Spreading Anthroposophy World-wide
6 February 2026
The Rudolf Steiner Archive—rsarchive.org—is at the forefront of enabling world-wide access to the collected works of Rudolf Steiner. With our latest technology release, anyone with an internet connection can now research this material by translating the original German into their own language. Beginning with the books (GA 1-28), we are working diligently to implement this new feature in the full corpus of Dr. Steiner's work.
To date, we have made the collected works of Rudolf Steiner available in English and German. However, we found that people who neither understand English nor German were making derivative translations from the English. Those translations are twice removed from the original text and inevitably less reliable. For this reason, we made it a priority to ensure the German documents could be readily translated.
With newly added tools to translate the original German text, people world-wide gain access to this material in their own native language. They can then compare those automated translations side-by-side with a wide selection of alternate English translations as well as the original German text itself. Here's how:
- ✦ Click [Compare] at the top of the document;
- ✦ Select a language above the German text on the left; and
- ✦ Select a version for comparison via a drop-down box on the right.
Translation is not just vocabulary, grammar and word-substitution. It is interpretation. The translator, whether it be human or technological, makes choices. Even skilled human translators necessarily introduce their own perspectives and interpretations of the text into their work. For this reason, we encourage readers to go to the source of the original German text, work with it, and compare various texts and translations. Now this feature is available through our service.
Give it a try on the Philosophy of Spiritual Activity.
If you value our work to make this content freely available online in any language and searchable in English and German, consider making a donation of support. Our US-based nonprofit, Steiner Online Library, is run by only two people yet is quickly becoming the leading online resource for Rudolf Steiner's teachings. We are not affiliated with the Anthroposophical Society or the Rudolf Steiner Nachlassverwaltung in Dornach. Rather, we are funded by donations, resale book sales, and a few small grants.