The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Twentieth Lecture

[ 1 ] The point is that, if the study of medicine is to be pursued in a way that is beneficial to humanity, then what I have attempted to suggest in these lectures must truly take hold: the holistic consideration of the entire human organism—both healthy and diseased—in conjunction with non-human forces, substances, and modes of action in general. For this builds a bridge between the natural-scientific approach—which increasingly boils down to the mere recognition of diseases—and the endeavor to create remedies and healing effects. However, in order for this path to be successfully pursued, it is necessary to gain a holistic view of the human being—to examine him, so to speak, from a perspective of Spiritual Science—beginning at the point where the human being, as he is now, stands in a certain relationship with the external world. This relationship with the external world is most evident, in the most advanced stage of development, in the interaction of the external senses with the external world—interactions that actually have little to do with physical effects within the body, such as the sensory perceptions of the eye. But as soon as we enter the realm of the lower senses—the senses of smell and taste—we immediately see how the human being’s external aspect, so to speak, the human being’s external interaction with the environment, becomes internalized. For up to a certain point, human digestion is nothing other than a continuation and transformation of sensory activity. Up to the point where nutrients are transferred from intestinal activity to the lymphatic and blood-forming processes—and even during the transition to this point—everything is, in essence, metamorphosed, transformed sensory activity, which, the lower its level, the more organically it acts. Thus, in the digestive process up to the point I have just described, we must actually recognize a continued process of taste perception.

[ 2 ] If one properly appreciates this fact, one will lay the groundwork, first for the entire field of dietetics, and then also for understanding all that is wholesome and necessary to work effectively in this area. Even the harms that can arise in this area will, as a result, be systematically identified little by little. For consider the following: Observe the effect of, let us say, ammonium salt on the human organism. An adherent of modern natural science will say: First of all, ammonium salts, administered in the form of sal ammoniac—as one would have to say in the terminology of modern natural science—act, for example, on the muscular-motor cardiac nervous system.

[ 3 ] But this entire nervous system, which is supposed to be motor, is an absurdity. As I have sufficiently emphasized, there is no difference between the sensory nerves and the motor nerves. So the whole concept is an absurdity. What we are actually dealing with is something fundamentally different. What we are dealing with is the following: As long as the ammonia salts retain their effect—let us say within the range extending from the process of taste to the process of blood formation—there is also a continuous effect of taste within the body, and this ongoing taste effect is at the same time a process in the astral body and triggers a reflex activity in the astral body, which consists, for example, in the secretion of sweat. You can literally look right into the secretion of sweat—and in a certain sense, into the secretion of urine as well—if you are able to perceive this first phase, so to speak, of human digestive activity as a continuous taste process. For I ask you, the matter is this: When one looks at what primarily takes place in this area, we are essentially dealing with the absorption of ingested nutrients through the body’s internal fluid secretions. That is the essence of it. Everything that comes into play here actually boils down, more or less, to this dissolving effect of bodily fluids on food. This dissolving effect has its counteraction. The counteraction consists of liver and spleen activity. That is why we also had to classify liver and spleen activity essentially as water activity, fluid activity. But in contrast to the dissolving effect in the first stage of digestion, liver activity has the effect of enveloping, encasing, and, in turn, reconverting what is accomplished in the first part of the process. Essentially, one can gain a picture of what is happening here by simply observing side by side the activity that takes place when I drop salt into warm water. The salt dissolves and disperses in the warm water: an image of the activity up to the point where food is absorbed into the lymphatic and blood vessels. I place next to it a few rounding droplets of mercury with their striving to become round, to bring things to a close, to organize, to shape: an image of everything that begins with the absorption of food into the lymphatic and blood vessels and is directed from the liver with all its connection to the human astral body.

[ 4 ] You see, it is necessary to look into what is actually happening in this way. For then one is simply guided to study the external world and how it behaves in the formation of salt and mercury. One literally reads from the external world what must be at work within the organism. But one must always view the human being in connection with this external world.

[ 5 ] These ammonia salts are then tracked further as they enter the blood-forming process, where they alkalize the blood. As they proceed through further stages of their journey, they reach a point where they now influence the upper human being from the lower human being and trigger reactions within the upper human being. But what is interesting is that a complete reversal now takes place here. A complete reversal of the processes occurs. This reversal of the processes can be characterized roughly as follows: While the upper human being, in the lower realm of digestion, strives to act as a sensory being—to act through the perception of taste—the opposite now begins to occur—the entire process is reversed—the lower human being begins to incline more toward perception, and the upper human being begins to incline more toward that which now acts upon perception. And the consequence of this is that, whereas previously a kind of reflexive effect occurred—which I have characterized as emanating from the astral body—the process now takes place in reverse, such that, so to speak, the reflexive effect emanates from below; that is, what corresponds to reflection comes from below, and what would correspond to flexion begins above. So that above—to use an artistic metaphor—the ciliated epithelia, for example, are stimulated and enter into more vigorous movement, and secretion in the lungs is promoted. The reverse movement applies here. First, dissolution triggers the movement of the liver; then, through the enveloping activity of the liver, the dissolving, dispersing, and stimulating effects are brought about in what lies above the liver’s activity—namely, the activity of the lungs—and instead of dissolution below, secretion occurs in the upper organs.

[ 6 ] This is the path that takes place within the human organism, from the assimilation of substances through dissolution and the action of salts, to the formative action, and back again to the dispersing action, which can be compared to the processes of evaporation and combustion. So place, alongside the droplets of mercury, a boiling liquid that is constantly evaporating—that is, one undergoing a vigorous process of evaporation—which one might call the phosphorous-sulfur effect—where, as it were, the inorganic is ignited; then you have the activity that develops in the corresponding organs, that is, in the lower human being, but also in everything in the upper human being that is now related to the lungs.

[ 7 ] If one possesses this inner activity, then one also has the means to form concepts about what from the external world can be incorporated into these activities. This goes very far; it extends to the following. If you recall what we said a few days ago, you will see: Everything that takes place in the process of tooth formation is a very peripheral activity of the human organism. That is why this peripheral activity of the human organism very soon becomes a completely external, mineralizing process—as I have characterized it—and I ask that you not misunderstand this. I believe it has been interpreted somewhat misleadingly. I said that because tooth-forming activity is so peripheral, it is justified—once the mineralization phase has already begun in the tooth-forming process and one is dealing with tooth deterioration—to intervene purely technically and externally through mechanical dental therapy to repair the teeth and so on, because nothing more can be done from the outside. So one can do nothing other than treat mechanically what has already been mineralized externally. I include in this everything that takes place mechanically, such as repairing the teeth and so on. It is therefore justified to provide replacements for the teeth once they have become damaged, because at a certain point, the teeth can no longer take care of themselves from the inside. But one must ensure that the process that must necessarily take place from within—namely, the fluoride formation process, which is also essential for the organism—is maintained. A substitute must be created for what the teeth do—as long as they are healthy—namely, for the fluoride-forming process in the organism. This substitute can be created in a certain way. However, one must now take proper account of this reversal process, which I have just described.

[ 8 ] What, in reality, is this entire process of tooth formation? It is a movement of the mineralization process from the inside out. Once all the permanent teeth have erupted, this process—which drives the mineralization outward—has reached its goal. It is then countered by the process of sexualization, which in turn drives inward. These are two opposing processes that counteract each other rhythmically: the process of tooth formation and the process of sexualization. To the same extent that the tooth-formation process is completed, the sexualization process proceeds in the opposite direction. But if you look at it this way, you will also realize that another process in humans—one directed inward and backward—is polar opposites to the tooth-formation process, and it is, in fact, very closely related to it. This is the peristaltic movement of the intestines. These are two processes that are intimately connected. Thus, everything related to this peristaltic movement is intimately connected with the process of tooth formation on the other side. This process of intestinal movement is intimately connected with the utilization of fluoride in the human organism. One could say: Simply put, if this process of intestinal movement proceeds more rapidly and intensely than it should, according to a person’s individual constitution, then this has a negative effect on the condition of the teeth—but specifically on all the functions that fluoride is normally supposed to perform in the human organism. Therefore, it will be necessary for the dentist to instruct the patient—if he notices that the teeth are severely damaged—to reduce the intensity of the person’s entire digestive activity somewhat, whether by prescribing external, mechanical rest if the person’s occupation permits, or by administering digestive-calming agents, thus reducing—only slightly, not drastically—the intensity of intestinal movements in particular.

[ 9 ] But the regulation of this activity is of particular importance, and it is promoted by the regular, law-abiding activity of the limbs—the arms and hands, and the legs and feet—to which I have already alluded. This activity can be promoted in particular through the eurythmical regulation of movements, because eurythmical movements animate the movements. But if gymnastics veers too strongly toward the merely physiological, then—I might say—the pendulum swings in the wrong direction, and one can very easily end up having the opposite effect. That is why it is also understandable that certain activities—such as ordinary dance activities, to which girls in particular are subjected—can in turn have a harmful effect on the process of tooth formation; so one must by no means say: “Well, how is it that girls, who dance so much, have worse teeth than boys?” — It depends on whether this dancing is done with feeling and is not overdone. On the other hand, as far as hand movements are concerned, all it takes is for the movements involved in knitting and crocheting to be overdone, and we have the opposite effect of what occurs when this activity is used correctly by humans.

[ 10 ] So we can see how, in fact, even in this area—I would say—a reversal is taking place in what is mechanically visible movement. First, the process of tooth formation is the reverse of the digestive process. But then it is also very important that the movement involved in the digestive process is, in general, directed in the opposite direction to human movement—to the human ability to move forward. This is of immense significance for the development of the human being. The fact that a person can walk forward, while the stimulation for digestion takes place in the backward direction, is of immense significance. One can even achieve something by accustoming a person whose digestion seems too sluggish to walk backward frequently as part of a gymnastics routine. This will then have a beneficial effect on their digestive activity. All these things, I would say, are transformed from purely empirical collections of notes into something that can be deeply understood when one examines a person’s entire constitution from a perspective of Spiritual Science.

[ 11 ] I would like to draw your attention to something else. You see, there is certainly a remarkable effect in humans when we turn our attention to Nux vomica. What is the basis for this effect? You need only study Nux vomica in a specific context, and you will come to understand its effect—gain an inner insight into its effect. You need only study Nux vomica in the context of a hangover, and then you will see what effect it has. All other effects can, in a certain sense, be more easily grasped when one observes the effect of Nux vomica in people suffering from a hangover. There is a complete reversal of the entire human organic activity during a hangover. A hangover is, after all, the continuation of a process that takes place primarily in the first part of the digestive tract. It occurs when what takes place during the indulgence in wine, beer, or champagne—up to the point where the substances are incorporated into the processes of lymph and bile formation—transitions into these very processes. Then those areas of the human organism that are actually tasked with breaking down these substances are transformed into a kind of sensory organ; and instead of the person now directing his primary sensory activity toward the external world, entering into communication with it, and having the Earth with its processes before him outside, what he has done to himself compels him to perceive inwardly; for now he has within himself an activity that has become very, very similar to the Earth’s external activity. There he begins to feel the Earth’s rotation, and his bed begins to spin. There, beyond his intestinal activity—in the activity of lymph and mucus formation—lies now, I would say, a kind of earthly activity, a kind of external world, an inner external world. Human beings have turned their inner world into an outer world and perceive with dread within it that which does not disturb them at all when they perceive it externally; for their inner being is not suited to becoming an Earth—their inner being is meant precisely to withdraw from the Earth. But now he constructs for himself a real earth in there—something that would actually be much better suited if it could be taken out entirely and surrounded by sensory perceivers who could observe it from the outside. He, however, is now led to perceive with an inner world that is situated more toward the outside.

[ 12 ] Nux vomica counteracts all of these symptoms because, initially—and until the body’s natural healing process sets in (which usually occurs in this case)—Nux vomica suppresses the sensitivity to this external influence on the internal system. Because it is suppressed, the internal process—which is, in a sense, external—is not disturbed at the same time, and this is already associated with a kind of healing effect of Nux vomica; however, this effect stems from the fact that the continuation of the metamorphosed taste process is actually attenuated, so that it no longer has a disruptive effect on what lies beyond this continued taste process. This brings about a kind of healing. Suppose now that the opposite is the case. There is not an intensification of the continued process of taste—that is, the activity of dissolution—but rather a slowing down; the dissolution is not carried far enough. Let us assume, then, that the situation in the human organism is such that, instead of what is taken in from the external world being broken down to the proper extent and incorporated into the salt-forming process, this internal process proves too weak to incorporate it into the salt-forming process. This first aspect of the digestive process already functions as intended when Nux vomica is administered; it functions naturally in this way through some other process; then the substances that have not been broken down sufficiently will seek to adapt to it. After all, if they have not yet found a way out, they cannot cross over this boundary that exists between gustatory and digestive activity and hematopoietic activity; they cannot cross this boundary. They therefore seek a path in the opposite direction, and everything that arises as a result can then be countered by simply promoting the dissolving effect, while simultaneously dampening it through the action of Nux vomica. And everything that seeks a wrong path there is combated with Thuja. Here, too, you have derived the polar opposition between Nux vomica and Thuja from human nature itself. But this also shows that one should always consider the overall organization of the human being, for these opposites within the human organism are of a significance that must not be underestimated in the least.

[ 13 ] The activities that specifically serve to drive everything that takes place in the lower human being upward toward the higher human being are, in fact, all intensified during sleep. One must be very careful when attempting to characterize sleep. For it is true: sleep is one of the best remedies, but only if it is practiced for exactly the right length of time—neither longer nor shorter than is necessary for the individual in question. Sleep that is too long for a given individual is pathogenic. For when sleep is too long, there is an excessive filtering through this barrier I have just described; too much is transferred from the first realm of digestion into the lymphatic and blood-forming processes. Human beings are constantly exposed to this. The lower organism is, after all, in a state of perpetual sleep, so that human beings are constantly at risk of their blood becoming diseased due to the lower organism. Yet human beings carry their own remedy within them, one that is naturally attuned to the normal human organism. This normal human organism already has a tendency to make itself sick continuously through sleep. But this tendency is completely balanced by the iron content of the blood. Iron is, first and foremost, the most important metal for human beings, one that acts within the body and simply has a balancing effect in this regard; it normalizes everything that flows excessively from one process into the other. Just as you will understand the diseases caused by iron deficiency in the blood from what I have just said, so, on the other hand, if you use iron in a sufficiently diluted form so that it is truly integrated into the ongoing homeopathic process of the higher human being, you will always help the organism to overcome its disruptive processes that move from the bottom up. The other metallic processes of primary importance to humans are, as you have seen, replaced by human activities.

[ 14 ] I would like to briefly summarize once again, in this context, what emerges from the overall spirit of my lectures. Today we have once again pointed to this lymph- and blood-forming activity in human beings. It is the polar opposite of what occurs in the mineralization process involving copper. Hence, there is a connection between these processes and copper. The task would be to realize that these processes still belong to the lower human being—specifically, to the uppermost part of the lower human being—and that, as a result, there is a kinship with copper that points very strongly toward the copper-forming force itself, as it exists on Earth. For everything connected with our lower human being is connected with earthly processes. If, therefore, we wish to work through copper, it is a matter of telling ourselves, as a golden rule: Here we generally use copper—naturally, without employing it in doses harmful to humans—in such a way that it is low-potent, that is, still quite similar in its behavior to how it behaves on Earth.

[ 15 ] Just as the inner lymph- and blood-forming process is related to copper, so too is everything that stands at the transition—that which, so to speak, carries the outer digestive process over into the inner blood- and lymph-forming digestive process—related to the liver and, above all, to mercury. Just as the other process is related to copper, so is it related to mercury; however, with mercury we must exercise caution, for it actually possesses a round, balancing quality, and is thus, in a sense, already connected to the interaction of the two processes. However, those processes that the human being must also develop to prevent too much from entering the blood—processes that are specifically generated by the Nux vomica action and counteracted by the Thuja action—are regulated by the silver action.

[ 16 ] This then opens up the field for examining external nature in terms of these components and understanding it, as it were, as a human being laid open, so as to place the human being entirely within his environment—in both his healthy and diseased states—with which he is, after all, intimately connected precisely through his lower self. So what now rises from the lower human being into the upper human being through the processes related to copper is precisely regulated and balanced by the opposing iron. From this you can already see that the human being needs iron, that there must always be an excess of iron processes—now understood chemically—in him. All other metals are present in the human being himself as processes. The human being is, so to speak, a seven-part metal. Only iron is present as iron; the other metals are present only as processes.

[ 17 ] Just as everything in the organs that is involved in lymphatic and hematopoietic activity is related to copper, so too is everything that originates in the lungs, opens outward toward the larynx, and so on, related to iron.

[ 18 ] And again, those functions that are connected with the parts of the brain that serve more the inner activity—which are, I would say, more akin to the brain’s digestive activity—and which thus correspond to the transitional processes from the intestines into the lymphatic and blood vessels: these activities are related to the image-forming process. The image-forming processes work in such a way that they, I would say, permeate and thereby regulate the digestive process in the area where I have just characterized it.

[ 19 ] In contrast, everything that is more closely connected to the nerve fibers and to the organs that, within the higher human being, are the continuation of the senses, is akin to lead; and this, in turn, corresponds to all that is secreted in the form of sweat or urine.

[ 20 ] These are the things that, so to speak, shed light on human beings and, at the same time, point to how one can derive healing effects from the substances that surround us—from these interactions. We must simply be clear that Spiritual Science, in particular, must point out how so-called mental illnesses are rooted in the organs in many respects, and how organic diseases are already very closely connected to psychological and spiritual effects. This is a difficult subject. Materialism, which on the one hand approaches so-called physical illnesses in a purely mechanical or chemical manner—that is, which treats the human being more or less merely as a machine—has, on the other hand, reached a point where, in characterizing so-called mental illnesses, it is essentially able to provide only a mere description of psychological symptoms, because this materialism has lost sight of the connection between the spiritual-psychic and the physical-bodily realms.

[ 21 ] This intimate connection becomes particularly evident when we specifically examine the interplay between mental and physical well-being. Let us ask ourselves: What actually contributes to mental illness? —- When a person first becomes ill, subjective symptoms appear—symptoms of pain, other symptoms of physical condition, and so on. These symptoms, which are most clearly perceptible in acute illnesses but actually transform in chronic illnesses, are, I would say, initially what the spiritual-soul being does when an organ is damaged in some way: They withdraw from it. Pain is nothing other than the “I” and the astral body withdrawing from the physical and etheric bodies—a process that may naturally be associated precisely with a withdrawal of the etheric body. But the essence of the sensation of pain lies, of course, in the astral body and in the “I.” There, as a rule, the “I” is still strong enough to perceive the entire counterprocess—the subjective, conscious counterprocess—of what is taking place in the physical organ. If the illness becomes chronic, the process gradually withdraws from the “I,” and the consequence of this is that what takes place psychologically is actually limited to the astral body alone—that is, the “I” does not participate in what the astral body suffers together with the etheric body. At first, the chronic organ disease can proceed on its own; the acute condition transitions into a chronic one. We are dealing with conscious psychological symptoms that are receding. If we wish to practice symptomatology, we must delve into the deeper aspects of the human being. Instead of asking the person how they are feeling or where it hurts, we must ask whether they sleep well or poorly, and whether they have a desire to work. So we must regard as symptoms those aspects that extend over longer periods of time and are more closely connected to the person’s development, whereas we can regard the immediate subjective experience as a symptom in acute illnesses. When it comes to chronic conditions, we must, so to speak, look more closely at the person’s life course than at the symptoms.

[ 22 ] However, a typical chronic physical illness arises when the entire process can be maintained within the organ in such a way that the astral body and the etheric body properly participate in the organ’s function and contribute to it as much as is necessary. If the patient is constituted in such a way that he can tolerate a disorderly influence of the astral body on his organ—via the detour through the etheric body—that is, if the patient is of such a nature that he can carry the abnormal connection between his astral body and his liver beyond a certain critical point, so that, in a sense, the liver does not notice that the astral body is not acting upon it in an orderly manner—then, I would say, the liver recovers, but it becomes accustomed to the disorderly influence of the astral body. This process need only continue long enough, and it takes the reverse path into the soul. What the liver should absorb into the physical body, it pushes into the soul, and we have depression; so in a certain sense, by the fact that a person endures chronic illnesses beyond a certain point—to the point of an abnormal relationship with the astral body—the predisposition for so-called mental illness is established.

[ 23 ] Once one begins to view these things in this way, one will move beyond the stage of pathography. Today, there is much talk of the irregular course of mental images, the irregular course of volitional acts, and so on. But as long as one does not know how the remarkable interaction of the liver, spleen, and the other abdominal organs actually supports that which ultimately appears in its highest spiritual form as the human will, one will not be able to truly find the corresponding physical counterpart for a pathography. One should be able to consider initiating physical treatment, especially in cases of so-called mental illnesses. It seems like a contradiction that Spiritual Science must lead to physical treatment in cases of so-called mental illnesses, while at the same time it must point to the role of the soul in recovery from physical illnesses. But this is connected to the immense contrast between the lower and the higher human being. This is connected to the reversal that occurs when sensory activity initiated from the outside becomes inner sensory activity—as in the ongoing process of taste—or when what is inside is discharged outward again in the form of a flickering movement or an innate flickering movement. In this lies that which, when properly understood, can already lead to a certain goal.

[ 24 ] Well, I have certainly tried to cover a wide variety of topics for you in these twenty lectures. When I set out to give these lectures, I told myself that if I were to take in everything that actually needs to be considered, giving these lectures would be difficult—for where should one begin? —If one starts with the elementary, one naturally cannot get very far in twenty lectures; one can only provide a guide, a tentative guide. If one starts at the very top and, so to speak, cites nothing but occult facts, then it is not easy to build a bridge to modern medicine in a certain direction, and one would then need even more time. The fact is that wherever one sees the already far-advanced damage caused by materialism today, one also recognizes the necessity of counteracting this damage from the other side. I ask you to take what I am saying not in a partisan way in any direction, but in a spirit of friendship. I do not wish to take sides in any direction, but I would simply like to present the facts objectively. Yet this much must be said: When one surveys today’s allopathic medicine, one sees everywhere the inevitable tendency to judge the sick person based on certain side effects of the disease—a tendency that emerges from the germ theory—and a focus on the secondary aspects. If one were to use the natural history of germs merely as an aid to diagnosis, it would indeed be extraordinarily useful. One can learn a great deal from the type of germ present about the condition at hand, precisely because a certain type of germ always appears under the influence of very specific primary causes. There is always ample opportunity to observe this. But in this tendency to take the secondary for the primary—for example, to examine the effect of germs on human organs instead of examining the human organism to see to what extent it can become a carrier of germs— is precisely what is evident not only in the germ theory of allopathic medicine but is already inherent in its entire approach—and thereby causes the harms I need not enumerate in detail to many of you, since you have surely noticed them on numerous occasions.

[ 25 ] But you see, one cannot say that one is therefore simply always—please forgive me for saying this—satisfied when one critically reviews homeopathic medicine, for it has the advantage that it does, in a sense, address the whole person, that it always takes into account a picture of the overall effects, and that it also strives to build a bridge to the remedies. But something else comes to light in homeopathic medical literature. When one examines this literature, one might initially be disheartened to find, for example—particularly in therapeutic literature—that remedies are listed one after another, and each is said to help with a whole host of diseases. It is never the case that one can easily identify the specific remedy from the literature. Everything is said to help with this and that. Certainly, I know that at first it cannot be any other way. But this is also a detour. This detour can only be countered by proceeding in the manner that has now been attempted here, at least in the elementary and introductory stages. That is why I have chosen to begin with the elementary and have not, so to speak, made the “top floor” the subject of these lectures. This can only be improved upon by ascending, through such an inner contemplation of human and non-human nature, to what I might call the narrowing of a remedy’s scope—the delineation of the remedy. But this can only happen if one now truly does not merely study what occurs through a remedy in a healthy or sick person, but rather gradually strives to view the entire universe as a unity and always studies the human being in such a way that one—as I already attempted to suggest yesterday in one case —trace the entire process of antimony treatment, in order to see what antimony does externally, and then be able to correlate that with what antimony can accomplish within the human being. Through this, very specific—I would say circumscribed—areas are also delineated in the external world, which then have their connections to the human being.

[ 26 ] As I said, it was things like these that led me to focus initially on the elemental in these twenty lectures. Naturopathy naturally makes this necessary because it serves a certain instinct—namely, to restore people, in accordance with nature, to their own healing powers and to point out what these healing powers are based on. In truth, they are based on the interaction between the telluric and the extra-telluric. And naturopathy is precisely dependent on not becoming too deeply entangled in materialism. It is indeed the case that today we can clearly see how all the various political factions tend toward materialism. In a certain sense, this is common to them all. Therefore, the spiritualization of this entire field is what really matters. However, you see, the fact is that the world today is indeed very much opposed to these things. It will be necessary for the remedy against materialism to come precisely from those who are knowledgeable and actively engaged in the field. For what is being attempted here—and which may well be only just beginning—must not be confused with any promotion of dilettantism. This is precisely what I wish to emphasize most: that those who can see how we are striving to work in a truly scientific manner here should help combat the prejudice—which is indeed quite harmful—that we are promoting dilettantism in any way. We are making use of everything that modern science has to offer and taking all of it into consideration. But people are reluctant to see what is actually intended here. And that is why things like this keep happening—one example I’d like to cite for you here in conclusion. You see, one can really only properly explain to a physician, for example, what significance eurythmy has for the human constitution. One can also only clearly explain why this building stands here to a physician who understands the entire process of internalization and externalization of the human organism—which we have outlined in these lectures. Today, it is necessary to speak from a foundation that is in stark contrast to the materialism of the laity and the outdated schools of thought—the traditional and outdated schools of thought. Here, something truly comes into play that, I would say, should be countered from a professional standpoint; otherwise, the phenomena manifested in such things will only multiply. You see, our good Mr. von M., who left yesterday, sought to put his good intentions into practice by writing an article for the *Neue Zürcher Zeitung* about the Dornach building and eurythmy, believing that he could make a difference there. He received the following reply:

[ 27 ] Dear Sir! The Theosophical Anthroposopheum, with its Goethe title, seems like nothing more than a mockery of the countryside.... We saw some impressive demonstrations of eurythmy here. Thank you for sending them. H. Trog, Arts Editor

[ 28 ] Well, you can see how strangely these materialistic troughs stand in opposition to what is actually meant to flow from the spirit into the world! This is precisely what we are facing today, and we must draw a little attention to just how foul the stench is that can pour into our noses from the contents—the already rotting contents—of these materialistic troughs.

[ 29 ] This is something I would like to say at the end of this lecture series. For all of this will surely serve—I would say—to support the request that this lecture series be viewed, with all due leniency, as a beginning, about which I told myself when I started it: It is difficult, for the reasons I have just cited, to begin it. But now that we have reached the end, I say: It is even harder to stop! For truly, not saying what I still have to say causes me even greater pain. And that is why, in light of all this—which is connected to the dictum I now wish to offer in conclusion: “It was hard to begin; it is harder to stop today”—I ask you to take all that into account in your generous assessment of what has already been made possible through this beginning, and to see how truly—not only subjectively, but entirely objectively—it is rooted within me when I say to you—you who, through your personal presence, have shown how much interest you have in this beginning—when you and many others, in a sense, accept what I now wish to say with a warmth that is not merely subjective but objective: Goodbye until a similar occasion!

Rudolf Steiner’s closing remarks following a participant’s speech of thanks

In a sense, my dear friends, this is the only path I have chosen—the one through which I wish Spiritual Science to benefit the art of healing as well; for, for reasons you will readily understand, you will find that I will continue to follow this path in the future just as I have always done: I wish to ensure that the interaction that must exist between Spiritual Science and healing remains solely between myself and the healers. I would never, of course, intervene in any way whatsoever in any practical healing process, just as I have never done so before. That is left to the practicing physicians. But what is to come about through spiritual-scientific inspiration must consist precisely in an interaction between Spiritual Science and the physicians themselves. In this way, all prejudice will also be more easily dispelled than if, in addition to whatever prejudice already exists, it were also added that one could say: “He is also involved in curing people as a quack.” That is precisely what I have always sought to avoid. —

Thank you very much!