Esoteric Lessons 1913–1923

GA 266III

Preliminary Remarks by the Editors Regarding the Text Documents and Their Authenticity

The compilation of a reliable text of what Rudolf Steiner said at the meetings leading up to the founding of the Circle is even more difficult than in the other reports presented in this volume. It is complicated by the following three circumstances:

Firstly, unlike at other lectures, there was no stenographer present at these meetings. Much of what was said was often reconstructed much later from memory. Very little was written down, and these original notes, which are very incomplete, no longer exist. It must therefore always be borne in mind that what is reported is usually not really verbatim, that the attitude and expectations of the listeners altered what was heard, and that misunderstandings were thus also passed on in good faith.

Secondly, when memories were still fresh, the reports and related material were not published regularly, but were distributed as private copies, some of them undated, to a relatively small number of people within the esoteric youth circle, where members could read them or borrow them for a short time. What is available today are often only photocopies of transcripts whose authenticity cannot be readily verified. It contains incorrect information and interpretations that cannot have come from the founding members of the circle.® Since the Lehrs report is mentioned, the text must have been written after it, and yet the author does not give his name or any information about how it came into being. The reason for this is that the text demonstrably comes from a source that is otherwise known for its dishonest handling of Rudolf Steiner's texts. It was not distributed until around 1985, years after the death of most of the founding members of the circle. A not insignificant proportion of the texts circulating within and, in particular, outside the esoteric youth circle either originate directly from this source or have been influenced by it. (This text also forms the basis of the publication “Der Esoterische Jugendkreis - Dr. Rudolf Steiner” [The Esoteric Youth Circle - Dr. Rudolf Steiner], Rotterdam 0.]. [1986] published by Cagliostro-Verlag.) The text simply disputes the authenticity of Ernst Lehrs' report without any justification and implicitly claims that it is verbatim. In reality, however, these are merely crude excerpts from Lehrs' report, expanded with statements attributed to Rudolf Steiner. If one compares this text in detail with Lehrs' original, one can see how primitive the whole thing is. The fact is that what is written in this text and not borrowed from Lehrs comes from the source mentioned and not from an eyewitness. This applies in particular to a two-page passage on the priesthood (with the claim that every active anthroposophist is a priest), which is likely to be the main motive for the manipulation.¹

For the present publication, in addition to the documents written by Rudolf Steiner himself, the following documents found in the archives and considered authentic have been taken into account and reproduced in part: 1.) Ernst Lehrs' report “Entstehungsgeschichte des Jugendkreises” (History of the Youth Circle). Private reproduction. Lehrs' “Supplement to the Report on the Origins of the Circle,” written in 1974, provides information about the origins of this report: "The original transcript of the circle report was written in 1933 [...]. The original version of the report was created in such a way that Ernst Lehrs wrote down his memories of Maria Röschl in shorthand and she dictated them back to him on the typewriter. Subsequently, this text was improved through a few stylistic changes and a different arrangement of individual sections. At the same time, it was possible to include additional contributions from participants in the founding of the circle based on their memories. This is how the current version of the report came about. Since then [1933], four more decades have passed, and recently the need has arisen to revise a certain part of the report. This concerns the section previously entitled “Auseinandersetzung mit der Christengemeinschaft” (Confrontation with the Christian Community). [...] I request that the new version of the section [entitled “Begegnung mit der jungen Bewegung für religiöse Erneuerung” (Encounter with the young movement for religious renewal)] be inserted into the report and that the corresponding part of the text be deleted. However, the changes to the text – not the heading – of this section are insignificant. The original version from 1933 is not available in the archives; it was probably not widely distributed and no longer exists. The first reproduced version probably dates from the early 1950s; the paper quality and type of reproduction also support this assumption. The later, final version from 1974 came about when a small typing error was corrected by hand in a copy of the earlier version and the section on the Christian Community was replaced by text retyped (on a different typewriter). The result was then reproduced by photocopying. The line breaks and page breaks are therefore identical in both versions. The authenticity of the copies in the archive is further confirmed by a circular letter from Fritz Götte entitled “Nach 50 Jahren” (After 50 Years), dated Easter 1975, which contains 15 quotations from the report, all of which correspond exactly. Lehrs read this circular letter, as he thanked Götte for it in a handwritten letter. 2.) Two shorter circular letters from Lehrs: a) “Aus der Anfangszeit unseres Kreises” (“From the early days of our circle”) reports on the establishment of the two esoteric lessons for the youth circle in 1923 and is thus, in a sense, a continuation of Lehrs' report, which ends on October 16, 1922. This circular letter is also undated, but a remark in it indicates that it was written in 1952 or slightly later.

b) The circular letter already quoted, “Supplement to the report on the origins of the circle,” dated 1974. 3.) A short note by Lehrs providing information about the circle. One copy bears the handwritten heading “Definition of the Circle.” According to tradition, this dates from 1963. 4.) The report by Wilhelm Rath, “My Path to the Circle.” Private reproduction. About this report: Following the introductory remarks, Wilhelm Rath wrote his report in 1964 or shortly thereafter. It mainly contains personal memories, but unlike the Lehrs report, it does not include complete accounts of Rudolf Steiner's remarks at the various meetings. Rath refers to the Lehrs report, but not in detail. 5.) Two collections of Rudolf Steiner's remarks at various meetings. The authors are not known by name. These are most likely notes taken during and immediately after the meetings. These notes must have been available to Lehrs and Rath, as they included them almost verbatim in their reports. This means that their authenticity is confirmed in a sense by eyewitnesses. (At one point in his report, Rath even refers to them explicitly, see p. 453.) 6.) The report by Herbert Hahn, “Notes from Memory (October 16, 1922).” Its contents were recounted to C. Brumberg Hansen in Copenhagen and written down by him at the same time. The original on which the photocopy is based was signed by Herbert Hahn and handwritten with the date August 12-14, 1963. 7.) For the two esoteric hours: Stuttgart, July 13, 1923, and Dornach, December 30, 1923: The notes from the second hour are reproduced verbatim from a template signed by Maria Röschl-Lehrs. According to her note, the text was compiled from her “notes taken immediately afterwards and those of several friends, with particular attention paid to the structure.” Although there is no such personal signature for the notes from the first hour, they are likely to have been compiled in a similar manner. Minor textual discrepancies in the circulating transcripts for these two hours are certainly due to frequent copying. 8.) A notebook by Lili Kolisko in which she wrote down various sayings and meditations, including those for the youth circle. Since Ernst Lehrs' report provides the clearest account, an excerpt from it is included here at the beginning, even though it is not the oldest surviving document.