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    The Building at Dornach

    Stages in Historical Development and a New Impulse in Art

    By Rudolf Steiner

    Translated by Dorothy S !smond "A #$%

    !n&line since' ()th *ebruary+ #,(-

    Five lectures given by Rudolf Steiner at Dornach in October of 1914. The lectures, translated byDorothy S. Osmond in 19!, are entitled, The Building in Dornach, and "ublished in #erman as,

    Der Dornacher Bau Als Wahrziechen Geschichtlichen Werdens und KuenstlerischerUmwandlungsimpulse .

    $e "resent them here %ith the &ind "ermission of the Rudolf Steiner 'achlassver%altung,

    Dornach, S%it(erland. From )n*#+ !-.

    This e.Tet edition is "rovided through the %onderful %or& of/

    .arious eTe/t Transcribers

    Some editions and*or translations of this

    boo& are available for "urchase from/

    Steiner 0erlag #erman2,

    or,

    search for related titles available for"urchase at+ma(on.com3

    Than0s to an anonymous donation+ this 1ecture Series has been made available

    2!NT3NTS

    over Sheet

    5ecture 6 !ctober (,+ (4(-

    5ecture 66 !ctober ($+ (4(-

    5ecture 666 !ctober (4+ (4(-

    5ecture 60 !ctober #-+ (4(-5ecture 0 !ctober #)+ (4(-

    Five lectures given by Rudolf Steiner during the erection of the First #oetheanum, October 17, 1!, 19, 4, 1914

    1ecture I

    October 10 1!1"

    Dornach

    6n the lectures %hich it has been my lot to deliver, 6 have often dra%n attention to an observation %hich might be made inreal life, and %hich sho%s the necessity of see&ing every%here below the sur#ace o# li#e$s appearances, instead of

    sto""ing at first im"ressions. 6t runs some%hat as follo%s. 8 + man is %al&ing along a river ban& and, %hile still some

    %ay off, is seen to "itch headlong into the %ater. $e a""roach and dra% him out of the stream, only to find him dead %e

    notice a boulder at the "oint %here he fell and conclude at first sight as a matter of course that he stumbled over the stone,

    fell into the river and %as dro%ned. This conclusion might easily be acce"ted and handed do%n to "osterity 8 but all the

    same it could be very %ide of the mar&. loser ins"ection might reveal that the man had been struc& by a heart:attac& at

    the very moment of his coming u" to the stone, and %as already dead %hen he fell into the %ater. 6f the first conclusion

    had "revailed and no one had made it his business to find out %hat actually occurred, a false ;udgment %ould have found

    its %ay into history 8 the a""arently logical conclusion that the man had met his death through falling into the %ater.

    onclusions of this &ind, im"lying to a greater or lesser degree a reversal of the truth, are

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    of attainment. Our aim is to "lay a vital "art in thegenesis o# a world%era a gro%th %hich may %ell be com"ared %ith the

    beginning of that era %hich s"rang from a still more ancient eistence of man&ind 8 let us say the time to %hich AomerBs

    e"ics refer. 6n fact, the entire configuration, artistic nature and s"iritual essence of our )uilding attem"ts something

    similar to %hat %as attem"ted during the ha""enings of that transitional "eriod from a former age to a later one, as

    recounted by Aomer. 6t is our %ish to learn from life, and, %hat is more, to learn the truthfrom life.

    There are so very many o""ortunities to learn from life, if %e %ee %illing. Aave %e not had such an o""ortunity even

    in the last day or t%oC +re %e not ;ustified in ma&ing a start %ith such sym"toms, "articularly %ith one that has so dee"ly

    moved usC onsider for a moment3 ='ote > On $ednesday evening last, many of our number either "assed by the

    crossroads or %ere in the neighbourhood, sa% the %agon overturned and lying there, came u" to the lecture and %ere

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    %hat remains of Scholasticism, of its thoughts, and try to reflect u"on, to re"roduce in yourself, %hat Dante, #iotto and

    Scholasticism severally created 8 you %ill get a truer "icture of that e"och than is to be had from a collection of eternal

    documents. Or someone may set himself the tas& of studying the rebellion of the ?rotestant s"irit of the 'orth or of Eid:

    Huro"e against the atholicism of the South. $hat can you not find in documents3 et it is not a

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    of that turning:"oint during the Aomeric age, much as %e ourselves ho"e and long for in the change from the materialistic

    to the anthro"oso"hical culture.

    $e &no% that in the first boo& of the 6liad %e are told of the contrast bet%een +gamemnon and +chilles/ the voices

    of these t%o in front of Troy are vividly "ortrayed. $e &no% further that the second boo& begins by telling us that the

    #ree&s feel they have stood before Troy

    Leus, then, sends the Dream do%n from Olym"us to +gamemnon. Ae gives the Dream a commission, The Dream

    descends to +gamemnon, a""roaching him in the guise of 'estor, %ho %e have ;ust learned, is one of the heroes in the

    cam" of the allies.

    6n his li&eness s"a&e to him the heavenly Dream/ JSlee"est thou, son of %ise +treus tamer of horsesC To slee" all

    night through beseemth not one that is a counsellor, to %hom "eo"les are entrusted and so many cares belong. )ut no%

    hear&en straight%ay to me, for 6 am a messenger to thee from Leus, %ho though he be afar yet hath great care for thee and

    "ity. Ae biddeth thee call to arms the flo%ing:haired +chaians %ith all s"eed, for that no% thou mayest ta&e the %ide:%ayed city of the Tro;ans. For the immortals that d%ell in the halls of Olym"us are no longer divided in counsel, since

    Aera hath turned the minds of all by her beseeching, and over the Tro;ans sorro%s hang by the %ill of Leus. )ut do thou

    &ee" this in thy heart, nor let forgetfulness come u"on thee %hen honeyed slee" shall leave thee.M G

    This, then, is %hat ta&es "lace. Leus, the "residing genius in the events, sends a Dream to +gamemnon in order that

    he should bestir himself to fresh action. The Dream a""ears in the li&eness of 'estor, a man %ho is one of the band of

    heroes among %hom +gamemnon is numbered. The figure of 'estor, %hose "hysical a""earance is %ell:&no%n to

    +gamemnon, confronts him and tells him in the Dream %hat he should do. $e are further told that +gamemnon

    convenes the elders before he calls an assembly of the "eo"le. +nd to the elders he recounts the Dream ;ust as it had

    a""eared to him/

    Aear&en, my friends. + dream from heaven came to me in my slee" through the ambrosial night, and chiefly to

    goodly 'estor %as very li&e in sha"e and bul& and stature. +nd it stood over my head and charged me saying/ JSlee"est

    thou, son of %ise +treus tamer of horsesCM G

    +treusB son then tells the elders %hat the Dream had said. 'one of the elders stands u" ece"ting 'estor alone, the

    real 'estor, %ho utters the %ords/2

    Ey friends, ca"tains and rulers of the +rgives, had any other of the +chaians told us this dream %e might deem it a

    false thing, and rather turn a%ay there from but no% he hath seen it %ho of all +chaians avo%eth himself far greatest. So

    come, let us call to arms as %e may the sons of the +chaians ...G

    Do %e not ga(e unfathomably dee" into AomerBs soul, %hen %e &no% 8 are able to &no%, to "erceive, by means ofs"iritual science 8 that he canrecount an e"isode of this &indC Aave %e not described ho% %hat %e e"erience in the

    s"iritual %orld clothes itself in "ictures, and ho% %e have first to interpretthe "ictures, ho% %e should not "ermit

    ourselves to be misled by themC Aomer s"o&e at a time %hen the "resent clairvoyance did not yet eist at a time, rather,

    %hen the old form of clairvoyance had ;ust been lost. +nd in +gamemnon he %anted to "ortray a man %ho is still able to

    ?age 4 of @-

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    e"erience the old atavistic clairvoyance in certain e"isodes of life. +s a military commander he is still led to his

    decisions through the old clairvoyance, through dreams. $e &no% %hat Aomer &no%s and believes and ho% he regards

    the men he %rites about and suddenly, in "ondering on %hat is described in this "assage, %e see that the human soul

    stands here at the turning:"oint of an era.

    et that is not all. $e do not only behold in +gamemnon, through Aomer, a human soul into %hich clairvoyance still

    "lays atavistically, nor do %e only recognise the "ertinent descri"tion of this clairvoyance but the %hole situation lies

    before us in a %onderfully magical light. Aomer is humorous enough to sho% us e"ressly that it is 'estor %ho a""eared

    to +gamemnon the same 'estor %ho is subse

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    %ho is ready to acce"t the first a""earances of things, %hich are only half real. Such a fact is easily uttered in this abstract

    form, but the soul is inclined over and over again to bac& a%ay from acce"ting the dee"er im"lications of %hat is said.

    6 believe many of those %ho have tried to enter into s"iritual science %ith all the means no% at their dis"osal %ill

    understand ho% in our )uilding, for eam"le, the attem"t has been made through the concord of the columns %ith their

    motifs and, %ith everything e"ressed in the forms, to enable the soul to gro% beyond %hat is immediately before it. For a

    rece"tive "erson, beginning to e"erience %hat lies in the forms of the )uilding, the form itself %ould immediately

    disa""ear, and, through the language o# the #orm, a %ay %ould o"en out into the s"iritual, into the %ide realms of s"ace.

    Then the )uilding %ould have achieved its end. )ut in order to find this %ay, much has still to be learnt from life.

    6s it not a remar&able arma for all of us, gathered here for the "ur"ose of our )uilding, to e"erience through a

    shattering event the relationshi" bet%een arma and a""arently eternal accidentC 6f %e call to our aid all the

    anthro"oso"hical endeavours no% at our dis"osal, %e can readily understand that human lives %hich are "rematurely torn

    a%ay 8 %hich have not undergone the cares and manifold coarsenings of life and "ass on still undisturbed 8 are forces

    %ithin the s"iritual %orld %hich have a relationshi" to the %hole of human life %hich are there in order to %or& u"on

    human life. 6 have often said that the earth is not merely a vale of %oe to %hich man is banished from the higher %orlds

    by %ay of "unishment. The earth is here as a training:ground for human souls. 6f, ho%ever, a life lasts but a short %hile, if

    it has but a short time of training, then forces are left over %hich %ould other%ise have been used u" in flo%ing do%n

    from the s"iritual %orld and maintaining the "hysical body. Through s"iritual science %e do not become convinced only

    of the eternality of the soul and of its ;ourney through the s"iritual %orld, but %e learn also to recognise %hat is

    "ermanent in the effect of a s"iritual force by means of %hich a man is torn from the "hysical body li&e the boy %ho %as

    torn from our midst on the "hysical "lane. +nd %e honour, %e celebrate, his "hysical de"arture in a %orthy manner if, in

    the manner indicated and in many other %ays, %e really learn, learn very much, from our recent e"erience, Through

    +nthro"oso"hy, one learns to feel and to "erceive from life itself.

    'otes/

    1. The First #oetheanum, later destroyed by fire.

    .&ote b' translator/ + seven:year old boy %as smothered by an overturned horse:dra%n removal van,

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    Fundamentally s"ea&ing, %hat has come about since the da%n of the Fourth ?ost:+tlantean e"och the #reco:5atin

    age2, and also %hat has develo"ed among the different "eo"les as the goal of their strivings, can be understood only if it is

    conceived as resting on the foundation of ancient clairvoyance.

    ertainly, much that is ne% has been achieved in the Fourth ?oet:+tlantean e"och of culture and in the "art of the

    Fifth that has already ela"sed. et in the root:im"ulses at %or& in these e"ochs 8 as can be clearly felt by one %ho is

    %illing to feel it 8 there still live elements that have come over from ancient times.

    6t is not so very easy to recognise on the surface of history this ancient heritage of human evolution. )ut if one is

    %illing to "enetrate into those forces %hich hold s%ay in human nature either more or less unconsciously, and reach intomore recent "hases of develo"ment, one "erceives every%here ho% the men of the Fourth and Fifth ?ost:+tlantean

    e"ochs bear, so to say, in their nerves and blood, elements that have come over from the First ?ost:+tlantean e"och

    ancient 6ndian culture2, from the Second ancient ?ersian culture2, from the Third Hgy"to:haldean:)abylonian culture2

    and on into our o%n times from #reco:5atin culture. The achievements of humanity in these "eriods of culture are less

    easy to trace in outer history, but in the characters of men, howmen inevitably 8 6 say, ine+itabl'8 thin& and feel, it can

    be "erceived and felt. The man of the Fifth e"och in %hich %e are living is so constituted that his nerves, blood and astral

    body contain %hat he has received as a heritage from ancient times. 6t lives %ithin him as feeling, as a fundamental

    im"ulse. Ae has received, in addition, im"ulses coming from higher %orlds.

    +s %e live in the age %hen the Hgo is develo"ing, %hen culture based on eternal reason is the vogue and eternal

    "hiloso"hy is authoritative %hat comes from above into the im"ulses of men in the "hysical %orld from the guidanceand leadershi" of the s"iritual %orld meets %ith little understanding. 6n order to &indle a feeling for the dynamic, let me

    indicate by a s&etch ho% the men of the Fifth ?ost:+tlantean e"och are "laced in the %hole evolutionary "rocess of

    man&ind. To indicate it in a fe% stro&es, %e can choose this motif one of the carved forms in the )uilding2, re"resenting

    a force that %or&s from belo% u"%ards, and illustrates as can be clearly felt 8 all those im"ulses %hich man bears in the

    blood in the nerves, in the etheric body, in the astral body, and %hich originates in the "receding e"ochs, actually in the

    First ?ost:+tlantean e"och of culture. = Figure 1 a2> +s an im"ulse coming do%n from above %e can indicate the force

    that %or&s do%n%ards from the s"iritual %orld into the intuition of the individual but %ith less "o%er than %hat man

    bears %ithin him from ancient times.

    Figure 1

    S"iritual:scientific investigation hel"s us to understand the conditions in %hich %e ourselves live. This investigation

    has sho%n ho% the different

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    elaborating the lo%er "art of the design = Figure a> and giving it a form that o"ens u"%ards li&e a flo%er, suggesting at

    the same time, in %hat comes do%n from above as s"iritual guidance, the &ind of ca"acity these "articular "eo"les, have

    for understanding that guidance. +ll this is connected %ith the "lastic forms on the columns of the )uilding.

    Figure

    These "eo"les still have little relation %ith %hat is e"ressed by this central "art of the design = Figure b>, but they

    ta&e over all the . There must be something %ithin the culture of

    these Southern "eo"les %hich re"resents an astrology a""lied to the soul 8 Hgy"to:haidean astrology a""lied entirely

    to the soul.

    ?age ! of @-

    http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA287/English/UNK1958/19141018p01.html#Fig02http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA287/English/UNK1958/19141018p01.html#Fig02http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA287/English/UNK1958/19141018p01.html#Fig02http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA287/English/UNK1958/19141018p01.html#Fig02http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA287/English/UNK1958/19141018p01.html#Fig03http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA287/English/UNK1958/19141018p01.html#Fig03http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA287/English/UNK1958/19141018p01.html#Fig03http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA287/English/UNK1958/19141018p01.html#Fig02http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA287/English/UNK1958/19141018p01.html#Fig02http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA287/English/UNK1958/19141018p01.html#Fig02http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA287/English/UNK1958/19141018p01.html#Fig03http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA287/English/UNK1958/19141018p01.html#Fig03
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    Figure @

    ou are naturally thin&ing of something that "rovides com"lete confirmation of %hat 6 have ;ust said. 6t is %hat Dante

    has "resented in the Divine omedyG. Dante is the s"irit %ho has re:a%a&ened the Hgy"to:haldean element in a ne%

    form 8 a""lied no% to the life of soul.

    6t %ill be easy for you to designate everything that relates to the basic im"ulses of ancient times as SaturnianG.

    The fundamental im"ulse of all connection bet%een the cultures of the Fifth ?ost:+tlantean "eriod and the ancient

    cultures, bears the Saturnian character. The Saturnian element %or&s its %ay u"%ards from the fundamental im"ulses ofthe human soul and receives from above the im"ulses that can s"ring from the culture arising from the 6ntellectual Soul

    and the Hgo.

    6t %ill also be easy for you to "erceive the im"ulse that is Sun:li&e in character = Figure >. 6 have indicated that this

    Sun:

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    S"anish and 6talian culture "asses over into French culture but in such a %ay that in the latter, #ree& culture

    undergoes a revival and rene%al. 6 do not thin& that a better design than this could be found to e"ress the gradual

    transition from S"anish into French culture. Hven the outer .

    +nyone %ho as&s %hether the results of s"iritual science are also demonstrated in eternal reality can easily find an

    ans%er if he %ill devote a little study to actual conditions. )ut it must be em"hasised that these things must be ;udged on

    the foundation of facts as they are, not on that of "re:conceived ideas.

    This has constantly to be stressed at the "resent time, because everybody %ants to "ass ;udgment on everythingignoring, of course, facts %hich can be understood only by dint of effort. )ut 6 advise anyone %ho %ants to gain insight

    into the very distinctive form in %hich the #ree& element flo%s into French culture, to study ho% the Oedi"us theme has

    found its %ay into French "oetry ho% So"hoclesB Oedi"us lives again in the Oedi"us of orneille and also in that of

    0oltaire. $hat 6 have ;ust said can be confirmed do%n to the very details. 6t can be clearly discerned in these "articular

    eam"les, although many could be

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    modern French culture 8 it %ould be foolish to assert that the "articular "erfection to be found in EoliQre has ever again

    been reached. 6n a different s"here there has been e.

    Figure 4

    6f at this "oint %e ma&e a brea& and refer to %hat %as said in my lecture:course on the Fol& Souls about the Huro"ean

    Fol& Souls, of the Fifth ?ost:+tlantean e"och, %e can as& other

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    ornelius and Overbec&, and on into our o%n time, %e find evidence of the echange bet%een the Hgo culture and the

    Sentient Soul culture.

    $hat goes on bet%een Eiddle Huro"e and 6taly is an image of the relation bet%een the Hgo and the Sentient Soul of

    man. 6n every detail the outer course of evolution "rovides confirmation %hen %e study it in the light of the indications

    resulting from s"iritual:scientific research.

    'o% let us consider the relation bet%een the Hgo:nature in the soul and the 6ntellectual Soul. There too %e must

    e"ect that %hat sho%s itself in%ardly in human nature bet%een the Hgo and the 6ntellectual Soul %ill also ma&e its

    a""earance in eternal life. The nature of the relation bet%een the Hgo and the Sentient Soul is such that the Hgo divesdo%n uncritically, as it %ere into the Sentient Soul, lets itself be fructified by the Sentient Soul culture. 6ntellectual Soul

    culture

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    of the %orld, into their organic structure and mechanism, in order to be able to re:create them from %ithin out%ards, so

    that they stand there as if created by 'ature herself. $e find there a culture of &een observation, "enetration into the

    nature of beings and things %hich are then described from the stand"oint of the s"ectator or onloo&er. $hat does this

    culture "roduce %hen it is really greatC

    One need mention one name only 8 that of Sha&es"eare. Ae is great and unsur"assable as a s"ectator, an observer of

    the %orld. Sha&es"eareBs creations %ould be unthin&able in any earlier or subee

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    inactive, but full of vigour, and can be understood only %hen efforts are made to "romote mutual understanding of the

    essential

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    the ?ost:+tlantean e"och. 6 say Eiddle:Huro"ean e"ressly. The reason for this %ill emerge from the sub;ect:matter

    itself.

    6n this Eiddle:Huro"ean culture the most varied national elements have for centuries been gathered together, ma&ing

    it im"ossible to s"ea& of a nationalG culture in the same sense as in the case of the cultures of the Southern and $estern

    "eo"les of Huro"e.

    6n considering this Eiddle:Huro"ean culture %e must bear in mind at the outset that at the "resent time it is to all

    a""earances com"osed of the "eo"le of t%o State:organisations. Remember, "lease, that in these lectures 6 am not

    s"ea&ing s"ecifically of States but of cultures, and am saying here that the Eiddle:Huro"ean culture is com"osed of t%oState:organisations 8 the #erman Hm"ire and +ustria.

    6n the case of +ustria %e see immediately that it %ould be absurd to s"ea& of a national State, for in +ustria there is

    an agglomeration of national cultures of the most varied &inds. This has been brought about by history, and +ustrian life

    really consists in the inter"lay of these national cultures.

    Aistory is also res"onsible for the fact that the culture of the #erman Hm"ire a""ears today in a certain unified form.

    5et us en

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    +nd then there is FaustBs ascent into the s"iritual %orld at the end of ?art 66. Through #oethe, Faust becomes a

    Eessenger of the gods 8 if 6 may "ut it so. There can be no more gra"hic e"ression of this than the caduceusG 8 the

    staff of Eercury.

    )ut in still another %ay this #erman element can best be described by saying that its members are messengersG. The

    messenger of the S"irit %as Eercury. 6t is only necessary to consider %hat has ha""ened, and %e shall find that to be a

    bearer of the message of culture lies in the dee" foundations of the character of the #erman "eo"le.

    )y %ay of illustration 6 %ill

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    "erceived. #oethe believed that he had ac

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    The configuration assumed by the Eiddle:Huro"ean States does not really originate from these States themselves but

    has been determined from outside. 6 %ill s"ea& of +ustria first. $hen 6 %as young, numbers of "eo"le there %ere

    constantly saying that this agglomeration of "eo"les %hich constituted +ustria must soon dissolve, that it %as ready for

    dissolution. Those %ho understood something about %orld:evolution did not hold this vie%, because they &ne% that

    +ustria %as not held together from %ithin but from outside. This can be demonstrated in all details by history.

    6f one %ere to s"ea&

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    %hat is contained in the forms of our columns and architraves, let them contem"late the curves and forme, and they %ill

    understand the s"iritual relationshi"s bet%een the several nations. 'ot a single motif is accidental. $hen you loo& at a

    motif, %hen you see ho% it "asses over from the third "illar to the fifth, you have there an e"ression of the relationshi"

    bet%een the "eo"les corres"onding to the t%o columns. From these architraves you can envisage the inner configuration

    of the soul:life of the "eo"les.

    ou enter the )uilding by the $est door, and as you move to%ards the Hast you can feel %hat ma&es man truly man,

    in that he gathers into his soul %hat is good and admirable in each of the "articular cultures 8 and then, as %e ho"e, it

    %ill all sound together in harmony in the second, smaller "art of the )uilding under the small cu"ola. Those %ho o"en

    their hearts to the )uilding %ill find the %ay out of tie "revailing obscurity those %ho do not, %ill be s%e"t along in it.

    +s %e go to%ards the Hast, this net motif lin&s on to the last see "ages 1 and 112. 6t is evident that this ne% form

    has arisen out of the foregoing Staff of Eercury3 %hereas in the latter the ser"ent:motif s"reads hor;(onally into the

    %orld, here the main motif "oints u"%ards and for&s do%n%ards, receiving %hat comes from above li&e a blossum

    o"ening do%n%ards.

    6n this, %hich is the Iu"iter motif as the former %as the Eercury motif, the Hast of Huro"e is e"ressed. $ith its

    ta"ering slenderness this motif suggests folded hands stretching u"%ards to %hat comes from above, and gliding by their

    side that %ith %hich earthly man has to connect himself as it comes do%n from above li&e a flo%er.

    6t is not at all easy for the Huro"ean to understand this motif and %hat lies behind it, because it is connected muchmore %ith the future than %ith the "resent. On account of the character of modern language it is etremely difficult to find

    %ords to characterise %hat lies behind this motif. For once s"o&en, the %ords %ould immediately have to signify

    something different, if they %ere to be really e"ressive. One cannot s"ea& of the Russian element in the same %ay as one

    can s"ea& of the Hnglish, French and 6talian elements. $e have already seen that %e cannot s"ea& of a nationalG element

    in the case of Eiddle:Huro"ean culture in the same sense as in the case of the cultures of $estern Huro"e still less can

    %e s"ea& of the Russian element in this sense. For does Russia "resent a "icture similar to that "resented by the Hnglish,

    French or 6talian "eo"lesC Eost, certainly it does not3 There is something in the Russian nature that is li&e a

    transformation of $estern Huro"e, but a transformation into something totally different.

    6n the $est of Huro"e %e see national cultures %hose fundamental character can be discerned by dee"ening our

    &no%ledge of the culture actually eisting there. 6n the #erman nature %e find a state of incom"leteness, a striving after

    something that is not "resent, but is there as an ideal only. )ut this striving after the ideal lives in the blood, in the astralbody and the etheric body of the man of Eiddle Huro"e. 5oo&ing over to the Hast %e see a magnificently finished

    "hiloso"hy of religion, a culture that is eminently a religious culture. )ut can it be called RussianGC 6t %ould be absurd

    to call it Russian, even though the Russians themselves do so, for it is the culture that came over to them from ancient

    )y(antium it is a continuation of %hat originated there.

    'aturally, %hat lives in the Sentient Soul comes from the Sentient Soul %hat lives in the 6ntellectual Soul comes

    from the 6ntellectual Soul %hat lives in the onsciousness Soul comes from the onsciousness Soul and %hat lives in

    the Hgo, even though it is in flo%, in a "er"etual state of becoming, "roceeds from the Hgo. )ut %hat comes from the

    S"irit Self is something that descends out of the S"irit into the Sentient Soul, the 6ntellectual Soul and the onsciousness

    Soul.

    The S"irit Self comes do%n from above to%ards Sentient Soul, 6ntellectual Soul, onsciousness Soul and Hgo. This

    S"irit Self must announce itself through the fact that something foreign hovers do%n, as it %ere, u"on the national culture.

    So %e see that, fundamentally, everything it has hitherto e"erienced as its culture is foreign to tbe Russian soul, and has

    been foreign over since the time %hen the #reco:)y(antine culture %as received, u" to the eternal institutions that %ere

    im"orted from outside by ?eter the #reat. So %e see bo% through the S"irit Self there daecends the force %hich strives

    do%n to the soul:forces but the S"irit Self %ill be able to give effect to its true force, its true character, only in the future.

    The Russian soul has, ho%ever, to ma&e "re"aration for the rece"tion of the S"irit Self.

    uite obviously %hat has reached the Russian soul from foreign elements is not the S"irit Self that %ill come in the

    future. )ut ;ust as the )y(antine influence, Hastern hristianity, $estern culture, have descended u"on Russian souls, so,

    one day, the S"irit Self %ill descend. +t the "resent time there is nothing more than "re"aration for it, nothing more than

    an inclination to%ards receiving it.

    Ham"les can be given to illustrate everything for %hich S"iritual Science gives guiding:lines. Aere is an eam"le

    lying close at hand. 8 6 have often s"o&en of the greatness of the "hiloso"her Solovieff. Ais greatness %as first revealed

    ?age 19 of @-

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    to me through s"iritual observation, for 6 &no% that he is even greater, has effected even greater things, since his death in

    1977 than he had effected before his death.

    )ut let us consider the facts you can convince yourselves from SolovieffBs o%n %ritings. Eany of them have been

    translated. There are the translations by 'ina Aoffmann, by euchel, and no% the ecellent translation by Frau von

    0acano, Die geistigen #rundlagen des 5ebensG.

    6f a man of Eiddle Huro"e stee"s himself in the %or&s of Solovieff, he can have a remar&able e"erience 8

    es"ecially since the latest translation has become available. 6t is etraordinarily interesting. One %ho is really conversant

    %ith $estern and Eiddle:Huro"ean "hiloso"hy %ill as& himself at first/ 6s there anything ne% in SolovieffC 6f %ecom"are Solovieff %ith $estern "hiloso"hy, %e shall find not a single ne% thought as far as the actual tet is concerned

    there is nothing, absolutely nothing, not even in a turn of "hrase, that could not e

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    together are it3 That is something

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    themselves ado"t a one:sidedly nationalistic stand"oint, they %ill certainly not be able to do %hat is right in the

    anthro"oso"hical sense.

    The reason %hy )lavats&yBs Theoso"hy %ent astray %as that from the outset the interests of one "ortion of humanity

    8 not the Hnglish, but the 6ndian 8 %ere "laced above the interests of man&ind as a %hole. +nd it is true in the dee"est

    sense that only that leads to genuine occult truth %hich at all times "laces the interests of humanity as a %hole above

    those of a "ortion of humanity 8 but does so earnestly, %ith the most earnest, dee"est feelings. Occult truth is clouded

    over the very moment the interests of one "art of humanity are made to override the interests of the %hole. Difficult as

    this may be at a time li&e our o%n, nevertheless it must be striven for by those %ho in the true sense of the %ord call

    themselves anthro"oso"hists.

    1ecture -

    October ."th 1!1"

    Dornach

    6n the last t%o lectures an endeavour %as made to inter"ret the se

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    Really, everything is contained in these motifs of the ca"itals. 'o% that the "rinci"le has been e"lained, it might be

    very interesting to study for eam"le, ho% it a""lies to the civilisations of Aolland, S%it(erland, and so forth. )ut 6 leave

    that to your o%n occult studies.

    So you see, %hen %e s"ea& of our )uilding %e are truly not s"ea&ing of anything arbitrary, of anything %hose forms

    and other artistic content have arisen in such a %ay that one can remain stationary at these forms and thin& of them as one

    is obliged to thin& of the forms of "ainting motifs "roduced at the "resent time. +s 6 have already said, everything %e

    have absorbed of S"iritual Science in the course of the years, and a great deal more besides, is e"ressed in this )uilding

    8 but the a""eal is to "erce"tive feelng, not to theoretial, intellectual cogitation. 6t %ould therefore be "ossible to s"ea&

    about this )uilding %ithout ever finishing. )ut again 6 leave it to your o%n hearts to elaborate the indications 6 have givenyou. For the aim of the )uilding is to bring hearts and souls into mo+ement%hen, in contem"lating the forms and their

    relationshi"s, "eo"le do not inter"ret them intellectually or symbolically but allo% the heart and mind and soul to s"ea&

    %hen they are inside and outside the )uilding.

    $hat 6 no% have to say can be e"lained by ta&ing a "articular motif of four columns embraced above by a cu"ola or

    dome. To regard any such motif as com"letely self:contained %ould be to ta&e too constricted a vie%. 'othing in the

    %orld is com"letely self:contained 8 not a blossom, not an animal, not a human being. 'either, then, is a motif such as

    this, for "art of its very essence is that forces are "resent entirely a"art from the geometrical as"ects. There are four

    columns embraced sho%s by a dome. )ut this geometrical as"ect is only "art of the %hole. $hat belongs to the motif in

    addition is a set of forces %hich inhere in the %hole structure of the universe and enable the columns to su""ort the dome.

    The dome rests on the columns, the columns stand on the earth the force of gravity comes into "lay.

    6f %e really feel this motif, %e do not feel the geometricalas"ect only, but also the other, %hich 6 have often called

    the d'namicelement, or element of force 8 the insertion into the configuration of forces of the %hole universe, more

    "articularly of the earth.

    This motif, then, has the "eculiarity 7f being symmetrical at every "oint in its circumference. 6t is symmetrical in

    every direction of s"ace, as far at least as the dome is concerned. So %e can say/ On the body of the earth there is a motif

    %hich stretches heaven%ards and at its "eri"hery is symmetrical.

    The im"ortant thing is to have an artistic feeling for such a motif. 6f %e try to feel this motif in the right %ay 8 it is

    of course a matter of really sin&ing oneself in the character of the forms themselves 8 %e shall come to realise/ This

    motif, %hich rises u"%ards from the earth and in its u""er "art at least is symmetrical in every direction, seems to im"el

    us to go do%n into ourselves, to e"erience our feeling in%ardly.

    6f you %ant to ma&e "rogress in occultism it is essential to abandon the one:sidedness of an abstract, intellectual

    a""roach, and to ado"t an a""roach %hich originates in actual e"erience. For this reason many things must be e"ressed,

    not in terms of the intellect, but in terms of e"erience.

    6t is "articularly difficult for the man of the "resent day to acce"t forms of e"erience in the same %ay that he acce"ts

    forms of the intellect. 6 %ill tell you %hat 6 mean by a form of e"erience. 6 can do no more than indicate, but everyone

    can understand it %ho ma&es the effort to go through it as an actual e"erience of his o%n. Ao% can one develo" a feelingfor such a motif and %hat it e"ressesC This can be done in the follo%ing %ay. 8 6n the morning, on getting out of bed to

    set about the dayBs %or&, you can say to yourself consciously/ 6 have no% "assed from the lying "osition into the "osition

    of standing or %al&ing.G

    ?age 4 of @-

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    That is an actual e"erience 8 one of %hich fe% "eo"le ma&e themselves conscious, but it is an e"erience to "ass

    from the lying "osition into that of standing and %al&ing. $hen one is lying do%n, the force of gravity %or&s u"on one as

    it does u"on a sac&, let us say a sac& of flour. The force of gravity also %or&s in a dee"er sense, for %hen you are lying

    do%n you al%ays lie on some area of the body and this area "resses u"on %hat is underneath. So "ressure is al%ays being

    eercised u"on the area of the body on %hich you are lying. True, you are not a%are of this "ressure in the ordinary %ay,

    but for all that, it is there it is connected %ith your sentient e"erience of the force of gravity and it %or&s into your astral

    body.

    $hen a man begins to be conscious of this "ressure:e"erience, he becomes a%are at the same time of the elemental

    s"irits of the earth. 6t is here that he is very %ell able to be a%are of them, for %hen he is standing or %al&ing the onlyarea of "ressure is that of the soles of the feet.

    $hen you stand u" after having been lying do%n, you leave the s"here of the "ressure you assert yourself against the

    force of gravity you insert the ais of your o%n body into the field of gravity, no longer resigning yourself to it li&e a

    sac& of flour you enter actively into the s"here of gravity. That is an actual e"erience different in character from some

    thought:e"erience of the brain %hich thin&s in abstractions.

    6n the lectures 6 gave on Occult Reading and AearingG 6 s"o&e of three brains. +s soon as a man begins to

    e"erience things %ith his middle brain, he e"eriences them in a living %ay feeling begins to be a middle brain

    e"erience.

    0ery %ell, then, %hen %e have made ourselves conscious of the e"erience of standing u", %e have the e"erience of

    Feeling the $orld, and %e &no% for the first time %hat feeling really is. This can be acieved in many other %ays too, but

    %e do really begin to realise %hat feeling is %hen %e ma&e the act of standing u" a conscious e"erience.

    6f it is brought to consciousness in the real sense this e"erience %ill lead us to understand the form here see

    diagram2. $e say to ourselves/ This form differs from %hat 6 myself am, in that it cannot stand u" but must remain

    al%ays in the lying "osition. To achieve my e"erience it %ould have to turn through 97U into the vertical "lane. This

    dome stretches heaven%ards. $hen man standing u"right, has a feeling of the %orld, this u"%ard stretching im"ulse

    %or&s es"ecially through his hands. +nd if he %ere to lie do%n and %ere able to feel %hat is above him, he %ould feel

    %ith hie hands something of the nature of a cu"ola arching over him. $hat comes to e"ression in this architectural motif

    is contained in thesphere o# #eeling.

    6f man %ere able to lie bound to the earth, reaching out s"iritually into the universe %ith his hands, he %ould feel the

    s"iritual %orld above him as though he %ere insidea great dome, symmetrical in every direction.

    6n a certain res"ect the #ree&s had a similar e"e"ice. #ree& culture, %hich s"rang "rimarily from the 6ntellectual

    Soul, %as, in one of it as"ects, a, culture born from a "eaceful union bet%een man and the earth %hile "eacefully united

    %ith the earth, man felt the heavens above him. 8 There may a""ear to be a contradiction here, but %hen %e are, finding

    our %ay into occultism such a""arent contradictions must be faced and understood.

    $e in our age have not the im"ulses that %ere at %or& in the inner life of the #ree&s, nor have %e %ithin us %hat is

    no% for the first time beginning in the evolution of humanity and is to come to e"ression in our )uilding.

    ?age of @-

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    + man %ho rises out of reposemust not merely ma&e the transition into the standing "osition, but he must also begin

    to move, to go #orward. +s %ell as the s"here of feeling he must come to &no% the sphere o# will. This can be e"ressed

    in art only by transfoming %hat %as symmetrical on all sides the dome2 into something that is symmetrical about a single

    ais only. $e can therefore say that %hen the dome:motif is transformed into a motif that has only one ais of symmetry,

    %e have e"ressed in the )uilding not only %hat is e"erienced by the man %ho "asses from re"ose into the s"here of

    feeling, but also by the man %ho "asees from feeling into %illing, into progression going #orwards. The motif of %ill is a

    motif that leads on%ard. Aence the e"erience of one %ho is loo&ing at the architaves and ca"itals must also lead him

    on%ards it must be an e"erience of "rogression. This %as indicated in the t%o foregoing lectures.

    'o% the %ill is the s"here in manBs being that is connected %ith subconscious e"eriences. 6t is that element %hich, in

    the case of man as he is at "resent, is for the most "art directed by the gods. 'aturally, then, by 5ucifer and +hriman as

    %ell. Aence there can also be evil %ill. 'evertheless, the %ill is borne on%ards by the gods, and only in the rarest of cases

    is man able to &no% %hat goes on in his %ill. $hat a man e"resses

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    6s not our %hole mental hori(on %idened by these thoughtsC +nd is not S"iritual Science a means of attaining this

    %ider mental hori(onC Only thin& of all that could be done to enable men of every cultural community to ac

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    6t is a "eculiarity of man that he can s"ea& but by no means al%ays gives e"ression to thoughts %hat seems to be

    thought in %hat he says is often maya 8 nothing more than an unburdening of the s"heres of his %ill or feeling. To thin&

    in the real sense is something different, something more. Des"ite the fact that it is manBs "rivilege to have thought:

    im"ulses, it is nevertheless one of the most difficult things to fill these im"ulses %ith real thoughts. +lthough it suffices

    for daily intercourse, if one desires to have ade

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    Ao% often, %hen %e are trying to describe the secrets of manes nature, do %e not have to consider $illing, Feeling

    and Thin&ingC $e have "ortrayed them in our )uilding and there, ;ust as in manBs o%n nature, %illing, feeling and

    thin&ing are mysteriously lin&ed %ith one another. 6f %e go from $est to Hast in this )uilding, %e are moving as the

    $ill:s"here of man moves if %e direct our ga(e from belo% u"%ards in contem"lating the forms of the columns and

    architraves, %e sin& do%n into the Feeling:s"here of human nature if in %hat arches over the )uilding in the "ainting of

    the domes %e study %hat %e e"erience inside the )uilding, then %e are studying the secrets of the s"here of human

    Thin&ing.

    6n a "roduction such as this )uilding, everything corres"onds to a certain inner necessity, everything comes into

    being as it inevitably must. +nd that is "art of the significance of a )uilding of this &ind.

    $hat ma&es us realise that some 6magination, 6ns"iration or 6ntuition contains ob;ective realityC $e realise it through

    the fact that %hen %e have the 6magination, the 6ns"iration or the 6ntuition, %e have the actual e"erience that it is not

    something that has arisen out of ourselves but has its "lace %ithin the harmony of the %hole osmos. From no% on%ards

    into the future, humanity must have a conce"t of art %hich has as its essential characteristic %hat is felt to be inner

    necessit'. $e must feel that a truly artistic creation is not due to ourselves but that the gods create it through us, because

    it is their %ill that it shall be in the %orld.

    $e may %ell be convinced that the real "rogress of 7f human nature %ill de"end u"on such feelings and ideas

    gaining %ider and %ider recognition and ta&ing the "lace of those that are current today.

    $hat 6 mean by saying this, is that everyone %ho is %or&ing on this )uilding or is in any %ay connected %ith it,

    should feel above all that it is his business to com"are %hat is aimed at here, %hat is e"ressed by and in this )uilding,

    %ith %hat is dominant in the %orld today.

    Such a com"arison can give rise to the fervent

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    These are things %hich can be e"ressed only by analogies such as 6 have no% "ut into %ords. ou can feel

    something of %hat is meant 8 and more is meant than seems, to be contained, in these analogies 8 if you "enetrate a

    little into the gist of these %ords.

    Eay you feel all that 6 have meant to convey in todayBs lecture and in these concluding %ords.

    1ecture )

    October ./th 1!1"Dornach

    $e s"o&e yesterday of the %ay in %hich the im"ulses of $ill, Feeling and Thin&ing in man are brought to e"ression

    in our )uilding.

    6t %ill be a""arent to you from many things that have been said here recently that the art in our )uilding must contain

    a ne% element that has not hitherto eisted in the evolution of art but is essential for the further "rogress of humanity.

    +dmittedly it %ill be difficult from a "urely eternal "oint of vie% to understand the real aim of this )uilding. +

    "erson may say to himself/ 6 really can ma&e nothing of it 8 and according to the standard of %hat he has hitherto

    regarded as artistic he %ill naturally have criticism to ma&e. )ut remember, any ne% im"ulse in human evolution has

    al%ays been criticised %hen it is ;udged according to the standards of the "ast.

    6t %ill hel" us to understand the "oint here if %e try to find a formula to e"ress %hat is entailed by this rene%al of the

    "rinci"le of art through the anthro"oso"hical conce"tion of the %orld. $hen %e revie% the develo"ment of art, %e can

    thin& of the architectural forms "roduced by man&ind, either in the original Hgy"tian, #ree& or #othic architecture, or

    %hat re"resents the rene%al in a later age of %hat %as there in an earlier one 8 6 mean the Renaissance. $e can also

    thin& of scul"ture, "ainting, and so forth.

    6f %e com"are the effect made u"on us by the essential character of these arts %ith %hat is aimed at in our )uilding,

    %e can say Hverything that has been brought into being hitherto is li&e something in re"ose %hich, for us, has been

    %a&ened to life. ?icture a human being in some fied "osition. Somebody comes along and s"ea&s to him : and he begins

    to %al&, to move3 This might %ell a""ly to the evolution of art u" to our o%n day. $e can regard it as something inre"ose, to %hich %e %ould fain s"ea& the magic %ord %hich rouses it into inner life and activity, into mo+ement.

    This is %hat %e %ant to achieve, because it is demanded by the im"ulses of transition %hich are at %or& in our time

    and call u"on us to find a ne% im"ulse for the future evolution of humanity.

    To ta&e an eam"le, let us thin& of a beautiful #ree& building. 6ts essential character consists in the symmetrical

    structures %hich mutually bear and su""ort each other, ;ust as the limbs of a human being standing immobile bear and

    su""ort each other 8 but everything is at rest.

    om"are this %ith %hat %e have aimed at in our )uilding. 6n time, of course, everything %ill develo", for %e have

    been able to ma&e only very "rimitive beginnings %ith the means and hel" available to us, 6n the )uilding %e have

    movement from $est to Hast %e have motifs %hich gro%, as it %ere, from the sim"le forms to be seen in the $est in the

    ca"itals and architraves into greater com"lication, and then become more in%ard and sim"ler again to%ards the small

    cu"ola. $hat %as formerly a merely inorganic "rinci"le of symmetry has been brought into movement. $hat formerly

    %as at rest is no% in movement. This %ill have to come to e"ression in thepainting8 as far as it is "ossible in our age

    to achieve %hat must be the goal.

    6n "ainting there are t%o "oles. The one "ole is that of dra%ing, the other that of colour, Fundamentally s"ea&ing,

    there are these t%o "oles in all "ainting. 'o% a "erson may be a %onderful draftsman 8 that is to say, he may have the

    gift of re"roducing in the lines he dra%s the inner form:

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    )ut %e shall never be able to avoid feeling that dra%ing in itself is nothing more than a substitute for %hat 'ature can

    achieve. $hatever %e may be ca"able of e"ressing through dra%ing, %e can never "roduce anything that sur"asses

    'ature %e cannot even e

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    )ut the %orld of colour must first be liberated from the conditions im"osed u"on it on the "hysical "lane the creative

    "o%er of colour must be sought and found.

    6f "ainting is to be an organic "art of our )uilding, it must be born out of this im"ulse the attem"t must be made to

    "ortray in colour something that is not to be found on the "hysical "lane, %here everything coloured 8 %ith the

    ece"tion of the rainbo% and similar "henomena 8 is attached to ob;ects. 6t must be "ossible to live in the colour blue,

    for instance, %ith oneBs %hole soul, as if the rest of the %orld sim"ly %ere not there the soul must feel itself flo%ing out

    into the blue %hich fills the %hole %orld.

    )ut if %e really "enetrate into the surging %orld of colour, the result %ill be that %e shall not sim"ly brush on tints,for %e then discover the creati+e powerof colour %e shall also find inner differentiation in colour. $e shall find that

    blue has something about it that dra%s and attracts the soul, something in %hich our soul %ould li&e to lose itself, longing

    and yearning for it %ithout end. $e shall also find that forms arise out of the colour blue itself, forms %hich bring the

    secrets and the very soul of the universe to e"ression. From the creative "o%er of colour a %orld %ill come into being, a

    %orld that has form, inner differentiation.orm will be born out o# the colour itsel#. $e shall feel that %e are not only

    living in the colour, but that the colour itself gives birth to the form 8 in other %ords, the form is created by the colour.

    6n this %ay %e shall find our %ay, through colour, into the creative forces of the %orld. Only so can %e succeed in

    "ainting in such a %ay that %hat %e "aint is not merely a covering of surfaces, but leads out into the %hole osmos,

    "artici"ating in the life of the %hole osmos. Reference %as made yesterday to %hat the "aintings in the t%o cu"olas

    must re"resent the im"ulses of 5emurian, +tlantean and our o%n life, as %ell as the im"ulses at %or& in the cultures ofancient 6ndia, ancient ?ersia, Hgy"t and haldea, #reece and Rome. 6n this %ay, the sub;ects %ill be in%ardly understood

    and this inner understanding of colour, %hich, as it "asses over into the actual "ainting, simultaneously becomes an

    understanding of form, %ill reveal to us %hat is actively at %or& in the evolution of humanity.

    + revie% of "ainting in the "ast %ill sho% that the tendency of this art has been to %or& %ith colour attached to

    ob;ects on the "hysical "lane. )ut colour must be freed from ob;ects if the "aintings in our cu"olas are to achieve their

    aim.

    $hat is essential, therefore, is that the im"ulse of "ainting shall be dee"ened and

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    unconsciously in his life of %ill, "asses from incarnation to incarnation, born in one incarnation in this "eo"le, in another

    incarnation in that.

    Iust as this %ill:im"ulse in man can be e"erienced in the "rogression of the )uilding from $est to HastC in the

    successive motifs of the columns, ca"itals, and architraves, so can the element of feeling be e"erienced in %hat unfolds

    in the direction from belo% u"%ards 8 but it must be an actual e"erience. +nd the element of thought, %hen thin&ing is

    not merely abstract, cold, "rosaic, but is

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    + time is conceivable in a far distant future 8 for the occultist more than conceivable 8 %hen everything that %e

    carry around %ith us as history since the #ree& age %ill lie at rest %e %ill not s"ea& of %here it %ill be resting2 8 a time

    is conceivable %hen the tide of the "eo"les %ill have rolled across +sia over the Huro"e and +merica, and %hen men %ill

    &no% as little on the "hysical "lane of all that %e no% recount and e"erience as Huro"ean history as %e today &no% of

    %hat ha""ened in Huro"e four to si thousand years ago. $e can loo& to%ards a time %hen this tide of the "eo"les %ill

    have rolled across +sia, a time %hen a

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    time 8 as in the case of #oetheBs Faust %ho descends to the Eothers 8 an actual ascentinto the s"iritual %orld 8

    naturally into the s"iritual %orld of the good S"irits.

    )ut %hen man raises himself into the s"iritual %orld, a &ind of conclusion %ill eventually be reached. 6 say

    conclusionG. 5et us gras" %hat this %ord really im"lies. The idea of evolution "revailing today is that it is li&e a barrel

    that begins to roll and goes on rolling and rolling forever 8 it is also imagined that there %as never any beginning to this

    "rocess, that it has al%ays been going on. ?eo"le %ho tal& about evolution today almost invariably imagine that there has

    al%ays been evolution, that everything has al%ays been evolving, that it has al%ays been so3 )ut in reality this is not the

    case. 6t is nothing but a bad habit of the mind, a slovenly &ind of thin&ing, to conceive of evolution as having no limits

    either in the "ast or in the future. The geogra"hical, "hysical evolution of the earth also means evolution for every race,every "eo"le, es, but that certainly has an ending, a conclusion, at some time or other3

    $hen everything has been discovered, there is an ending. $e shall not be able to say then/ 'o% %e %ill e

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    im"ortant im"ulse %as given. )ut. %hat is thought out in the head is in reality as remote from men as is their &no%ledge

    of the Saturn:, Sun: and Eoon: evolutions,

    +lthough there are often "rofound truths in many sayings current in everyday life, there is one very common "hrase

    %hich should not be believed. One often hears it said 6 have a mind #erman, headG2 of my o%n.G That is an error. 'o

    one has a mind or headG2 of his o%n his head belongs to the osmos3 6f someone %ere to say/ 6 have a heartof my

    o%nG, he %ould be tal&ing sense. )ut he tal&s nonsense %hen he s"ea&s of having a head or a mindG of his o%n.

    Een %ill have to begin to develo" thoughts %hich are e"eriences in the %ay 6 described yesterday in s"ea&ing of the

    inner e"erience of rising from the recumbent into the standing "osition. $e e"erience this too, merely %ith the head. 6nreality a stu"endous "rocess ta&es "lace in us %hen %e raise ourselves out of the recumbent "osition in %hich %e lie

    "arallel %ith the surface of the earth, and "lace ourselves into the direction of the earthBs radius 8 but %e e"erience it in

    an utterly abstract %ay. This change of direction from the cross:beam of the cross to the vertical beam 8 %hen this

    becomes a real e"erience it is a stu"endous. "rocess, a cosmic "rocess it is the 2osmic 2ross.

    This ha""ens every day. )ut %e do not by any means thin& every day about the fact that through the act of standing

    u" end lying do%n, this ross is inscribed into very life.

    6t is a far cry for man from this abstract "rocess of standing u" and lying do%n, from this assum"tion of the form of

    the ross, t7 the conce"tion that can be e"ressed by saying/ 6f man %ere not so constituted on the earth that he lies do%n

    and again stands u", the Eystery of #olgotha %ould not have been necessary.

    6f someone utters the sound ) 8 as for eam"le in the %ord )uilding 8 and ado"ts the sign ) for this sound, then

    the sign signifies the sound ). 6f someone as&s for a sign to e"ress the fact that the Eystery of #olgotha %as necessary

    for earth:evolution, then it is to be found in the ross, %hich embodies the acts of lying do%n and standing u". )ecause

    man is so constituted on the earth that he lies do%n and stands u", the Eystery of #olgotha had to ta&e "lace.

    This %ill be &no%n %hen men begin to thin& %ith the second brain 8 not %ith the head:brainG but %ith a second

    brain to %hich 6 referred in the lectures on Occult Reading and AearingG %hen 6 said/ The lobes of the brain must be

    regarded as arms held in a fied "osition. 6f your arms and hands gre% to your sides, you %ould thin& in such a %ay that

    there %ould be no "ossibility of doubting that this ross is the a""ro"riate sign for the Eystery of #olgotha. 6t is only the

    head:brain that is baffled by this &ind of thin&ing. )ut it is also the head:brain that creates the soil for the many

    misunderstandings "revailing in the %orld. The reason %hy so many misunderstandings arise is because the head:brain

    alone is active and creative today. )ut the second brain must also become creative, creative to such a degree thatsomething indicated figuratively a little %hile ago, is fulfilled. 6 said that the #ree&s did not &no% of +merica. )ut %hen

    %e go bac& to other ancient traditions, %e find that there %ere times %hen the eistence of +merica %as indeed &no%n.

    )ut then this &no%ledge %as lost. There %ere also times %hen that %hich S"iritual Science is striving again to ac

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    am not referring to anything li&e Hs"eranto, for that is an artificial, inorganic invention. The s"eech of the future %ill

    come into being %hen man learns to live in sound itself, ;ust as he can learn to live in colour.

    $hen he learns to live in sound, then the sound itself gives birth to the configuration, so that it becomes "ossible once

    again to create s"eech or language out of actual s"iritual e"erience. $e stand only at the very beginning of many things

    in S"iritual Science but as yet not even at the beginning of %hat has here been indicated. $e must, ho%ever, &ee" it in

    our minds in order to realise the im"ortance of S"iritual Science and to be a%are that S"iritual Science bears %ithin it a

    new 3nowledge a new art and e+en a new speech8 a s"eech that %ill not be com"iled artificially, but %ill be born.

    Iust as men %ill never fight about the sun or the stars, they %ill also never fight about that ne% s"eech, by the side of%hich the other languages still in eistence %hen this ne% s"eech has come into being can