Opening and Closing Addresses in Penmaenmawr

GA 227 — 31 August 1923, Penmaenmawr

Farewell Address

Dear attendees!

After the moving words that have just been spoken, let me say a few words of greeting and thanks at the end of this summer school endeavor.

Looking back on this time in Penmaenmawr, I can say that I see it as a time of deep satisfaction. It was this Summer School that provided the opportunity to bring anthroposophy to bear here in England on its own, to a greater extent and for a longer period of time. And that is what fills me with such deep satisfaction.

We must not underestimate the ideas that arise from a particular undertaking, especially in our anthroposophical field. The idea from which this summer school originated was developed by Mr. Dunlop when I visited him during his illness - he already mentioned it during my last visit to London. At that time, he was completely absorbed by the idea of adding something to what has been achieved for anthroposophy in such an admirable way, that would put the central core of the anthroposophical movement itself before the world. And he told me at the time that his particular idea was to present to the world in such a summer school what Anthroposophy can give in its content through the word, and also what has emerged from it through eurythmy. And he expressed a third idea, the realization of which was of course not immediately possible because it was too big for external realization in the first attempt. But we have gained the satisfaction of realizing the central anthroposophical element, that which appears as anthroposophy in itself, and that which has grown so intimately out of anthroposophy – I would like to say eurythmy – and to bring it to bear in Penmaenmawr.

This is not to say that the assertion of the individual currents that otherwise grow out of anthroposophy should be underestimated. But, ladies and gentlemen, for those who can examine more deeply the connections of the human soul, and especially the connections that arise between a movement such as anthroposophy and what can come forth from it into the world, it is clear that these other currents can only have an appropriate effect in the world if the Central Anthroposophical Society really comes into its own.

Believe me, my dear audience, the educational movement in all its aspects is truly close to my heart. But never, perhaps precisely because it is so close to my heart, could I ever give anyone the assurance that this educational movement, as it has grown out of anthroposophy, could be fully understood by itself with inner truth , let alone that by first winning an audience for what has grown out of anthroposophy as pedagogy, as an educational system, that this could lead to anthroposophy.

The opposite, in the truest sense of the word, must be the right thing: that it is precisely through anthroposophy itself, through the cultivation of anthroposophy in its most central areas, that a real understanding comes about for that which has grown out of anthroposophy, namely the educational movement, which is so important for the world. That is why Mr. Dunlop spoke so extraordinarily from my heart when he said that before taking care of the dependent movements, one must above all put what must be the source of everything: anthroposophy. Nevertheless, I would prefer to have a different name for Anthroposophy every eight days, so that the public does not get stuck on the name instead of asking about the matter. But that is not possible because of the letterhead and other organizational difficulties. And when I think back to that conversation, I have to say that anyone who is as immersed in the spiritual science movement as I am can give what they are able to give without needing to impose it on the world in any way, without needing to give it because it is expected of them, because it is expected of them in the right way.

Actually, this law should be much more recognized, that real occult spiritual science can only be given when it is requested, when it is requested in the right way. And it was requested in the right way at the time.

And so I may say: My opinion is that precisely from this Summer School in Penmaenmawr a tremendous fertilization can come to the whole anthroposophical movement and its ramifications in England. Therefore, we can look back with such satisfaction on the time we were allowed to spend here in Penmaenmawr. And I already express my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Steiner and to Mr. Dunlop and those who worked with him to make it possible to present the very core of anthroposophy and the eurythmy that has grown out of it to such a dear audience as the one present here. And we are no less grateful to this audience – I am also speaking on behalf of Dr. Steiner – for its attentive support. It is of extraordinary importance to be able to speak, on the one hand, about what one is trying to extract from the sources of spiritual knowledge, because at present it is that which should actually speak most deeply to the heart and soul of the human being. On the other hand, we live in a time in which it can be seen from all possible symptoms how necessary it is for modern civilization to receive a spiritual impetus, and how little that which has come down to us from ancient times is suited to advance civilization in a fruitful way. It would go backwards if it could not gain a new spiritual impetus. And here it may be said: when the opportunity arises, from such a context as has been expressed here, to point out precisely what the time needs, it fills me with the deepest satisfaction.

This morning, for example, I had to draw attention to the fact that civilization itself is threatened by a kind of occult captivity, and more than one might think, the entire intellectual life of our time is in danger of this occult captivity. We can point out this danger everywhere. This morning I mentioned the speech that Oliver Lodge recently gave in England to a very important assembly. I mentioned how one can see from this speech how longings are present even in the most abstract of sciences, longings that remain in the subconscious, but which, if they are properly understood and come from the right attitude, lead to what – in all modesty, let it be said – spiritual science can really provide. And if we follow up such things, we can see everywhere what the word of spiritual science must be in such a case.

You see, it is indeed a significant phenomenon that the remarkable book written by Oliver Lodge about his son's soul after his death, entitled 'Raymond or Life and Death', has grown out of the very way of thinking and attitude that is fully rooted in the most official modern science. I need only mention the fact, it will be known here. The point was that Oliver Lodge's son, who died in the war, was able to communicate through a medium and say things that went deep into the soul of the deeply saddened father.

When the brochure by the excellent man, Oliver Lodge, about Raymond Lodge came out, the world was amazed; for with an enormous erudition, which was truly taken from the most conscientious, exact, modern thinking, the spiritual world was pointed out by Oliver Lodge in the same. A tremendous amount of material had been collected to show how, through this mediumistic channel, one can really enter into the spiritual life of the world through a method similar to that of modern natural science. Particularly striking to the world was the fact that it was possible to speak through mediumship about a photograph that had been taken at the theater of war in France by Raymond Lodge and his colleagues. Two photographs had been taken in succession of Raymond Lodge and his comrades-in-arms; and as the photographer often does in the second shot, he turns the face slightly, raises it higher, and so on. These photographs were such that in England one could not know about them, because by the time one heard about them, Raymond had already died.

Through mediumship, as Oliver Lodge reports, the soul of Raymond Lodge spoke to him and the other family members, he spoke of these photographs that no one here in England had seen; they only arrived here three weeks later. Everything came true, down to the slightest change in the session and attitude. What could be more striking than this! What could be more striking than that something is described by means of a medium, stating that it is the soul of the deceased that is describing something, which was not yet known in England and only arrived later.

Nevertheless, a terrible error crept in on this very point. Everyone who is well-versed in this field knows that under certain circumstances there is every possibility of premonitions. What the circle gathered with the medium saw by fixing their eyes on the pictures that only arrived in England later could be foreseen by the medium without the soul of the deceased being taken into account in any way – a premonition, albeit an extraordinarily delicate and intimate one, but a premonition nonetheless. One must be more than just a modern scientist if one wants to be critically correct in the spiritual world. Everything that comes in this field, even this excellent, serious, exact work by Oliver Lodge, tends to lead away from the real grasp of the spiritual world rather than to it. The habits of thought and research taken from the natural sciences today are such that, even when one is investigating the spiritual, one wants to proceed as one is accustomed to doing in the laboratory, that one wants to take every step by the hand of the material. But this way does not lead into the spiritual. Only pure spiritual paths lead into the spiritual, as they have been described here. And the person who believes that he can enter the spiritual realm through such a mediumistic path will indeed enter it, but into the spiritual that takes place on the physical plane, in the physical world. Because it was a foreshadowing of two things that took place in the physical world; what has been described only appears to be something that was projected from the spiritual world. Certainly, the physical world is filled with spiritual phenomena everywhere, but people are mistaken about the relationship between the earthly world and the supernatural world if they do not have the opportunity to direct their attention to real, truthful spiritual research. And so what I mentioned this morning is this: this desire to create only from scientific thoughts, as is customary today, and to only allow what comes from scientific thoughts, that is what brings the walls of occult imprisonment. And once inside these occult prisons, attempts are made that in truth go completely awry; for they do not represent the truth, they represent terrible errors that tend to lead further away from the truths; especially when the hearts are as much a part of it as they are in the case of what is written in the book about Raymond Lodge. And we must, because in the realm where the spirit begins to speak, there is such a strong echo coming from our hearts, because the hearts have so much to say, because what can easily be human prejudice creeps into the hearts, we must use all means to prevent the possibility of being surrounded by the spiritual walls of occult imprisonment.

I would not mention these things here if the seriousness of the times did not demand it. And the seriousness of the times demands it. Because it is true: humanity needs to take a decisive step towards the spiritual.

I have been asked many questions during this summer course. Some questions could not be answered in full, not because the subject matter was too difficult, but because the time has not yet fully arrived in the development of humanity when we can speak quite openly about some things. This applies particularly when questions are asked about the spiritual relationships between individual nations. I have also been asked how the spiritual world deals with the fact that one nation conquers another and makes it dependent on itself.

Oh, spiritual science could of course provide the appropriate information on such questions. But the time is truly not yet ripe – believe me, my dear audience, – to speak about these things in complete candour. Because we still do not fully accept the consequences of those truths that begin, for example, like this: One should only ask oneself whether the external aspect is really always the only one when one nation has made another dependent on itself in physical terms, in the material affairs of the world. And one does not always see how the nation that has made the other materially dependent on itself has become spiritually dependent on the one that has made it materially dependent on itself. But this is only the beginning of truths that must also become popular throughout the civilized world. And we will come to that universal understanding of such things, which can then also gain their full significance in practical life, only if we really have the inner courage to engage with the actual spiritual truths.

And so it is ultimately also with the question: Yes, are there individualities in the world today that have some kind of higher truths, that somehow convey these truths to the world and that perhaps are related to each other?

I have already pointed out that it does not depend solely on certain individuals sending truths into the world, but that it also depends on the extent to which the world is willing to accept these truths. I have pointed out many obstacles that exist today and that could be expressed as follows: The Bodhisattva is already waiting; but people must first, in a sufficiently large number, make themselves able to understand him. And when the question is raised as to whether those who have something spiritual to say to the world should communicate this spiritual knowledge to humanity, then it may be said that the fact that something is printed on paper with printed letters does not yet mean anything. I would just like to mention that today much can be written on paper with printed letters that reveals the deepest wisdoms and wisdoms. It always depends on whether these wisdoms and wisdoms are also understood. And there are many means of understanding; there are also many means of understanding that can be applied. But, my dear attendees, communication among people who have something to say from higher worlds was easier in the time when it was spoken from sacred places, such as the Druidic circles that are found here, and when the thought waves that went out from such places into the world did not encounter the waves of wireless telegraphy.

Again, wireless telegraphy is not mentioned in a reactionary way. It is, of course, a material blessing for humanity. But the point is that if spiritual messages are really to go out into the world, stronger forces are needed at the time when spiritual waves meet wireless telegraphy waves than at the time when this is not yet the case. If only people would realize the basic concepts, the fundamental, profound truth that precisely in our time, in which our material culture has reached such a high level, precisely in this time, it is all the more necessary for the spiritual to be written into the hearts of people with great intensity and to spread out from the hearts of people.

There was a really good, great opportunity for this here. For we lived as if in an atmosphere that actually still radiated something wonderful in those old shrines here - and I was also able to draw attention to that in the course of the lectures. Therefore, it was a lucky choice to choose this place, where, in a certain way, what was in Central and Northern Europe before the Mystery of Golgotha went out into the world could spiritually revive. What was waiting for the Mystery of Golgotha, but which then initially found no continuation, as Christianity - as I described this morning - came up from the south. In a sense, it is still waiting.

Because, esteemed attendees, when you come up to that remarkable solitude where these stone circles stand, you can still encounter the real echoes of what once worked with great power here in the northern regions of Europe. And there was much in the stream of power in those days that can no longer be today, because human souls must progress and with today's progress they could not bear it, it would inhibit their freedom. Thus it is precisely because that which was once derived from the Sacred Mysteries by the deepest occult knowledge has gradually passed into the cosmic memory, which, like luminous clouds, hover around the hollows of the mountain peaks in which these sanctuaries are located; precisely because of this, this special atmosphere is spread over everything that can be done here for a newer spiritual life. These are the things that, in the deepest sense, call for Dr. Steiner's and my most heartfelt thanks, that through the efforts of Mr. Dunlop, Mrs. Merry and others, we can include this Penmaenmawr enterprise in what the anthroposophical movement is.

It has already been beautifully mentioned here how many people have worked behind the scenes to make all this possible, and just as you all, my dear listeners, are being expressed the most heartfelt thanks for the beautiful attention you have shown to such a beautiful place for anthroposophy, eurythmy and so on, these thanks also go to all those who prepared this so beautifully and then continued to carry it forward in such a beautiful way during the summer school days themselves. I have already mentioned that anyone who knows how much effort is required to accomplish something like this, and who has often been there themselves, is indeed in a good position to judge these things. And, you see, he also knows something else: those who were around me in the old days and had to prepare such things themselves always sent their skin first to the tanneries, because basically you can't really satisfy everyone. You can't satisfy everyone, but you still get your kicks afterwards. And it's good to have a tanned skin for these days – especially for all those who are behind the scenes and have set up the whole thing.

The anthroposophical movement really did start from a small beginning, ladies and gentlemen. Recently in Dornach I pointed out that twenty-one or so years ago the anthroposophical movement was initiated within the theosophical movement through the journal Lucifer-Gnosis. It was not discontinued, but the work piled up to such an extent that it could no longer be continued. It had a far from adequate, but overwhelming number of subscribers at the very moment when I could not continue it. But the anthroposophical movement started with it, on a very small scale. I wrote most of Lucifer-Gnosis, so to speak; then I had to go to the printer myself to make the corrections at the printing house, then we received the issues, and Dr. Steiner and I placed the cross bands over them, wrote the addresses ourselves (we didn't even have printed addresses, nor did we have a typewriter), then each of us took a laundry basket, put the issues in it and took them to the post office. The anthroposophical movement began on a small scale. Even when giving lectures, one was not allowed to look at the fact that there are such elegant, wonderful rooms as the one here. I once gave a lecture in a room where I had to be careful not to let my legs fall into holes in the floor with every step I took when walking through the hall. Therefore, it did not surprise me that it rained again here the other day – I could almost say, to remind us – because the ceiling here in the city hall also has holes. These things, when compared to the beginnings of the anthroposophical movement, look very much like real festive occasions compared to what could not yet be present in such a solemn way. I am not ashamed to say that in Berlin, for example, we once had to hold our lectures in a room that was separated from the rest by a so-called “Spanish wall”; behind it, the sound of beer glasses could be heard, because behind it was a beer bar. And when we were once unable to get this hall, we were told: This hall is filled with more important things today, go to the only other room we have — which was something between a cellar and a stable. So the anthroposophical movement has had to struggle. And that is why it also knows how to be grateful, insofar as it lives in the hearts of people. And you will understand that what has happened here during these days should be fully appreciated, especially by our side.

In these words of thanks I would like to summarize everything that I feel at this moment of deepest, most heartfelt satisfaction about these days in Penmaenmawr. Finally, I would just like to say: It is indeed always a challenge when I am supposed to work here in England for anthroposophy, that the audience has to spend twice as long at the lectures because everything has to be translated. But from a certain point of view I am not sorry, and that is from the point of view that it has shown something that is basically quite extraordinary - Mr. Kaufmann's excellent translation skills have been demonstrated. He will also have to translate what I am saying now, and as always, I ask him not to omit these last words, otherwise I will threaten him by saying that I will ask Dr. Baravalle to translate these words. I also express my gratitude to Mr. Kaufmann for what he has once again done in such a dedicated manner, even though he almost got sick because he didn't bring his winter coat here, where you really need winter coats. He has taken on this work tirelessly, and as I know for certain, to the deepest satisfaction of the audience. Above all, he deserves the warmest thanks, because I must say: what should I do if Mr. Kaufmann were not there to convey what I would have liked to convey to you so much. And so, at the end of this undertaking, I believe I have the right to express the warmest thanks in my name and in that of Dr. Steiner to everyone: Mr. Dunlop, Mrs. Merry, Mr. Kaufmann and all the others who have worked in front of and behind the scenes. And let it also be said that the memory of what we have experienced here at Penmaenmawr will remain a truly warm and lasting one.

With these words, which should bind us together for the future, since I believe we have been here in harmony, in a harmony also consecrated by historical memories, I would like to conclude my greeting and expression of thanks for these wonderful days in Penmaenmawr.