The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Fourth Lecture

[ 1 ] On this evening, it is always fitting for us to reflect on how the past and the future are linked in life and in the world’s existence; how the past and the future are linked in the entire cosmic life into which humanity is woven; and how the past and the future are linked in every aspect of life—in which our own individual existence is first and foremost woven—through all that it has been allowed to do, think over the past year, and what it may resolve to do in the coming year. In the spirit of our anthroposophical spiritual science, those thoughts—which we bring before our souls, as it were, out of a sense of need, regarding how we have lived in the past year and how we intend to live in the coming one—should be imbued with the appropriate seriousness, with the appropriate dignity—by illuminating them with a higher light through what we are currently able to absorb within ourselves through spiritual science by contemplating the great cosmic events. How, then, does our human life actually stand in relation to the past and the future? It is like a mirror. Yes, this comparison with a mirror corresponds much more closely to reality than one might initially imagine. In fact, precisely when we strive for a little self-knowledge, we stand as if before a mirror. Before the mirror, where we find ourselves and look into it, lies that part of the past of which we are aware: it is reflected in the mirror. And behind the mirror lies that which cannot be seen into at first; into which one can see just as little as one can physically see what lies behind a mirror. Perhaps one must ask oneself this question in particular: What, in fact, is the coating on this mirror of our world—the very coating that transforms the transparent surface into a mirror? In a physical mirror, the glass is coated on the back so that our gaze cannot penetrate it. With what, then, is that “mirror of the world” coated—the one that reflects the past to us, yet initially conceals the future behind it? It is, my dear friends, coated with our own being, with our human being.

[ 2 ] We need only recall that we are, in fact, unable to grasp clearly—beyond ordinary perception—what we ourselves are. We do not see through ourselves; we see through ourselves no more than we see through a mirror. Much is reflected back to us when we look within ourselves. What we have experienced, what we have learned—that is reflected back to us; but our own essence remains hidden, because at first we can see through ourselves just as little as we can see through a mirror in a room. Viewed broadly—and I would say, viewed abstractly—we can regard this mirror analogy as I have just presented it to you; but when considered in detail, it changes somewhat. Let us first look into our lives and try, through reflection—for looking back on our lives is, after all, a mirror in terms of what is reflected by the innermost depths of our soul—to look back on our lives; then we must admit to ourselves: what appears to us there, what is reflected there, is, after all, only a part of what we have experienced. When you try to look back on your experiences, these experiences are constantly interrupted. You look back on what today has brought you, but you do not look back on what last night brought you. The experiences of the night are an interruption. And again, you look back on yesterday, and again, you do not look back on the night before yesterday, and so on. The nocturnal intervals, unfilled by thoughts of those experiences, constantly intrude. It is an illusion when we look back and believe we are surveying our entire life: we are, in a sense, merely piecing together what the days contain; but in reality, we would have to present the journey of our lives to our soul with constant interruptions.

[ 3 ] We can now ask ourselves: Are these interruptions in the course of our lives necessary? Yes, they are necessary. If we did not have these interruptions in the course of our lives—or rather, when looking back on the course of our lives—then we, as human beings, would not become aware of our “I” at all. We would see our life’s course as filled solely by the external world, and self-consciousness would not arise at all within it. The fact that we perceive and feel our “I” stems from the fact that this life’s course is constantly interrupted in segments. It is precisely with regard to this perception of the “I”—brought about by the interruptions in the course of life—that humanity today finds itself at a critical juncture. When the person of today looks back and, through this retrospection, perceives their “I” in the manner just described, then this “I” of the person of today is, in a certain sense, empty; we know only of our “I.” People of earlier epochs in Earth’s development knew more. Just as, in the ordinary course of daily life, dreams from one’s nocturnal experiences shine through for the individual, so too did the clairvoyant-atavistic perceptions that people in earlier epochs possessed emerge from the “I.” These clairvoyant-atavistic perceptions were dreams only in form; what they contained were realities. One might say: For modern human beings, the “I” has been emptied of its clairvoyant-atavistic content—the very content that sustained people in bygone eras and imbued them with the conviction that they share something in common with the divine, that they are connected to the divine. From these atavistic-clairvoyant visions, what emerged for human beings was that which crystallized in their emotional life as religious feeling and as religious veneration toward those to whom religious worship and religious sacrificial rites were dedicated.

[ 4 ] What is the situation today? Today, the “I” is emptied of these atavistic, clairvoyant visions, and when we look back at the “I,” it is, in a sense, more or less just a point in our inner life. For everyone, the content of this “I” is a firm point of support, but it is, after all, only a point. At the same time, however, we live in an age in which this point is to become a circle once more, in which the “I” is to be filled with content once more. So that the “I” may once again be filled with content, the spiritual world has been projecting itself so powerfully into our sensory world since the last third of the 19th century; this is why, since the last seven decades of the 19th century, the spiritual world, through its revelations, has once again sought to enter our physical existence in a new way. And what we seek to achieve on the basis of anthroposophically oriented spiritual science is this: to willingly receive all that which seeks to enter through spiritual revelations from another world—one that nonetheless sustains this world—and to clothe it in forms that make it communicable to human beings. What is it that seeks to enter? Oh, it is nothing less than that which, in a certain sense, guarantees the future of humanity. It is, we might say, not directly a glimpse behind the mirror, but it is a guarantee that, as we rush toward the future as humanity—that is, as we set out on the path behind the mirror—and that is, after all, living toward the future—then what we have to do in the future we and all humanity must accomplish, once we have first steeled our forces and grown strong through what is revealed to us from the spiritual world through spiritual science. Just as the “I” was fulfilled for the people of the past with atavistic, clairvoyant content that guaranteed their connection to the Divine, so too must our “I” be fulfilled in our time with a new, fully conscious spiritual content that in turn provides us with the bond connecting our soul to the Divine Soul-Being. People of the past possessed atavistic clairvoyance, and what remains as the final legacy of this atavistic clairvoyance is the abstract thinking and abstract knowledge of people today. This is what has remained, diluted from the earlier atavistic clairvoyance. People today may feel that this dilution—this logical-dialectical dilution of the old atavistic clairvoyant nature—is no longer capable of sustaining their soul life. Then they will feel a longing to bring something new into the “I.” But it is with that which marked the end of humanity’s development from primeval times to the present that a new beginning must now be made.

[ 5 ] In ancient times, people had clairvoyant revelations and did not understand them; they only came to understand them later. Today, people must first understand; they must exert their intellect, they must exert their reason, and if they exert it through what is presented in spiritual science, then humanity will once again develop the ability to perceive the spiritual through clairvoyance. This, however, is something most people today still wish to avoid: using their common sense to understand spiritual science. If one were to wish to avoid this, one would also wish to avoid allowing spiritual revelations into our earthly world at all.

[ 6 ] Thus, the past and the future are linked on this New Year’s Eve—this “World New Year’s Eve”—which lies in the present. What exists today is, in a sense, a kind of World New Year’s Eve. The future stands before us like a tremendous question—not an indefinite, abstract question, but a concrete one. How do we approach that which, as a question posed to humanity—precisely as a spiritual revelation—has been seeking to enter our earthly world more and more since the last third of the 19th century? And how are we to relate this to what has been revealed in the past? This must be felt vividly; then one would sense the significance of turning one’s longings toward what is meant here by an anthroposophically oriented spiritual science. Then one would perceive the seriousness and dignity of the spiritual scientific endeavor. It is precisely in the present that it would be necessary to have this sense; for we are not, after all, appealing to some arbitrary human will; we are appealing to that which, as knowledge of the world, seeks to reveal itself to us from within the development of the world; we are appealing, so to speak, to what the gods intend for humanity. But the fact remains that when one turns toward the spirit on one side, on the other side those who wish to worship the past alone are drawn to the spirit of contradiction, to the spirit of resistance. And the more we try, with all our strength, to grasp the spirit of future humanity, the more, so to speak, the people of the past will be possessed by the spirit of resistance.

[ 7 ] Today, it is evident within humanity how religious sentiment is striving to breathe new life into itself. These are often tentative attempts. Spiritual scientific endeavors, however, should not be tentative; through them, the real, concrete spiritual world is to be grasped. But—I would say—as if sensing that this is how it should be, there stand before us people who say: Mere religious tradition is not enough for us; we want an inner religious experience; we do not want merely to hear the account that, according to traditions and handed-down accounts, Christ lived and died in Palestine so many years ago; we want to experience the Christ experience within our own souls.” — In many areas we see this occurring among people who believe that something of the Christ experience has dawned within the innermost depths of their souls. These are tentative attempts, which are often even cause for concern, because people then become content with their own spiritual self-centeredness and reject any inclination toward the Spirit. But these longings for an inner spiritual experience do exist, and we should also take note of these very tentative attempts at such an inner spiritual experience, at a new interest in the spiritual world. But then the spirits of opposition stir.

[ 8 ] And according to what has been published—what he himself had published—such a representative of the spirit of the past is said to have recently spoken some very strange words here in Stuttgart about these attempts, which on the one hand are tentative attempts to stir up a new religious interest, a new religious experience; and on the other hand, attempts to arrive at truly new, concrete insights into the spiritual world, as advocated by anthroposophically oriented spiritual science. I don’t know how many of you have seen the shepherds’ play that was recently performed at the Waldorf School, in which one of the shepherds, having a spiritual vision, says he almost lost the power of speech. Well, when I read the last page of Gogarten’s Spiritual Science and Christianity, I had to admit that I, too, would soon have been at a loss for words; for one truly stands in amazement at the fact that it is possible for such things to be spoken in the present day. It is precisely such things that should inspire a New Year’s Eve reflection on the world—a comparison of the past with the necessary future. For what did the religious figure in question actually say? I do not know whether the full weight of his words has been grasped. He said: “Today—what am I saying, today—it is always the most important task of piety to preserve this elemental aspect of which I spoke. It is virtually entirely absent from us today. We are mired in religious ‘interest’ and religious ‘experience.’ And because anthroposophy is such fertile ground for ‘interest’ and such an effective means for ‘experience,’ people are virtually defenseless against it and offer it no resistance. People simply know little more about that ultimate, fundamental tension that piety brings into life—a tension that dispels all religious ‘interest’ and shatters all religious ‘experience’—that tension between God and the creature. And because people know so little about this tension, they know just as little about the other—the unconditional, immediate oneness of God and humanity.” Here we see, in the name of religion, every religious interest condemned and every religious experience shattered; and a completely undefined tension—which, of course, cannot be further differentiated, nor does he wish to differentiate it further—is supposed to take the place of religious interest and religious experience. One could be left speechless when a man of religion speaks in such a way as to say that true piety must drive out all religious interest and shatter all religious experience! This is how far we’ve come! And we’ve come so far that no one even senses what is actually implied when an official representative of religion says: Away with religious interest, away with religious experience!

[ 9 ] You see, aside from the fact that this man does not realize that he himself could never even speak of religion if there had not previously been atavistic religious interest and religious experience; aside from the fact that this gentleman, as an official representative of religion, would never stand before an audience if religion had not entered into human development through the path of religious interest and religious experience—aside from that, what I have just demonstrated to you that today it is precisely those people who consider themselves the true representatives of the religious realm who are working to eradicate all religious life. Have these people lost all ability to understand the human soul? Can these people no longer understand at all that everything to which a human being turns their attention must be guided by their interest, that everything that is to enter human consciousness at all must be borne by experience? It is as if the human being were no longer speaking from such consciousness at all, but only the spirit of resistance. This is what should present itself to our soul in all seriousness when we look into the mirror that so mysteriously reveals the past and veils the future, yet still reveals it in a certain way—namely, in the way I have just explained.

[ 10 ] Yes, but here anthroposophically oriented spiritual science seeks to serve religious interests; here anthroposophically oriented spiritual science seeks to provide substance to religious experience. And what happens? You see, the question was submitted to the Roman Congregation earlier this year as to whether the teachings now called theosophical can be reconciled with Catholic teachings, and whether it is therefore permissible to join theosophical societies, attend theosophical meetings, and read theosophical journals and newspapers. The answer was: No on all counts, “negative in omnibus.” This is the spirit of resistance, and the Jesuit Zimmermann interprets this specifically to mean that he applies this decree of the Roman Sacred Congregation to anthroposophy. Now, what Zimmermann writes will of course be familiar to you, and I need not go into it in detail; but you must all be aware of the wind blowing today from a certain quarter—imbued with the spirit of resistance—against anthroposophically oriented spiritual science.

[ 11 ] One can sense the spirit that blows through the world in this wind, especially when one knows that the following words came from the pen of that very same Zimmermann who for years spread the lie that I was a defrocked priest: “Initially greatly weakened by the defection of its General Secretary, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, who took most of the members with him, the Theosophical Society—” “recovered somewhat over the years, currently numbers about 25 lodges—though, admittedly, about one-fifth of them are ‘dormant’—and publishes Theosophisches Streben in Düsseldorf as its official journal for Germany and Austria.” Regarding Steiner, who had named his theosophy “anthroposophy” after the split, those in his inner circle have recently complained that he is becoming unproductive, no longer has any new “visions,” and always repeats the same things; he will presumably soon throw himself into something new,” and so on. This sets the stage for a subsequent article, which then deals with the threefold social order in an equally clever manner. You can see what spirit of truth this Jesuit is imbued with. A Jesuit does not merely represent his personal opinion, but the opinion of the Catholic Church; for he speaks only as a member of the Catholic Church. Therefore, what he says must be understood in relation to the Catholic Church. These matters must also be judged today from a moral standpoint. From a moral standpoint, we must ask whether someone who holds to the truth in the way this man does—who, admittedly, given current circumstances, is very much in the running for a certain religious community here on earth—can even be considered in the light of the true spirit of humanity. As long as questions of this kind are not regarded with the necessary seriousness, we have not yet arrived at the correct New Year’s Eve reflection. But today it is necessary that we arrive at this proper New Year’s Eve reflection. It is necessary that we extend the so-called compassion—which, unfortunately, often stems from selfish origins—to the great conditions of humanity, and feel that compassion for humanity which drives us to make a spiritual movement like this truly fruitful for the development of humanity. May you, my dear friends, feel especially on this day that it is indeed the Spirit of the World itself that has been seeking to enter for decades; may you feel this evening that service is being rendered here to this Spirit that seeks to enter into humanity; may you feel that this Spirit is to be served here in such a way that the souls of those who wish to empathize and think along with this anthroposophically oriented spiritual science may feel their union with the new Spirit seeking to enter the world—the Spirit alone capable of bringing the new constructive impulse, working from heaven, to the self-destructing earthly world! May you, at this hour—which is always symbolic each year because, in a sense, it calls upon us to perceive it as a parting hour between the past and the future—may you, at this hour, unite your souls with the new Spirit; would you like to perceive the meeting of the past year with the coming year in your soul in such a way that the world year that has passed meets the world year that is dawning!

[ 12 ] The world year that is coming to an end, however, will still send many aftereffects into the future; these will be destructive spiritual, legal, and economic forces. This makes it all the more necessary that as many people as possible be moved in the depths of their souls by the New Year of the spiritual future and develop a will that can serve as the foundation for building a new spiritual world into the future of human development. It will not be those who seek to extinguish religious interest or eliminate religious experience who will ensure the future of humanity, but solely those who understand how, in our intellectualistic age, the old religious interest has faded and the old religious life has been paralyzed; how a new religious interest must take hold of humanity; how a new religious experience must spring forth within humanity, so that people may carry new seeds of a future existence into the cosmos.