The Rudolf Steiner Archive

10. Christian Mysticism — The Masters of Cologne: Eckhart, Albertus Magnus

[ 1 ] On Monday evening in the Yellow Hall of the Kasinogesellschaft, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, General Secretary of the German Section of the Theosophical Society, spoke on Christian mysticism, beginning with a general overview of the centuries of mystical flourishing (13th to 17th) and the nature of mysticism, then moving on to individual famous masters of mysticism such as Albertus Magnus, Eckhardt, Johannes Tauler, Hugo of Saint Victor, Angelus Silesius, and others; and finally, on the nature of theosophy and the unification of the modern worldview with the mystical and theosophical ones. According to the speaker, mysticism is not something fantastical or obscure, but rather the prerequisite for clarity; clarity itself is based on spiritual experience and the striving to develop, purify, and then shape the inner self in order to arrive at the experience of higher values through the inner self itself. Mystics proceed from the principle that light is not only perceived by the physical eye, but that the soul’s eye—a separate organ—can also perceive light, a small world of its own, the microcosm, and creative light when the mystic immerses himself within himself. Mysticism is thus the development of inner life. Redner then outlined in broad strokes the influence and the main teachings of the great mystics mentioned and their precursors, the Scholastics; their teachings had culminated in cultivating the vision of the Spirit: “Surrender to the Spirit—that is the highest knowledge.” From this, he explained, arises the selflessness to be praised in the mystics, the high purity of disposition; this is why so many who taught the mystery of the highest knowledge have remained unknown, according to the layman from the Oberland and the author of German Theology. In the course of the elegantly presented lecture, which was attended by only a relatively small audience, the speaker went on to touch upon the connections between Fichte and Goethe—whom he called “a mystic and theosophist in the most beautiful sense”—and the mystical and theosophical worldview.