# Cautious Deliberation on Masonic Collaboration and Esoteric Work

## GA 265 — 30 November 1905

To Marie von Sivers in Berlin  
Thursday, November 30, 1905

Karlsruhe, 30 Nov. 1905

My darling, I agree with your program. In Stuttgart, the hall has now been booked for the relevant days. So the days for Stuttgart are also fixed externally. For Christmas, I leave everything to your discretion, my darling. I would just like to go to Pest if I have the things ready by then, and then I would like to have been in Horn once.[^1]. But we can talk about that later.

I think everything went well in Stuttgart and Heidelberg. Since I had already set out my intention in[^2]

Since my *lecture in Dornach* took place, everything in Stuttgart has become rather rushed. Otherwise I would have written to my darling from there.

Your words in the last letter are beautiful, and I am so glad that you enjoyed the Lucifer essays.[^3]

Julius Engel[^4] has now been appointed to the position. I hope that everything is in order.

I can't write much to you today either. As you can imagine, people in Heidelberg have also taken up a lot of my time.

The Masonic affair:[^5] we want to do just that carefully, without rushing. Reuß is not a person who could be relied upon in any way. We must be clear about the fact that caution is so urgently needed. We are dealing with a “framework”, not with more in reality. At the moment there is nothing behind it. The occult powers have withdrawn from it completely. And for the time being I can only say that I don't yet know whether one day I will have to say: this must not be done at all. Therefore, my darling, I beg you not to discuss anything other than something very preliminary with the people. If one day we should be forced to say: we cannot go along with that, we must not be too strongly committed beforehand. There are partly personal and partly vain motives at play here. And the occult powers flee from both. It is certain that for the time being it seems worthless to all occult powers for us to do such a thing. But I cannot say anything definite about it even today. If we notice anything wrong at the next conversation with Reuß, we can still do the appropriate.

For today, only the warmest greetings, Rudolf.

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[^1]: This intention was most likely carried out by Rudolf Steiner between January 3 and 7, 1906; see note to no. 44.

[^2]: A visit to the physician Emil Schlegel in Tübingen between November 26 and 28, 1905 from Stuttgart. This visit is mentioned in the lecture Dornach, 12 April 1924 in GA 236.

[^3]: These are probably the two new series of essays begun in the October 1905 issue of the journal Lucifer-Gnosis: “Theosophy and the Social Question” (now in Lucifer-Gnosis 1903-1908, GA 34) and ‘The Stages of Higher Knowledge’ (now GA12).

[^4]: (ca. 1854-1925), painter, 1894-97 chairman of the D.T.G. Berlin, 1898 founder and chairman of the Charlottenburg branch, approx. 1905 professor at the Technical University of Magdeburg.

[^5]: Theodor Reuß (1855-1923), together with Dr. Franz Hartmann, was authorized by the Freemason John Yarker in 1902 to introduce the Memphis-Misraim Rite to Germany. According to new discoveries of letters, it was Franz Zavrel who suggested to Rudolf Steiner that a Memphis-Misraim lodge be established for theosophists. He arranged the contact to Reuß, when Rudolf Steiner decided in October 1905 to acquire the authorization of this order for the section of the Esoteric School that was to be founded and which was to be based on the cult of knowledge. At that time, Franz Zavrel from Prague lived in Berlin. He held the 95th degree and had resigned from the office of the General Secretary of this order in 1904, probably in Bohemia. He had become a member of the Berlin branch in February 1905. For more details, see chapter 36 of ‘My Life’ and ‘The History and Content of the Esoteric School's Knowledge Temple Department’, GA 265, as well as Hella Wiesberger, ‘Rudolf Steiner's Esoteric Teaching’, Dornach 1997.