The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Twelfth Lecture

[ 1 ] In teaching and education, one must consider two aspects. One aspect focuses on the subjects and topics to be covered in school; the other, however, focuses on the child itself and develops the child’s individual abilities in a way that stems from genuine observation of human behavior.

[ 2 ] In this regard, if we proceed as has been discussed here in recent days, we will always be appealing to the appropriate childlike abilities at every stage of life. Particular attention, however, must be given to the child’s memory and ability to recall. We must be clear that, in this regard, a lack of understanding of human nature in the past led to an excessive strain on children’s memories. This, in turn, has given rise to the opposite extreme, in a manner similar to what I emphasized yesterday in another context. In modern teaching, there is a tendency to almost completely eliminate the use of memory.

[ 3 ] However, both an insufficient and an excessive strain on memory are detrimental in education. The point is that during childhood, up until the child loses its baby teeth—that is, right up until the time the child is sent to school—memory must be left entirely to its own devices.

[ 4 ] As we have seen, during this period the physical body, the etheric or formative body, the astral body, and the ego-organization all work in harmony with one another. And the way in which the child imitates and develops within itself everything it can unconsciously observe in its surroundings also has the effect of fostering, right down into the physical body, those forces that best allow the power of memory and recollection to unfold; thus, during these years, one must actually leave the child entirely to its own devices with regard to the development of memory.

[ 5 ] On the other hand, starting with the change of teeth—when the soul-spiritual aspect is, in a certain sense, emancipated from the physical—a systematic, methodical approach specifically to memory is of the utmost importance. For let us be clear about this: memory must engage the physical body throughout a person’s entire life. Without a fully developed physical body, a person’s memory is, in a sense, also disrupted. Even in the field of human science accessible to the layperson today, it is well known that this or that injury to the brain immediately causes some form of memory impairment.

[ 6 ] But with a child, one must not merely observe where some aspect of the soul manifests itself in the illness; rather, as an educator, one must always keep in mind the subtle, intimate effects of the soul and spirit on the physical body. Thus, an improper development of memory that extends into the physical body impairs the child for its entire earthly life.

[ 7 ] The question now is: How do we achieve proper memory development? Above all, we must be clear that abstract concepts—concepts formed in a rationalistic, intellectualistic manner—always place a strain on memory, and do so most heavily during the period of life between the loss of baby teeth and sexual maturity; whereas visualizations presented to the child in a lively manner, as I have described—vivid -pictorial concepts—which we introduce to the child through artistic instruction—also vividly call upon those forces that allow memory to unfold properly, extending even into the physical body. This is the best foundation for proper memory development: structuring the entire curriculum artistically, especially during the elementary school years.

[ 8 ] However, the proper treatment of art—that is, a correct approach to art—always leads to the proper development of physical motor skills. But when we allow the child to engage in artistic activity on their own—when we are able to stimulate the child’s artistic activity and initiative—so that, in everything the child does during painting, writing, drawing, and music lessons, we always engage the physical alongside the spiritual — as happens in eurythmy, which I will explain tomorrow using the figures here — then we will develop in the proper way that which, from the soul’s development, must enter the physical body for the sake of memory. Nor should we believe that the complete suppression of memory or the inadequate cultivation of memory could in any way be beneficial to the child.

[ 9 ] If we keep these three principles in mind—concepts burden the memory; vivid, artistic imagery shapes the memory; and mental effort and the exercise of will strengthen the memory—then we have the three golden rules for developing memory.

[ 10 ] We can apply these three golden rules in a very special way by using the lessons in natural history and history—which we conduct as I have indicated in recent days—to train the memory. Math lessons, too, can certainly be used to train the memory. The fact is that we should always begin arithmetic with an artistic understanding of things, as has been demonstrated in recent days.

[ 11 ] But if we have truly ensured that the simpler concepts—say, numbers up to ten, or up to twenty if you will—have been thoroughly understood in terms of their use in arithmetic operations, then we need not shy away from introducing the rest to the child through memorization. Nor should we overload the child with overly elaborate visual aids, just as we should not overload them with material to be memorized. For concepts that are pushed too far into the realm of complexity place a burden on the memory. Therefore, particularly with regard to the development of memory, we must carefully observe how each individual child is progressing.

[ 12 ] And here we see how essential it is for teachers and educators to understand something of the way in which the whole human being functions in relation to tendencies toward health and illness. In this regard, one can have the most remarkable experiences, especially today.

[ 13 ] Our Waldorf School was once visited by a gentleman whose thinking was entirely focused on the field of education and teaching. I tried to explain to him the whole spirit that animates the Waldorf school, and after he had listened and observed for a while, he said: “Yes, but then the teachers would have to know a great deal about medicine!” — From the outset, he considered it impossible for teachers to know as much about medicine as is necessary for the spirit of such instruction. I said to him: “If this arises from human nature, then the amount of medical instruction necessary for the school must form the subject matter of every teacher training program.” — “That is beyond doubt; we must never say that we leave matters relating to health to the school physician.”

[ 14 ] I consider it a very special blessing for the Waldorf School that we have the school physician himself as a member of the teaching staff, that he is part of the teaching staff. Dr. Kolisko, who expertly oversees health matters, is a physician and also serves as a teacher within the faculty. Thus, in this regard, everything pertaining to the children’s physical well-being can be carried out in complete harmony with all teaching and educational activities.

[ 15 ] And finally, this is what is necessary: our teacher training must evolve to incorporate aspects related to children’s health and illness. A teacher notices—let me give an example—that a child is becoming paler and paler. Another child’s complexion changes in such a way that the child becomes noticeably flushed. If one observes carefully, one notices that the flushed child simultaneously becomes restless and quick-tempered. One must be able to relate such a phenomenon correctly to the spiritual-soul aspect. One must know that becoming abnormally pale—even if it is only a tendency—stems from an excessive emphasis on memory. The memory of the child who has turned pale has been overburdened. One must therefore put a stop to this overburdening of the memory. In the case of the flushed child, too little demand has been placed on the memory. In such cases, one must ensure that the child is given the task of taking in this or that as material for memory and then demonstrating that it has retained the information. We must therefore relieve the memory load of a child who turns pale; a child who turns red, on the other hand, must be allowed to develop in the direction of memory.

[ 16 ] Only by treating the soul and spirit in such a thorough manner, in harmony with the physical, can we approach the whole human being in the right way. Thus, in our Waldorf school, the child is treated as a developing human being—as a child—according to his or her spiritual, soul, and physical dispositions, particularly according to his or her temperamental dispositions.

[ 17 ] Even in school, we seat the children in such a way that their choleric, sanguine, melancholic, or phlegmatic temperaments can interact with one another in the right way. When choleric children are seated together, they balance each other out best; the same is true for melancholic children. However, one must be able to observe these temperaments in children correctly. This approach to temperaments, in turn, extends deep into physical development.

[ 18 ] Suppose we have a sanguine child—a child who is inattentive to what he is supposed to take in, yet who is immediately receptive to every possible external impression, only to let it vanish from his soul just as quickly. We can treat this sanguine child properly by ensuring that sugar is removed from their food as much as possible; not, of course, in an unhealthy way, but to the extent that we correctly reduce the amount of sugar in the food we give the child, to that extent will the sanguine disposition recede and a more harmonious temperament take its place.

[ 19 ] If we have a melancholic child, a child who tends to brood, then the opposite is necessary: we must add more sweetness to their food.

[ 20 ] In this way, one influences the physical structure of the liver. For depending on whether a person consumes more or less sugar, liver function develops quite differently. Everything one does externally has a profound effect on the physical structure of the human body.

[ 21 ] In this regard, we place extraordinary emphasis in Waldorf schools on maintaining a close relationship between the teaching staff and the parents. Of course, depending on the parents’ understanding, this can only be achieved to a certain extent, but we strive to ensure that it goes as far as possible; so that parents can indeed turn to the respective class teacher with understanding, and the teacher can also provide them with information on how to tailor the child’s diet to their individual needs. For this is just as important as what takes place in the classroom.

[ 22 ] Of course, you cannot teach a child with no hands to play the piano. It is not a matter of believing, in a materialistic way, that the body does everything. But the body must be present as the appropriate tool. And just as one cannot teach a child without hands to play the piano, one cannot eliminate melancholy in a child whose liver activity is far too vigorous simply by doing everything possible on a psychological level—as an abstract pedagogy might believe it can do. If, on the other hand, one regulates liver function through diet by sweetening the food, the child has the opportunity to make use of this physical organ as a proper tool. Only then do the psychological and spiritual measures one takes actually help.

[ 23 ] One must always bear in mind that one might believe it is possible to bring about significant reform in the fields of teaching and education through abstract principles. Everyone knows what’s good for teaching; everyone knows how to educate—but to truly be able to educate requires an understanding of human nature, which can only be acquired bit by bit. That is why all that excellent knowledge about how to educate—which everyone possesses—is, in my view, of absolutely no use. And this knowledge usually strikes me as if someone were to say: “I want to have a house built.” — “How do you want the house built?” — “I want it built so that it’s beautiful, weatherproof, and comfortable.” - And now the house is to be built. I’m supposed to go to someone who knows that the house must be beautiful, weatherproof, and comfortable, and have him build it. It’s of no use at all to know that! That’s about as much as people generally know about the art of education, and yet they want to use it to bring about reform.

[ 24 ] One must go to the master builder, who knows in detail how the plan is drawn up, how stone is laid upon stone, and how thick a beam must be to support a load. One must know in detail what makes a person tick; one cannot speak of people in general terms, the way one speaks of a house when one says: it must be beautiful, weatherproof, and comfortable.

[ 25 ] This is what must first and foremost find its way into general civilization: the art of education is something that, even down to the finest details, requires a technique that is certainly spiritual in nature, but a technique nonetheless. Once this becomes part of general civilization, it will be a blessing for all those commendable and worthy reform efforts that are currently making themselves felt so frequently, particularly in the field of education and instruction.

---

[ 26 ] The importance of such principles becomes particularly evident when one considers the highly differentiated individualities of children. At certain times, a principle has indeed emerged in school education whereby children who were not quite keeping up in one grade or another were held back and not allowed to move on to the next grade. For an educational approach that, as I have explained, proceeds in such a way that for each stage of life, the child is presented with exactly what is appropriate for that stage—for such an art of education—it must actually become, little by little, quite impossible to hold a child back in any grade; for this takes the child out of the course of instruction and education that is appropriate for their age. In the Waldorf school, each grade corresponds to a specific stage of childhood. So if I were to keep a student—who should actually be moving up from the third to the fourth grade—back in the third grade, the child would be taken out of the developmental phase appropriate to their age. That is therefore something we avoid as much as possible in the Waldorf school. Only in very exceptional cases does it happen here that a child is held back a grade. We simply try to do everything we can to treat each child’s individuality in such a way that holding them back is not necessary.

[ 27 ] However, this requires something else. As you all know, there are children who do not develop normally, who are abnormal in some way. We have now established a support class for such children. This support class, I would like to say, has become very dear to our hearts. It is home to children who are intellectually, emotionally, or volitionally weaker. Any child whom we cannot have in the regular class because of a weakness in some aspect of their soul life is then placed in this support class. And in fact, one of the most gratifying aspects of the Waldorf school is that, essentially, whenever a child must be transferred from the regular class to the special support class, a sort of competition arises among the teachers over the child—teachers who, as you can easily understand from everything I have explained, otherwise live in an atmosphere of the deepest peace at the Waldorf school; but when a child is to be taken away from a teacher’s class, a competition arises. And there is a veritable rush toward our Dr. Schubert—who is so extraordinarily beneficial to this special class and to whom this special class is entrusted. No one wants to hand children over to him, because the teachers are always unhappy when a child is to be taken from them for Dr. Schubert’s remedial class. The children, of course, also feel this as something that goes against their wishes when they are moved out of the regular class, leave their beloved teacher, and are to be transferred to the remedial class. And yet it is so beneficial that it doesn’t take long at all before the child who enters this remedial class grows so immensely fond of Dr. Schubert—who is so well-suited to this class precisely because of the child’s character, temperament, and capacity for love—that the child no longer wants to leave the remedial class. These circumstances—which, in essence, are entirely based on the art of education grounded in disposition, capacity for love, devotion, and self-sacrifice—are particularly important when it comes to bringing the children in such a separate remedial class to the point where they can then rejoin their age-appropriate class. And that is precisely the task we set for ourselves through this remedial class.

[ 28 ] A true understanding of human nature reveals the following to us. When one speaks of mental abnormalities or even mental illnesses, one is actually saying something nonsensical, although, of course, for the sake of common parlance and everyday life, one need not be a fanatic or a pedant, and such expressions can certainly be used. But fundamentally, the human spirit and soul never become ill; rather, only that which is the physical foundation—and which then affects the soul from the body—is ever ill. Since, as long as a person lives on Earth, one can treat them only by addressing the spiritual and soul aspects through the body, the most important thing is to realize that the difficulty in treating so-called abnormal children lies in the fact that the body’s abnormality makes it impossible to reach the soul and the spirit.

[ 29 ] As soon as we move beyond the child’s physical or physical-psychic defect, which lies in the body, and address what is truly psychic and spiritual, everything necessary has been done at that very moment. Therefore, in this particular area, we must strive more and more to come to know the subtle, intimate qualities and powers of the physical body.

[ 30 ] When one observes that a child does not comprehend in the normal way and resists the connections between concepts and perceptions, one must always conclude that something is amiss in the nervous system, and one will achieve much more through individualized treatment—whether by slowing down the pace of instruction or by specifically stimulating the will, or similar measures. In each individual case—especially with an abnormal child—the approach must always be tailored to the child’s specific needs, and by treating the child individually—whether by slowing down the pace of instruction or incorporating more will-based exercises—one can truly achieve immeasurable benefits. Of course, with such a child in particular, special attention must be paid to physical education and physical care. I would like to discuss the principle behind this using a simple example.

[ 31 ] Suppose a child shows difficulty in connecting perceptions. One can achieve a great deal by, for example, having the child perform physical exercises that bring the child’s own body—the entire human organic system—into coordinated movement, originating from the soul: “Grab your left earlobe with the third finger of your right hand!” And let the child perform such an exercise quickly. Then you can switch by saying, “Grab the top of your head with the little finger of your left hand!” You can then quickly alternate between the first and second exercises. Let the human organism be set in motion in such a way that the child must quickly allow thoughts to flow into the organism’s own movements. By making the nervous system more agile in this way, one thereby establishes the nervous system as a sound foundation for what the child must then bring to bear in connecting or distinguishing between perceptions and concepts.

[ 32 ] In this regard, one has truly wonderful experiences of how the spiritual can be elevated through the care of the physical. Let us suppose, for example, that a child exhibits the tendency to return again and again to certain things. One very easily recognizes this as a particular “psychic weakness,” as it is called. The child cannot help but repeat certain words or keep returning to certain concepts and ideas. These become firmly entrenched in the child’s being; the child cannot break free from them. Look at this child—of course, each case is unique, which is why a true understanding of human nature, one that can take individual differences into account, is so necessary—as a rule, the child will not step so strongly with the toes or the ball of the foot, but will instead step too heavily on the heel. Now let the child perform such movements in such a way that the child must first pay attention with every step, and let this gradually become a habit; then one will see that the child—if it is not already too late (though, as a rule, an extraordinary amount can be achieved in such matters precisely between the ages of seven and twelve)—will improve remarkably, especially with regard to such psychological defects. One simply needs to understand how, for example, a movement of the fingers of the right hand affects the speech apparatus, and how a movement of the fingers of the left hand affects that which can be drawn upon from thinking to assist the speech apparatus. One must know how stepping on the toes or stepping on the heel affects speech, the ability to think, and, in particular, the power of will. In this regard, the art of eurythmy—by shaping movements from the normal—is also extraordinarily instructive for the abnormal, and one then transforms the eurythmic movements—which, for the normal person, are naturally expressed artistically—into therapeutic movements. These movements are drawn from the human organism so that they stimulate, from the physical level, the spiritual and soul capacities that still need to be stimulated during the growth period. It is precisely then that it becomes so strikingly clear how one must, above all, observe the spirit, soul, and body in harmony with one another when dealing with the abnormal aspects of students in any part of the school.

[ 33 ] Especially with regard to this segment of our student body, the excellent program that Dr. Schubert has developed in this area has yielded many fruitful results. However, this requires—precisely in order to address each student’s needs individually—an extraordinary capacity for love and a willingness to make sacrifices. It is especially necessary to demonstrate these qualities in a remedial class. And one must bear in mind that if one wishes to achieve anything in this regard, one must also truly be prepared to accept certain limitations in some respects. For, of course, in this particular field, one can only achieve what can be appropriately drawn out of the individual. If, in the end, only a quarter or half of what could actually bring the child to a fully normal state is achieved, then the parents are not entirely satisfied. But that is precisely the essence of human activity—guided and directed by the spirit, by the spiritual—that, independent of external recognition, we come to feel more and more that which becomes the sustaining force, a force that arises from inner responsibility. This is heightened step by step when one can truly base one’s approach on an art of education that perceives the child’s spirit, soul, and body as being in complete harmony, right down into these individual intimacies of life. The ability to see, to perceive, to observe—that is the first thing for the teacher; then, I would say, the matter itself stirs within his entire human being. He instinctively and artistically transfers what he can glean from observing people into his teaching practice.

---

[ 34 ] There is something of particular importance at the stage of life when, as I explained here yesterday, the child must be guided from a study of plants and animals—which appeals more to the soul—to instruction that appeals more to the human capacity for understanding, to the intellect: instruction in the mineral, physical, and chemical sciences, which, as I have explained, must not begin too early. If we are to introduce the child to something through which they learn that in nature there is cause and effect and so on—that is, if we are to introduce the concept of causality to the child—then it is of particular importance during this stage of life that the child find a balance to the inorganic, lifeless aspects of natural history through a proper introduction to artistic education.

[ 35 ] In order to introduce art to children in the right way at this age, it is of course necessary not only to organize the entire curriculum artistically from the very beginning—a point I have already discussed at length—but also to grant art its proper role in the classroom. The fact that attention is given to the sculptural and pictorial arts follows naturally from the need to draw writing out of the pictorial. Thus, according to the Waldorf school principle, instruction in painting and drawing begins at a very tender age. The sculptural arts are also cultivated as much as possible, though only from about the age of nine or ten and in a primitive manner. But it has an immensely invigorating effect on the child’s physical vision—on the animation of that physical vision—when the child is introduced to the shaping of sculptural forms in the right way and at the right age. After all, people often go through life in this way: things and events are all around them, yet many fail to see what is most important. Learning to see in such a way that one stands properly within the world—that, too, is something one must first learn. And for this proper learning to see, it is particularly fruitful to cultivate in the child, as early as possible, the sculptural activity that channels what is seen from the head—from the eyes—into finger movements and hand movements. This not only guides the child in a tasteful way toward appreciating only what is tasteful—that is, in the child’s immediate surroundings, such as the furnishings of their room and the like—rather than what is tasteless, but it also leads the child in the right way to see in the world that which, above all else, is meant to enter the human soul and the human spirit from the world.

[ 36 ] By guiding music instruction—starting from singing, but increasingly also into instrumental music in the proper way, we are able to bring the element of will in human beings into the world in such a way that they not only receive an artistic education through music instruction, but that their humanity—particularly in terms of will and emotion—can also be fostered in a special way through this music instruction.

[ 37 ] To this end, however, it is necessary to begin with singing, but to move on as soon as possible to grasping the essence of instrumental music, so that the child learns to separate the purely musical—rhythm, meter, melody—from everything else: from the imitative aspects of music and the like, from all the pictorial elements of music—and increasingly comes to grasp the purely musical in music. Precisely by introducing the child to art in this way—by creating the transition from play to life through art—we are also in a position, when necessary—namely between the ages of eleven and twelve—to provide the child with instruction in artistic understanding in the proper manner. And this is of particular importance for the educational principles that the Waldorf School seeks to realize: that the child also develops an appropriate understanding of art at the right age. At the same age when the child must learn to grasp that nature is ordered according to abstract natural laws to be understood by the intellect—at the same age when, in physics, one must learn how cause and effect are related in individual cases—at that same age, we should foster an appreciation of art as a counterbalance, we should introduce an understanding of how the individual arts have developed throughout the various epochs of human history, and how one artistic motif or another comes into play in this or that era. Only in this way is that aspect of the child truly stimulated which a person needs if they wish to achieve a well-rounded development of their being. In this way, too, that which is necessary in a very special way for moral education—as I will demonstrate tomorrow—is developed in the proper manner.

[ 38 ] By acquiring an understanding of art, a person will also come to view other people—his neighbors and fellow human beings—in a completely different way than if he lacked this understanding of art. For what is the essence of understanding the world? That we can set aside abstract concepts at the right moment in order to gain insight into and understanding of the world.

[ 39 ] If one wants to understand minerals, one can do so through cause and effect. Physical phenomena can be understood in this way. But when one moves on to plants, it becomes impossible to understand everything through logic, reason, or intellect. Here, the creative principle within the human being must be stirred; here, concepts and ideas transform into pictorial forms. And everything we teach the child in terms of creative skill gives it the ability to understand the plant kingdom through its forms. If we wish to understand the animal kingdom, we can do so only by allowing the concepts of understanding to be instilled within us through moral education. Only then do those powers within us become active that can look beyond to what constitutes the animal—that which is built up from the invisible. How few people, and indeed how few physiologists, know today where an animal’s form comes from! For the form of an animal arises precisely from the development of those organs that later become the organs of speech and song in humans. This is the center of form-building, of the animal’s form-formation. The animal does not develop articulate speech; nor does it develop anything beyond the kind of song we know from birds. But just as form radiates out in song and speech to form the air waves that give rise to the audible, so too does that which develops from a vital principle within the speech organism and the singing organism flow back into the animal. And only those who understand how, in a sense, “musically” this animal form emerges from the limbs—which later metamorphosed into the musical organs in humans—can truly recognize the animal form.

[ 40 ] And if we are to rise to the level of the human being, we need a comprehensive understanding of art. For everything that pertains to the human being is comprehensible to the intellect only in terms of its inorganic components. Only when we know, at the right moment, how to transform a mental image into an artistic conception do we have the possibility of understanding the human being.

[ 41 ] But this must be awakened especially through art education. If we as teachers, equipped with an artistic sensibility, are able to guide the child—at the right age—to Leonardo’s *Last Supper* or Raphael’s *Sistine Madonna*, if we can show the child how each individual figure relates to the others in a specific way, and how the very era in which Leonardo or Raphael lived—in its historical development—used color in this manner, handled interior perspective in this way, and so on—if we can infuse all other natural science and history lessons with a teaching method that leads to an understanding of art—then we bring the human, humane principle into all our teaching.

[ 42 ] We must therefore ensure that we do not deprive this child, at the right stage of life, of anything necessary for artistic self-expression. Our civilization can only achieve the necessary upswing and advancement if we bring more artistic elements into the school; not only what I have hinted at throughout these lectures—the permeation of the entire curriculum with an artistic element—but also by creating a counterbalance to every prosaic understanding of nature and history through a lively instruction in artistic understanding, one that is itself sustained by artistic creativity.

[ 43 ] This is precisely what we now wish to incorporate as a special element in our teaching—in the art of education at the Waldorf School—because we consider it necessary, since it is simply true, as every true artist has also felt: that art is not merely something invented by human beings, but a realm in which human beings are able to glimpse into the mysteries of nature—and indeed into the mysteries of the entire world—on a different level than that of ordinary understanding. Only at the moment when a person learns to understand that the world itself is a work of art—when a person learns to look into all of nature and all natural processes in such a way that they see a creative artist in nature—only at that moment is a person on the path to ascending to religious depth. It was not for nothing that the poet of Central Europe said: “Only through the dawn of beauty do you enter the land of knowledge.” It is true: when we engage the whole human being through art, we in turn foster in that person a corresponding understanding of the world that extends to the whole, to the totality of the world. Therefore, as much as possible, we should supplement in our teaching—beyond what is already necessary for prose culture and civilization—that which is purely human. And this can be achieved solely through artistic instruction as well as through appropriate instruction in the understanding of art.

[ 44 ] Art and science, as we shall see tomorrow, lead—in just the right measure—to moral and religious deepening. However, in order for a person to make progress in religious and moral terms, the groundwork must be laid by ensuring that instruction functions as a kind of balance. On one side lies everything that leads to the prose of life, that which, so to speak, binds human beings to the earth; on the other side lies the balancing force of everything that leads to art—that which, at every moment of life, can artistically elevate what a person must work out in prose and thus immediately lead it back into the spirit.

---

[ 45 ] The question is raised as to whether Greek and Latin instruction might not, after all, be absolutely necessary.

[ 46 ] Dr. Steiner: Mr. C. seems to have some concern that, because of the words I spoke a few days ago, Greek culture and civilization might be lost to humanity. Now, in response to this, one must first simply point out the fact that in our Waldorf School we do indeed offer Greek and Latin instruction to the extent required by those students who must take the high school graduation exam. We do, however, operate under the principle that Greek and Latin instruction is not initially mandatory at our school, but is offered to those students who wish to take it themselves or whose parents request it. There has, in fact, been very strong demand for these Greek and Latin classes up to now, and next Easter we will be guiding a number of students—both boys and girls—to the high school graduation exam for the first time; thus, for the time being, we have certainly made provisions for offering Greek and Latin instruction just as other high schools do.

[ 47 ] The remark I made a few days ago did not actually refer to the idea that we want to completely eliminate Greek and Latin language instruction, but rather to the fact that high school education tends too strongly in the direction of having students learn less about life and the vibrant civilization of the present, and instead delve more deeply into something that is no longer part of the present—something that belongs to the past. There is no denying that there are reasons—important reasons—to continue teaching Greek and Latin, especially Greek. One reason is that in our—after all—simply materialistic present, it is very beneficial if, at a certain age, children are pulled away from being swept up in the immediate materialism of the present and are guided toward what is, at the very least, idealistic simply because it has not undergone that transition which everything undergoes when it, I might say, passes through history. That is one compelling reason. An argument against this, however, is that people who have graduated from the Gymnasium have nonetheless become materialists as well, and our materialistic culture is, to a large extent, sustained by graduates of the Gymnasium. But as I said, this reason can at least be cited as a compelling one.

[ 48 ] The other point is something that, I would say, is connected to our entire historical existence. We are, after all, dependent on incorporating into our present, to a certain extent, that which has come down to us—particularly from Greek culture; this is even less the case with Roman culture. The Greeks were not in the same way, because they still had a great deal of spiritual life, as I have explained in my lectures. They still had much that was spiritual in their own culture. We have a civilization that, fundamentally speaking, has not produced any new spiritual content for a long time. In this regard, we need only be honest with ourselves and realize that while we have made magnificent, tremendous progress in mastering the external forces of nature, we are actually still working today—more than we realize—with the concepts and spiritual contexts that have come down to us from Greece. And we would lose our understanding of much of our spiritual content if we could no longer draw upon the Greek tradition. Coming from Central Europe, one need only recall that Goethe simply could not bear to absorb a mere 18th-century European culture; that he became ill with longing to truly take in ancient culture, to bring Greek culture to life within himself.

[ 49 ] But certainly, one thing seems to me to emerge from a genuine understanding of human nature: that we have just as much of a need to introduce our youth to the immediate demands of the present, and that, alongside a classical education, we must not forget to introduce them to the practical life of contemporary civilization—as I have repeatedly explained in recent days. And in this regard, I do believe that a rigorous selection process will be necessary—one more rigorous than is currently customary, particularly for the study of Latin and Greek. We will certainly not lose Greek heritage, Greek culture, and civilization for all European languages if we, introduce only the most capable individuals to the Greek and Latin languages, and if these most capable individuals, through a genuine understanding of Hellenism—which encompasses much more than merely grasping the Greek language as it is taught in high school—are able to revive Hellenism precisely in its modern form, drawn from modern life. And it is precisely on this ground that one arrives at quite remarkable insights. We have attempted to present a variety of elements from contemporary poetry to the world—let us say—through eurythmy. A desire has also arisen within the German-speaking world to present Greek works to students through eurythmy; of course, that could be done very easily today; but to present Aeschylus in the German language is impossible today, precisely because that spiritual grasp of Hellenism is not yet present among Aeschylus’s translators. Moreover, the way Greek has been taught in high schools throughout our civilization has, in fact, been of very little help to us in this regard. And precisely when a better selection process takes place in this regard—so that only those young people are introduced to the study of Greek who, by virtue of a certain genius, can truly bring Greek culture to life— then in modern civilization, the renewed Greek culture—that which is renewed by individual human beings—will truly be able to reach people’s souls in a completely different way than has actually been the case so far, despite the many high schools. I therefore do not believe that, if we teach Greek and Latin only to the extent that is necessary, Greek civilization and art will be lost as a result in the present. After all, it must ultimately come to pass that the great impulses—especially for the highest aspects of spiritual life—are provided by individual human beings. And it will probably be better if these impulses are provided by people who truly make an impact as individuals, but who also convey them in such a way that these impulses penetrate the modern language and are rendered through modern languages in a form appropriate to the present.

[ 50 ] So, as I said, there is no need to fear that the Waldorf School or the Waldorf educational principle is intended to do anything to deprive humanity of Greek culture or Greek artistic life, for example; rather, we may hold the conviction and this belief is justified, that precisely by selecting the people most capable of this study through a process of social selection—or by advising young people to learn Greek and Latin when we recognize a very special aptitude—Greek culture and civilization will be preserved in a truly deep, genuine, and authentic way. Humanity must by no means lose its historical heritage. We also believe, for example, that through our method young people are introduced in a living way to Christianity, to the Mystery of Golgotha, even though we do not set out to explain to them everything that dogmatic theology has produced, even though we do not set out—that through this, living Christianity, the living encounter with the Mystery of Golgotha, is not lost. And so I believe that we can lead people to Greek culture in a more vibrant way, just as we can lead them to Christianity, if we simply leave out the ballast, if we proceed economically in this area as well. And that is why I ask that you rest assured in this regard. We certainly do not intend to achieve anything outstanding by cultivating philistinism.