Goethe and the Present

GA 68c — 22 April 1904, Munich

XI. Goethe as Theosophist

Report in the “Allgemeine Zeitung München” of May 3, 1904

Goethe as a theosophist. On April 22, the well-known Goethe scholar and philosophical writer Dr. Rudolf Steiner of Berlin, formerly an official at the Goethe-Schiller Archive in Weimar, gave a long lecture in the large hall of the Wittelsbacher Garden on the subject of “Goethe as a theosophist,” which writer Ludwig Deinhard introduced with a short speech. The latter referred, among other things, to the earlier works of Dr. Rafael v. Köber and Prof. Seiling on Goethe's position on the question of immortality and on occultism. Dr. Rud. Steiner first stated that in his lecture he would like to limit himself solely to Goethe's relationship to Theosophy, without pursuing his position on occultism. He then discussed the basic idea of Theosophy, “the divine striving of man to develop”, which can be recognized as the core essence of the various religions and has found expression in Goethe's works as well as in the writings of other leading figures in world history. Goethe, in his spiritual depth a mystery to his contemporaries, knew much, very much indeed, to say about the divine, mystical, ideal human being in the depths of the human essence. He had sought and seen the divine in nature, in the beauty of art, in the laws of the macrocosm and the microcosm, in man. To illuminate Goethe's theosophical ideas, the speaker referred in particular to the lesser-known enigmatic fairy tale 'The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily'. The speaker sought to interpret this 'secret revelation' of the poet in a meaningful way. The will-o'-the-wisp, the souls trapped in the world of the senses, can only return to the land of the spirit by sacrificing the snake, the symbol of the higher self sacrificing itself for others. Only through sacrifice can the bridge to the land of the spirit, of higher knowledge, be built. In this realm, the youth, representing the human race, receives the lily, the symbol (taken from the alchemists) of a “higher spiritual development”. Furthermore, the speaker sought to trace Goethe's theosophical views in the second part of Faust as well. He discussed, among other things, the meaning of the ideas of the gradually revealing soul being, the homunculus, the descent to the mothers, the idea of karma in the life and work of Faust and his final ascent to mystical life after he goes blind to the sense world. In conclusion, the speaker offered a meaningful explanation of the “Chorus mysticus”. After the lecture, a number of those present, who had given the speaker's interesting explanations a lively applause, gathered for a discussion. Through “Karma” it was determined that the listeners had to bear saddening proof of the “inadequacy of our earthly Sansara” in their efforts to obtain their wardrobe. In the “terrible narrowness” of the queue in front of the entrance to the hall, they were able to practice “sacrificing their lower selves”. Unfortunately, several Theosophists, who were perhaps still too absorbed in Faust's “Descent to the Mothers”, were tripped up by a weighing machine in front of the cloakroom, which will hopefully be eliminated in the course of the 20th century.