The Rudolf Steiner Archive

7. Faust's Ascension

[ 1 ] Tomorrow we will take on the challenge of presenting the final scene of Goethe’s *Faust* through eurythmy. It will be understandable that my reflections today and tomorrow will focus on the conclusion of the second part of Goethe’s *Faust*. After all, with regard to the entire second part of Goethe’s *Faust*—but especially with regard to the final scene—we are faced with one of the greatest poetic endeavors in the history of the world, one that is grounded in the most significant spiritual truths. Nevertheless, just as it is true that Goethe’s *Faust* allows for various degrees and levels of understanding, so too is it true that one can go ever further and further in seeking out what has flowed from Goethe’s infinitely rich inner life into *Faust*—and particularly into the second part of *Faust*.

[ 2 ] Furthermore, we shall see that the conclusion of the second part, in particular, has so many occult truths to reveal to us—if we delve into the subtleties of their presentation—that hardly any other writer in the world has yet attempted to unveil. And we will see that Goethe has woven these truths into the second part of *Faust* with a marvelous—to use a seemingly pedantic expression—occult-appropriate scientific rigor.

[ 3 ] Now I must frankly admit to you that I would not dare to speak about *Faust* in the way I intend to if I did not, in fact, have the benefit of looking back on a never-ending Faust and Goethe problem dating all the way back to 1884. Therefore, I may perhaps be permitted to allude to certain things in aphoristic terms—things that would have to be explained much more thoroughly to someone who does not approach the subject from the perspective of Spiritual Science. Nevertheless, I must admit that I approach this with a certain hesitation—specifically, linking occult remarks to Goethe’s *Faust*, or indeed to any work of poetry. For before my eyes appears all the misery that has been wrought by occultists and non-occultists alike in the interpretation of poetry.

[ 4 ] One really must recoil somewhat from the occultist discussion of literature when one considers all the harm that has been done in the world with regard to such interpretations, whether on the part of science or so-called theosophists! And so please allow me to preface this with a sort of introduction from which you can see how little I myself am inclined to casually weave occult truths and occult insights into any work of literature reflecting humanity’s spiritual development, and how earnestly I strive to present only what can truly be considered absolutely well-founded.

[ 5 ] Well, it is my practice, when I have to speak about a subject, to first immerse myself in it to some extent in a broader sense. When taking occult considerations seriously, it is indeed necessary to immerse oneself in the entire atmosphere in which the subject is situated. And so I endeavored to immerse myself once again a little in Goetheanism.

[ 6 ] To this end, I had to dig out some literary resources that I had gone through decades ago. So I once again turned to Goethe’s “Prophecies of Bakis.” These are thirty-two sayings, clothed in enigmatic form—thirty-two riddles, so to speak. Now you can imagine that an endless amount has been written about what Goethe also called “Prophecies” and over which he, in a sense, poured an orientalizing wisdom—it is a special treat for literary historians. Thus, in these thirty-two riddle verses, the most diverse people have seen the most colossal secrets.

[ 7 ] I will give you a characteristic example right away. It is the twenty-ninth and thirtieth riddle verses that Goethe composed. It is quite good that, before we move on to the final scene of *Faust*, we first delve into this type of riddle verse.

There is one thing I have revered, even worshiped on my knees;
Placed upon one’s head, it is cursed by everyone.
There is one thing I know, and it presses contentedly against my lips;
Yet in the very next moment, it is the world’s abhorrence.

[ 8 ] You have to admit: it does sound quite mysterious! And the very thirtieth riddle verse goes:

This is it—the highest, and at the same time the most common!
Now the most beautiful, yet at once the most hideous,
Enjoy it only as you sip it, and do not taste any deeper:
Beneath the charming foam, the drink sinks to the bottom.

[ 9 ] Before we try to create a mental image of how a theosophist might “interpret” these mysterious verses, let’s take a look at an exotericist. You certainly won’t become any wiser from what he says, but that doesn’t matter; it does, however, give us a glimpse of what is meant by “science”: “A most peculiar turn of phrase! Goethe chose this form to conceal his opinion and, at the same time, to reveal it.” Another Goethe scholar has described these verses as “freedom and love.” The good man accuses the others of being at a loss and now wishes to point to an explanation himself. “The highest, and at the same time the most abominable.” That is supposed to be: youth. It embodies both the highest and the most abominable. He says: Thus the riddle solves itself.

[ 10 ] That's an exotericist! An esotericist might say: You have to take something like that infinitely more seriously!

There is one thing I have revered, even worshiped at its feet;
Placed upon one’s head, it is cursed by everyone.
There is one thing I know, and it presses contentedly against my lips;
Yet in the very next moment, it is the world’s abhorrence.

[ 11 ] This refers to the plant, one might say, that represents the inverted human. One can relate it to the Logos and Lucifer, or to white and black magic, and so on! Such explanations abound by the thousands in theosophical literature.

[ 12 ] Well, becoming familiar with the Spiritual Science does not depend on knowing how to apply what one has learned in the Spiritual Science to just anything, but rather on placing oneself in the proper relationship—in our case, for example, to Goethe. Spiritual Science is not meant to lead us into all sorts of fanciful speculations, but rather to guide us to where the truth flows. And then one finds that the first two lines of the first verse refer to a slipper, and the last two to a cigar. Goethe detested cigar smoke. Yes, that is the truth; it is not profound, but it is exactly as Goethe intended it. And the interpretation of the second verse is: “Spiritus.” As the spirit, it is the highest; in alcohol, as intoxication, it is the most abominable. It is quite good to demonstrate such a process once in a while, because one really should not allow oneself to be blinded by the art of interpretation and all sorts of profound arts, but rather one should let oneself be led to where the truth lies.

[ 13 ] Goethe has also been portrayed as a national chauvinist. But he was anything but that. Let’s take a look at the fifth verse:

I see two! The big one! I see the bigger one! The two of them
grind against each other with hostile force, one against the other.
Here are rocks and land; there are rocks and waves!
Let the Fates alone decide which is the greater.

[ 14 ] This was said in reference to the struggle between the continental powers, France and England. The commentator quoted above, however, rejects this interpretation and claims that it refers to the French Revolution and the German people. That is utter nonsense! What is actually meant is life and death!

[ 15 ] Well, this matter really must be taken very seriously. After all, the fact that something can be proven is by no means proof that it is correct.

[ 16 ] I wanted to preface this so that you might not think I intend to fall into the same error when explaining the final scene of *Faust*. This final scene depicts what one might call “Faust’s Ascension.” As is well known, Faust has passed through profound delusion, as well as through all manner of madness and turmoil in the wider, greater world. The point is this: Although Faust is to be led, under the influence of Ahriman-Mephistopheles, through the delusions of the world, the deepest essence—which is embodied as the eternal within the human breast—must remain impervious to the influence of that which comes from Mephisto-Ahriman. In the end, Faust is to be able to be received by the good spiritual worlds. This is what Goethe set as the goal of his Faust epic.

[ 17 ] Anyone who has gained some knowledge of the spiritual worlds through Spiritual Science and possesses little artistic sensibility can generally form a mental image of how they would imagine such things. For Goethe, who was an artist at heart in the most intimate and highest sense, it was not so simple. He could not simply depict Faust ascending to heaven and reduce it all to abstract, allegorical forms; for him, that would have been mere symbolism, straw—and he did not want that. He wanted art. He wanted what has permanence and certainty in the face of true reality; that is what he wanted to be there. Therefore, the thought occurred to him: How am I to portray on stage the scene of Faust being led into heaven? At most, one can only introduce objects from the physical plane; these can only hint at something symbolic, but that would be mere straw—it would not be art! Even with all sorts of stage machinery, one could only depict straw. Goethe first had to find the cosmic medium through which Faust, as a soul, could ascend into the spiritual worlds. One cannot ascend into the spiritual worlds through the air, nor through the external physical elements. Where is there something real that can serve as the means by which Faust is able to ascend? It can only be that which, on earth, first and foremost represents the spiritual. Yes, where is that on earth? It is consciousness that receives the spiritual! This means that Goethe first needs to create a reality of consciousness that can receive the spiritual. He does this by placing within his setting people of whom one can predict that the spiritual lives in their consciousness: monks, anchorites—he layers them one upon another. And one can say: the ascent of a soul into the spiritual worlds is a real process. To depict a spiritual process before an ordinary audience would not be real, for it has no roots there; it is rooted in the souls that Goethe presents. Thus he first sought to depict the consciousnesses that behold the spiritual process. Thus he portrays the Chorus and the Echo, who are able to perceive the elemental world of the spirit within the sensory-physical realm. They have prepared themselves not merely to see external physical nature, but also, within the physical plane, the spiritual world into which Faust’s soul must enter.

[ 18 ] And now it is described in a way that only these monks could possibly perceive. For just consider the words—they are certainly not descriptions of physical processes:

The forest approaches, swaying.

[ 19 ] It is as if one senses the elemental world emerging from natural things.

The forest sways as it approaches,
Rocks weigh heavily upon it,
Roots cling to it,
Trunk close to trunk,
Wave after wave splashes,
The deepest cave offers shelter.
Lions, they creep silently—
Friendly all around us,
A place consecrated with honor,
A sacred haven of love.

[ 20 ] There is an echo to this chorus. This is not without significance. It is meant to suggest to us just how truly all-encompassing that which comes from elemental nature is.

[ 21 ] Now we are simultaneously led to something that, in Goethe’s work, becomes a marvelous climax. We are introduced to three more advanced anchorites: the Pater ecstaticus, the Pater profundus, and the Pater Seraphicus—three who have attained higher levels than the others, who, as anchorites, merely describe the events just outlined. But there is a marvelous progression from the Pater ecstaticus through the Pater profundus to the Pater Seraphicus.

[ 22 ] The Pater ecstaticus deals with the lower stages of perfection, with sensory experiences and inner self-awareness. The Pater profundus has already reached the point where he moves from the inside out, experiencing that which, as Spirit, permeates nature and is at the same time the human spirit. He stands higher than the Pater ecstaticus, viewed from a spiritual perspective. We can say: The Pater profundus sees the Spirit in the cosmos, which for him simultaneously becomes the Spirit within the human being. The Pater Seraphicus looks directly into the world of the Spirit; for him, it is not revealed through nature, but he deals directly with the Spirit.

[ 23 ] Hence, the Pater ecstaticus becomes mystical through inner development. What is now being said refers entirely to inner states:

Eternal blaze of bliss,
Glowing bond of love,
Boiling pain in my chest,
Foaming divine ecstasy.
Arrows, pierce me,
Lances, subdue me,
Clubs, shatter me,
Lightning bolts, tear through me;
So that the insubstantial
May all vanish,
May the star of eternity shine,
The core of eternal love.

[ 24 ] We have already examined the *pater profundus*, which leads to the stage of perceiving the spirit through nature.

Like a rocky abyss at my feet
Resting upon a deep chasm,
Like a thousand streams flowing radiantly
Toward the terrifying plunge of the foaming flood,
Just as the trunk, with its own powerful drive,
Rises into the air:
So it is almighty love,
That shapes everything, nurtures everything.
Is there a wild roar all around me,
As if the forest and the rocky ground were surging!
And yet, rushing lovingly,
The abundance of water plunges toward the abyss,
Called to water the valley;
The lightning that struck down in flames,
To purify the atmosphere,
Which bore poison and mist within its bosom:
They are messengers of love; they proclaim,
What eternally creates and surrounds us,
May it also kindle my inner being,
Where the spirit, confused and cold,
Is tormented by the dull barriers of the senses,
By the pain of chains that bind me tightly.
O God! Calm my thoughts,
Enlighten my needy heart.

[ 25 ] Now, in Father Seraphicus, there comes the immediate perception in consciousness of the spiritual world into which Faust is to be taken—that is, of those spirits among whom Faust is now to enter for the first time. To this end, a consciousness must first be introduced again: this is Father Seraphicus; he serves as the medium through which the blessed boys can appear. And now, once again, in a marvelous way—I would say, observed with professional expertise and objectivity:

What a little morning cloud floats
Through the swaying branches of the fir trees!
Do I sense what lives within?
It is a host of young spirits.

[ 26 ] Goethe has children appear who died immediately after being born; they are commonly referred to as “midnight babies.”

[ 27 ] Faust is to appear first in the company of such midnight-born beings; they know nothing of the world—their earlier consciousness has been clouded by birth, and they know nothing yet of the new world. This goes hand in hand with Faust’s ascension. Just as in the physical world lightning is not without thunder, so in the spiritual world such an ascension of Faust is not without the blessed boy becoming self-aware.

If you sense that a lover is near,
Feel free to draw closer;
But of rugged earthen paths,
Fortunate ones! you have no trace.

[ 28 ] Through our eyes and ears, spiritual beings can only perceive the physical aspects of the physical plane; otherwise, they perceive the spiritual. When a spirit sees a hand, it perceives the will that moves the hand and its form; if it wishes to perceive the physical aspect of the hand, it must make use of a physical eye.

Descend into my eyes
Organ attuned to the world and the earth,
Use them as if they were your own,
Look at this landscape!
(He takes it all in.)
These are trees, these are rocks,
A stream of water that plunges down
And with tremendous surging
Cuts a shortcut down the steep path.

[ 29 ] The blessed boys are now within Father Seraphicus. He gives them so much of his spiritual power that they can ascend to higher spheres. From this, we see once again the connection between the spiritual and the physical world. When we meditate, it also benefits the spirits; that is why we should read aloud to the dead. Thus, Father Seraphicus imparts to the boys the fruit of his meditation, and through this they ascend.

Ascend to higher spheres,
Grow ever imperceptibly,
As, in an eternally pure way,
God’s presence is strengthened.
For this is the nourishment of the spirit,
Which reigns in the freest ether:
The revelation of eternal love,
Which unfolds into bliss.

[ 30 ] To understand *Faust* in the way that Goethe once incorporated a profound occult truth into a cosmic epic means to be closer to occultism than even the most “occult” explanations can provide,

[ 31 ] Now the boys are in their own regions. They have passed from the sphere of the spirits of form into the sphere of the spirits of motion.

[ 32 ] Now the angels arrive, bringing up Faust’s entelechy—that is, his immortal essence. They have wrested this part of the spirit world from Mephistopheles and bring it up with the words:

The noble soul is saved
From evil in the spirit world:
Whoever strives with all his might,
We can redeem him;
And if love has truly
Descended upon him from above,
The blessed host will greet him
With a warm welcome.

[ 33 ] The Younger Angels:

Those roses, from the hands
Of loving, holy penitent women,
Helped us win the victory
And complete the noble work,
Capturing this treasure of the soul.
Evil retreated as we scattered,
Demons fled as we struck.
Instead of their usual hellish torments
The spirits felt the agony of love;
Even the old master of Satan
Was pierced by sharp torment.

[ 34 ] It is an occult statement: for Mephisto-Ahriman, love is a consuming fire and a terrible gift of darkness.

Rejoice! We've done it.

[ 35 ] Now, the more perfect angels:

We are left with a remnant of the earth
That is a burden to bear,
And even if it were made of asbestos,
It is not clean.
When a powerful spiritual force
Grasps the elements
And draws them to itself....

[ 36 ] What is this remnant of the earth? When our soul lives on earth, it takes in—through its perceptions, mental images, and feelings—what is happening on earth; in this way, the soul, as it were, draws to itself what lives in the elements of the physical plane. This cannot be separated immediately. Just as corpses were once wrapped in a cloth of asbestos to hold the ashes together, so Faust’s soul retains a remnant of the sensory world—one that is not pure, even if it were like the asbestos that withstands fire.

No angel could separate
The united dual nature
Of these two souls so deeply united,
Only eternal love
Can part them.

[ 37 ] Before the Incarnation, the angels veil their faces. This is a mystery that can only be beheld by those beings who are able to descend deeper than the angels, who did not participate in the Incarnation. Only love can unravel this mystery.

[ 38 ] Now the angels become aware of the blessed boys. The blessed boys receive what is being brought up to them:

Loosen the flakes.

[ 39 ] Here, Goethe once again draws on physical processes to characterize mental ones. When Benedictine monks die, they are wrapped in a special garment, the “flocca,” which is brownish in color; all Benedictines are buried in the same flocca, hence the word “Flocken.”

[ 40 ] Here I have tried to allow myself some freedom with regard to what is actually present around Faust. I have said: all of this must dawn on us through a state of consciousness. Up to now, everything has unfolded through the consciousness of the chorus, the anchorites. Now Faust himself must ascend through consciousness, but he must ascend through full consciousness; he must completely fill a new consciousness—a new consciousness that is, however, identical with him, for he ascends as a complete human being.

[ 41 ] Much in *Faust* remains unfinished, and certainly unfinished is Father Marianus, whom Goethe later called Doctor Marianus. This Doctor Marianus is there so that Faust may appear through his consciousness; therefore, I simply let Doctor Marianus be Faust himself. The anchorite Doctor Marianus is both Doctor Marianus and Faust at the same time.

[ 42 ] The point is that the profound mystery of love is drawing near, permeating the world in the fullest Christian sense.

[ 43 ] Faust, speaking in a profane sense, did indeed seduce Gretchen; Gretchen was even executed; she was found guilty though innocent; within her lies that innocence which rests enclosed in the mystery of humanity, and her love is an “eternal guiding star.” If one wishes to express this through imagery, one arrives at the Mater Dolorosa-Gloriosa. She brings with her three penitent women; she does not look upon the guilt of these three, but upon that which in them is innocent yet guilty. This mystery is revealed to Doctor Marianus.

Here the view is unobstructed,
The spirit is uplifted.
There, women pass by,
Soaring upward;
The Glorious One in the midst
Amid a wreath of stars,
The Queen of Heaven,
I see it in her radiance.
(Enraptured)
Supreme Ruler of the World!
Let me, beneath the blue
expansive canopy of heaven
behold Your mystery.
Grant me what stirs a man’s heart
with both earnestness and tenderness
and, with holy love and delight,
carries him toward You.

Our courage is indomitable,
When you command with majesty,
Suddenly the fervor subsides,
As you bring us peace.
Virgin, pure in the most beautiful sense,
Mother, worthy of honor,
Queen chosen by us,
Equal to the gods.

To devour them
Little wispy clouds ...

[ 44 ] Goethe quite appropriately has the soul first emerge from the mist—a little cloud—only to then coalesce into its final form.

[ 45 ] Next comes the chorus of the penitent women. It is magnificent that Goethe, I would say, took love in its sensual form and transfigured it here into something religious—for the second time; the Bible had already done so the first time. Mary Magdalene loved deeply in the true sense, but she simply loved, and Christ sees only the love, not the sin; that is why she, too, belongs to Christ. Then there is Mary of Egypt and Una Poenitentium, otherwise known as Gretchen. It could just as well read: Doctor Marianus, otherwise known as Faust.

[ 46 ] The blessed boys welcome Faust into their circle. Faust seeks the Marian aspect in Gretchen through the Queen of Heaven; therefore, a mystical chorus is allowed to speak of what has transpired. This mystical chorus contains the grand, succinct words:

All that is fleeting
Is but a parable;
What is inadequate,
Here becomes fulfillment;
What is indescribable,
Here is accomplished;
The Eternal Feminine
Draws us upward.

[ 47 ] With this outline, I wanted to show you that Goethe truly portrayed this final scene accurately, based on spiritual insight, and that he knew how to establish the real foundations throughout: the foundations of consciousness.

[ 48 ] Goethe described it as someone who knows the subject, who truly understands it, would. However, one must immerse oneself in what Goethe intended. One must be fully attuned to his intentions, as if the dead Goethe were standing before one, alive. For some things are not so easy to grasp.