The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Third Lecture

[ 1 ] In the series of lectures I am about to give, I will try to present you with a coherent overview that will enable you to understand the present and the near future, at least from a few different perspectives. However, I will need to go into greater detail on some points. Therefore, you will need to bear in mind that I will be weaving a sort of common thread—as they say—through these lectures, and that individual points will need to be considered in the context of the whole. I will explore a wide variety of angles, bringing in building blocks—sometimes ones that may seem distant—but which you will need to understand the present.

[ 2 ] There is one thing that must be given special consideration at this time—and by “this time” I actually mean a broader period that extends decades into the past and decades into the future. Truths must be spoken that, in many respects, stand in stark contrast to what humanity today not only believes but also takes more or less for granted, so that the situation between spiritual science and the opinions prevalent in the world today will be roughly as follows: Spiritual science will have this or that to say; but in the world, people hold not only a divergent view but, in many respects, a view that is downright opposed to what spiritual science has to proclaim as truth. Consequently, it goes without saying that people will receive the truths of spiritual science as something that seems unbelievable to them, something that seems twisted to them, something that seems foolish to them.

[ 3 ] But it must be said: Even if, in other times, the truth that had to be proclaimed in order to usher in new eras differed from the prevailing opinions held by people at the time, and even if there has always been a certain difference between progressive truth and the opinions customary in a country or throughout the world—as great as it may be, as drastic as it must be in our time—this difference was probably never actually as great in past times. Perhaps this is less true in an absolute sense, but in this relative sense, it is true that people today are inwardly immensely intolerant and therefore less tolerant of opinions that differ from their own.

[ 4 ] Thus, people today will have a much stronger subjective sense of the fantastical when confronted with newly emerging opinions in the near future than was the case in this area in earlier times. Nevertheless, the situation is such that truths which, up to the present, have been strictly guarded within close-knit circles—and regarding which those to whom they were communicated were required to maintain the strictest silence toward all those to whom they could not be disclosed—such truths must, in our time, be made public more and more, regardless of how public opinion and its “champions” respond to these truths, and regardless of what prejudices and countercurrents these truths may provoke.

[ 5 ] We will discuss why this is so in the course of these lectures. To begin with, I will point out some peculiarities in the way people of the present and the near future perceive truths. In many respects, these people of the present—even though they believe they have moved far beyond the illusions and superstitions of the past—are thoroughly deluded; they are more prone than people in other eras to succumb to illusions about certain essential and important aspects of the world order, and to such an extent that these illusions become powers that dominate the world, dominate nations, and dominate the earth. This is very important, for in all the chaos of the present—and that is precisely why it is chaos—it is illusions, illusory notions, that reign.

[ 6 ] We would like to point out right away what I would call a fundamental illusion, a fundamental illusion of the present—an illusion that is intimately connected with the materialistic trends of our time and with people’s inclination toward materialism. This illusion is characterized by the fact that people are becoming increasingly inclined to form a completely false view of what we, in the context of spiritual scientific insights, call the physical plane. And a phrase from the New Testament that is fundamental in this regard is understood less and less; the phrase “My kingdom is not of this world” is understood less and less. This saying is misunderstood in the present to the extent that precisely those personalities who set the tone outwardly—the leading figures of the present—succumb to the illusion that, in every respect, their kingdom must be of this world, that their kingdom must take hold on the physical plane.

[ 7 ] What do I mean by this? Anyone who is able to see reality, anyone who is able to penetrate reality, knows that the world of the physical plane can never be perfect. But those who think materialistically succumb to the illusion that something perfect must be achieved on the physical plane. This is the source of all these illusions, one of which is particularly characteristic: the socialist illusion of the present.

[ 8 ] People of every political persuasion and every party affiliation are now harboring illusions—even those with a liberal worldview and a liberal outlook on life have constructed a certain system for the physical plane and believe that if they can bring this system to fruition, it will be paradise on earth. The socialists, on the other hand, think of nothing else but how to organize the world of this physical plane so that everything here on this physical plane will be good, so that everyone will have a particularly comfortable existence, as they imagine it, everyone in the same way, and so on. And when such people begin to envision the future shape of the physical plane, it is always a very beautiful, paradisiacal world. Just try examining the plans of those who today identify with the various socialist parties from this perspective!

[ 9 ] But you’ll find such views and opinions not only on this site, but on others as well. Take educators, for example. Of course, every educational activist or writer today is convinced that they must establish an educational system and principles that are the best imaginable—and that are, in an absolute sense, the very best, beyond which no better can be conceived.

[ 10 ] It is this very aspiration that must seem downright foolish to people when they rebel against it. For as things stand today, people can hardly say anything other than: Anyone who does not want everything in the world to be arranged for the best must be of a thoroughly malicious character. — One can understand why people must think this way. But if it is not malice that prevents us from thinking this way, but rather a clear, genuine perception of reality—if this genuine perception of reality tells us: it is simply an illusion to believe that such degrees of perfection can be achieved on the physical plane—if it were just as much a law that things can never be perfect on the physical plane as it is a law that the three angles of a triangle add up to exactly 180 degrees, then one must simply look such a truth in the face boldly and without cowardice.

[ 11 ] This is what appears as such illusions when viewed from a thoroughly materialistic perspective. Even though many people today say they believe in a spiritual world—it remains mere words; for many people, it remains a mere word, an empty sound. Yet there is something else at work in people’s perceptions, feelings, and subconscious impulses: the tendency to think materialistically. This tendency leads people—even if they delude themselves into believing in something else—to actually believe only in the physical plane. Indeed, anyone who believes only in the physical plane—who does not believe there is anything else in their surroundings besides the physical plane—cannot help but recognize as their sole ideal the task of bringing about everything on the physical plane in such a way that this physical plane becomes a paradise; otherwise, the whole world would be utter nonsense. For the materialist, if he does not want to consider the world nonsense, there is no other option but to succumb to the illusion that, although things are still quite imperfect on the physical plane, it is nevertheless possible to bring about conditions that will put an end to this imperfection and replace it with perfection.

[ 12 ] Everything that is currently being put forward in this area—whether in general terms, as all manner of political, social, and other agitators expound upon, or in specific instances, such as in the field of education or other areas—is based on illusions. And these illusions, in turn, are based on the fact that people have no insight into the relationships between the physical plane and the other spheres of the world; that people have absolutely no way of forming a conception of why Christ Jesus used the words, “My kingdom is not of this world,” or why Christ Jesus did not wish to realize the kingdom of perfection here on the physical plane. Nowhere in the Gospels can one find evidence that Christ intended to transform this realm of the outer physical world into a realm of perfection. Christ, of course, did not succumb to this illusion. But he corrected this unwillingness to bring about a paradise on the physical plane by wanting to give people something that is not of this world: a permeation of the soul with the impulses that live constantly in the world, but which are not of this world—that is, not of the physical plane.

[ 13 ] Today, such illusions dominate humanity on a vast scale. But this gives rise to unhealthy conditions; for since human beings are free beings, these illusions can, of course, be embraced by them. In the more material realms, such illusions would immediately reveal themselves as illusions. Those fools who theoretically invent such things in material spheres are immediately exposed as deluded. In the vast realm of social and political coexistence, however, this is not immediately apparent.

[ 14 ] I’ve told this story many times before: When I was a young badger, about twenty-two or twenty-three years old, a college classmate came to see me—his face flushed, terribly excited—and declared that he had made an important, truly epoch-making invention. “Well,” I said, “that’s all well and good; but what do you actually plan to do with it?” — “Yes,” he said, “I have to go see Ratinger right away—he was the professor of mechanical engineering at the university—and I have to present this to him!” And no sooner said than done: he ran off. But Ratinger didn’t have time right away, so he came back again. He was told to come back later. So I said, “Maybe in the meantime—since we have a little time—you could tell me what kind of invention you’ve made.” — It was a truly ingenious thing. He had, in fact, invented a steam engine that required only a very small amount of coal at the start to heat it up; after that, there was no need to keep adding coal, because there was a mechanism that kept the whole thing running continuously. All it needed was a single initial push. Well, that was, of course, a groundbreaking achievement. You’ll be amazed that it doesn’t exist today! I had him explain the whole thing to me and then said to him: “You know, that’s very ingenious; but when you look at the big picture, it’s no different from trying to set a railroad car in motion by climbing inside and pushing from within—pushing continuously from within.” If someone stands outside and pushes, they can of course move the car forward; but if they stand inside, they cannot move the car forward even a millimeter, even with the same amount of force. — And yet that was the whole basis of the idea.

[ 15 ] Something can be extraordinarily logical, extraordinarily ingenious, constructed using every possible technical principle, and yet it can still be nonsense, an unrealistic idea. And what matters is not merely that one thinks ingeniously or logically, but that one thinks in a way that is grounded in reality. — He never went to see Ratinger after all.

[ 16 ] Well, in the material realm, in the mechanistic realm, such a thing becomes apparent very quickly. But in the social and political realms—indeed, in the realm that, in the broadest sense, could be called the realm of bringing happiness to the world—it does not become apparent so quickly. One can certainly put very similar ideas out into the world; people are thereby deluded and come to believe in them. But the whole thing is based solely on the fact that one is standing in the carriage and pushing from the inside. A time will come when a certain fundamental character of the present order will perhaps even be named after a specific figure, because that name will be characteristic of a way of thinking that is, at its core, thoroughly illusory and unreal. And people will most certainly speak in the future of “Wilsonianism” at the beginning of the 20th century, for this Wilsonianism is, in the political sphere, exactly the same as what the man had who wanted to push the wagon from inside the wagon.

[ 17 ] All those concepts that, as fundamental principles, dominate Wilsonianism—and which make such a strong impression today—are thoroughly unrealistic, quite apart from the fact that they also exert a great influence on people today for other reasons. In fact, they exert an immense influence precisely because they cannot be realized. If one were to attempt to put them into practice, it would very soon become apparent that they are nullities. But people can imagine that something like this could be realized. For if Wilsonianism could be realized, then a vast global philistine society would have been established throughout the world. For Woodrow Wilson actually deserved to be named the world savior of the general philistine class. Admittedly, in a world ordered by Wilson, the philistines would not fare well—and such a world cannot, of course, be realized—but the philistines at least imagine it: if Wilsonianism were to take hold of the world, then we would fare exactly as we wish, according to our ideal.

[ 18 ] The future will one day tell the story: At the beginning of the 20th century, a strange ideal emerged: How can one make the world the most perfect reflection of petty-bourgeois society? And Wilsonianism will be analyzed in order to present these petty-bourgeois illusions as a defining characteristic of the early 20th century.

[ 19 ] As you can see, there are not only small but also large-scale examples of the illusory thinking of our time. And today, it is not isolated sects but rather very widespread religious communities that indulge in such unrealistic lines of thought, such illusions, as those mentioned above.

[ 20 ] But important, far-reaching, genuine truths must be proclaimed to the world today. And these will have little in common with what, for the reasons just mentioned, is poised to become conventional wisdom under the preconditions that have prevailed until now. Different preconditions for understanding the truth must be created. The truths that must come to light are, after all, somewhat repulsive to the broadest circles today; they are uncomfortable—quite uncomfortable. And the truths that people love today are comfortable; they are sought after, in accordance with the predispositions that people already possess today.

[ 21 ] We will have to come to terms with some of these uncomfortable truths in the course of these lectures. Above all, the truths that the world needs—the ones that must be proclaimed out of a certain higher sense of responsibility—must not relate solely to the physical plane, for they must be precisely suited to dispel the illusions people harbor regarding the physical plane and to replace imagination with reality. For the most deluded, the most fanciful people today are those who consider themselves to be only slightly—or not at all—fanciful. One makes some strange discoveries in this regard.

[ 22 ] I was recently sent a kind of encyclopedia listing the names of writers. It is intended to list all those writers who possess something that is Jewish, something that contributes to the realization of Judaism in the world. I am also listed among these writers, and I am listed for the reason that—in the opinion of the author of that literary encyclopedia—I share many similarities with Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Jesuit order precisely because of his Judaism, and because I also hail from a border region between Germans and Slavs—where I happened to be born, even though I do not actually come from there—and because the fact that I come from there—I do not know for what reasons—suggests that I am of Jewish descent. I was not particularly surprised by this, for even more surprising things appear today, do they not? But among these people listed as promoters of Judaism is also Hermann Bahr—I leafed through it—who is so thoroughly Upper Austrian that it is truly impossible to imagine connecting him in any way with Jewish blood or anything of the sort. Nevertheless, this literary encyclopedia cites a well-known literary historian as a source claiming that Hermann Bahr must surely have something Jewish about him.

[ 23 ] Well, when I was once accused—these things are nothing new, after all—of being Jewish, I had my baptismal certificate photographed. Hermann Bahr also had to go through such trials because a literary historian had accused him of being Jewish. He simply wanted to set the record straight. And then the literary historian in question said: “Well, but his grandfather might have been Jewish.”—But there is absolutely nothing in Hermann Bahr’s ancestry that cannot be traced back to being purely Upper Austrian-German; there is absolutely nothing to prove otherwise. That was, of course, disastrous for that literary historian, but he did not let himself be dissuaded from his opinion. And he justified his refusal to be dissuaded in the following way. He said: “And if Hermann Bahr were to present me with baptismal certificates going back twelve generations, proving that he could not possibly have a single drop of Jewish blood from any side, then I would, if necessary, believe in reincarnation.” — So, as you can see: For this very well-known and famous literary historian, the reasons for believing in reincarnation lie in a rather peculiar realm.

[ 24 ] These days, it is sometimes difficult to take what famous people say seriously at all. The only pity, of course, is that it becomes so extraordinarily difficult to convince people in wider circles of these things. For it is, in a sense, in people’s nature to believe in authority, even though, of course, people today are not at all prone to believing in authority! But that is, after all, only their opinion. We were also able to say a few things yesterday about this opinion that people have of themselves.

[ 25 ] For this present age, which at times strays from the truth in its fundamental instincts, it will be exceedingly difficult to grasp precisely those truths that touch upon the border region immediately adjacent to the physical plane. For what must be regarded as the border region immediately adjacent to the physical plane requires that, in describing it, one must in a certain way appeal to a healthy, uncorrupted state of mind in those who hear about it. And this will pose the greatest, the very greatest difficulties in proclaiming those truths that must necessarily be proclaimed. It is not merely the contemplation of these truths, but even the mere familiarization with them that has significance for the entire state of a person’s soul.

[ 26 ] The external knowledge one absorbs about the physical plane has a certain effect—let us say—on the human head. But those truths that go deep—even if they go only as deep as the border region—these truths touch the whole person, not merely the head, but the whole person. And when proclaiming such truths, one must count on an uncorrupted, healthy mind.

[ 27 ] Well, in many walks of life, however, an uncorrupted, healthy mind is not all that common these days. On the contrary, an unhealthy, corrupted mind is by no means a rarity today. And so it happens that in the reception of truths, the nature of people’s instinctive life, their life of drives, and their entire mental and emotional constitution—that is, the state of mind of those who wish to receive these truths—exerts a very strong influence. People with corrupted instincts, who lack the will to bring a certain discipline to their lives, will very quickly be inclined—precisely when it comes to absorbing truths about the borderlands—to adopt an attitude toward these truths that is entirely imbued with a base mindset. This can happen very easily. When people lack a healthy interest in objective world events, when they are primarily interested only in what pertains to themselves, this often corrupts the mind to such an extent that they respond to occult truths—and especially those of the borderland—with instincts that are entirely at odds with them.

[ 28 ] As for the truths of the physical plane—for everything that pertains to the physical plane, in which human beings have progressed so far in the present—external nature, I would say, already ensures that not much corruption can arise among human beings. There, people are constrained by what external nature imposes upon them; there, they can give little free rein to their instincts; there, they must follow external nature. If one proceeds from the physical plane further into the border region, then one no longer has this restraint; then one must enter into a different kind of guidance, into a different inner security of the soul life. But this is possible only if one leaves the physical plane with an uncorrupted mind; otherwise, one becomes unrestrained in the border region. One is no longer restrained by external nature, no longer by social, traditional prejudices—one becomes unrestrained. One suddenly feels free and cannot bear that freedom. In the world of the physical plane, for example, there are many things that prevent people from lying. If someone claims at six o’clock in the evening that the sun has just risen, nature will very soon correct him. And so it is with many things that relate to the outer, physical plane. If someone asserts all sorts of nonsense about matters of the higher worlds—even if they are merely those of the borderlands—he is not immediately corrected by the external world. But this is precisely why people, by escaping, as it were, the discipline that the physical plane exerts upon them, can become unrestrained.

[ 29 ] This is one of the great difficulties that the communication of truths about the spiritual world can give rise to. However, it must always be countered by the fact that this communication of truths about the spiritual world is simply necessary. We must not forget that the truths about the spiritual world cannot be received by the soul in the same state of mind as the truths about the outer physical world. We can only take in the truths about the spiritual world if we loosen our etheric and astral bodies within us somewhat; otherwise, we will hear nothing but words. One must indeed attain such a state of mind—and for the manifestations of subjective soul life, it is, after all, merely a state of mind—one must indeed relax the etheric and astral bodies somewhat if one is to properly understand what pertains to the spiritual world. This relaxation must be merely a means to understanding the truths of the spiritual world. It must not degenerate into an end in itself. If it degenerates into an end in itself, the consequences can be very serious.

[ 30 ] Just imagine—I’ll cite an extreme case—that someone were listening to a lecture on spiritual science, not, as would be proper, to gain insight into the spiritual worlds, but because they consider it to be particularly mystical. So they would listen, allowing themselves, as it were, to be flooded by what is being said, because that loosens up the etheric body and the astral body somewhat. One can indeed observe that, especially during lectures on spiritual science—and sometimes even during pseudo-spiritual science lectures—people want to listen in a drowsy ecstasy; they are not actually particularly interested in the content, but rather in the sensation of pleasure brought about by the emergence of the etheric body and the astral body, and so they listen with such warm devotion. This kind of warm, devoted listening may be very good in other circumstances; but it is of no use for opening one’s understanding to certain spiritual matters.

[ 31 ] This must be understood correctly. Someone who takes in spiritual scientific truths with the right understanding—that is, who specifically follows the lines with which the concepts are drawn to open up an understanding of the spiritual world—it is precisely this person whose humanity is thereby elevated, for they experience things that must be known in the present for the salvation and further development of humanity. Whoever takes these things in the right sense will also experience that their instincts and drives are ennobled and elevated, and that simply by listening to spiritual scientific truths, they undergo a development toward the good. Whoever has no will to take in spiritual scientific truths in this sense—who perhaps takes them in out of some purely personal interest because, let’s say, also wants to belong to a society and has not yet found another that would suit them better than the anthroposophical one—in short, anyone who initially brings personal interests into this society—will find that the truths of spiritual science initially stir up base instincts, perhaps the very lowest instincts. It is therefore not surprising that people who do not actually belong but listen to such teachings feel their basest instincts stirred up. This cannot be avoided at present, simply because these matters are meant to be made public and one cannot draw boundaries. The only way to find the right course of action is for those who, by virtue of their inner justification, truly belong to this movement—and who, by virtue of their inner justification, participate in it—to exercise their alert judgment and rigorously examine their own actions. Anyone who, before or after leaving the society, asserts anything other than personal interests is merely demonstrating that they were never suited to belong to this society. And personal interests, I would think, are not so difficult to distinguish from objective intellectual interests.

[ 32 ] But it is not surprising that, under the conditions demanded by social development, this or that aspect of our lower nature repeatedly comes to the surface. One must look at the dangers that may arise with clear awareness—with completely clear awareness—and one must strive to steer clear of these dangers. Whoever responds to these dangers in the right way is certainly already managing them. Especially in the present time—and this, too, is part of the chaos of the present—deviations in this area will by no means be rare. The current tragic events are placing an immense strain on the resources of a number of people; and people who, before the outbreak of this war, were not accustomed to working—and working hard—out of a sense of the common good rather than merely out of personal interest have truly learned to do so across various countries over the past three years; that is true. Many people have learned to work and have also learned to have a sense of the common good.

[ 33 ] Anyone who truly belongs to our movement has, from the outset, shared interests. Nevertheless, the current times in particular offer an immense opportunity for a certain kind of outsider idleness. Precisely because of the circumstances of this war, there are people right now who, once again, have nothing proper to do. If they are part of our movement, they feel this as well. Before the war, there were many lecture tours; whole groups of people could get together and travel from one lecture to the next. Even if there was a lack of external interests, there were plenty of thrills, and if they didn’t come from outside, people would create them for themselves. That’s difficult now. That’s not possible now. But some people haven’t found the path to meaningful activities. So it is particularly the case now that a kind of outsider idleness has found its way even into our circles, which now passes the time with all sorts of antagonisms. Because one can no longer indulge in thrills by traveling from one lecture series to the next, people seek out other forms of entertainment. This is merely indicative of the nature of the interest with which one has traveled from lecture series to lecture series.

[ 34 ] Anyone whose inner calling compels them to represent spiritual scientific truths before the world today with all seriousness and dignity knows this: When they speak before an audience of a hundred people, there are more than fifty among them who might become opponents. That is a law; that is simply the way it is. There are always more than fifty percent who, if they do not become opponents, do so for one reason or another—but not because of a firm commitment to the cause. For reasons we have already cited, and which we will cite further on, this is simply the way it is. Therefore, the advocate of spiritual scientific truths is, in principle, not at all surprised by opposition. And rather than dealing with the arguments often put forward by opponents—arguments which these opponents themselves know best are not true (for they know full well, of course, that these things are not true)—it is far more useful to examine the reasons why this opposition has arisen.

[ 35 ] There one will come across all sorts of curious things. One will then lose the inclination to address the very issues that such opponents would like one to address. One will then discover the true reasons behind these oppositions. This is sometimes, in turn, more inconvenient than addressing what people try to make one believe. Think back to the years when it was repeatedly pointed out here—time and again from one perspective or another—that the same issues must be addressed, just as they are being addressed today. These matters are, after all, always being pointed out. But it is essential to consider these matters with the utmost seriousness and dignity, to regard them in a manner befitting a spiritual scientific movement.

[ 36 ] Believe me, if I am to lead this spiritual science movement with full responsibility, I have more important things to do than worry about whether three, four—or even more, for all I care—people get together here or there and spread all kinds of gossip. I have more important things to do and am never inclined to address such matters. Yet, unfortunately, this is precisely what is so little—oh, so little—understood! For even within this society, the scientific interest in such matters is not as developed as one might think; rather, it is the interest in sensationalism that prevails. From a scientific standpoint, it is indeed interesting to study poisonous plants alongside useful ones, but one must find the right perspective for this. As for the seriousness and the gravity of what anthroposophically oriented spiritual science is meant to be, very few—forgive me for saying so—even among those who profess to follow this spiritual science, have any real inkling of it. If the proper seriousness and the proper insight into its significance were present, one would take a very different stance in many respects toward everything that is going on than one does now. Of course, I am not saying that one should turn one’s interest away from this. On the contrary: one should not turn one’s interest away from those phenomena that arise with the intent to destroy this spiritual-scientific movement. But one must find a way to approach them in the right manner.

[ 37 ] For example, someone might come along and write at great length about contradictions I am said to have committed in my various writings, and about all sorts of other things. One might point out today that Luther was shown to have made not just a few dozen, but hundreds upon hundreds of contradictions. He simply replied: “The fools talk of contradictions in my writings. If only they would take the trouble just once to try to understand one of the things that seems to contradict the other!” — One could point out such things, for example. But there is no need to do so. For where people speak of contradictions today, the interest lies not in seeking out or uncovering such contradictions, but in something else. For example, a man once submitted a manuscript to the Philosophical-Anthroposophical Publishing House. This manuscript could not be used by the Philosophical-Anthroposophical Publishing House; it had to be rejected. Whereas this man used to follow me everywhere, he became an opponent from that moment on. The real reason does not lie in the detection of contradictions. If the real reason were to be found there, one would speak as Luther spoke. But one cannot even speak that way, for the person in question is only recognized when one knows that he harbors venom and bile within himself—simply because the Philosophical-Anthroposophical Publishing House was not in a position to publish his book. That is the real reason. The reasons lie in a completely different realm than the ones being put forward. Therefore, anyone who simply listens to people and lets them tell you what they want you to believe will have very little chance of discovering the truths, perhaps just as little chance as that literary historian who, if necessary—in order to believe in Hermann Bahr’s Judaism, and for that reason alone—would convert to the belief in reincarnation if he were presented with twelve generations of Christian baptismal certificates from Hermann Bahr’s ancestors.

[ 38 ] In our time, there is much talk of the courage of our contemporaries. To assert those truths that are necessary for humanity—in the sense in which this has been characterized today—will require a very different kind of courage: an inner courage. And in the very place where this courage ought to reside in the soul, there now resides a cowardice born of complacency that has spread to an immense extent. In many respects, this cowardice is the reason why it is so difficult for anthroposophically oriented spiritual science to follow its own path. It will follow its path. But one should not be fatalistic; one should not believe that these paths can be the right ones without human effort. We will have to get used to this in a very different sense than we have already become accustomed to—namely, that I myself will have to treat certain matters with less leniency than has been the case up to now. Do not attribute this to a change in my will, but look for the reasons for it in the circumstances.

[ 39 ] So you must understand that I cannot—forgive the expression—let the spiritual science movement, which I am called upon to represent before the world here and there, be ruined in any way. I cannot do that. There are higher duties at stake than many realize. I cannot get involved in whatever sensation this or that circle or this or that clique happens to desire at the moment. There are many general and more essential interests and impulses to consider than the purely personal ambitions that prevail in this or that clique. One must, in a certain sense, be able to look beyond the purely personal—which is almost the sole focus of people’s interest today—if one wishes to represent the correct spiritual scientific views in the proper way.

[ 40 ] And so, of course, I must conclude today by saying here as well what I have now said in all the places where I have given lectures: Alongside the devoted, numerous members of our anthroposophically oriented spiritual science—who carefully weigh the seriousness of our cause—there are also, time and again, those who do not belong here, who behave in ways that would actually be impossible if only those who truly belonged had always been part of the Society. And time and again, within such circles of members, things occur that are as far removed as possible from what is actually intended. Sometimes things occur today that, in relation to what is intended, are such that they can only be reconciled with what is intended through the most absolute madness.

[ 41 ] In circles that one cannot concern oneself with—because, truly, there are greater interests than worrying about the ambitions of such circles—in such circles, things are said—and people begin to believe them—that have as much to do with what is intended as a dung beetle has to do with a pendulum clock. It is impossible to comprehend how these things come together. Nevertheless, they are peddled to people out of a wild imagination stemming from base instincts. That is how it is, even though the very people who peddle them know full well that there is not a word of truth in them. From a scientific standpoint, such things can indeed be explained, but one must also draw the correct conclusions. And these must first and foremost consist of my adhering to two principles. If someone were to recount one principle without the other, they would be telling a falsehood. I have proclaimed these two principles everywhere I have spoken in recent months:

[ 42 ] In general, I will no longer repeat any private conversations that have taken place with individual members of the Anthroposophical Society; I will no longer engage in private conversations, for all such private conversations have been followed by the most mendacious reports. Since I have more important things to do than to refute in detail such matters, which are based on a wild imagination—since I truly have more important things to do—I have no other recourse than to discontinue all private conversations. I will ensure in another way, after some time, that those individuals who truly possess esoteric zeal can continue to progress. No one should be hindered in their esoteric development as a result. But all private conversations must, in general, cease and be discontinued. That is the one measure. Do not turn to me, as has happened in some branches, where people said that this was a harsh measure. No, do not turn to me; turn to those who are responsible for this measure.

[ 43 ] The second point is that I release anyone who has ever had a private conversation with me—to the extent that they themselves wish—from any obligation to speak about that private conversation. Anyone is free to say whatever they want—whatever serves their own interests—about what has ever happened or been said in such private conversations, to whatever extent they wish, as they themselves see fit. I do not prevent anyone from recounting, in complete accordance with the truth, everything that has ever been discussed with me in private conversations.

[ 44 ] These two things go hand in hand. One measure does not apply without the other. And, as I said, if you find these measures harsh, then turn to those who are responsible for them. Even though I will not be any less lenient in these matters from now on than I have been so far, the issues at hand will not go away. As I said, I will ensure in other ways that no one is harmed in their esoteric development. Ways and means will be found to achieve this. But present-day humanity is not yet ready for such a science to take root without excesses occurring and without misleading interpretations of these excesses constantly gaining ground. Therefore, such measures must be taken.

[ 45 ] Anyone who takes the development of our spiritual sciences seriously and with dignity will find what I have just said—namely, these two measures—to be more or less self-evident in light of what has happened. They may not understand how such a thing could have become self-evident, but they will find these two measures to be self-evident today. In the future, everything will take place in full public view. For there is nothing to be ashamed of in the public eye! And that is precisely what is shameful about the matter: that—while the truth can be told in its entirety by everyone without the slightest blemish on our movement—people are fixated on what was simply carried over from the past because it followed earlier customs: speaking with individuals. Had speaking with individuals not led to lies, these measures would not have become necessary. But everything that has ever been said to any member may be recounted in its entirety, in accordance with the truth. Through the truth—tell it as much as you like—through the truth, our movement can only gain. Of course, it cannot really lose anything through the lies that are spread about it; but even in appearance, it must not lose out, because it is important for humanity that what is currently to be brought before humanity from the depths of spiritual science be represented in a serious and dignified manner. So I repeat once more: Without the serious esoteric seeker standing to lose anything as a result, I will generally discontinue private discussions with the members. Anyone may, to the extent they themselves wish, recount everything that took place in private discussions anywhere and in full, in accordance with the truth. I release everyone from any obligation of confidentiality whatsoever, but only if they themselves wish to do so, for their own sake; they do not need to do so for my sake. And I have no objection to these very measures being publicized as widely as possible as a hallmark of our movement, so that the world may come to realize how wicked are the things that are often attributed precisely to our society.

[ 46 ] Next Friday, my dear friends, I will give a lecture on the arts, similar to the lectures I gave last year. I cannot yet specify the topic today. So on Friday at 7:00 p.m., we will gather here for a lecture on art history; on Saturday at 7:00 p.m., we will then continue our reflections on the humanities, and on Sunday at 4:00 p.m., we will resume our discussions. This will, of course, be preceded by artistic performances made possible by the dedicated efforts of Miss Waller and other ladies.