The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Eighth Lecture

[ 1 ] Today’s discussion will be a colorful mix of topics, to which I would like to add a wide variety of points in light of what has already been said regarding our remedies. I would like to begin by assuming that, in a similar way to what we attempted yesterday with regard to the plant kingdom, we can interpret the processes that affect human beings in relation to the mineral kingdom. The perspectives one must develop here become more complex for the following reason: as soon as one turns to the mineral realm, one is no longer dealing—as with plants and human beings—with distinct, self-contained entities that stand in a sense in opposition to one another, but rather with something in which one aspect transitions more directly into the other; and therefore, the distinctions are difficult to make. Now, when it comes to the preparation of remedies—and you will have to pay particular attention to this with our remedies—it is not merely a matter of using any substance, but rather of capturing, as it were, the process in which the substance is alive within it, so that when you become familiar with the effect of a particular remedy, it is often a matter of containing this effect—which is, so to speak, brought about on one side—on the other side. For example, with the remedy we prepare from lead and a specific process involving honey—you will find this particularly noted—one can see how the effect of the lead, on the one hand, is to be kept in check in a certain way by the effect of the honey. The fact is that the effect of lead exerts an essentially immense influence on all the formative processes in the human being that originate from the “I.”

[ 2 ] You see, we had to say that in the formation of the human head—or rather, starting from the formation of the head in humans—there is a physical effect, followed by an etheric image, an astral image, and an “I” image. We have said that the “I” is essentially reflected in the musculoskeletal system. Now, the so-called “lead effect” acts in a very special way upon this “I-image” and in connection with the astral image. The lead effect essentially involves an extraordinarily hidden force of nature, and for occult observation, the experience of the lead effects is of extraordinarily profound significance. For the lead effects are, in fact, of extraordinary importance to the human being before it even sets out to descend into physical life. This is where the lead effects come into play in a very special way. Lead does not merely have the effects that are known to us; it also essentially has effects that are polar opposites. And these polar opposite effects, which, so to speak, radiate inward from the cosmos, while the effects known to us radiate outward from the Earth into the cosmos—so that one could schematically represent them as follows: If this is the Earth’s surface, the effects of lead that we are familiar with radiate outward from the Earth (drawing, arrows); those effects that are polar opposites flow in from all sides, have no center from which they radiate, are not central forces, but are forces acting in from the periphery (red). These peripheral forces are particularly involved in the formation of the spiritual-soul aspect in human beings, and their realm must actually be left behind—essentially left behind—when a human being prepares to descend into the earthly sphere. Therefore, in the earthly sphere, lead is called upon to manifest its opposing forces, which are then the poisonous forces. And this is, in fact, a universal mystery to which one cannot pay enough attention: that everything which is spatially connected to the human soul-spirit, that is, everything of which one can speak in relation to space, is poison in the human organism; thus, the meaning of the concept of “poison” must actually be derived from this. We are therefore dealing with a powerful stimulation, arousal, indeed a whipping up of these “I”-reflecting forces in human nature. And everything that occurs in cases of lead poisoning actually tends to thoroughly destroy the human being’s constitution—insofar as he is an “I”—and to dehumanize him. The fact is that all manner of symptoms—which ultimately amount to a gradual physical dissolution into nothingness (though, of course, death occurs beforehand)—from the loss of voice and so on, to fainting spells and numbness and so forth—all bear witness to the fact that the human being’s innate formative powers are being thoroughly destroyed. Now, on the other hand—as you can see, it is the higher human being who destroys what constitutes human development—this higher human being is the polar opposite of the lower human being. What acts destructively in large quantities within the higher human being acts constructively in small quantities, in dilutions, originating from the lower human being.

[ 3 ] At this point, I would like to interject that I believe the never-ending dispute between homeopathy and allopathy will only be resolved when we are able to address the structure of the human being as presented by Spiritual Science. For while, on the one hand, the principle of homeopathy—based on a wealth of experience—must not be doubted, or at least should not be, on the other hand, there is the fact that among people who are now accustomed to not relying purely on experience—homeopaths are always much more phenomenologists than allopaths, who always mix all sorts of prejudices into their rationale for healing —especially when one stands on this side, where one seeks to interweave all manner of considerations and prejudices regarding views on the human organism—it is not easy to understand the formulation that what causes illness in large quantities has a healing effect in small quantities. For the facts are not fully accounted for by this formulation. The facts are fully accounted for when one says: That which, in large quantities, has a disease-causing effect on the lower human being has a health-promoting effect in small quantities when administered from the perspective of the higher human being—and vice versa. Thus, this reformulation of the homeopathic rule is the only thing that will be capable of settling the dispute.

[ 4 ] Now, when I return from this digression to a remedy in which one seeks to achieve something through a certain preparation of lead and honey, you can see how, starting from the bottom up and in a highly diluted form, the lead counteracts the force that is destructive to the human form. So that lies in the effect of the lead. But now one attempts to build up this ego-forming power in the human being. You see, one then shifts the activity of the ego into the physical organism, and in doing so, while on the one hand restoring the person to physical health, on the other hand renders them psychologically weak in everything that is now supposed to work its way up from below—and also to have an organic effect. And this weakening can go so far that, while on the one hand one is, so to speak, bringing the human being back to human development—by applying the “lead effect” through certain disease processes that challenge one to do so because the formative processes are lacking— it can very easily happen—when one induces the person to develop their formative processes anew—that one undermines the forces emanating from the ego and the astral body, particularly those emanating from the ego. One could say: One cures what the human being has acquired—or, more accurately, has acquired inadequately—by entering into life, but one weakens them with regard to what they are meant to work out organically for themselves while they are living. However, what is added as the “honey effect” counteracts the latter—that is, it strengthens the forces radiating from the ego. So you see, even in the creation of such a remedy, it is essentially a matter of gaining insight into what is actually taking place within the human being.

[ 5 ] However, if one wishes to understand the effects of the mineral realm on human beings, it is necessary to consider the general effect of the mineral realm on the Earth. To do this, one must first familiarize oneself with the significance of salts in the Earth’s evolution. In the Earth’s evolution, salts actually represent what the Earth brings into being. What the Earth brings into being lies in the action of salts. As the Earth develops salts, it actually builds itself up. And when we move from salts to acids—that is, when we look specifically, for example, at what is present in the Earth realm, in the aqueous, liquid realm of the Earth, in the form of acids—we find that which, in the Earth realm, but with opposite polarity, to what occurs in humans during the inner digestive process—that is, in the digestive process beyond the stomach.

[ 6 ] If we then consider all these processes in the formation of the Earth—insofar as they represent a relationship between acids and salts, that is, what we observe externally in chemistry today as we see how the process unfolds, proceeding from bases through acids to salts—if we take this into account, then in this sequence, if we express it as follows: bases, acids, salts—a process conceived in such a way that it corresponds to the process of earth formation. And this process is essentially a negatively charged electrical process. To be more precise, if one expresses the outward, spatial aspect of this process—the aspect of this process that spills over into the physical realm, the transition from the spiritual to the physical—it can be schematically represented in such a way that one would have to say: Starting from the bases, through the acids, to the salts, an effect actually takes place that is, in essence, indicated only by its direction (see Figure $139, red arrow), but it is actually a process of precipitation, schematically speaking. And if we now express the process by proceeding in the order: salts, acids, bases—that is, if we express this process in reverse—then we would have to remove this line of deposition. It would act as a compressing force, and opposing rays would arise; it radiates outward (see drawing on the right, arrows). And then we are dealing with a positively charged process. And I believe that when you look at what is drawn here as a proper diagram, you can hardly have any doubt left that this diagram is drawn by nature itself. Take a look at the anodes and cathodes—nature itself has simply drawn this picture for you.

[ 7 ] When we now come to the actual metal process—that is, when we approach the metals themselves—we find in the metals that which through which the Earth most of all—if I may now use an expression that has long since disappeared from the German language but which corresponds to reality—becomes, or rather, ceases to be. And the metals do not tend, for example, to preserve or consolidate themselves more and more within the Earth’s realm; rather, they tend to fragment, to break away. So they are, in fact, what represents the Earth’s “unbecoming,” and that is why they also develop a radiating effect that is hidden from external observation. They have this radiating effect everywhere. Observing this is of particular importance wherever one delves into the metallic realm in the interpretation of nature, insofar as it provides remedies.

[ 8 ] Now it is particularly interesting to examine individual metals from this perspective, and this examination then reveals the very aspects that are simply listed in this table here as applicable to our mineral remedies. The fact is that one must say: Everything that results from such a correct interpretation of the observation must be taken into account in order to arrive at these conclusions, and they will be reliable, because only what is based on a comprehensive interpretation of the observation can be established in the first place. Now we can also assist the interpretation here. For my aim is certainly not to repeat this table to you in any way; whatever still needs to be added to it can then—and indeed must—be done in a written exposition of the matter. My aim is not so much to repeat this table, but rather to guide your thinking in the direction through which something like this table comes about.

[ 9 ] If we now consider metals—or rather, “metallicity”—from this perspective, we find that what I have just described to you as radiation is present once again in a wide variety of forms. We can find it in the emanating form—that which radiates outward into the cosmos and destroys the earthly. This is particularly evident in the lead effect. One might say: Through the effect of lead, forces are implanted in the human organism that simply seek to scatter it out into the world. This desire to scatter out into the world is present within through the effect of lead, so that this effect of lead is indeed best regarded as a radiant one. And such radiant effects then manifest in a different way with other metals, for example, with magnesium. This is very clearly noticeable, and it is precisely upon this that the effect of magnesium on the teeth is based. Well, it must simply be brought through the human organism to the point of the metal’s effect. And that does happen. The point is, however, that the radiation can also undergo a metamorphosis in turn. And when the radiation first undergoes this metamorphosis, it becomes what I would like to call: The ray is now merely direction; what actually takes place, however, is a swinging around the direction, an oscillation.

[ 10 ] Such effects must be observed in both healthy and sick people. In healthy people, these radiant effects are present; I would say they are like the residues of prenatal, pre-existing being in the radiations of the sense organs. They are always there. What radiates from the sense organs is, in essence, the aftereffects of lead, even though the lead itself is no longer present. And throughout all sensory activity throughout the entire organism, these radiations essentially take place. Nervous activity—that is, the functional activity of the nerves—is essentially based on a weakening of sensory activity in this direction, that is, on a weaker radiation.

[ 11 ] From this you can see why I said in my book *On the Mysteries of the Soul* that what is actually nervous-sensory activity is difficult to describe, because one would have had to preface it with everything that has now been brought up in this discussion here.

[ 12 ] But when one has this oscillating, this pendulum-like movement—when, so to speak, the radiation is retained only in terms of its direction—then one is dealing with that which, as a functional element in the human organism, underlies all breathing and, indeed, all rhythmic activity. Rhythmic activity is based on this pendulum-like quality of movement, on a movement that is more consolidated within itself than the radiating one. And among metals or metallic substances, tin, for example, essentially possesses this kind of movement. And this is the basis for the beneficial effect of tin in high potencies—in quite high potencies—on everything related to the rhythmic system. However, this radiant, oscillating movement can be modified even further. This third modification—which is of very special significance—retains both the direction and the oscillation only in a latent sense, so to speak. Instead, it consists in the continuous formation and dissolution of spheres that, in a sense, come into and out of existence in the direction of radiation.

[ 13 ] It is actually these forces that underlie the metabolic processes in the human being. And among the metals, it is iron that develops these forces in a particularly pronounced way. Therefore, iron also opposes the metabolic process in the blood as the third metamorphosis of the radiative effect. When dealing with the first metamorphosis, the effect pertains specifically to everything that organically concerns the “I”; when dealing with the second metamorphosis, the effect pertains organically to everything related to the astral body; and when dealing with the third metamorphosis, the effect pertains organically to everything related to the etheric body (see drawing).

[ 14 ] But let us continue. That which develops there as a kind of continuous spherical radiation—if I may call it that—must, because it acts, so to speak, from the upper to the lower human being, be continually received. It extends only as far as the etheric; it extends only as far as the etheric! It must now also be received by the physical through a polarizing force, for such a spherical formation must be met from the outside by something that envelops the sphere. The sphere must be grasped, enveloped (see drawing on p. 143).

[ 15 ] Now, it may be the case that this enveloping element and the element forming the sphere are roughly in balance. In a normal human being, this is naturally the case because whatever acts downward from the upper human is balanced by the action of the lower human toward the upper. And this balancing takes place particularly in the heart. But when this very balance is disturbed, then the balancing metal is Aurum. This, in turn, restores the balance between this enveloping force and that which is in the center. The point is to apply Aurum when, so to speak, the situation in a person is such that one finds circulatory and respiratory disturbances for which there is no other factor within the person that reveals the resulting symptoms. Where the causes do not lie in another part of the organism, Aurum should be applied. If, however, one notices that the causes originate from a different part—I would say from the boundary between the lower and upper human being—then one must conclude: It is indeed the case that, within the human being, there is insufficient counteraction to such enveloping material processes in relation to the more etheric-spiritual processes taking place there. And if the activity found there—which, in digestion, lies toward the interior beyond the intestinal walls—and, to be clear: lies beyond the intestinal walls—then this process of envelopment, which must be promoted, is addressed by copper. This leads to the application, to the method of using copper, which you will also find among our remedies, and which is indicated there for malnutrition that manifests itself particularly in circulatory disorders that occur concurrently as a consequence of malnutrition. If one is dealing with circulatory disorders that cannot be regarded as the result of malnutrition: Aurum; if one is dealing with circulatory disorders that must be regarded as the result of malnutrition, then one is dealing with Cuprum.

[ 16 ] Now, of course, there must also be corresponding processes for the other aspects of radiation—material processes corresponding to the ethereal-spiritual processes. The process that we must now regard as an inner process—one that brings about this oscillation—manifests, when it becomes abnormal or too intense, essentially in such a way that it can be observed in everything related to digestion, to the processing of ingested matter by the intestines, and to the outward elimination of waste. Thus, everything that takes place, for example, in sexuality consists of radiations emanating from the human being that proceed in this manner (see drawing $142); I would say they proceed in a manner similar to that of a caduceus. Hence the caduceus. This played a role in the creation of the ancient so-called symbols. To prevent what is at work there from getting out of hand, it must be countered by those material formative forces that keep it in check and prevent it from getting out of hand—and these lie essentially in Mercury—so that we are indeed pointing here to a realm in which it is extraordinarily important to connect what I said in the previous course with what we are now learning as we delve deeper inward. If you combine these two things, you will then grasp the entire process. This is something that plays a role entirely within the astral realm—arising from such oscillating ray movements and the corresponding counteraction. It extends all the way into the astral realm (see drawing, p. 142).

[ 17 ] However, we may also be dealing with the actual process of radiation, which is present in the human organism in the most diverse ways. On the one hand, we find it in everything that radiates outward through the skin, which also contains this directional radiation; but we also find this process in everything that is diuretic or purgative in the human being. Just as in what I might call the gastrulation, where the exterior turns toward the interior in the embryonic process; here, too, with this radiation, we are dealing with something that acts just as effectively outward through the skin and that, in a sense, also turns inward, so that in the diuretic process and the purgative process it takes on, as it were, an opposite direction. Whereas in the case of the polar, one usually deals with that which manifests in the opposite direction, here one is dealing with something that is, in a certain sense, opposite and yet, at the same time, similar. One must never reduce the world to a schematic. For as soon as one proceeds from theories, errors always arise. There is no way to proceed from a theory without falling into error. So if someone tells himself that polarity is at work in the world—and he then constructs a schema, a formula for polarity, and declares that polarity must operate in such-and-such a way—he will indeed be able to account for a series of facts, but when confronted with other phenomena, he will find himself stepping outside his schema, and things will turn out differently. If only one could see through this terrible tyranny that the formation of theories actually constitutes in science! For one must have the will to form theories. For if one could not form theories, one could not encompass any realm of phenomena at all. But one must also have the will to always abandon the theory at the right moment and to advance to the point where the theory no longer applies. This must also be taken into account in the natural sciences. If one wishes to pursue evolutionary theory in the external sense, then one must do so in a way that adheres to external evolutionary theory, merely adapting it accordingly, and so on. If one wishes to understand the human being from within, one must adhere to what anthroposophy provides. Neither an anthroposophical theory nor an anthropological theory can be handled in any other way than by leaving it at the right point and entering the other realm. However, with what we call anthroposophy here, one enters the spiritual-soul realm and from there returns to the external sensory phenomena. You can observe this path, as I have taken it quite naturally in my early writings, in my later writings, and as I am now attempting to encompass the other aspect as well. The fools, of course, find nothing but contradictions in this and use them as a basis for their idiotic attacks. And, don’t you think, German journals run by people who have no judgment whatsoever—they then take this idiotic brawling, this idiotic brawl, don’t you think, as something that is supposed to be a serious discussion of anthroposophy. I don’t know if you’re aware that one person who launched such a foolish—a truly foolish—attack in Diederichs’s *Tat* is named Hauer. - The point now is to focus on what can be described as a radiation, just as I have just done. And this, in turn, must be counteracted. One counteracts it by invoking everything that, for example, acts in silver with an opposing radiation, though one must be clear that silver must be used as an ointment when it is intended to counteract the one kind of radiation that manifests itself through the skin in some way, and that it must be injected in some form when dealing with the other activity, which in some way follows the direction of the discharges. There you have, I would say, a guideline for the specific way such things are to be treated, for the treatment of such things is, in essence, just as important as the quality of the remedy.

[ 18 ] Now I would like to use this line of thought—via the topic of remedies—to conclude with a few additional points, which I will now add in response to questions that have been raised. If I have not been able to cover everything this time, I ask for your understanding, given the limited time available. However, I believe that if you consider the method of answering questions—which I will now outline very briefly—you will see that I have tried, over the past few days, to structure the lectures in such a way that they lead the way to these answers. I would therefore like to highlight a very characteristic question that someone asked, one that is based on something real. Someone asked, in fact, what the truth is behind the widespread popular belief —but it is truly based on something very real that is simply not observed closely enough, and therefore is very often overlooked—that women who are menstruating radiate a kind of withering force onto flowers in their vicinity, so that the flowers wilt in their presence, particularly when they touch them. - Well, you need only take the view of the human being as we have developed it here, and you will arrive at the inner cause of this phenomenon. Just consider for a moment that what acts within the flower and drives it to bloom strives upward from the earth. That which in human beings corresponds to this floral force strives from top to bottom. This is indeed a cosmological-organic polarity. So you need only create a mental image of this normal upward striving in the flowering of plants being opposed to what strives from top to bottom in human beings (see drawing). There must be a balance, and that balance exists in the normal human being. Now imagine these forces intensified from top to bottom—which is expressed precisely by the onset of that period—and you will have intensified the forces within the human being that counteract the flowering forces of the plant. So, if you understand the factual context, you will see this remarkable connection that exists—one that becomes clear when you proceed in this way—but which is precisely what has been preserved in folk beliefs from ancient, instinctive conceptions.

[ 19 ] Now, another question I have been asked is the following: When dealing with asthma caused by spasm, which manifests as a complex of symptoms involving blood congestion in the upper body and blood deficiency in the lower body, how might one treat such asthma? — What exactly is this type of asthma? In this type of asthma, the sensory-nervous process has slipped into the respiratory process. There is nothing more than an excess of influence in the respiratory process—an excess so great that the sensory process has slipped into it. Now you must counteract this with opposing forces. You must approach it from the other side. So, what has already moved from the outside to the inside through natural processes—you must counteract that with forces moving in the opposite direction, and you can achieve this by introducing an acidic process through the skin—that is, by using carbonic acid baths or other acidic baths. And this will have a particularly beneficial effect for asthma patients with this type of condition. Many other related applications will be explored as you delve into the other aspects I have discussed.

[ 20 ] Now the question has been raised as to what—and this is also pointed out in the question—has caused such tremendous amazement and joy in the hospitals, namely, the use of milk injections for gonorrhea. Well, the fact that this is connected in a large number of cases to milk secretion can be deduced from what I have also presented in recent days regarding milk secretion. You need only create a mental image of what we have presented about milk secretion—how there is also a sensory process there, but one that has slipped deeper down. I have analyzed all the abnormalities that have occurred there, and now, of course, corrective forces remain in the secreted product. This is, in essence, still a process in which what took place within the organism continues. When you administer an injection, you can, of course, counteract a process based on quite similar factors. So this is an instance where empirical chance has indeed worked in an extraordinarily ingenious way, for the discovery came about solely through empirical chance—namely, through trial and error. In general, this observation of the metamorphoses of processes is of extraordinary importance. If a person cannot observe how processes undergo metamorphosis, then they will essentially be unable to properly assess even the simplest things.

[ 21 ] The question has arisen as to what actually causes colds—all the various conditions that are grouped under the rather vague term “colds.” - The fact is, however, that sensory activity is also channeled down into respiratory activity here—albeit in a different way than described earlier. The secretions that then occur are merely a reaction to this. It is something that is taking place within the organism, closer to the surface—something that is constantly occurring inside the organism through the interaction of nervous-sensory activity and metabolic activity. It is constantly taking place internally. Again, you should not be surprised that these issues can be addressed through very simple means, such as applying compresses and the like, whereby a kind of sensory-nervous activity is introduced from the outside into areas where it would not otherwise be present. All this wrapping and so on is a way of introducing sensory-nervous activity into the organism—an activity that is semi-conscious but would otherwise not be present.

[ 22 ] I have also been asked about the relationship between muscular forces and skeletal forces. - Regarding what I was asked about in relation to homeopathy, I would like to believe that what I have explained essentially provides an answer to the questions posed. However, I have also been asked various other questions, which I must now address briefly. — The relationship between muscular forces and bony forces can be characterized as follows: within the muscular forces, those effects are in full motion that have come to rest and died out in the bony forces; for bones are—not in a genetic sense, but in an ideal sense—transformed muscles, not genetically, but ideologically thoroughly transformed muscles. To seek a genetic connection between bones and muscles—indeed, even to seek a genetic connection between cartilage and bones—is, for this reason, actually an absurdity, and some people have rightly pointed out the difficulty that arises when one attempts to find such a genetic connection. Bunge, for example, has pointed out the difficulty that arises when one attempts to examine the genetic connection between cartilage and bone, but of course he did not point out the source of this connection—or rather, this difficulty. It stems from the fact that a metamorphosis does indeed take place. But consider this: during the period when muscle formation as a whole has not yet become organically visible (see diagram, red) —and this is essentially the case, albeit in a greatly attenuated form, with cartilage formation as well—where muscle and bone formation are still undifferentiated (light), if, in this state of undifferentiation, these processes are simultaneously influenced by polarity during differentiation, then it is, of course, extremely difficult to identify the metamorphosis. You can only observe an outwardly genetic metamorphosis if it is such that, during the transition from one to the other—as differentiation occurs—polarity is essentially not yet at work, but rather the direction is maintained. If, however, polarity intervenes immediately during differentiation, a completely different structure naturally emerges from it, one that no longer resembles the first at all.

[ 23 ] Some of the questions will be answered during the session that follows immediately afterward. However, there is one question that I ask you to consider as one that leads into the realm where confusion begins in earnest—a realm where one should avoid drawing analogies—and that question is this: How might one construct a spectrum of taste comprising sweet, bitter, sour, and alkaline, all the way to salty—whether one could construct such a spectrum of taste, and perhaps then also construct a spectrum of smell. With regard to these matters, the reality is that we have far too little sufficiently objectified data—especially concerning taste and smell—for finding analogies to be particularly useful. Such matters are of lesser importance in practical application, for when one moves from the realm of sight and hearing into the realm of taste and smell, one immediately enters an entirely different domain—since in visual perception one is actually dealing with that which reveals itself entirely from the ethereal, whereas in the processes of smell and taste, one is dealing with something that is very strongly influenced by material processes—by material effects and metabolic interactions—so that, in moving to this sensory activity, one can focus on the more robust aspects that are then expressed in metabolism.

[ 24 ] Now I would like to briefly address a question that has been raised—other questions related to this one will be better discussed in the session that follows—a question that has a certain fundamental significance: Can a human being produce bromine, morphine, iodine, quinine, arsenic, and other remedies from within, without ingesting them? — You see, this is a question that leads to very deep foundations of the entire human organism. For while one cannot produce these substances, one can produce the processes. Well, one can certainly say that, for example, one is naturally quite incapable of producing lead within oneself, but that one is very well able to produce the lead process within oneself from the etheric body and then allow it to radiate into the physical body. And so one might ask: Isn’t it possible to take homeopathy so far that one might say, “I will try to work through this process all the way into the etheric body,” so that this process of self-metallization—this process of self-radiation, which corresponds to a metallic radiation process—is brought about? — In a certain sense, that can certainly happen. It’s just that the point is that we are truly approaching the radiation processes that emanate from metallicity. Of course, if you remain stuck in allopathic thinking, you will naturally not come close to these things. But if, for example, you consider the following: The forces that radiate magnesium are present in the process of tooth formation. These are forces that have significance throughout the entire human organism, for the teeth are, after all, pushed forth from the whole human being. Now, if you use a magnesium salt—any magnesium salt, specifically, let’s say magnesium sulfate—and use it in such a way that you refrain from all allopathic methods, creating a particularly strong dilution—here we are led to the necessity of strong, that is, extremely strong dilutions—then you have a twofold effect: First, you have the magnesium effect, which, however, essentially stops where the teeth are located. In a normal person, the magnesium forces do not penetrate this region. So, in a sense, one must give them a reinforcing impulse so that they continue to act, so that they radiate throughout the entire human being. And this can be achieved by specifically using the salt—the sulfuric acid salt—because that carries the magnesium radiation all the way into the head forces. From there, let them radiate back out again. And this is indeed where this process is brought about—this process that originates in the ethereal realm and remains homeopathically transformed all the way back into the ethereal realm, where one possesses only the forces, where the substance itself is entirely absent, and where one has started from an entirely different substance. You know, of course, that magnesium sulfate has already been used empirically in this context as well, but it can only be used rationally if one takes this connection into account, for one will then immediately realize that, for example, one must use only half the amount of magnesium sulfate, not the full amount. One must rely on magnesium for the other half; therefore, anyone who believes that one can also use another sulfuric acid salt is mistaken. This is precisely what one tends to believe when one proceeds from considerations derived solely through the method of the external sensory world and the combining intellect.

[ 25 ] Now I would just like to point out very briefly that all these things that have been discussed here must certainly be viewed in such a way that one says to oneself: In order to get to the bottom of the effects that need to be observed here, one must single out individual aspects. But then, in turn, one must also view everything in its entirety. In particular, in these lectures I have, so to speak, asked the rather demanding task of you to view things in their entirety. And now I would like to point out to you how this holistic view can be achieved. For example, I was asked about Graves’ disease. Here you can even look back at what I explained in the first eurythmy lesson, where I pointed out that the thyroid gland is, in a sense, an unfinished brain. So if you tell yourself that the thyroid gland is an unfinished brain—if you are aware that the forces acting abnormally in Graves’ disease tend toward the thyroid gland and, in this tendency, bring about all the other phenomena that then manifest in the symptom complex of Graves’ disease— then you will realize exactly how you must counteract this through that which, I would say, counteracts the excessive intellectualization of the human being. And this leads us back to what will guide the next lesson; it leads us to the realization that such things can indeed be counteracted very effectively through meaningful movement, namely through meaningful consonant-forming movement. And you will achieve good results if, when Graves’ disease sets in, you apply in a radical way what we have just discussed in the eurythmy department. That is the connection.

[ 26 ] We don't want to wrap up these topics now, but hopefully continue them another time; however, with the exception of the next class period, which we still have left, we must stop here.

[ 27 ] After a short break, we will continue, focusing more on eurythmy.