The Rudolf Steiner Archive

10. Concluding Remarks

[ 1 ] Ladies and gentlemen! When I had the pleasure of welcoming you here last Sunday as participants in our summer course, I was able to say to you from the depths of my heart that here at the Goetheanum we are striving to in science, in art, and in all that which, through science and art, can be religiously inspired in the depths of the human being—to follow the call of the spirit of the times itself, which is clearly audible today; a call that, as we believe, makes itself heard—as it is understood here—because it wants human beings to lead themselves out of decline and toward a new dawn through their own strength. The work of this Goetheanum—the work of all its staff—is, after all, to be dedicated first and foremost to fulfilling this call of the times. In the brief time we were so fortunate to have you here with us during this summer course, we could naturally offer no more than a few hints, at most, about what is intended here at the Goetheanum—what our staff here envision as the actual goal of this work. But what is to be developed here is meant to be a living whole. And so it can hardly be otherwise than that, just as in the life of the individual, every single step one takes—whether as a child, as an adult, or as an elderly person—contains in some way the meaning of one’s entire life; so, too, in the case of a living spiritual body, a living spiritual work, the individual step—which can only manifest itself within the brief span of a week—nevertheless reveals, in a certain sense, the meaning of the whole. And we would be happy here if you could glean something from this one step about the meaning of our work, about the meaning of our will. I have often taken the liberty of expressing something of the meaning of this work, the meaning of this will, by pointing out how the content of knowledge expressed here in words is one branch growing from a single root, and how, from this same root, another branch—that of artistic creation—grows, so that here neither art is carried into science nor science into art, but rather that both have the same root and both, on an equal footing, seek to fully and creatively develop their products here. And when that which can present itself as ideas for understanding, and that which can be expressed in forms for intuition, is developed in this way, then what is revealed from both sides— from the two most important and essential aspects of human nature—also has the effect of grasping the religious roots of human existence, of working within the human being down to those deeper dispositions of the heart where the human being is connected to the unity of the world, to the divine in the world. So that, even though by no means everything here is to be—or may be—reformed, religious life is cultivated as best it can be when the other manifestations of the Divine—the artistic and the scientific—are cultivated in the proper sense. Goethe, after whom this Goetheanum is named, expressed this very meaning in the beautiful saying: “Whoever possesses science and art also possesses religion.” Whoever possesses neither of these, let him have religion. —

[ 2 ] And since such a gathering touches upon the very essence of what a human being carries within—in their entire being—the aim is to work in such a way that those who come as visitors also draw closer to one another as human beings, and above all, draw closer to that which seeks to work and take effect here out of the spirit of Goetheanism. And anyone who understands this spirit of Goetheanism would like to hope that, from what is strived for and felt here, one leaves with the thought of having seen something here in this Goetheanum, of having experienced something that gives one the feeling of a kinship among the forces that live in all human beings—a kinship among those forces in human nature that can bring people from across the entire globe together in brotherhood. One would also hope that those who visit this Goetheanum would feel that we are striving here with our modest powers—whether we can actually achieve this, of course, will depend on the judgment of our contemporaries— we are striving here so that whoever experiences the work and the entire life of this Goetheanum may, because they experience a sense of human kinship, feel this house as a home for the human soul. May you take with you the feeling: We were in a home for the human soul! In a home, one feels precisely what emotion, sensation, and the entire experience point toward the shared processes and origins. That something such as a sense of belonging—the brotherly unity of all humanity—might be felt: that is what we so dearly wish to infuse into everything that is accomplished here. And I would also like to say this today as we part: that your visit may have contributed something to the great goal of human brotherhood, to working toward it—that human brotherhood to which everyone who gathers here in the spirit of this Goetheanum—even if only in intention—must feel called to contribute. And so may the days you have spent here have also brought you closer to us on a human level. After all, we now hear calls for human brotherhood and human alliances coming from all corners and from the most diverse perspectives. But what is the intention behind issuing this call? The intention is to unite people—who have inflicted unspeakable pain upon one another in a terrible catastrophe—into brotherly alliances. Is such a union necessary if we approach human nature in the true sense—by approaching the spirit from which human nature has arisen and in which it is rooted? True, genuine human brotherhood would not need to be established, would not need to be cobbled together, if people were to seek the brotherhood that has existed ever since the human being came into being—that brotherhood which is found when one penetrates to the human spirit in which human beings have, in fact, always existed since the dawn of humanity on Earth. To seek true human brotherhood means to seek the primordial states of the human being in the spirit, in the spiritual world; such genuine seeking is what is being striven for here at the Goetheanum. In this regard, the work and striving of the Goetheanum are connected to the demands of this spirit of the present. It was out of this spirit that I was able to call out words of greeting to you on Sunday, when you came here. I did so with a grateful heart, for this gratitude always wells up in one who is serious and sincere about the tasks of this Goetheanum—a gratitude that wells up when people come together who wish to give their attention to what is intended here. Now that these days have passed, this gratitude toward you is all the more deeply rooted in my heart. Out of this gratitude, I offer you these words of farewell today—a farewell that, at its core, must be summed up in the words that spring from the whole living spirit striving toward the future, which must be summed up in the words: Goodbye!