The Rudolf Steiner Archive

1. Two Trends in Human Development That Must Be Taken into Account in Education

[ 1 ] When one gives a public lecture on anthroposophy today—and what is said here regarding a public lecture must be taken into account in everything we bring from anthroposophy to the outside world, to people who do not belong to an anthroposophical society— then one must always bear in mind that while the souls of people today harbor a deep, underlying longing for anthroposophy, there is very little connection to spiritual truths in those parts of their inner life of which they themselves are aware. It is therefore naturally not a matter of concern in a public lecture to consider what is popular or unpopular with such individuals. One should therefore never ask oneself what they like or dislike to hear, but one must take into account that our age has ways of thinking and modes of imagination that in many respects are quite directly opposed to those toward which we are striving through anthroposophical knowledge. It is precisely this that must be taken into account, and I always strive to consider it carefully when I try to determine the difference in tone between a public lecture and the tone in which we can speak to our anthroposophical friends. And we should get into the habit of truly maintaining this distinction. Even if people who are still far removed from anthroposophy might be somewhat offended by what is said to them, this need not affect us in any negative way, provided we carry within us the awareness that we have presented to them precisely what is beneficial to their souls. But then, when we are, so to speak, among ourselves, we must certainly try to delve deeper and deeper into these matters. There are certain truths that are already extraordinarily important and significant for our present time, and which we must discuss among ourselves so that, emanating from us, they may penetrate ever deeper and deeper into the spiritual life of our age; yet we must not yet present these to the wider public in quite clearly articulated words.

[ 2 ] We must understand this very point quite correctly. Let us suppose we are speaking of what constantly plays a role in human life—the permeation of all human life on earth by the Ahrimanic and Luciferic forces—or we are speaking of certain things that relate to the life between death and a new birth. What should prevent us from speaking so readily about these things to the unprepared should not be what often occurs, especially in a society such as ours, and what one might call a certain air of secrecy, in which most people do not even have a proper idea of why it is maintained. What should prevent us from speaking so readily about these things in the presence of the unprepared is that those who are unprepared cannot take these matters seriously enough, cannot grasp them deeply enough. For the anthroposophist, the terms “Ahrimanic” and “Luciferic” forces should gradually become something of such significance in life, something that so deeply moves him in his feelings and sensibilities when these things are spoken, that one has the feeling: If one hurls these words at the unprepared, the inner power one is meant to feel when they are spoken is taken away from them, and we also harm ourselves when, in ordinary life, we use these words without further ado at every opportunity that suits us. When, for example, we reach into our wallet and deal with money, we are indeed dealing quite rightly with Ahrimanic forces. But it is not good to apply the word “Ahrimanic” so casually and repeatedly to everyday circumstances. By applying such a word to everyday circumstances, it becomes dulled to our sensibility, to our feeling, and we then no longer have the possibility of having words that, when we think or speak them, exert upon us that elemental, significant meaning they are meant to exert. It is of extraordinary importance that we do not throw these terms about too freely in everyday life, for in doing so we actually gradually deprive ourselves of the very best, the most effective, that anthroposophy can offer us. The more we use anthroposophical terms in connection with everyday circumstances, the more we deprive ourselves of the possibility that anthroposophy might truly become something that sustains our soul and deeply permeates it. We need only consider the power of habit, and we will see that there is a difference when we use words such as, say, “aura” or “Ahrimanic forces” or “Luciferic forces” with a certain sacred reverence, with a certain awareness that we are speaking of other worlds. If we always feel that we must, so to speak, pause before using such words, and use them only when it is truly important for us to contemplate our relationship to the supersensible world, then that is something quite different from speaking of these things of the higher world at every random opportunity in everyday life and constantly having words taken from these worlds on our lips.

[ 3 ] I had to include this introduction because, in this very lesson, we wish to point out something in the human soul that, while it should always be present in our consciousness, we can only truly contemplate with a certain sacred reverence. Take a look at the little book *The Education of the Child from the Perspective of Spiritual Science*. It shows, so to speak, what the developmental processes are like in a growing child from age seven to seven. It shows that up to the age of seven, until the change of teeth, we are primarily concerned with the development of the physical body; that in the next period, from the age of seven to fourteen, until sexual maturity, we are concerned with the development of the etheric body, and so on. When you consider this development of the human being in seven-year cycles, you are primarily dealing with what the so-called normal beings of the higher hierarchies bring about in human evolution. This is truly the progressive evolution that unfolds in seven-year cycles, so that we can say: The truly progressive divine-spiritual powers guide and direct this evolution from seven to seven years. If only these progressive divine-spiritual powers were at work in the human being, then the whole of human life would unfold differently, entirely differently, than it actually does. Then, above all, people would approach a small child in a completely different way. They would always have the feeling with the small child: A spiritual individuality is speaking through the child. One would even always have the feeling that the small child, in everything it does, in everything it undertakes, receives the drives and impulses from higher worlds. And people would certainly have no other feeling than that the child acts out of impulses far higher than those they themselves can penetrate with their intellect. And that would take a relatively long time.

[ 4 ] What seems so desirable to people today—that children be quite clever in the human, earthly sense as early as possible—would then seem highly unwelcome to people, for a child who today arouses the delight of those around him because he already says or does such clever things—if people had only children guided by the advancing divine-spiritual powers according to the seven-year periods—people would say, if the child spoke intelligently in today’s sense as early as possible and they were accustomed to the different circumstances: How early the child is forsaken by God! What delights us today would then be perceived as a punishment. And a young person of fifteen who were as clever as is demanded today would be regarded as a being utterly forsaken by God. For it is actually through the advancing divine-spiritual powers that human beings are called upon to gradually step fully out with their ego between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-eight, and before that, what they do would appear much more as though higher spiritual, supersensory impulses were working through them. Admittedly, a certain outwardly dreamy life would be characteristic of the children; but this dreamy life would be perceived as a blessing from God or the spirit, and there would be no desire whatsoever to educate the children toward precocious maturity in the modern sense.

[ 5 ] Now, as we know, something else also occurs during these stages of human development. This is what we have often emphasized: the development of ego-consciousness in the third, fourth, and fifth years—at that point in time which we can generally characterize by saying: It is the point in time up to which a person can recall events in later life. It is the occurrence of that moment from which a person begins to say “I” to themselves. — You must now actually conceive of the entire development of the human being as two currents: that of evolution, in which the advancing divine-spiritual beings are at work, and, alongside this, the other current through which the human being, within the first seven-year period, begins to develop an inner sense of self-consciousness, a memory that later allows them to recall events in consciousness back to that point in time. This, however, does not stem at all from the progressive divine-spiritual beings. They would keep us in a dreamlike state for much longer if they were to work through us into the world. The fact that we attain self-consciousness so early, that we say “I” to ourselves so early, is solely the result of the Luciferic forces working within human beings. Thus we are dealing with two currents: a regular, progressive divine-spiritual current, which would actually only lead us to a distinct, clear sense of “I” between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-eight; and a Luciferic current within us. This Luciferic current works within us through its impulses in such a way that it completely thwarts the other current, so that it does something entirely different within us than what the progressive divine-spiritual beings actually intend for us. They work in such a way that, even in the midst of the first period, we already learn to say “I” to ourselves, learn to develop egohood inwardly and spiritually, and to recall things in our memory.

[ 6 ] If we really take this in, we can form a picture of our ongoing development. Imagine, for a moment, removing the Luciferic influence just described and considering only what the progressive beings would make of the human being—a stream of water flowing calmly along. We can picture this calmly flowing water as a symbol of the human being’s progressive stream of life under the influence of the essentially good divine beings. And now let us walk a short distance along the water flowing so calmly, then take a blue or red substance, pour it into the calmly flowing water, and—by choosing a chemical liquid that can be kept separate from the clear water—allow a second current to flow alongside the first current from a certain point onward. Thus, in our true, calmly progressing—we might say—Yahweh-Christ current, the Luciferic current flows along with us within our inner being from roughly the middle of our first seven-year period. And so Lucifer lives within us. If this Lucifer did not live within us, we would not have this second current. But if we lived only in the first current, then right up into our twenties we would have the consciousness: We are actually a member of the divine-spiritual powers. — We attain the consciousness of independence, of inner individuality and personality, through the second current. Thus we see at the same time that it is wise for this Luciferic current to flow into us.

[ 7 ] But even in the second seven-year period, something occurs that we can, in a certain sense, regard as a current not connected with the merely evolving divine beings. From a certain point of view, this has already been repeatedly described in our context. It occurs around the ninth or tenth year, that is, during the second seven-year period. For some—the more sensitive individuals—this brings experiences such as those I cited from Jean Paul, for example. In his case, it may have occurred somewhat earlier; for others, it generally occurs around the ninth or tenth year. At this time, there can be a significant intensification—one might say a condensation—of the sense of self. But the fact that something special is taking place can also be observed in another way. I would not, however, recommend that this other way become a specific educational rule. It can only be said that once it happens—one might say—of its own accord, it can be observed; but one should not play with it, nor make it an educational principle. For if one allows a child, particularly around the age of nine or ten, to look at oneself in a mirror while unclothed, and the child has not been desensitized by our often peculiar educational principles of today, the child will always, in a natural way, feel a sense of dread at the sight of one’s own form—a certain fear—unless the child has previously been made coquettish by frequent mirror-gazing. This can be observed particularly in naturally sensitive children who have not looked in the mirror much before, because at this time something grows within the human being that acts as a kind of counterbalance to the Luciferic current present in the first period. In this second period, around the ninth or tenth year, Ahriman takes hold of the human being and forms a kind of counterbalance with his current to the Luciferic current. We can now accomplish what does Ahriman the greatest favor if, precisely at this time, we develop the intellect—which is directed toward the external sensory world—in the growing child, if we say to ourselves: The child must be trained during this time, as far as possible, to arrive at its own independent judgment in every situation. You know that I am referring here to an educational principle that is quite commonly expressed in pedagogy today. Fostering independence, especially during these years, is almost universally demanded today. Calculators are even provided so that children are not even prompted to properly learn their multiplication tables by heart. This is certainly based on a certain benevolence of our age toward Ahriman. Our age wishes, unconsciously of course, to educate children in such a way that Ahriman can be cultivated as strongly as possible in the human soul. And when we examine today’s prevailing educational methods, we say to ourselves as occultists: These people who advocate these educational methods are merely bunglers. If Ahriman himself were to write these educational principles, he would do it more cleverly! — But what is said there, especially regarding independence and children’s own judgment, is truly the teaching of Ahriman. What is implied by this will become increasingly prevalent in the near future. For Ahriman will become a skilled guide for the external powers and spiritual leadership of our age.

[ 8 ] Now take something like what we have just described. We must regard it as something entirely natural and self-evident that it approaches human beings; that human beings feel Lucifer and Ahriman approaching them. It would be entirely wrong to believe that it would be better if we were to eliminate Lucifer and Ahriman altogether. That would be completely impossible. Just how impossible it would be can be illustrated by the following consideration. If our lives were not regulated, as it were, by a cooperation between the progressive divine-spiritual beings and the Ahrimanic and Luciferic forces—if, that is, only the progressive forces were at work within us—then we would attain a certain independence much later, and we would possess this independence in such a way that, just as we now perceive colors and light, we would have no doubt whatsoever that behind the colors and the light—behind what we perceive externally—divine-spiritual beings are truly at work. We would perceive the world-thoughts simultaneously with our sensory perceptions. We would indeed attain our independence, but only in our twenties; yet we would then also perceive world-thoughts externally. We would then spend our youth in a dreamlike state, because divine-spiritual powers would be at work within us, and when these ceased to work from within, they would then confront us from without. We would perceive their thoughts from without just as we now receive only sensory perceptions. So, with the exception of a few years around the age of twenty, when we would become visible, we would otherwise never have any real independence. As children, we would be dreamy beings; in middle age, we would not really be able to determine our own course based on our impulses and resolutions, but wherever we encountered the outside world, we would simply see what we had to do, much as people in ancient Atlantis were still able to do. Independence flows into us through the fact that Lucifer and Ahriman are at work within us.

[ 9 ] Of course, it is of the utmost importance that we do not speak of human beings in the same way as today’s foolish pedagogy does, which constantly speaks of “development” and suggests that one should, as it were, extract the inner being from the human person. In an educational context, one speaks wisely about human beings only when one knows that a threefold aspect is involved in their soul: the progressive, good, divine-spiritual beings, and Lucifer and Ahriman—and when one can distinguish between them. It is now of particular value to first take the main perspective from the progressive divine-spiritual beings and, above all, to consider: What are the requirements when we look at the sevenfold periods of human development? For in this regard, we can truly help every human being simply by relating to this human child in a meaningful way. If, during the child’s first seven years, we create conditions such that the child lives in an environment that has a healing effect on their physical body, we are doing the child a favor under all circumstances. If, during the second period, we behave in such a way as to create good authorities—to be called such in the noblest sense—around the person, so that the person does not become a smooth talker in these times, but rather a being who relies on the people in their environment as authorities whom the child respects and to whom they are devoted, then we are doing them a good thing under all circumstances. We are doing a good thing when we raise children who, by the age of nine or ten, do not already want to know everything themselves, but who, when asked: Why is this or that right or good? — they say: Because Father said it, because Mother said it was good, or because the teacher said it. — If we raise children in such a way that the adults in their environment naturally act as authorities, then we are doing the children a favor under all circumstances. And if we violate these seven-year periods—that is, if we bring about a situation where, precisely during this time, children begin to criticize those who are natural authorities—if we do not prevent this criticism from arising, then we are doing something harmful to the developing human being under all circumstances. And if we do not find the opportunity to speak to a person between the ages of fourteen, fifteen, and twenty-one in such a way that we can naturally rise with them to ideals—ideals that fill the heart with joy—then we are not doing this young person any particular good either. With people in these years, one must speak of ideals, of what later life must bring to the properly developing young person under all circumstances. One might say: Today, one’s heart could truly break at times when eighteen-year-old boys—pardon me, young adults—come along and are already contributing their columns to the newspapers. If, instead of accepting something from them, one were to converse with them about what does not yet affect their external lives, but what they are only to realize later; if one were to speak with them about the great ideals of human life and share their enthusiasm, then one would be relating to them in the right way. Actually, the person who, as an editor, accepts a feature piece from someone who hasn’t yet reached the age of twenty is, under any circumstances, doing something worse than the one who, when the young person comes with this feature piece, says to him: “Yes, look here, what you’ve done is very nice. But when you’re ten years older, you’ll have quite different ideas about it.” Put this away neatly in your drawer for now and take it out again in ten or twelve years. — The person who does this, who then takes a look at the manuscript and talks with the young person about the life ideals that can be associated with it, is doing them a favor.

[ 10 ] My point is simply to emphasize that the principles outlined in my book *The Education of the Child* should always be taken into account in child-rearing, under all circumstances. Everything else, where it comes down to Lucifer and Ahriman, does not allow for general rules; it is in fact different for every human being, because it relates specifically to the personal. In many cases, this concerns the educator’s personal tact; one cannot intervene in these matters with all sorts of pedantic rules. I wanted to describe to you everything that is in the human soul, and how we must take into account Lucifer and Ahriman if we wish to understand the full nature of humanity, if we truly wish to take everything into account—not merely viewing it in such a way that we say: We must fight Lucifer and Ahriman. — If we wanted to fight Lucifer under all circumstances, we could do so in a very certain way: we would only need to prevent human beings from developing a memory. For just as it is true that certain lunar beings were brought into our earthly evolution, so it is true that all memory is a Luciferic force. We would therefore simply have to refrain from developing our memory! We must, however, be clear that we have to develop this memory in the right way. And that is why it was said in that text that the right period for the education of memory is that between the seventh and fourteenth years. In the preceding period, we do not need to systematically train the memory, for it develops on its own, since that is when Lucifer is most present in the human being. There we leave the human being to their own devices. But then, after the change of teeth, when Ahriman has most clearly approached the human being, we begin with the training of the memory. For by then Ahriman has already established his counterbalance to Lucifer; we will no longer be playing directly into Lucifer’s hands when we train the memory. We must not even entertain the idea that we might want to fight Ahriman. There would again be a very simple means of combating the coarsest Ahrimanic influences, but it would not be good for the human being. One would then have to, when a person gets their second set of teeth, knock them out, for that is where the sharpest Ahrimanic effects are found. Of the progressive forces, a person possesses only their so-called baby teeth. What a person receives as their independent set of teeth, active throughout life, is a purely Ahrimanic effect.

[ 11 ] We must therefore realize that much of what is part of us cannot be any different than it is, precisely because the Ahrimanic and Luciferic forces are within us. We sometimes even manage to feel quite dissatisfied with our own resistance to Ahriman, of which we are unaware. In the course of life, we already prepare ourselves to possess certain powers once we have passed through death, so that Ahriman cannot do too much to us between death and a new birth. But sometimes we clearly show ourselves that the struggle against Ahriman is not even welcome to us, for example, when we regret every tooth we lose. But with every tooth that falls out, a power grows within us that we can put to very good use. I am, of course, not speaking against having teeth filled or replaced, for nothing Ahrimanic grows within us as a result—at most the gold itself—but that is not the point. So there can be no question of this being something bad. The fact that we gradually lose our Ahrimanic teeth stems from the fact that, in the course of evolution, we also receive certain impulses that defeat Ahriman. And regardless of whether we have a tooth replaced or not, once it has been lost, we have thereby gained an impulse that helps us in the forces we must develop between death and a new birth at the very lowest level. It is a very small thing at first, but it can show us how, when we approach reality and look beyond the appearances and the great illusion that usually surrounds us, we must fundamentally accustom ourselves to viewing things in life quite differently than they are usually viewed. And even the weakness of old age, for example, is a strength that, as we feel it, grows directly within us, so that we may in turn have something to oppose Ahriman once we have passed through the gate of death. While we may indeed be unhappy here between birth and death if we age too soon, we must be glad that we are aging in relation to what we want after death in order to cope with Ahriman.

[ 12 ] And now you can see how wonderfully this all fits together: our inner spiritual and soul core remains with us, and as it continues to develop between birth and death, it is intimately connected with the advancing forces. For this germ, which passes through the gate of death, is—where it has developed its strongest inner tensile forces—purely governed by the progressive forces. That which is outside of it, that which withers away externally, is that in which the Ahrimanic forces reside. And we must now consider what this Ahriman actually is to the seer.

[ 13 ] When our plants grow out of the earth, begin to wither toward autumn, and their leaves fall, the elemental spirits that Ahriman sends to the earth’s surface appear everywhere. There he gathers up everything that is dying; he gathers it up through his elemental spirits. When one walks through the fields in autumn and sees nature in its dying state with clairvoyant eyes, Ahriman extends his powers everywhere, and everywhere he has his elemental messengers who bring him what is withering physical and etheric substance. But as human beings, we are actually, in a sense, in a kind of autumnal and wintry mood all day long. Truly, the soul’s summer mood is actually only present when the soul is asleep. It is truly the case that the sleeping human body—the physical body and the etheric body—is like a plant; and what is outside—the ego and the astral body—cast their rays back onto the physical and etheric body, acting like the sun and stars, and causing the forces we have destroyed during the day to sprout forth. There the vegetative life grows, and daytime thinking is really only there to sweep away what the night has caused to sprout. When we wake up, we flit over our vegetative life, just as autumn flits over the plants of the earth. And what winter does to the vegetation of the earth, we do in exactly the same way during our waking hours to our physical and etheric bodies, to that which they bring forth as sprouting, budding life during the soul’s summer season, namely during the time of night sleep. When we are awake, it is wintertime, true wintertime of the soul, and if we want to have springtime of the soul, we must fall asleep. It is so. And from this standpoint, it is actually easy to understand why people who do not at least mix something from the soul’s summer season into their waking life wither so easily. Dry scholars, meager little professors—these are the ones who do not like to take in what is not fully conscious, who do not like to take in anything from the soul’s summer season. Then they wither away; then they become thoroughly winter people. And to the seer, the entire development of human daily life thus appears quite similar to what I have just described to you regarding nature. For when a person forms his ordinary thoughts concerning the external world, when he thinks in a truly materialistic way only of what happens externally, then his thoughts affect the brain in such a way that the brain secretes substances that Ahriman can make good use of, so that Ahriman actually accompanies waking daily life continuously. And the more materialistic our mindset, the more possessed we are by Ahriman. No wonder it is true that materialism is connected to fear. For if you recall “The Guardian of the Threshold,” you will realize how fear, in turn, is connected to Ahriman.

[ 14 ] We should come to feel that we are indeed confronted in life with complex spiritual worlds. And what we are to gain from anthroposophy is not merely that we know this or that—that we know there is Ahriman, Lucifer, a physical body, an etheric body. That is the very least of it. What we are to take in from anthroposophy is a certain mood of the soul, a fundamental feeling for human life, for what actually lies in these depths of the soul. Therefore, it is necessary that we treat the words connected with these higher things with a certain sacred reverence. If we have them constantly on our lips, it is all too easy for their gravity and dignity to become dulled for us.

[ 15 ] Thus we see the human being, between birth and death, in relation to the evolving spiritual beings, standing in a certain sense between Lucifer and Ahriman. And so that the entire development of the human being can take place in the right way, this relationship must also remain the same between death and a new birth, except that what is inner between birth and death becomes outer between death and a new birth. Innerly, from the moment we can recall backward, Lucifer has clung to the human soul. Inwardly—the human being knows nothing of this unless he learns of it through spiritual science and learns to feel it. After death, the situation is different. There, at a specific moment, Lucifer appears—just as surely as he is inwardly present between birth and death—outwardly in the life between death and a new birth. Thus he stands there before us in full form; thus he stands at our side; thus we walk with him! For just as little as a person knows Lucifer before passing through the gate of death, so surely and clearly does he know him when he walks at his side between death and a new birth. Only that in the present cycle of time, this awareness can become quite unpleasant. We can pass through the realm between death and a new birth in such a way that we have Lucifer—who, after all, is not only something terrible, but also something beautiful and magnificent in terms of his outward form—that we have Lucifer, so to speak, beside us and recognize his necessity for the world. The time is drawing ever closer when people will only be able to pass through life after death with Lucifer if they have already properly sensed and come to know the Luciferic impulses in the human soul here in this life. Those people—and there will certainly be more and more of them in the future—who want to know nothing of Lucifer, and that is surely the majority, will know all the more of Lucifer after death. For not only will he stand at their side, but he will continually drain their soul forces from them; he will vampirize them. This is what one prepares for through ignorance: being vampirized by Lucifer. In doing so, one deprives oneself of forces for the next life, for one surrenders them to Lucifer in a certain way.

[ 16 ] The situation is quite similar with regard to Ahriman. As far as he is concerned, the matter stands as follows. The two spirits are always present between death and a new birth, but at one time one is more present and the other less so, while at another time it is the reverse. We go forth, and then return in the life between death and a new birth. On the outward journey, Lucifer is particularly at our side; on the return journey toward the new birth, Ahriman is particularly at our side. For he leads us back to Earth; he is an important figure during the return journey in the second half. And he, too, can, in a sense, inflict harm upon those people who do not wish to believe in him during their life between birth and death. For he then gives them too much of his powers. He bestows upon them what he always has left over—those forces connected to earthly heaviness, which impose illness and premature death upon people, which bring all manner of misfortunes that appear to be accidents into earthly existence, and so on. All of this is connected to these Ahrimanic forces.

[ 17 ] I presented the matter from a somewhat different perspective over in Munich. There, I specifically pointed out that after death, the human soul can become a serving spirit for the forces that send illness and death from the supersensible worlds into the sensible world. It is precisely what weakens life that is so welcome to Ahriman, and what enables him to further weaken our lives. But again, we must not judge one-sidedly. It would be entirely wrong to say: So it is very bad that Ahriman has led us into life and that we have to suffer from his aftereffects in life. — No, that is good, because under certain circumstances, an illness can be what contributes most of all to our upward development.

[ 18 ] It is always the case that when we approach the threshold separating the supersensible world from the sensory world, we must be prepared to modify our judgment somewhat and not judge as we are accustomed to doing in the ordinary physical world. For isn’t it true that in the physical world, Maya is present in abundance? Where, then, does materialism in the physical world come from—that materialism which says: There is no Ahriman at all, there is no devil at all! Who shouts the loudest: “There is no devil?” — The one most possessed by him. For the spirit we call Ahriman has the greatest interest in having his existence denied most of all by the one who is most possessed by him. “The little people never sense the devil, even if he had them by the collar!” So this is a terrible illusion, not to believe in Ahriman, for that is when he has the tightest grip on you; if you do not believe in him, you give him the greatest power over you. So that one judges wrongly when monists appear and rail against the devil, and one says: They are fighting the devil. — No, a materialistic-monistic gathering that rails against the devil is designed to conjure up the devil. And far more than the old witches are said to have done, modern materialists conjure up the devil—far, far more! That is the truth, and the rest is Maya. So we must accustom ourselves to learning to judge differently. And anyone who enters a monistic gathering with materialistic undertones speaks untruth when they say: “These people are freeing humanity from the devil.” — They should say: “Now I am entering a gathering where the devil is summoned into human culture using every means of power that humans possess.” — This is what we should truly become aware of: that as we grow, so to speak, into spiritual life, we learn not only to take in concepts and ideas, but also to rethink and re-feel; and yet, when we face the outer world, we remain sensible enough not to constantly mix this outer world in an enthusiastic way with what is the truth for the supersensible worlds. When people constantly throw around words in relation to the outer physical world that actually have their proper value only for the supersensible worlds, they deprive themselves of what is most important: that we learn to distinguish, not to confuse the sensory and supersensible worlds, that we learn to use the words in their proper sense.

[ 19 ] These are just a few of the points that should be mentioned today, as we have gathered here—for the first time in such large numbers, including friends from out of town—at our recently established Augsburg branch. And today, as we seek to gather our thoughts here in our souls—thoughts intended to aid the work in this place—a serious word, a very serious word, should also be spoken as a kind of opening address for our Augsburg branch. For then, under the guidance and direction of the Masters of Wisdom and the Harmony of Feelings, who serve the advancing divine-spiritual beings, the work of a branch will most certainly flourish when this spiritual work harmoniously integrates into a larger spiritual current of work. And our friends from afar have come here to you, my dear friends in Augsburg, to develop thoughts of love and devotion for the general anthroposophical cause and for every single anthroposophical seeker here in their souls, side by side with you today. And in these souls will remain what has taken its starting point from these hours, what has developed in these souls like a spring of togetherness. You, my dear friends in Augsburg, will once again work here alone from week to week, from time to time, but only seemingly, only outwardly and spatially alone. The gathering of many friends with you will be the starting point of those strengthening forces that can actually flow into every individual work within our spiritual movement from all those who belong to this spiritual movement, even when we are not physically connected with the friends of any particular group. That is why it is so wonderful when the opportunity arises for a larger number of our friends to come together with a young branch. For then the point at which they have gathered together in time is also an outward sign—as we humans sometimes need—that from there the will can truly arise to turn our thoughts again and again to the individual work being done by our friends in this or that place. And if you, my dear friends in Augsburg, who have been faithfully working on anthroposophy for some time now, continue to work faithfully in the future, remember that there will be friends in the world who think of you here with the intention that your work may be a worthy, genuine, and good link in our entire spiritual movement. In this way we cultivate our sense of togetherness and never lose sight of our unity in spirit. Let us always keep this clearly, yet strongly, in mind, for only in this way can those powers truly help us—the powers that preside over our true work, the forces of the Masters of Wisdom and the harmony of feelings. These forces will flit invisibly through your thoughts if you carry out our anthroposophical work here in this place in the right spirit. Our dear local members have, through so much in their anthroposophical conduct and actions, shown how faithfully and sincerely they wish to work with us. And that is why we are all doing something important when, now that we have the opportunity through this gathering, we unite our thoughts in the goal that has brought us together here: May the work of our sisters and brothers in Augsburg be blessed and strengthened by the forces to which we always appeal! From this spirit, I also invoke for this branch the blessing of the Masters of Wisdom and the harmony of feelings, that blessing which I know is with our work when we make ourselves worthy of it.