The Rudolf Steiner Archive

11. Goethe as a Theosophist

Article in the “Allgemeine Zeitung München” dated May 3, 1904

[ 1 ] Goethe as a Theosophist. On April 22, the well-known Goethe scholar and philosophical writer Dr. Rudolf Steiner from Berlin—formerly an official at the Goethe-Schiller Archive in Weimar—delivered a lengthy lecture in the main hall of the Wittelsbacher Garden on the topic “Goethe as a Theosophist,” which was introduced by the writer Ludwig Deinhard with a brief address. Among other things, Deinhard referred to the earlier works of Dr. Rafael von Köber and Prof. Seiling on Goethe’s position regarding the question of immortality and occultism. Dr. Rudolf Steiner began by stating that in his lecture he intended to limit himself solely to Goethe’s relationship to theosophy, without delving further into his stance on occultism. He then discussed the fundamental idea of theosophy, “the divine striving for development in human beings,” which can be recognized as the core essence of the various religions and has found expression in Goethe’s works as well as in the writings of other leading figures in world history. Goethe, whose depth of spirit made him a mystery to his contemporaries, had much—indeed, a great deal—to say about the divine, mystical, ideal human being hidden in the depths of the human soul. He sought and perceived the divine in nature, in the beauty of art, in the laws of the macrocosm, and in the microcosm—humanity. To shed light on Goethe’s theosophical ideas, the speaker referred specifically to the lesser-known allegorical fairy tale “Of the Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily.” The speaker sought to interpret this “secret revelation” by the poet in a meaningful way. The will-o’-the-wisps—souls trapped in the sensory world—can only return to the land of the spirit, which they have left, through the sacrifice of the snake, the symbol of the higher self that sacrifices the lower life for others. Only through sacrifice is the bridge to the realm of the spirit—of higher knowledge—built. There, the young man, the representative of the human race, receives the lily, the symbol (borrowed from the alchemists) of “higher spiritual development.” Redner also sought to trace Goethe’s theosophical views in the second part of Faust. Among other things, he discussed the meaning of the ideas of the gradually unveiling soul-being, the homunculus, the descent to the Mothers, the idea of karma in Faust’s life and work, and his ultimate ascent to the mystical life after he becomes blind to the sensory world. In conclusion, Redner offered a meaningful explanation of the “Chorus mysticus.” After the lecture, a number of those present—who had offered lively applause for the speaker’s interesting remarks—gathered for a discussion. By “karma,” it was destined that the listeners would have to endure a distressing demonstration of the “inadequacy of our earthly samsara” as they struggled to retrieve their coats. In “terrible crowding,” they were able to practice the “sacrifice of the lower self” even before reaching the entrance to the hall. Several Theosophists, who were perhaps still too preoccupied with Faust’s “Descent to the Mothers,” were unfortunately tripped by a weighing scale in front of the coat check—a device that will hopefully be removed sometime during the 20th century.