The Rudolf Steiner Archive

82. Remarks on the Occasion of the Wedding of Ilona Bögel and Joseph Polzer-Hoditz

My dear fellow celebrants, and especially you, dear friends, who have just decided to enter into a life partnership at this very moment—these words are addressed to you from within the circle of anthroposophical thought and the anthroposophical community. Now that your life partnership has been blessed by the priest authorized to do so, specifically for your union, it is fitting to speak from within the heart of the anthroposophical community. For in a very significant way, your partnership in particular has grown out of the soil of anthroposophical life. And at such an important moment in life, it is fitting to take a few moments for self-reflection—self-reflection on the part of the circle participating in this celebration.

[ 1 ] At this moment, I would like to recall in particular a significant event that occurred during the course of my work in anthroposophy. When I began giving anthroposophical lectures in Vienna, among the individuals in the audience who always struck me as particularly warm-hearted was the dear grandfather of the person who has today decided to join this community. And I must confess that the particularly kind, benevolent manner and the extraordinarily dignified demeanor of that person many years ago—when you two were still very young children—made an extraordinarily deep impression on me.

[ 2 ] I felt that the old Baron Polzer, your grandfather, was deeply and intimately connected in his innermost being to the entire spiritual life to which my soul is devoted, and the words I was sometimes able to exchange with him after the lecture bore witness to his deep attachment to the very cause to which you, too, have committed yourselves.

[ 3 ] What I have just experienced with that elderly gentleman, who has now been in the spiritual realm for quite some time, is one of my fondest memories from my life in anthroposophy. I have often expressed this to your father and mother, who are here with you today for your celebration, and I would like to reaffirm it most especially on this solemn occasion, because I am convinced—I am certain—that it is with what deep love and what deep goodwill that the soul of that very, very elderly gentleman is looking down today upon the festive ceremony we have just celebrated.

[ 4 ] After some time, Joseph Polzer’s parents became involved in the anthroposophical movement, and quite a while ago—in Vienna—they brought their two sons to me. I must also commemorate this moment, and from this moment onward, turn my attention to the way in which the sons have grown more and more into this anthroposophical path. Today I must honor the beautiful, faithful, and devoted spirit of Joseph Polzer’s parents, which has always shone like a pearl within the anthroposophical movement; it has shone through their faithful, devoted, and understanding approach to the anthroposophical cause.

[ 5 ] But I must especially recall the fateful way in which today’s bride and groom grew into the anthroposophical movement. I must, for example, recall the conversations I had with Joseph Polzer’s parents at the time he was leaving middle school. And there is undoubtedly a significant statement that was made at that time by Joseph Polzer’s father, which I would like to summarize as follows: he said he had much higher hopes for his sons if they could learn everything that is to be learned here during the construction of the Goetheanum than for everything they are currently able to learn at any other high school. And it may well be said here that the devoted loyalty with which Count Polzer’s sons have worked here has fully confirmed what he predicted in that conversation. And so what has taken place here on the part of the Polzer family is truly like a deep, fateful integration.

[ 6 ] On the other hand, after first joining our circle in Stuttgart and attending the anthroposophical lectures, Ilona Bögel found her way deeply not only into the anthroposophical aspect but also into the artistic aspect of our movement. And since artistic expression takes place in a somewhat more visible way, many were able to see the faithful, devoted, and artistically discerning manner in which Ilona Bögel had grown into our movement. This can now be summed up in the following words: She has ultimately become a favorite among those with whom she collaborated in the field of artistic eurythmy, and a favorite of an extraordinarily large audience within the anthroposophical community.

[ 7 ] All of this must now be connected with what—I would say—is inscribed with such radiant clarity, from the anthroposophical perspective, into the human heart, into the human soul, and also into the human spirit. You have found one another on anthroposophical ground. We know that what is taking place on Earth is the final fulfillment of what has long been prepared from pre-earthly existence.

[ 8 ] Those who come together to form any kind of community on Earth have been preparing for this step for a long time. And indeed, it has been emphasized so often—especially recently—in our anthroposophical discussions that even the very first step a person takes in life points in the direction that will later become a decisive, significant event in their earthly destiny.

[ 9 ] And as this fateful event stands before my soul at this very moment in all its immense grandeur, I must connect it with the external events that have taken place. I gaze upon the circle of the Polzer family, from which the wonderful soul of the old gentleman—which shone so beautifully from his eyes—always seems to beam out toward me. I look upon this circle. I look upon that Old Austrian spirit—which manifested itself so nobly, revealed itself so nobly, especially in this old gentleman, and which then lived on in such a beautiful way within the Polzer family, into which the sons grew so faithfully. I look at this entire circle—I might say—in its Austrian insularity. And I look at the other circle from which Ilona Bögel emerged, already physically distant from that Austrian circle. I see a wide gap between these two circles. And from a purely earthly standpoint, the question may well be raised—for it is justified: If there had been no anthroposophical movement, does it seem probable, by earthly standards, that these two personalities would have found one another in life?

[ 10 ] All of your hearts will speak in such a way that one simply must say: Had there been no anthroposophical movement, the earthly orientation through which these two individuals would have come to share a life together could not have been found. They sought one another—certainly sought one another—before either of them became anthroposophists. But they found one another by first each walking their own paths through the anthroposophical movement. And so it is fitting that today, from within the circle of the anthroposophical movement, the following words be spoken: You have sought your life paths within the anthroposophical movement, seeking the point where they converge. Within the anthroposophical movement, everything is arranged in such a way that people, within its [boundaries], must, so to speak, also awaken to life beyond the ordinary—that is, they must view with deeper understanding and greater awareness that which otherwise unfolds in life—I would say—in a dreamlike manner.

[ 11 ] Do not the most profound events in life, quite naturally and justifiably, unfold as if in a dream from the depths of the human heart? Yet life loses none of the radiance of the dreamlike—and thus of that which is steeped in the night of the divine—when viewed in the spirit of anthroposophical understanding. And so it may well be said: As today’s festive occasion takes its place within your anthroposophical life, something has reached a certain conclusion. You have found one another on the anthroposophical path. Through this, something has come about that establishes a new life among you. Something has come about that, it seems to me, you could only have found on anthroposophical ground.

[ 12 ] But with that, my dear ones, the question has now been posed to you: how will you proceed from here, now that you have achieved a great goal; how will you continue to prove yourselves on this path? For at important moments in life, we must look not only to the past, but also to the future. And since, in a certain sense, each person’s life path concludes with the fact that you have met one another, our gaze—if not that of our intellect, then at least that of our hearts—must turn today to what you will continue to gain for your earthly life in terms of strength and fortification from anthroposophical sources.

[ 13 ] Of course, this can only be hinted at in a vague way. If it were done in a specific way, human beings would be deprived of their freedom. But freedom is humanity’s greatest gift and must never be taken away. Yet in a certain way, the question must surely arise today in your souls, in your hearts: How will you be able to prove yourselves as you continue along your life’s path—a path that leads us all to sacred anthroposophical ground? We will certainly understand each of your steps; we will follow each of your steps with love. We will be with you with all the blessings our thoughts can offer. But it befits us, at such an important moment, to unite the past, the present, and the future within our hearts.

[ 14 ] That, my dear friends, is what I wanted to say to you at this hour today—to say it out of all the love that has always been with you as long as you have walked within our anthroposophical community; the love that was with you in fellowship with your grandfather, who is now looking down upon us and who was so dear to me; the love that was with you in fellowship with those who introduced you to this world here, who ensured the strong development of your youth, and which will remain with you for all the times when we are able to follow your lives with heartfelt devotion.