überhaupt alles Leibliche laufen; schreibt weder dem sogenannten Bürger Bürgerrechte und Freiheitsvorrechte, noch dem niedrig Geborenen oder durch Kauf erlangten Sklaven Unfreiheit zu, sondern seht allein auf die Abstammung der Seele! Sie werden, wenn Sie mit Verstand das Evangelium lesen, nicht verkennen, daß, allerdings in eine besondere geistige Sphäre heraufgehoben, etwas von dieser Gesinnung gerade die Evangelien durchglüht, und daß daher ein heutiger Opportunistling eben schon sagen kann das, was ich Ihnen das letzte Mal vorgelesen habe, und was jedenfalls wert ist, daß wir es uns recht gut einprägen, daher ich es noch einmal vorlesen will:
«Es ist vergebliche Mühe, das Jenseits zu suchen. Es existiert vielleicht nicht einmal, und wie wir’s auch anpacken, wir können nichts davon erfahren. Überlassen wir jedweden Okkultismus den Erleuchteten und den Gauklern; welche Form der Mystizismus auch annehmen mag, er widerspricht der Vernunft. Aber geben wir uns dennoch der Kirche hin... weil sie mit der Autorität der Jahrhunderte und großer praktischer Erfahrung die Regeln jener Ethik formuliert, die man die Völker und Kinder lehren muß. Und endlich weil sie, weit davon entfernt, uns dem Mystizismus auszuliefern, uns direkt gegen ihn verteidigt, die Stimmen der geheimnisvollen Haine zum Schweigen bringt, die Evangelien auslegt, und den großmütigen Anarchismus des Heilandes den Bedürfnissen der Gesellschaft opfert.»
Gerade bei einem solchen Satz, wie dem, den ich Ihnen eben aus Philo mitgeteilt habe, können Sie sehen, da er in der Bibel, in dem Neuen Testament, immer wiederum anklingt, was eigentlich hinter dieser ganzen Bewegung steckt. Und wenn Philo von der Abstammung der Seele spricht, so meint er viel, aber er meint allerdings etwas, was sich aufbäumt gegen alle Anschauungen, die im Römerreiche die maßgebenden waren. Denn im Römerreiche galt nur die Abstammung des Leibes, in den verschiedensten Formen, selbstverständlich; und die ganze soziale Ordnung war aufgebaut auf die Abstammung des Leibes. Und hineingeworfen wurde da auf einmal das Wort: «Lasset laufen alle Abstammung des Leibes und sehet nur auf die Abstammung der Seele!» Man kann sich etwas, was radikaler brach mit allen Prinzipien des Römerreiches, gar nicht vorstellen. Das gibt es nicht, daß ein größerer Gegensatz vorgestellt werden könnte. Und dieser Gegensatz, der wurde durch das Auftreten des Christus Jesus auf ein höheres Niveau erhoben - die Welt wartete ja auf ihn —, er wurde auf ein höheres Niveau erhoben und mit aller Impulsivität der damaligen äußeren Weltenordnung entgegengesetzt.
Man kann sagen: Es hätte den römischen Cäsaren schon recht sein können, das, was da auftrat, was aber den Grundnerv ihrer Sozialität negierte, in das Pantheon ihrer Götter einzureihen als einen neuen Gott in den Kreis ihrer vielen anderen Götter; damit wäre er, der ChristusGott, hinter dem so viel Tieferes steckt, trivial ausgedrückt, einer der ihrigen geworden. Aber diese initiierten Cäsaren, die sollten merken, daß sie es nicht leicht haben würden mit dem, was da aus geistigen Höhen zu ihnen gekommen war. Wenn Kräfte der Initiation so stark äußerlich wirksam sind, wie sie äußerlich wirksam sein müssen, wenn einfach ein Zwangsgesetz geworden ist, daß die Cäsaren initiiert werden müssen, wie es nach dem Augustus in Rom der Fall war, dann wirken natürlich mit alledem, was die Cäsaren äußerlich verrichten, bedeutsame Kräfte mit. Sie wirken sozusagen in den Maßnahmen, in den Impulsen, durch welche die Sozialität gestaltet wird. Und da zeigen sich die Absichten stärker, als sie sich für den gewöhnlichen initiierten Menschen zeigen. Denn nehmen wir an, irgendeiner der Cäsaren, den die Initiation berührt hat, hätte gesagt: Nun ja — ich meine, nehmen wir das hypothetisch an -, da trat der Täufer auf mit der Wassertaufe. Durch diese Wassertaufe wurden die Ätherleiber gelockert — selbstverständlich wußten das die initiierten Cäsaren —, dadurch erlangten die Täuflinge Einsicht in das innere Gefüge der geistigen Welt, sie wußten vor allen Dingen, daß jetzt ein Weltenwendepunkt ist. - Denn das wußten diejenigen, die getauft worden sind durch das Untertauchen in das Wasser; dadurch, daß ihre Ätherleiber gelockert wurden, wußten sie gerade das Geheimnis der Weltenwende. Und denken Sie sich, solch ein initiierter Cäsar hätte gesagt: Ich will den Kampf aufnehmen - das gab es innerhalb der Mysterien -, ich will den Kampf aufnehmen gegen das, was da in die Weltenwende hereingetreten ist! - Von dem Machtwillen dieser Cäsaren muß man sich nur eine genügend starke Vorstellung machen. Sie sind nicht darauf verfallen, daß sie etwa ohnmächtig sein könnten gegen den Willen der Götter, sondern sie haben — dazu ließen sie sich ja initiieren —, sie haben durchaus beschlossen, es mit den geistigen Weltenimpulsen aufzunehmen, gewissermaßen dem Weltenlaufe sich entgegenzustemmen. Das ist zu anderen Zeiten auch geschehen. Geschieht auch heute. Nur merken es heute die Leute nicht, wissen es nicht.
Nun ist dieser Hypothese gegenüber, die ich jetzt aufgestellt habe, folgendes geschehen: Licinius, der zur Zeit des Konstantin mitregiert hatte den anderen Teil des Reiches, der hat ungefähr die Empfindung gehabt, sich den Göttern entgegenzusetzen. Er wollte ein Zeichen verrichten, denn in solchen Zeichen, Kult-Zeichen, Kultus-Zeichen, drückt sich gewissermaßen der Kampf gegen die geistigen Mächte aus. Er wollte ein Kult-Zeichen verrichten, durch das manifestiert werden sollte in der äußeren physischen Welt: Ich nehme diesen Kampf auf! Er wollte - mit anderen Worten sei es gesagt — die Taufe, durch die herausgekommen war vor der ganzen Welt: «Weltenwende ist da!», vor der ganzen Mitwelt verspotten und damit das Christentum bekämpfen, ihm die Stärke seines Impulses abstumpfen. Dazu wurde ein besonderes Fest veranstaltet, ein Schaufest zu Heliopolis. Ein Mime, Gelasinus, wurde veranlaßt, im weißen Taufgewand untergetaucht zu werden in warmes Wasser. Das sollte als Schaustück aufgeführt werden, und dies sollte der Hohn sein auf die christliche Taufe. Was geschah? Gelasinus wurde also ins priesterlich-weiße Gewand gehüllt, wurde untergetaucht ins warme Wasser, wurde herausgezogen, und nun sollte er zum Gespötte da sein. Und was geschah? Nun, er sagte: «Jetzt bin ich Christ und bleibe es mit allen Kräften meiner Seele!» Das heißt, es war dem Licinius die Antwort der geistigen Welt zugekommen: statt der Verspottung der Taufe war die Wirkung der Taufe eingetreten. Er hat erkannt die Weltenwende. - Solch ein initiierter Cäsar, wie der Licinius war, der nahm es also auf, die Götter zu fragen, mit Göttern zu kämpfen, und holte sich die absagende Antwort.
Gewiß, in unserer Zeit wird man keine rechte Vorstellung sich machen können von der Bedeutung, die eine solche Antwort hat. Dazumal war sie für alle Menschen, auch für die Heiden, eine vollgültige Antwort, eine Antwort, mit der man schon rechnete. Es war ja auch von anderer Seite gewissermaßen in das Bewußtsein gerade der mit den Geheimnissen des Weltgeschehens bekannten Leute der damaligen Zeit etwas gekommen, was sie vertraut machte mit den Gedanken, die durch die Ausbreitung des Christentums heraufkamen. Aus alten Zeiten hatten sich ja die verschiedensten Gebräuche fortgepflanzt, die aber alle einen okkulten Sinn hatten. In der Antoninen-Zeit sprachen die Sibyllen; oder man hörte und suchte sich Rat bei ihnen, bei den Sibyllinischen Orakeln. Und ein bedeutsames Orakel aus der Antoninen-Zeit hatte ausdrücklich festgestellt: Rom ist dem Untergang geweiht; das alte Rom wird nicht fortbestehen können! Nun, Orakel sprechen ja so, daß man sie vieldeutig, aber auch recht verstehen kann. Dieses Orakel sprach merkwürdig. Es sagte: Rom werde untergehen, und an der Stelle, wo das alte Rom war, werden Füchse und Wölfe hausen, die ihre Macht entfalten werden. - Das war auch etwas, womit man rechnete. Natürlich suchte man hinter all dem einen tieferen Sinn; aber, daß Weltenwende ist, das fühlte man. Das, was in Rom geherrscht hat, das wird verglimmen. Füchse und Wölfe werden da sein, die werden von da aus ihre Herrschaft entfalten. Natürlich, Orakel sprechen vieldeutig; und zuweilen ging auch dazumal durch einen gewöhnlichen, nicht eingeweihten Weisen die Aura der Initiation, so daß er manchmal merkwürdige Dinge sprach, die nur im völligen Zusammenhang mit der Zeit der Weltenwende zu verstehen sind.
Ich habe Ihnen das letztemal von Nero erzählt, was dieser initiierte Cäsar eigentlich dachte. Er wollte die Welt anzünden, um bei dem Weltenende selbst dabei zu sein. Also er wollte gewissermaßen, wenn schon das Ende Roms kommen sollte, wenigstens dieses Ende Roms, das heißt die Herrschaft des Erdkreises von Rom aus, in der Hand haben. Seneca warnte ihn einmal, warnte ihn in einem merkwürdigen Ausspruch. Diesen Ausspruch versteht man nur, wenn man eben weiß, daß die römischen Cäsaren im Besitz des Initiierten-Prinzips sich selber mit Götter-Machtvollkommenheit ausgerüstet glaubten, welche entsprechende Verehrung ihnen gerade die Christen nicht darbringen wollten. Seneca sagte zu dem Cäsar Nero: Du vermagst vieles - er wußte dem Gewaltmenschen die Sache nicht anders beizubringen -, du vermagst vieles, du kannst vieles, auch töten lassen die, von denen du glaubst, daß sie irgend etwas werden beitragen können zu der Weltordnung, die nach dem Untergang des alten Rom kommen wird. Allein eines ist, was kein Despot vermag — so sagte Seneca -, er kann nämlich seinen Nachfolger niemals ermorden lassen. — Es war ein sehr bedeutsames, tiefes Wort. Sie dürfen natürlich nicht darunter verstehen den eventuell bestimmten Nachfolger, sondern wirklich den Nachfolger. Seneca wollte ihm bedeuten, daß der Tod seiner Macht eine Grenze setzt. So daß schon gerade in Römerkreisen diese Tradition eine bedeutsame Rolle spielt, die Tradition von dem Untergange Roms.
Und merkwürdig ist es, daß gerade in dieser Tradition wiederum die Christen sich radikal unterschieden von den Römern. Und jetzt kommt etwas sehr Paradoxes: Die Christen unterschieden sich dadurch, daß sie gerade bei sich, wenn sie unter sich waren, die These verfochten, daß Rom nicht untergehen werde, sondern bis ans Ende, wobei man immer dachte an das Ende eines Zyklus, die Herrschaft Roms dauern werde. Also gerade die Christen waren es, welche die These verfochten, daß die Herrschaft Roms fortdauern werde, daß sie gewissermaßen die Wölfe und die Füchse überdauern werde. Nicht als ob die Christen gesagt hätten, um jetzt ein bißchen ebenso zu sprechen, wie das Orakel: es würden in Rom nicht Wölfe und Füchse hausen oder herrschen; das haben sie nicht negiert, aber sie haben dem entgegengesetzt: die Herrschaft Roms wird fortdauern.
Alle diese Stimmungen, die muß man wirklich ganz entsprechend ins Auge fassen. Manches davon ist ja sogar verwirklicht worden. So zum Beispiel die Mutter des Alexander Severus, die eine Schülerin des Origenes war — denken Sie, des Origenes, der, wenn auch als ein verdächtiger, aber doch als eine Art Kirchenvater angesehen wird -, also die Mutter des Alexander Severus, die eine Schülerin war des Origenes, die hatte es für sich zu ihrem Privatgebrauch durchgeführt, sich eine Art Pantheon der Verehrung aufzurichten. Denn sie verehrte gleichzeitig in ihrer Privatkammer: Abraham, Orpheus, Apollonius von Tyana und Christus, und hielt durchaus die Verehrung dieser Vier - Abraham, Christus, Orpheus, Apollonius von Tyana — für ihr eigenes Heil notwendig und richtig. Also immerhin fand sie es, die doch eine gute Schülerin des Origenes war, gar nicht als der Lehre des Origenes widersprechend, sich so zu verhalten.
Nun, wenn wir so diese Stimmungen festhalten, die ich Ihnen mit einigen Strichen anzudeuten versuchte, so haben wir in ihnen etwa die Stimmungen der ersten Jahrhunderte bis ins vierte Jahrhundert hinein. Und wir finden immer wieder und wiederum in dieser Zeit initiierte Cäsaren, welche bestrebt waren, gewissermaßen das Christentum mit unter ihre Religionssysteme aufzunehmen, sich mit dem Christentum abzufinden. Trotz der von der Geschichte mitgeteilten Christen-Verfolgungen ist das doch richtig; wir finden das bis ins 4. Jahrhundert hinein.
Im vierten Jahrhundert tritt ja, wie Sie wissen, eine merkwürdige Persönlichkeit auf in dem Kaiser Konstantin, dem Zeitgenossen des Licinius — eine merkwürdige Persönlichkeit. Konstantin war eine außerordentlich bedeutende Persönlichkeit, auch eine geistig bedeutende Persönlichkeit; und ich habe ja bei anderen Gelegenheiten darauf hingewiesen, wie Geistiges hereinwirkte gerade in der Persönlichkeit des Konstantin, gewissermaßen in der Führung des Abendlandes, die ja eine komplizierte ist. Wir wollen ihn heute von einem anderen Gesichtspunkte betrachten.
Sehen Sie, er war eine bedeutende, auch eine geistige Persönlichkeit, aber seine geistige Artung war so, daß er kein rechtes Verhältnis zu der alten Initiation finden konnte. Er konnte kein rechtes Verhältnis zu der alten Initiation finden. Er schreckte gewissermaßen zurück vor dem, wovor seine Vorfahren und Zeitgenossen nicht zurückgeschreckt sind: die Initiation in die alten Mysterien sich zu erzwingen. Er hatte gewissermaßen Furcht davor, sich die Initiation in die alten Mysterien zu erzwingen. Dabei lastete auf seiner Seele das Sibyllinische Orakel, lasteten alle die anderen Dinge, die man dazumal wußte über den Niedergang Roms, des Römischen Reiches und so weiter. Allerdings, auch das andere wußte er, daß die Christen die Tradition, die These haben, daß Rom sich bis ans Ende der Welt erhalten werde. Über alle diese Dinge wußte er Bescheid. Aber er schreckte zurück vor der Initiation in die alten Mysterien. Er schreckte davor zurück, gewissermaßen in den Mysterien den Kampf mit dem Christentum aufzunehmen. Das ist außerordentlich bedeutsam.
Was Ihnen in der Geschichte nun erzählt wird über den Kaiser Konstantin, das ist ja außerordentlich interessant und zeigt Ihnen, wie Konstantin auf eine andere Weise ein Verhältnis zum Christentum zu gewinnen versuchte, wie er gewissermaßen als der große Protektor des Christentums auftrat, wie er das Römische Reich eigentlich ganz mit dem Christentum, so wie er es verstand, durchsetzte. Aber er konnte nicht recht anknüpfen dieses Christentum an das alte Initiationsprinzip. Da lag ja auch eine große Schwierigkeit vor; denn die Christen selber und ihre Führer hatten sich gegen das gesträubt, durchaus gesträubt, und zwar aus dem Grunde, weil sie ein Gefühl dafür hatten, viele auch eine Einsicht hatten, daß durch das Christentum das alte Mysterium, das in den Mysterientempeln verhüllt war, auf den Schauplatz der Weltgeschichte herausgetragen werde und so vor alle Welt hingestellt worden ist. Sie wollten vor alle Welt die Mysterienwahrheiten hinstellen, nicht sie einschließen in die Tempel. Und diese initiierten Cäsaren wollten im Grunde genommen nichts anderes, als das Christentum hereinnehmen wiederum aus der Welt in die Mysterientempel. Dann wären die Leute in das Christentum auf ähnliche Weise initiiert worden, wie sie initiiert worden sind in die Geheimnisse der alten Götterlehre. Aber gegen das, was die Christen selber anstrebten, war es auch für Konstantin schwer, durchzudringen, denn die Christen verstanden damals unter dem Impuls, der nach ihrer Meinung bei dieser Weltenwende durch die Welt gehen sollte, einen durchaus geistigen Impuls. Und von diesem Gesichtspunkt eines durchaus geistigen Impulses muß man auch ihre These verstehen: «Das Römische Reich wird fortbestehen.» Diese These, die tritt in einer ganz besonders deutlichen Weise zutage, wenn man, ich möchte sagen, die Geheimlehre der ersten Christen ins Auge faßt. Sie wollten nämlich mit diesem Fortbestehen des Römischen Reiches dasjenige damals schon andeuten, was ja auch geschehen ist. Ich habe Ihnen schon neulich gesagt: Dasjenige, was der eigentliche tiefere Impuls des Imperium Romanum war, das hat ja nicht aufgehört, es lebt fort; und nicht nur die Jurisprudenz, wie ich Ihnen gesagt habe, enthält die Impulse des Imperium Romanum. Ja, das ist das Bedeutsame, daß im einzelnen mancherlei aufgetreten ist, was diejenigen, die nicht tiefer sehen, als etwas Neues ansehen; in Wahrheit aber ist eigentlich zu dem, was in den Impulsen des Imperium Romanum lag, auf einem gewissen Gebiete später nichts hinzugekommen. Man hat eine Fortsetzung des Imperium Romanum; das hat sich ausgebreitet. Wenn auch das alte Römerreich nicht mehr ist, sein Geist lebt aber weit, weit verbreitet fort und tief eingreifend fort.
Gewisse Leute, welche die Geheimnisse kennen, sprechen in der Gegenwart davon, daß dasjenige, was bis in unsere Zeit und immer umgehen wird, das Gespenst des alten Römischen Reiches ist, das überall mitten unter uns lebt. Das ist eine ständige Formel für diejenigen, die in solche Dinge eingeweiht sind, bis heute, und wird es immer sein. Darauf wollten die Christen hinweisen. Aber sie wollten zu gleicher Zeit sagen: In dem, was Christentum ist, wird immer etwas liegen, was dieses Imperium Romanum zu bekämpfen hat. Immer wird das Übersinnliche des Christentums im Kampfe stehen mit dem Sinnlichen des Imperium Romanum. Also es lag in dieser These eine Vorhersage, eine Weissagung.
Und jetzt verstehen Sie auch besser, warum die römischen Senatoren und Cäsaren Angst hatten; denn die mußten in ihrer Art den Untergang auf das äußere Reich beziehen, und das sahen sie ja Stück für Stück abbröckeln gerade unter dem Einfluß des Christentums. Und unter diesem Eindruck stand ein solcher Mensch wie der Kaiser Konstantin. Ohne initiiert zu sein, wußte der Kaiser Konstantin folgendes: Es gab eine Urweisheit der Menschheit. Diese Urweisheit war eben einmal da, sie war in alten Zeiten da, als die Menschen atavistisches Hellsehen hatten; sie war dann auf spätere Zeiten übertragen worden, war bewahrt worden von den Priestern, war allmählich korrumpiert worden, aber sie war da, diese Urweisheit. Auch wir Römer, sagte sich Konstantin, haben eigentlich in unserer sozialen Ordnung etwas, was mit den Institutionen dieser Urweisheit zusammenhängt, nur haben wir es begraben unter der auf das äußere sinnliche Reich gebauten sozialen Ordnung. — Das drückte sich aus in einem bedeutsamen Symbolum, das eine Imagination ist, aber nicht nur eine Imagination, sondern auch eine weltgeschichtliche Kulthandlung, wie diese Imaginationen sehr häufig in Kulthandlungen sich ausdrückten; das drückte sich aus darin, daß man sagte: Die Weisheit war früher nicht von den Menschen erdacht gewesen, sondern aus der geistigen Welt heraus geoffenbart. So haben sie auch noch unsere allerersten urväterlichen Priester gehabt, allerdings nicht in Rom, sondern drüben in Ilion, in Troja, wo unsere urväterlichen Priester waren. Und das drückt sich aus in der Sage von dem Palladium, dem so genannten Bildnis der Athene; das Palladium, das vom Himmel gefallen war in Troja, das in einem Heiligtum aufbewahrt wurde, das dann nach Rom gekommen war und unter einer Porphyr-Säule begraben war. Die Porphyr-Säule erhob sich darüber. Indem man dies fühlte, was mit dieser imaginativen Kulthandlung zusammenhing, fühlte man: Wir führen auch unsere Kultur zurück auf die alte Urweisheit, die aus den geistigen Welten herabgekommen ist, aber wir können nicht heran zu derjenigen Gestalt, die diese Urweisheit im alten Troja gehabt hat.
Das fühlte Konstantin. Daher fühlte er auch, daß ihm die späteren Mysterien, wenn er auch in sie initiiert worden wäre, nicht viel helfen würden; sie würden ihn nicht führen zu dem Palladium, zu der alten Urweisheit. Und da beschloß denn Konstantin, auf seine Art aufzunehmen gewissermaßen den Kampf mit den Weltenmächten; auf seine Art etwas zu tun, um gewissermaßen das Prinzip des Imperium Romanum zu retten. Natürlich war er nicht so töricht zu glauben, daß das nicht geschehen müsse im Sinne, in der Strömung gewisser Welten-Impulse. Er wußte, daß es geschehen müßte wiederum im Sinne gewisser Kulthandlungen, die vor die ganze Weltentwickelung hingestellt werden. Da beschloß er denn zuerst, Rom wiederum zurückzuverlegen nach Troja, das vergrabene Palladium ausgraben zu lassen und es wiederum nach Troja zurückbringen zu lassen. Die Sache vereitelte sich. Aus dem Plane, in Troja ein neues Rom aufzurichten, entstand der andere, Konstantinopel zu gründen und ihm zu übertragen die Kraft, das untergehende Rom für eine Zukunft zu retten. Er glaubte nun gerade dadurch gegen die Weltenwende sich zu stemmen. Er wollte wiederum, im Sinne des Sibyllinischen Orakels gesprochen, die Füchse und Wölfe in Rom hausen lassen, aber die geheimnisvollen Impulse von Rom an eine andere Stätte verpflanzen, gewissermaßen an ihren Ursprung zurückbringen. Und so entstand in ihm der große Plan, Konstantinopel zu begründen. 326 wurde das ausgeführt. Daß er diese Begründung im Zusammenhang dachte mit den großen Weltenwende-Ereignissen, das entnehmen Sie einfach daraus, daß er, als er gewissermaßen den Grundstein legte, dazu den Zeitpunkt wählte, da die Sonne im Schützen stand . und der Krebs die Tagesstunde regierte. Also er richtete sich wohl nach den kosmischen Zeichen. Und dann wollte er aus diesem Konstantinopel allerdings etwas ganz Bedeutsames machen. Er wollte den ewigen Impuls der ewigen Roma auf Konstantinopel übertragen. Daher ließ er auch die Porphyrsäule herüberverfrachten nach Konstantinopel, die nur später die Stürme zerstört haben. Und er ließ das Palladium ausgraben und unter diese Porphyrsäule legen. Er hatte Überreste des Kreuzes von Golgatha, auch Überreste der Nägel, mit denen es beschlagen war. Die Überreste des Kreuzes, die verwendete er dazu, eine Art Umrahmung zu machen für eine besonders wertvolle Apollo-Statue, und die Nägel des Kreuzes, um Apollo eine Strahlenkrone aufzusetzen. Das wurde auf die Porphyrsäule gesetzt, die ja später zerstört worden ist. Und eine Inschrift war da zu lesen, die ungefähr besagte: Dasjenige, was hier wirkt, soll ewig wirken wie die Sonne, und soll die Macht seines Gründers Konstantin in die Ewigkeit tragen! — Die Dinge alle sind natürlich mehr oder weniger auch imaginativ zu nehmen; aber mit der Einschränkung, daß sie imaginativ zu nehmen sind, bedeuten sie durchaus strikte historische Ereignisse.
Und die Sage — ich will nur sagen die Sage - hat sich dieser ganzen Geschichte bemächtigt. Die ganze Geschichte lebt metamorphosiert in der Sage weiter, in der Sage, die ungefähr das Folgende ausspricht: Das Palladium, was ja natürlich ein Symbolum ist für eine ganz bestimmte Urweisheitsstätte, es war einstmals in den geheimnisvollen Stätten der trojanischen initiierten Priester; die haben es verborgen gehabt. Dann kam es an die Sonne zum ersten Male, indem es auf verschiedenen Umwegen herübergebracht wurde von Troja nach Rom; es kam ein zweites Mal an die Sonne, als es von Rom durch Konstantin nach Konstantinopel gebracht worden ist. Und diejenigen, die die Sage aufnehmen, fügen hinzu: Es wird ein drittes Mal an die Sonne kommen, wenn es hinübergetragen wird von Konstantinopel in eine slawische Stadt. Diese Sage lebt tief impulsiv in vielem, lebt in der mannigfaltigsten Weise. In unserer Zeit kommen ja gar mancherlei Dinge in ihren, ich möchte sagen, rein physischen Aspekten zum Vorschein, aber hinter diesen physischen Aspekten verbirgt sich dann gar mancherlei.
Konstantin hat also unmittelbar entgegenwirken wollen dem Untergang des Imperium Romanum, trotzdem er fest an das Sibyllen-Orakel geglaubt hat. Er hat sozusagen Rom seiner eigenen Untergangsstätte entreißen wollen.
Nun, Sie brauchen ja nur in alledem, was ich Ihnen erzählt habe, wirksame Seelenimpulse in dieser welthistorischen Persönlichkeit des Kaisers Konstantin zu sehen; dann haben Sie in diesen Seelenimpulsen wichtige und wesentliche Zusammenhänge, bedeutsame Zusammenhänge. Und nehmen Sie dazu, was eben die ersten Christen und ihre Führer gesagt haben: Nein, das Imperum Romanum wird nicht untergehen, es wird bestehen bleiben, und der Impuls, den wir aufgenommen haben, wird sich auch verwirklichen, wird immer da sein, - dann haben Sie Bedeutsames nebeneinander, und dann haben Sie eben Bedeutsames mit Bezug auf verschiedene Strömungen, die in der abendländischen Kulturentwickelung gewirkt haben. Vor allen Dingen haben Sie die Möglichkeit, sich ein Bild davon zu machen, wie man in den ersten Jahrhunderten des Christentums und noch zu Zeiten des Kaisers Konstantin über Rom, über das Imperium Romanum gedacht hat, und wie man im radikalen Gegensatz stand zu der Art, in der man sich die Zukunft gedacht hat. Und Sie werden vielleicht in Ihrer Seele Anhaltspunkte finden, mancherlei von den Ereignissen, die später gekommen sind, in dem rechten Lichte zu sehen. Mancherlei von dem, was später gekommen ist, kann man nämlich nur dadurch richtig beurteilen, daß man sich die Frage beantwortet: Wie stimmt es bisher mit demjenigen, was intendiert war, und was hat zu geschehen, damit es besser stimme?
Nun wird es uns des weiteren obliegen, auf einen noch wichtigeren Moment hinzuweisen in der Entwickelung mit Bezug auf die Ausbreitung des Christentums, der dann eintrat, als wiederum ein initiierter römischer Cäsar diesem sich entwickelnden Christentum gegenübertrat, nämlich Julian, der der Apostat genannt wird. Und daran werden wir dann schließen können, gerade aus dieser historischen Betrachtung heraus, eine Betrachtung über die Frage: Wie kommt man nun dem Christus, der ja seine ätherische Gegenwart hereinversetzen wird in die Welt in diesem Jahrhundert, -— wie kommt man dem Christus durch entsprechende Seelenvorbereitung ganz besonders nahe? Wie findet man den Weg gerade in unserer Zeit, ihm nahe zu kommen?
Wie sich dann die Dinge gestaltet haben wiederum unter einem initiierten Cäsar, unter Julian dem Apostaten, und die Andeutungen über das Verhältnis der Gegenwart zu dem Christus, soweit das heute gesagt werden darf, möchte ich das nächste Mal vor Ihnen besprechen.
Thirteenth Lecture
Much is happening in the present and will be evident in the forms that the events of the present and the near future will take, which can be understood in essence if one considers in a reasonable and spiritual manner the continuing effects of those events that took place during the initial spread of Christianity. This may still sound paradoxical to many today. And yet, the fact that it cannot be made generally understandable how certain forces, which at that time were imprinted and instilled in human development and in the earth itself during the spread of Christianity, are still at work today, stems only from the fact that today, according to the often-characterized opinions that prevail in our time, people do not look at the deeper impulses to the deeper forces at work in the events of the times, and only wants to look at everything from the point of view of what is happening on the surface. The deeper spiritual forces are not accessible to people today because they do not really love to contemplate them. But anyone who is willing to delve just a little into what lies beneath the surface events of our time will discover in many documents that are coming to the surface of existence in our time, and even in many things that are happening here and there among people who are not aware of the impulses that are driving them, that there is an effective force at work. which are often a continuation, even a reappearance, of certain impulses that arose especially in the first centuries of the spread of Christianity. It is not even possible to characterize the most significant, one might say, revivals of old impulses in our time today, because people cannot tolerate such a characterization. But those who view the first centuries of Christianity in Europe from a certain perspective will be able to discern which forces are at work and reappearing. That is why I have been and still am endeavoring to bring certain phenomena connected with the spread of Christianity in the first centuries of the Christian era to your attention, because through the appropriate use of the ideas gained in this way, you will be able to understand much in the present for yourselves through your own souls.
Today I would like to contribute something that builds on our last reflections, which will then be subject to further elaboration, but which we would like to look at first so that this later reflection may be fruitful.
You see, I have often spoken to you about this peculiar, remarkable fact that the first Roman Caesars, the Roman emperors, in a certain sense forced initiation upon themselves. And that some of the actions of the Roman emperors were done under the influence of having forced initiation upon themselves and therefore knew certain things that were connected with world events, with the great impulses of world events, but that, as we saw last time, they exploited these initiation secrets in their own way.
Now, when considering these things, it is important to realize first of all that the coming of the Christ impulse into the world-historical movement of humanity was not merely an external event on the physical plane, which can be understood by looking at the facts that have been handed down historically, but that it was a truly spiritual event. I have already pointed out that there is something deeper behind the statements in the Gospels that the demons recognized Christ. It is said that Christ performed healings, which are described in the Gospels as exorcisms. And we are repeatedly reminded that, on the one hand, the demons which in a sense came out of people in this way, had knowledge of who Christ was; and on the other hand, we are always reminded that Christ himself said to the demons that it was not yet time to speak of him, that they should not “betray” him, as it says in the common translation of the Gospels. So we can say that When Christ appeared, it was not merely the judgments of human beings that were involved. It could have been that human beings initially had not the slightest idea what was behind the appearance of Christ. But the demons, the spirits, who were thus thought to belong to a supersensible world, recognized him. We see, then, that it is an event in the recognition of which the supersensible world plays a part. And it is this realization above all that was held fast with great intensity by the more knowledgeable leaders of the early Christians: that Christianity did not come merely as an earthly event, that something did not happen merely in the earthly world, but something that concerns the spiritual world, something that brought about a kind of revolution in the spiritual world. This is what was held fast by these leaders and the spirits of early Christianity.
Now it is a peculiar phenomenon that precisely the Roman Caesars, who knew certain things, certain secrets of the spiritual world, because they had forced their way into initiation, that these Roman Caesars, more or less, precisely because of their initiation, had an inkling of the whole, great, far-reaching significance of the Christ impulse. Of course, there were some among the Roman Caesars who, despite having forced their way into initiation, did not understand much about the mysteries; but there were also those who understood enough to sense the effectiveness, the power of the Christ mystery. And it was precisely the more gifted and insightful of these initiated Caesars who began to pursue a certain policy toward the spreading Christianity. Even the first emperor after Augustus, Tiberius, began to do so. Although one might object that Christianity had not yet spread at that time, this objection does not hold water. For Tiberius, who was in a certain sense initiated into the ancient mysteries, knew exactly that something significant was happening when he received reports from Palestine about what had entered the world as the Christ impulse. And so we must look a little closer at how, even under Tiberius, the policy began that the initiated Roman Caesars followed toward Christianity. Tiberius had just made known his will, which was to accept Christ as one of the gods among the other Roman gods.
The Roman Empire followed a very specific policy toward the worship of gods. Essentially, this policy consisted of the following: when the Romans had defeated a people, conquered them, they also accepted their gods into their pantheon. That is to say, they said: These gods may also be worshipped, and our gods are now increased by the number of these gods. They had simply accepted a few others into their family of gods, and in this way the Roman gods gradually increased in number. This was, in a sense, the policy that the Roman rulers followed in order to truly take over everything they wanted to conquer, including the spiritual and soul aspects. And since such an initiated Caesar was far from seeing only the outer images in the gods, far from seeing in the gods only what the people saw, but knew that behind what was set up in the images of the gods there really were spiritual powers from the most diverse hierarchies, this policy was entirely understandable, entirely comprehensible; for the power that was to lie in the acceptance of the gods, in the appropriation of the gods, was consciously incorporated into the power of the Roman principle of rule. And as a rule, not only was the religion of the gods adopted exoterically, outwardly, but the secrets of the foreign mysteries were also incorporated into the Roman initiation centers and connected with the mystery cult of the ancient Roman Empire. And since at that time it was widely believed that one should not and could not rule without spiritual powers such as those represented by the gods, this was, as I said, a completely understandable thing.
Tiberius therefore wanted to achieve that the power of Christ, as he imagined it, should simply be incorporated into the impulses emanating from the other divine powers recognized by him and his peoples. The Roman Senate thwarted Tiberius's intention, and it did not come to fruition. But the initiated Caesars made this attempt again and again. Hadrian, for example, made this attempt. But time and again, the dignitaries, those who could exert a certain influence, resisted this policy of the initiated Caesars. Now, if one examines what was actually put forward against this policy of the initiated Caesars, then it is precisely through this examination that one gets a good idea of what actually happened at this most significant turning point in the development of humanity on Earth.
It is a strange coincidence that we can see here. You see, countless times Roman writers, influential Roman personalities, and from there also within the larger Roman population, repeatedly asserted against the Christians, as they appeared at that time, as they spread: that these Christians consider unholy what others consider holy, and that they consider holy what others consider unholy. That is to say, the Romans repeatedly pointed out that these Christians differed radically in their thinking, in their feelings, and in their perceptions from the Romans and from all other peoples; for the other peoples had, in a sense, absorbed the Romans with their gods. You can see from this that it was already the case that the whole world regarded Christians as different people, as people with different, even opposite feelings and emotions. Now, one could simply dismiss this by saying that it was slander. It is easy to resort to such things when one wants to take a superficial view of history. But one cannot say that this is slander when one considers the following: Much of the wording—you know that we do not overestimate such wording, but precisely because we do not overestimate it, we can emphasize it—much of the wording has passed into Christian teaching from the views of the pre-Christian and contemporary world regarding the mystery of Golgotha. It would be better to say that Christians expressed in words feelings that were already present in some of their contemporaries. One of those who perhaps really has, in the literal sense, what reappeared in Christianity is Philo of Alexandria, whom I have already mentioned here several times, a contemporary of Christ. Philo of Alexandria has a strange sentence that simply reads: According to what has been handed down to me, I must hate what others love — and he means the Romans — and love what others hate — he means the Romans. And if you consider this statement by Philo and then look in the Gospels, you will find countless echoes of it, especially in the Gospel of Matthew. So that one can already say: Christianity grew out of a spiritual aura that conditioned people to say: We love what others hate. That is to say, Christians—and this sentence was often uttered in early Christian communities and was even one of the main tenets of Christian teaching—Christians themselves said what others accused them of. So it was not mere slander, but coincided with what the Romans said: Christians love what we hate and hate what we love. But Christians, on the other hand, said the same thing about the Romans.
From this you can see that something truly different from what had gone before had entered into the world development of humanity, for otherwise it could not have been expressed so strongly. Of all the words of the Gospels that are interpreted in this way today, there are some that are so clear that they cannot be interpreted in any other way. So that sometimes words from the Gospels, which are now often interpreted in the way I mentioned to you at the end of the last lecture, which are now adapted to the opportunism of people, will only be seen in the right light if one does not take the position of interpreting them in any arbitrary way, but if one really shapes the interpretation out of the whole spirit of the time. There are some strange sentences in the Gospels. They are indeed sometimes interpreted in a rather strange way today. But in Philo, in particular, some things sound very much like the Gospels. I would like to share with you a sentence from Philo from which you will see that Philo, simply because he was not as inspired as the later evangelists, wrote in a somewhat different way than they did; because he was more worldly in his use of language, he expressed some things in such a way that one does not need as much to understand him as one needs to understand the evangelists in order to understand the Gospels. You will find a curious sentence in Philo, but it expresses something that has entered the hearts and minds of people. Philo says: Leave the inheritance registers and the documents of despots, leave everything physical behind; do not grant civil rights and privileges to the so-called citizens, nor slavery to those of low birth or slaves purchased, but look only to the descent of the soul! If you read the Gospel with understanding, you will not fail to recognize that raised to a special spiritual sphere, something of this attitude permeates the Gospels, and that therefore a modern opportunist can say what I read to you last time, which is worth remembering, so I will read it again:
“It is a futile effort to seek the hereafter. It may not even exist, and no matter how we approach it, we cannot know anything about it. Let us leave all occultism to the enlightened and the charlatans; whatever form mysticism may take, it contradicts reason. But let us nevertheless devote ourselves to the Church... because with the authority of centuries and great practical experience, it formulates the rules of ethics that must be taught to peoples and children. And finally, because, far from delivering us to mysticism, it defends us directly against it, silences the voices of the mysterious groves, interprets the Gospels, and sacrifices the magnanimous anarchism of the Savior to the needs of society.”
It is precisely in a sentence such as the one I have just quoted from Philo that you can see, because it echoes again and again in the Bible, in the New Testament, what actually lies behind this whole movement. And when Philo speaks of the descent of the soul, he means a great deal, but he certainly means something that rebels against all the views that were authoritative in the Roman Empire. For in the Roman Empire, only the descent of the body, in its various forms, was considered valid, and the entire social order was based on the descent of the body. And suddenly the words were thrown in: “Let all descent of the body be disregarded and look only at the descent of the soul!” It is impossible to imagine anything more radically at odds with all the principles of the Roman Empire. There is no greater contrast imaginable. And this contrast was raised to a higher level by the appearance of Christ Jesus—the world was waiting for him—it was raised to a higher level and opposed with all the impulsiveness of the external world order of that time.
One could say: It might have been all right with the Roman Caesars to classify what was happening, which negated the fundamental nerve of their sociality, into the pantheon of their gods as a new god among their many other gods; in that way, Christ-God, behind whom there is so much more, would have become, to put it trivially, one of their own. But these initiated Caesars should have realized that they would not have an easy time with what had come to them from spiritual heights. When forces of initiation are as strongly effective externally as they must be, when it has simply become a law of compulsion that the Caesars must be initiated, as was the case in Rome after Augustus, then significant forces naturally come into play with everything that the Caesars do externally. They work, so to speak, in the measures, in the impulses through which sociality is shaped. And there the intentions show themselves more strongly than they do to the ordinary initiated person. For let us suppose that one of the Caesars who had been touched by initiation had said: Well, yes — let us assume this hypothetically — there came the Baptist with his baptism in water. Through this baptism with water, the etheric bodies were loosened — of course the initiated Caesars knew this — and through this the baptized gained insight into the inner structure of the spiritual world; above all, they knew that this was a turning point in the world. For those who had been baptized by immersion in water knew this; through the loosening of their etheric bodies, they knew precisely the secret of the turning point in the world. And imagine if such an initiated Caesar had said: I will take up the fight — this happened within the mysteries — I will take up the fight against what has entered into the turning point of the world! One must form a sufficiently strong picture of the will to power of these Caesars. They did not fall into the trap of thinking that they might be powerless against the will of the gods, but rather — and this is why they allowed themselves to be initiated — they decided to take up the fight against the spiritual impulses of the world, to oppose the course of the world, so to speak. This has happened in other times. It is happening today. Only today people do not notice it, do not know it.
Now, in contrast to the hypothesis I have just put forward, the following happened: Licinius, who had co-ruled the other part of the empire at the time of Constantine, had roughly the same feeling of opposing the gods. He wanted to make a sign, because such signs, cult signs, express in a certain sense the struggle against the spiritual powers. He wanted to perform a cult sign that would manifest in the external physical world: I am taking up this fight! In other words, he wanted to mock the baptism that had proclaimed to the whole world, “The world is changing!” and thereby combat Christianity and blunt the strength of its impulse. For this purpose, a special festival was organized, a spectacle at Heliopolis. A mime, Gelasinus, was made to be immersed in warm water wearing a white baptismal robe. This was to be performed as a spectacle, and it was meant to be a mockery of Christian baptism. What happened? Gelasinus was dressed in a priestly white robe, submerged in warm water, pulled out, and was now supposed to be there for ridicule. And what happened? Well, he said, “Now I am a Christian and will remain so with all the strength of my soul!” This means that Licinius had received the answer from the spiritual world: instead of mocking baptism, the effect of baptism had taken place. He recognized the turning point in the world. Such an initiated Caesar as Licinius was, he took it upon himself to question the gods, to fight with the gods, and received the negative answer.
Certainly, in our time it is impossible to form a correct idea of the significance of such an answer. At that time it was a completely valid answer for all people, even for the pagans, an answer that was already expected. From other sources, too, something had entered the consciousness of those who were familiar with the mysteries of world events at that time, something that made them familiar with the ideas that were emerging through the spread of Christianity. Various customs had been handed down from ancient times, but they all had an occult meaning. In the Antonine period, the Sibyls spoke; or people listened to them and sought advice from them, from the Sibylline Oracles. And a significant oracle from the Antonine period had expressly stated: Rome is doomed; ancient Rome will not be able to survive! Now, oracles speak in such a way that they can be understood in many ways, but also quite clearly. This oracle spoke strangely. It said: Rome will fall, and in the place where ancient Rome stood, foxes and wolves will dwell and unfold their power. This was also something that people expected. Of course, people sought a deeper meaning behind all this; but they sensed that a turning point in history had been reached. What had ruled in Rome would fade away. Foxes and wolves would be there, and from there they would spread their rule. Of course, oracles speak ambiguously; and sometimes, even back then, the aura of initiation passed through an ordinary, uninitiated sage, so that he sometimes said strange things that can only be understood in the complete context of the time of the world's turning point.
Last time I told you what Nero, the initiated Caesar, actually thought. He wanted to set the world on fire in order to be present at the end of the world himself. So, in a sense, he wanted, if the end of Rome was to come, at least to have this end of Rome, that is, the rule of the earth from Rome, in his own hands. Seneca warned him once, warned him in a strange saying. This saying can only be understood if one knows that the Roman Caesars, in possession of the initiated principle, believed themselves to be endowed with the omnipotence of the gods, which the Christians in particular did not want to offer them the corresponding worship. Seneca said to Caesar Nero: You can do many things—he knew no other way to get this across to the violent man—you can do many things, you can have those killed whom you believe can contribute something to the world order that will come after the fall of ancient Rome. But there is one thing that no despot can do, said Seneca, and that is to have his successor murdered. These were very significant, profound words. Of course, they should not be understood to mean the successor who may be designated, but really the successor. Seneca wanted to imply that death sets a limit to his power. Thus, this tradition plays a significant role in Roman circles, the tradition of the fall of Rome.
And it is remarkable that it was precisely in this tradition that Christians differed radically from the Romans. And now comes something very paradoxical: Christians differed in that, when they were among themselves, they defended the thesis that Rome would not fall, but that the rule of Rome would last until the end, whereby one always thought of the end of a cycle. So it was precisely the Christians who defended the thesis that Rome's rule would continue, that it would, so to speak, outlive the wolves and the foxes. Not that Christians said, to put it a bit like the oracle, that wolves and foxes would not live or rule in Rome; they did not deny that, but they countered it with the assertion that Rome's rule would continue.
All these sentiments must be taken into account. Some of them have even been realized. For example, the mother of Alexander Severus, who was a student of Origen—think of Origen, who, although considered a suspect, was nevertheless regarded as a kind of Church Father—so the mother of Alexander Severus, who was a student of Origen, had built a kind of pantheon of worship for her own private use. For she worshipped Abraham, Orpheus, Apollonius of Tyana, and Christ in her private chamber, and considered the worship of these four—Abraham, Christ, Orpheus, and Apollonius of Tyana—necessary and right for her own salvation. So, after all, she, who was a good student of Origen, did not find it at all contrary to Origen's teaching to behave in this way.
Now, if we record these sentiments, which I have tried to outline for you in a few strokes, we have in them, more or less, the sentiments of the first centuries up to the fourth century. And we find again and again in this period Caesars who were endeavouring, as it were, to incorporate Christianity into their religious systems, to come to terms with Christianity. Despite the persecutions of Christians reported by history, this is nevertheless true; we find this continuing into the fourth century.
In the fourth century, as you know, a remarkable personality appears in the person of Emperor Constantine, a contemporary of Licinius — a remarkable personality. Constantine was an extraordinarily important figure, also an important spiritual figure; and I have pointed out on other occasions how spirituality influenced Constantine's personality, and in a sense the leadership of the Western world, which is indeed complicated. Today we want to look at him from a different perspective.
You see, he was an important, even spiritual personality, but his spiritual nature was such that he could not find the right relationship to the old initiation. He could not find the right relationship to the old initiation. He shrank, as it were, from what his ancestors and contemporaries did not shrink from: forcing himself into the initiation into the ancient mysteries. He was, in a sense, afraid to force himself into initiation into the ancient mysteries. The Sibylline Oracle weighed heavily on his soul, as did all the other things that were known at that time about the decline of Rome, the Roman Empire, and so on. However, he also knew that Christians had the tradition, the thesis, that Rome would survive until the end of the world. He knew all about these things. But he shrank from initiation into the ancient mysteries. He shrank from, in a sense, taking up the fight against Christianity in the mysteries. This is extremely significant.
What is told to you in history about Emperor Constantine is extremely interesting and shows you how Constantine tried to gain a different relationship with Christianity, how he acted, as it were, as the great protector of Christianity, how he actually imposed Christianity, as he understood it, on the entire Roman Empire. But he was unable to properly connect this Christianity to the old principle of initiation. This presented a great difficulty, because the Christians themselves and their leaders had resisted this, resisted it thoroughly, for the reason that they had a feeling, and many of them also had an insight, that through Christianity the ancient mystery that had been veiled in the mystery temples was being brought out onto the stage of world history and thus exposed to the whole world. They wanted to present the mystery truths to the whole world, not enclose them in temples. And these initiated Caesars wanted, in essence, nothing more than to bring Christianity back into the mystery temples. Then people would have been initiated into Christianity in much the same way as they had been initiated into the secrets of the ancient theology of the gods. But it was difficult for Constantine to prevail against what the Christians themselves were striving for, because at that time the Christians understood the impulse that they believed should sweep through the world at this turning point in history to be a thoroughly spiritual impulse. And it is from this point of view of a thoroughly spiritual impulse that one must also understand their thesis: “The Roman Empire will continue to exist.” This thesis becomes particularly clear when one considers, I would say, the secret teachings of the first Christians. With the continued existence of the Roman Empire, they wanted to hint at what was already happening at that time, and what indeed did happen. I told you recently: what was the actual deeper impulse of the Roman Empire has not ceased, it lives on; and it is not only jurisprudence, as I told you, that contains the impulses of the Roman Empire. Yes, what is significant is that in detail, many things have occurred which those who do not see more deeply regard as something new; but in truth, nothing has been added to what lay in the impulses of the Roman Empire in a certain area. There is a continuation of the Roman Empire; it has spread. Even though the old Roman Empire no longer exists, its spirit lives on, widespread and deeply influential.
Certain people who know the secrets speak in the present day of the fact that what has existed until now and will always exist is the ghost of the old Roman Empire, which lives everywhere among us. This is a constant formula for those who are initiated into such things, even today, and it will always be so. This is what the Christians wanted to point out. But at the same time they wanted to say: there will always be something in Christianity that the Roman Empire will have to fight against. The supernatural element of Christianity will always be in conflict with the sensual element of the Roman Empire. So this thesis contained a prediction, a prophecy.
And now you understand better why the Roman senators and Caesars were afraid; for they had to relate the downfall to the external empire, and they saw it crumbling piece by piece under the influence of Christianity. And a man like Emperor Constantine was under this impression. Without having been initiated, Emperor Constantine knew the following: there was a primordial wisdom of humanity. This primordial wisdom had once existed in ancient times, when people had atavistic clairvoyance; it had then been passed on to later times, preserved by priests, gradually corrupted, but it was there, this primordial wisdom. We Romans, too, Constantine said to himself, actually have something in our social order that is connected with the institutions of this primordial wisdom, only we have buried it under the social order built on the external, sensual realm. This was expressed in a significant symbol, which is an imagination, but not only an imagination, but also a world-historical cult act, as these imaginations very often expressed themselves in cult acts; this was expressed in the saying that wisdom had not been conceived by humans in the past, but had been revealed from the spiritual world. This is how our very first ancestral priests were also regarded, though not in Rome, but over in Ilion, in Troy, where our ancestral priests were. This is expressed in the legend of the Palladium, the so-called image of Athena; the Palladium that fell from heaven in Troy, which was kept in a sanctuary, then came to Rome and was buried under a porphyry column. The porphyry column rose above it. Feeling what was connected with this imaginative cult act, people felt: We also trace our culture back to the ancient primordial wisdom that came down from the spiritual worlds, but we cannot attain the form that this primordial wisdom had in ancient Troy.
Constantine felt this. Therefore, he also felt that the later mysteries, even if he had been initiated into them, would not help him much; they would not lead him to the Palladium, to the ancient primordial wisdom. And so Constantine decided, in his own way, to take up the fight with the world powers, so to speak; to do something in his own way to save the principle of the Roman Empire, so to speak. Of course, he was not so foolish as to believe that this would not have to happen in the sense of the flow of certain world impulses. He knew that it would have to happen again in the sense of certain cult acts that are set before the whole world evolution. So he first decided to move Rome back to Troy, to have the buried Palladium dug up and brought back to Troy. The plan was thwarted. From the plan to establish a new Rome in Troy, another arose: to found Constantinople and transfer to it the power to save the declining Rome for the future. He believed that this was the way to resist the turning point in world history. He wanted, in accordance with the Sibylline Oracle, to let the foxes and wolves dwell in Rome, but to transplant the mysterious impulses of Rome to another place, to bring them back to their origin, so to speak. And so the great plan to found Constantinople was born in him. It was carried out in 326. That he thought of this foundation in connection with the great events of the world turning point can be easily deduced from the fact that, when he laid the foundation stone, so to speak, he chose the moment when the sun was in Sagittarius and Cancer ruled the hour of the day. So he was probably guided by cosmic signs. And then he wanted to make something very significant out of this Constantinople. He wanted to transfer the eternal impulse of eternal Rome to Constantinople. That is why he had the porphyry column transported to Constantinople, which was later destroyed by storms. And he had the Palladium dug up and placed under this porphyry column. He had remnants of the cross from Golgotha, including remnants of the nails with which it was studded. He used the remnants of the cross to make a kind of frame for a particularly valuable statue of Apollo, and the nails of the cross to place a crown of rays on Apollo's head. This was placed on the porphyry column, which was later destroyed. And there was an inscription that read something like this: “That which works here shall work forever like the sun, and shall carry the power of its founder Constantine into eternity!” Of course, all these things are to be taken more or less imaginatively; but with the reservation that they are to be taken imaginatively, they do indeed signify strict historical events.
And the legend—I will only mention the legend—has taken hold of this entire story. The entire story lives on in a transformed form in the legend, which roughly tells the following: The palladium, which is of course a symbol of a very specific place of ancient wisdom, was once kept in the mysterious chambers of the initiated priests of Troy, who had hidden it away. Then it came into the light of day for the first time when it was brought from Troy to Rome by various detours; it came into the light of day a second time when it was brought from Rome to Constantinople by Constantine. And those who accept the legend add: It will come into the light of day a third time when it is carried from Constantinople to a Slavic city. This legend lives on deeply and impulsively in many ways, in the most diverse ways. In our time, many things come to light in their, I would say, purely physical aspects, but behind these physical aspects there is much more hidden.
Constantine therefore wanted to counteract the downfall of the Roman Empire directly, even though he firmly believed in the Sibylline Oracle. He wanted, so to speak, to snatch Rome from its own place of destruction.
Well, all you need to do is see effective soul impulses in this world-historical personality of Emperor Constantine in everything I have told you; then you will find important and essential connections, significant connections in these soul impulses. And add to this what the first Christians and their leaders said: No, the Imperium Romanum will not perish, it will remain, and the impulse we have taken up will also be realized, will always be there—then you have something significant side by side, and then you have something significant in relation to various currents that have been at work in the development of Western culture. Above all, you have the opportunity to form a picture of how people thought about Rome and the Roman Empire in the first centuries of Christianity and even in the time of Emperor Constantine, and how radically different this was from the way people thought about the future. And you may find clues in your soul to help you see some of the events that came later in the right light. For some of what came later can only be properly assessed by answering the question: How does it fit in with what was intended, and what needs to happen to make it fit better?
Now it will be our task to point out an even more important moment in the development of Christianity, which occurred when another initiated Roman Caesar confronted this developing Christianity, namely Julian, who is called the Apostate. And from this historical perspective, we will then be able to conclude with a consideration of the question: How can we come closer to Christ, who will bring his etheric presence into the world in this century—how can we come especially close to Christ through appropriate soul preparation? How can we find the way to come close to him, especially in our time?
How things then developed under an initiated Caesar, under Julian the Apostate, and the indications of the relationship between the present and Christ, as far as can be said today, I would like to discuss with you next time.