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The Rudolf Steiner Archive

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Search results 5661 through 5670 of 6552

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272. Faust, the Aspiring Human: A Spiritual-Scientific Explanation of Goethe's “Faust”: The Historical Significance of “Faust” 20 Aug 1916, Dornach

We live in modern times under very special impulses, under which we have to live. It is right that we live under these impulses.
If he were to approach man, it would be that what is not found in him would be sought in the cosmic space outside: the secrets of heaven itself. This relationship must be understood. Once upon a time, people had to understand how close Lucifer is to man. It has been made possible for people to understand this in a symbol that is much more than a symbol, in a symbol that points deep into the secrets of the spiritual world.
But people who want to understand Faust will have to grasp it without authority. Then they will have to work their way through the contradictions, but working through the contradictions will offer the possibility of understanding.
272. Faust, the Aspiring Human: A Spiritual-Scientific Explanation of Goethe's “Faust”: The “Entombment” the Essence of the Lemurs, the Fat and Scrawny Devil 04 Sep 1916, Dornach

First, how they actually come to do a job there under the supervision of Mephistopheles; but at the same time, this also tells us something about their nature.
He could grasp this spiritual. Now, to understand the whole, let us recall something we can find in the chapter of the book 'How to Know Higher Worlds?'
In the past, when the old times were there, he still understood quite well how to catch souls – today we call it superstition, but we know that they were somewhat clairvoyant times.
272. Faust, the Aspiring Human: A Spiritual-Scientific Explanation of Goethe's “Faust”: Goethe's Insights into the Secrets of Human Existence 09 Sep 1916, Dornach

In the last lecture here, I tried to develop some of the spiritual-scientific principles that can help us understand it when I spoke about the nature of the lemurs, the fat and scrawny devils. On such occasions, we always try not just to seek out something for the understanding of this poetry, but to gain something from the poetry in terms of general spiritual significance, to look into those true realities that Goethe tried to reach with his “Faust”.
And now for the remarkable speech, which to many will seem like a mere contradiction, but which becomes understandable if one understands the experience to take place between physical life and spiritual life. The spiritual world sought to reach Faust throughout his life.
And now he turns his attention to himself. He wants to understand the contradiction: done, over – he wants to understand it. Gone and pure nothingness, perfect sameness!
272. Faust, the Aspiring Human: A Spiritual-Scientific Explanation of Goethe's “Faust”: Insights into the True Reality Goethe Sought 10 Sep 1916, Dornach

That is the prerequisite, so to speak, the spiritual-scientific prerequisite, that Mephistopheles is a being that has not undergone the corresponding form of development, which it could have undergone from the moon, or perhaps from the sun to the earth, or through the moon to the earth.
You will perhaps understand me better if I try to express myself in the following way. Think about how life can unfold for an average person today.
Therefore, this science, which has grown out of this materialism, will never come to a thorough understanding of the mystery of the human becoming, of the riddle of embryology and so on - never! It would be able to come to an understanding of the origin of such entities that can form on the way of the homunculus.
272. Faust, the Aspiring Human: A Spiritual-Scientific Explanation of Goethe's “Faust”: Goethe's Search for the Depths of Becoming and the Mysteries of the World in His “Faust” 11 Sep 1916, Dornach

And only now, taking things this way, do we understand what Goethe actually means, for only now are we able to grasp the process that is taking place.
And one sees how Goethe's thoughts are depoliticized! Try to understand the second part of Goethe's Faust from this point of view; it is written from tremendous depths.
For the healing of the great evils of the time can only come from an understanding of the things that have been touched upon. If today, in connection with Goethe's “Faust”, I have tried to give some idea of the impulses of the fifth post-Atlantean period, and how they are spiritual, I would above all like to see an understanding come of how the sins against these impulses of the fifth post-Atlantean period are showing up all over the world, how lack of understanding is occurring everywhere in the world precisely with regard to what is to be understood.
272. Faust, the Aspiring Human: A Spiritual-Scientific Explanation of Goethe's “Faust”: Foreword by Marie Steiner

The power of thinking must lead us back to our soulfulness, to the seizing of pictorial contemplation, to the understanding of the spirituality that rules in us and underlies all phenomena of life. In our striving towards the highest goal, the figure of Faust, as portrayed by Goethe, can be our example and incentive.
The striving went astray, grasped in desperation to the means of despair, chased after mirages. In this sense we have to understand what the soul of Faust was going through. Yet there was a strength in the intensity of striving of these researchers that awakened the I.
Below him looms the skeleton, the other pole of the human ego; above the figure of Faust, the inspiring genius bends towards him. We cannot approach an understanding of Faust from a narrow-minded perspective; we must gain perspective. The lectures presented here provide us with a basis for understanding Faust.
272. Goethe's Faust From the Standpoint of Spiritual Science 23 Jan 1910, Strasburg
Translator Unknown

Mephistopheles is that being which is to represent the kind of intelligence able to understand only the things formed in outer space, though aware of the existence of a spiritual realm, but unable to enter it.
And so has Goethe indicated that we can find his life conception—his spiritual attitude—in this work; and we can now understand that Goethe could demonstrate in this reunion of Faust with Helena the nature of true mysticism.
It may sound almost pedantic if I mention something here which must be known if the final words are to be understood. Goethe spoke rather indistinctly in his late years because of the absence of teeth. He dictated the second part of his Faust to a writer.
273. Spiritual Scientific Note on Goethe's Faust Vol. II 12 Jun 1918, Prague
Translated by Hanna von Maltitz

When we don't want to focus on this point, we will never understand Goethe's nature observation. Right into the colour teachings we can't understand Goethe, if we fail to focus on what Goethe wanted.
But only, diving so deeply down into self knowledge, that the depth of the world is understood in the same manner as we understand Goethe's nature ideas, then the bridge can be built, to find the illusionary element of the world.
Human knowledge appeared to be an artificial product, understood like a mechanism. No Homunculus bulges forth out of lively reality. Now comes that towards which Goethe strives for within the entire depth of his soul.
273. The Problem of Faust: The Problem of Faust 30 Sep 1916, Dornach
Translated by George Adams

It is Gretchen-wisdom! We must take things seriously. The pundits are under a misapprehension and have mistaken this Gretchen-wisdom for deep philosophy. Faust's suggestion for the translation of the Bible is also taken for especially profound wisdom, whereas Goethe simply means to represent how men bandy about truth and error when they undertake much a task.
They generally prize them more highly simply because they do not understand them, the language in which they are written being actually no longer comprehensible. Thus, the content of old books that has become double-Dutch being often put forward when spiritual research is under discussion is the one mischievous thing.
Hence the ancient wisdom is growing dim; there is nothing left but the book-wisdom and that is not understood. For no one who really understood such things as the passage I have just read you would refrain from using them for his own advantage.
273. The Problem of Faust: The Romantic Walpurgis-Night 10 Dec 1916, Dornach
Translated by George Adams

To speak rather trivially, you can see that there is something behind it, that it is not an ordinary poem but written out of understanding for what is spiritual. Anyone with the certain knowledge, can easily judge by details whether realities are spoken of, whether a poet's description is the result of spiritual understanding, or whether he is just thinking out something about spiritual worlds and their connections—for instance, the world of witches.
But Mephistopheles, that is Ahriman, as an Ahrimanic being has no understanding of the present earth; he belongs relate to what has lagged behind, and hence he feels no particular pleasure in the Spring.
For this deeper element Faust is seeking in Evil, Mephistopheles has no understanding; he does not want to take even Faust there because there things will naturally become rather—painful.

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